Dungarvan Enterprise Centre Welcomes Oak Training

Dungarvan Enterprise Centre is delighted to welcome Kay Fitzgerald of Oak Training to the centre. This new tenant has an exciting online business selling training material to companies all over the world.

Oak Training is the supplier of choice of innovative, practical and competitively priced downloadable training content. With over 50 organizational, management and employee modules available they have successfully removed the traditional barriers associated with sourcing training content online.

All of their training content has been designed and tested by senior executives operating within high performance organizations who have successfully positioned their organizations for the future by maximizing internal capacity.

Designed for trainers, coaches and consultants looking to increase the range of products and services they can offer their clients. Oak Training content is also ideal for managers and employees looking to extend their knowledge of organizational, management and employee titles.


For more information go to http://www.oaktraining.com/

Wonderwomen of Business Award-Winners Announced

The WEN Wonderwomen of Business Awards took place on Friday 15th June at Lismore Hotel. Guest Speaker, Lauren Fisher of Simply Zesty flew in from London to join the local businesswomen in their celebrations.  Having started her business from her bedroom, Lauren successfully grew the company and sold it to UTV for £2million.  As part of the deal, she still works for the company and is currently growing the UK branch. 

"Anything is possible ", says Lauren, "you just need to put the time ito building your dreams.  There's always an extra hour in the day that you can use, whether that means getting up an hour earlier or staying at it an hour longer in the evening, if you want success you'll find the time."

County Manager and Chair of Waterford County Enterprise Board, Denis McCarthy, congratulated all the finalists and highlighted the importance of female entrepreneurship.  Anike Tyrell, CEO of Waterford County Enterprise Board, who sponsored the top prize of €2500 worth of social media from Simply Zesty spoke about the impact of social media and about the female contribution to social media.  This was the first time these awards have taken place in Co. Waterford and the standard of entries was extremely high.

The wonderwomen of business award winners were:-

   

Eunice Power;
Businesswoman of the year

 

Tracy Quinlan;

Outstanding Professional Service



 

  

Jenny Beresford;
Oustanding Employee

  

 



  



 



Olivere Lannen;

Outstanding Personal Service



Miranda Corcoran;
Excellence in the Arts





   

  







 



Imelda Walsh;
Tourism & Leisure



Breda Mackle;

New Business

 

Audrea Hassett;
Food







Emma Hall;
Online



Dungarvan Enterprise Centre was proud to be involved in the Waterford WEN and also host the WEN meetings once per month.  It is a free network open to all women in business.  The network offers skills development, guest speakers, networking and referrals.  We look forward to starting meetings again in September.  More details about the network can be found on www.facebook.com/waterfordwen







 





Enterprise Centre Proud To Host Photoshoot For WEN Wonderwomen of Business Awards

Dungarvan Enterprise Centre were proud to host the photoshoot for the WEN Wonderwomen of Business Awards recently.

Waterford WEN are proud to be running the Wonderwomen of Business Awards this Friday 15^th June at 1PM in Lismore House Hotel. Waterford WEN is the network organisation of Waterford County Enterprise Board and has been running since 2009. This free network is a space and a place for women in business, it offers training, skills development, networking, referrals and peer-to-peer mentoring. The network meets once per month in Dungarvan Enterprise Centre and regularly runs events with other organisations such as Dungarvan Chamber.

The Wonderwomen of Business Awards celebrate outstanding women in business in Co Waterford. This is the first year of the awards, which aim to recognise the contribution of women to the local economy. “They say behind every great man is a great woman, it is my view that behind many great businesses there is a wonderwoman, whose work and efforts drive the business forward,” says WEN Network manager Mags O’Connor, “We are absolutely thrilled to be able to recognise this work. We were delighted with the response to the call for entries, the standard and level of entries is exceptionally high.”

The entries have now been narrowed down to a shortlist, with two women from each category going forward to the final stages of the awards. Winners will be announced at the event taking place Friday 15^th June. The top prize for Businesswoman of the Year is a €2500 campaign from Simply Zesty, one of Ireland’s top social media companies. The founder, Lauren Fisher, will be on hand to present the prize and share her story with the attendees.

Chamber After-Hours in Association with WEN and Dungarvan Enterprise Centre

Dungarvan & West Waterford Chamber's After-Hours events have become an integral part of the business calendar in Dungarvan. An After-Hours with a twist took place last Thursday 19th April at Dungarvan Enterprise Centre. The Centre hosted the event, which was a joint evening among Chamber and Waterford WEN members. Three exhibitors from each network organisation showed their wares, in addition to the usual networking and nibbles associated with After Hours.

The event was a great success, with 50 local business representatives attending. Waterford WEN is the organisation for women in business in West Waterford, supported by Waterford County Enterprise Board. Three WEN members; Workhouse Studios, Birthday Gifts and Hearts & Crafts; were kept busy meeting visitors and selling their unique craft products. Dungarvan Chamber members who exhibited were IamofIreland, Flowers, etc and Garret Dillon Kitchens & Furniture. Each exhibitor displayed a wide array of their products and Robin of Flowers etc did a very engaging flower-arranging demonstration.

Speaking at the event, Colette Bannon of The Work Coach, incoming Chamber President said "We're delighted to welcome Dungarvan Enterprise Centre on board as a Chamber member and would like to congratulate Mags Durand O'Connor on her appointment as Centre manager." The event was a great opportunity for local businesses to meet other members of the business community and to show their products."

"Our whole aim is to support local enterprise," said Durand O'Connor, "We offer affordable high-spec office space to start-up and expanding businesses. Through our anchor tenant Waterford County Enterprise Board we also offer business support. We're delighted to welcome such a dynamic mix of businesses to the centre and we hope to continue to act as a hub for enterprising activity." For further information on Dungarvan & West Waterford Chamber contact 058 45054, for further information on Dungarvan Enterprise Centre contact 058 23598 and for further information on Waterford WEN contact 086 8271954.

Dungarvan Enterprise Centre Supports Local Art

Dungarvan Enterprise Centre has recently opened its doors to local artists who wish to display their work on-site. The busy centre is a perfect showcase for artists who do not have exhibition space of their own. The first person to avail of this opportunity is talented local artist Tony Hayes, Tony is showing some beautiful streetscapes of Dungarvan at the centre at the moment.

"Our main aim is to support enterprise and create opportunities in the local economy," says Mags Durand O'Connor, centre manager, "so it seemed sensible to fill our empty wall space with local art, offering an opportunity to exhibit to local artists. We always buy local ourselves and we would encourage our visitors and tenants to do the same, for us this includes supporting the many local talented arts and crafts producers"

Dungravan Enterprise Centre offers affordable high spec office space to start-up and expanding businesses in the area, in addition to business support, mentoring and training through partnership with the anchor tenant Waterford County Enterprise Board. The centre recently welcomed Mercyhurst College Ireland on board, translating to a huge opportunity for Dungarvan as the university's European base. For further information on office space available and/or displaying art on-site please contact Mags at 058 23598 or dungarvanec@gmail.com

New Enterprise Centre to Bring Entrepreneurship to Main Street, Dungarvan

Significant Savings of €1.1million Made through Novel Approach take to Fund the Centre.

Mr Phil Hogan, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government officially opened Dungarvan's Enterprise Centre on Friday. Speaking at the opening Minister Hogan commended the partnership between the local community, the local development agencies and private business that led to the provision of the Enterprise Centre the Main Street of the Town. The Enterprise Centre will provide office space, conference facilities and business mentoring services to business start-ups in West Waterford.

According to the Mayor of Dungarvan, Teresa Wright, 'a Community - Public - Private Partnership approach was taken to the development of the centre. The local community entered into a lease agreement with Glanbia, owners of the building, to develop it as an enterprise centre. The community then received grant aid from Waterford LEADER Partnership to make the building fit for use for start-up businesses in the town. This approach saved significant funding, and brings regeneration to Dungarvan Town Centre' Mayor Wright added.

Fearghal Reidy, Economic Development Officer at Waterford County Council explained how the savings were achieved. The original plan was to construct a €1.3million enterprise centre on the outskirts of Dungarvan. However, the community group was unable to raise the borrowings required to complete the project. They approached Glanbia, who own a vacant building on Main Street, Dungarvan, who agreed to enter into a lease agreement with the community to develop the enterprise centre. The costs reduced from €1.3million to €200,000 a saving of €1.1million, while still providing the same enterprise space and facilities.

'The beauty of this is three fold' stated Denis McCarthy, Waterford County Manager. 'It provides entrepreneurs with space required to start their businesses, it brings regeneration to the Main Street of Dungarvan, adding to the vibrancy of the Town and it is delivered in a cost effective way' Mr McCarthy highlighted that the enterprise centre is a key element of a five year economic plan that Waterford County Council is implementing. 'The plan is yielding real results, the Dungarvan centre is one of a network of Community Enterprise Centres in the County, including Dunhill, Cappoquin, Lismore, Tallow and the Innovation Centre at WIT'. Mr McCarthy thanked the voluntary committee who developed the centre. 'This centre is a fine example of the work of communities throughout the County'.

The Dungarvan Enterprise Centre is a one-stop-shop for business start-ups in County Waterford. The County Enterprise Board has already taken up offices at the Centre, and offers a range of financial supports and mentoring for eligible businesses. The Centre also received a grant from Enterprise Ireland to employ a Manager, Margaret Durand. Ms Durand has a marketing background, and is an experienced in business mentoring. 'The centre offers businesses start-ups with a great location in the heart of Dungarvan' stated Margaret. Offices are well specified, with CAT 5 telecommunications infrastructure. Offices, ranging in size, are available to let at very reasonable rates. 'We have devised a letting agreement that is not too onerous on businesses, who face enough bureaucracy when starting up. Businesses can also use the conference facilities and the full range of mentoring support that are available at the Centre' stated Ms Durand.

For further information on Dungarvan Enterprise Centre contact Margaret Durand at Tel 058 - 23598

Speed Show Does the Business

Dungarvan & West Waterford Chamber, in association with Waterford WEN, hosted the region's first 'Speed Show' on Tuesday 21st Feb at Dungarvan Enterprise Centre. The event was very well attended, with a wide variety of local businesses coming along to grab opportunities and share referrals.

The Speed Show marries two concepts; speed networking and show your business. Speed networking is a unique means of introducing your business to a large number of people in a short space of time through rapid dedicated one-to-one time with a number of different contacts. Based loosely around the idea of speed dating, speed networking sees business-owners move around a room sharing business cards and referrals with at least fifteen other businesses.

Show Your Business offers a two-minute showcase where a business owner can unashamedly promote their business to a captive audience. The speed show slots were assigned through a lottery which saw Tracy Quinlan of Evolve Training & Recruitment Centre, Karen Dempsey of Karen Dempsey Photography, Éimhín Ní Chonchúir of The Marketing Table, Emma Penruddock of iamofireland and David Walsh of Better Finance introduce their businesses to the attendees whilst benefitting from the opportunity to ask for specific referrals and state why you should buy from them.

"As a women's enterprise network, we enjoy working with Dungarvan Chamber to help broaden our network members' pool of contacts and help drive opportunities through the local business community,C says Mags Durand O'Connor, network manager, "we look forward to organising more events with Chamber as the year goes on." If you would like further information on upcoming Dungarvan Chamber events, please go to www.dungarvanchamber.ie and for further information on Waterford WEN or Dungarvan Enterprise Centre please contact mags@makenmarketing.com