Local Enterprise Office Mayo provide a series of training & development programmes that are of benefit to various sectors of the small business community in the County. The Food Academy Start Programme is an example of one of these.
Core programmes
A number of core programmes are run ever year. These include:
Start Your Own Business
This course aims to assist participants to develop an awareness and practical understanding of the steps involved to become self employed.
The course will enable participants to understand the essentials of good business management, analyse day to day trading and plan for further growth.
Course overview
- Introduction
- Overview of key areas of managing a business.
- Company Formation and Structures
- Planning the business
- The Business Plan and it's importance in current and future trading.
- Marketing, Market Research, Target Market, Product Promotion and Presentation.
- Basic Bookkeeping: Break Even, Pricing ,Margins and continuous Sales Analysis.
- Understanding Financial Accounts and Balance Sheet,
- Budgets and Cash Flows.
- VAT , an introduction. Vat 3 Returns.
Effective Marketing for Small Business
This course aims to assist participants in understanding how to market their business effectively. It focuses on how to find new customers and get more business from existing customers through effective, practical and low cost marketing activities.
Course overview
- Develop the skills and knowledge to evaluate their current marketing activities.
- To understand the traditional and newer marketing communication tools available to small business, and which might be appropriate for their business.
- To develop an effective marketing action plan for their business or a business with which they are familiar.
Essential Tax, Vat, Cashflow, Debt Management
Management of cash flow function, costing & pricing strategies that can minimise credit control risk.
Course overview
- Maintain proper financial records to satisfy Revenue and all other requirements.
- Have a complete understanding of all relevant Revenue forms
- Prepare their own VAT returns
- Have in place proper procedures for employing people
- Understand the true cost of employing people
- Have an understanding of how to calculate wages, PAYE, Universal Levy, Holiday Pay etc.
- Price work accurately
- Understand the importance of cash flow
- Manage their bank position
- Understand how to deal effectively with banks on finance issues.
- Understand how to grow both sales and profits.
- Understand and interpret their end of year accounts and take appropriate action
Food Academy Start Programme
LEO Mayo & LEO Roscommon, in conjunction with Bord Bia and Musgraves (Supervalu), run the Food Academy Programme in Mayo. The aim of the programme is to support and nurture start up and expanding food and drink businesses. The programme, designed by Bord Bia and SuperValu, is delivered through workshop style training.
Food Academy Programme will assist you to grow your food business, develop capabilities in Marketing and Promotions, learn about calculating Costs and setting Margins, work on Product Development, Packaging, Labelling and Legislation and how to pitch your foods to supermarket buyers. See more....
