Over 500 attend free event for small businesses

More than 27 State bodies come together to answer questions and provide advice to small business owners and managers

Over five hundred small business owners and managers today attended a one-stop-shop event for SMEs, ‘Taking Care of Business’, in The Printworks, Dublin Castle.

This free half-day event was organised by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to provide people thinking of starting a business and existing entrepreneurs with the information they need from across the public sector.

‘Taking Care of Business’ brought together more than 27 State bodies in two strands with presentations in one area and information stands in a separate area. The information stands were manned throughout the event by experts who spoke directly to attendees and answered questions in an informal setting; in the hall 18 concise presentations were given with a focus on key regulatory requirements and assistance available to help entrepreneurs develop their businesses.

“Taking Care of Business” is part of a wider effort to communicate better with business and promote awareness and understanding of the full range of Government supports that are available for start-ups and the SME sector. The event allowed small business owners to informally ask questions and get advice from a diverse mix of government agencies.

A number of representative bodies from industry supported the event and were available to talk to attendees on the day. ‘Taking Care of Business’ was opened by Donal de Buitléir, Director of Publicpolicy.ie. Gina Quinn, CEO, Dublin Chamber of Commerce and Senator Feargal Quinn chaired the remaining sessions.

The event builds on a pilot event in October 2013 in Dublin Castle, which was attended by 500 people. The feedback from the pilot was overwhelmingly positive, with 89% of attendees surveyed finding the format worked well and 80% agreeing that their business would benefit from having attended.

The 2014 events aimed to expand on the number of State bodies at the pilot and have brought ‘Taking Care of Business’ outside Dublin. Earlier this year TCOB events were held in Limerick, Galway and Cork and another event is planned for Waterford in early 2015.