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According to findings from Sage, some 73 per cent of Irish business leaders are happy being self-employed entrepreneurs and would not change that career path.
However, despite the love of what they do, Irish business leaders still have worries that keep them awake at night. The five key worries giving them restless nights are rivals for 44 per cent, taxation for 34 per cent, cash flow for 32 per cent, staff retention for 24 per cent and, you guessed it, Brexit for an additional 24 per cent.
According to Sage EVP for Northern Europe, Jacqueline De Rojas: ?Today’s event is about giving Ireland’s businesses a voice. Small businesses are the innovators; the engine room of Ireland’s economy.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny was present at the event, during which he noted the importance of listening to Irish business leaders in order to “hear their anxieties and concerns?.
A key problem he highlighted is one of awareness, in that the government has some 170 programmes open to small businesses, yet most are unaware of them. And with uncertainty surrounding Brexit and Donald Trump named president, he noted there will be challenges, but added:
Leadership is having the courage to know you’re not going to win on every decision you make @EndaKennyTD #irelanddebate
” Real Business (@Real_Business) December 7, 2016
Catch some more of his comments on the RB Twitter page.
Further discussing what keeps Irish business leaders awake, Jerry Kennelly, founder of image library Stockbyte, claimed the issue is around skills. To me, jobs are the outcome of an entrepreneurial venture. It’s people and their skills that allow you to compete. But there’s a big gap about what happens in the real world and education,” he said.
Dublin commissioner for startups, Niamh Bushnell, agreed talent is a problem: “Talent is a huge issue here. We need to be a place where we have deep expertise and we need to tell the world more about the expertise we do have, so we can continue building scaling businesses that can scale out of Ireland.
With that global scale for Irish business leaders in mind, PwC partner John Dunne, said: “They have to look at new markets. The default has been go to the UK because they speak English. A lot of companies wouldn?t have gone beyond the UK until now, because they have to.
Bushnell continued on her theme of promoting Ireland as a dream business hub and said there is a culture in the country that gives it a strong national identity, even though it has had to sit back without any control over Brexit or the US election.
?People need to know they can have a good quality of life here. There’s accommodation, international people it’s a real melting pot and a diverse city. The main challenge for startups in terms of recruiting, most people are attracted to London. But with all the UK uncertainty, there’s no reason we can’t attract them.
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Kennelly suggested that Irish business leaders don’t need to rely on the government to bring about change. Most of us have the same problems, so get together with peers to talk about one simple thing over informal coffees for an hour every Saturday morning and put heads together. Peer-to-peer mentoring is very powerful.
Brian Crowley, the founder and CEO of TTM Healthcare, said one problem to tackle is the ?unhealthy relationship with credit and payment terms?. He explained: As a community, with small scaling firms, cash is oxygen there is a real need to get together and have respect for those who might know what’s wrong.
The UK isn’t the only place to feel the lack of available Internet Ireland is just as bad, and it’s discussed in full on the next page.
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Crowley backed Kenny’s earlier point of awareness around government schemes and how this must be improved. But he insisted venture capital investments can be found, as long as you’re the right company.
During the Autumn Statement, chancellor Philip Hammond promised that there will be a £1bn investment into broadband and connectivity to increase productivity.
Ireland seemingly has a similar internet problem, as highlighted by AJ Noonan, chairman of the Small Firms Association, who said: Broadband is the electricity of the modern era. Without broadband, business cannot operate.
Backing up the need for digital, Irish business leaders, and indeed UK bosses, should heed the words of Bobby Kerr, chairman of Insomnia coffee shops.
“You need online-offline thinking. Use all of that internet stuff to drive people to your shops and operate in the virtual world and real world. You need a fusion of both to be successful,” he detailed.
Meanwhile, Paula Fitzsimons, national director of the Going for Growth programme, thinks Irish business leaders fail to think strategically enough. She suggested outlining a three-year goal and breaking it down into key goals and milestones to stay on track.
And if you find yourself off track, Noonan said that it’s best to speak up instead of burying your head in the sand. If you find yourself in a small bit of bother, inform your bank manager you don’t want him calling you first. I think that’s the key to communication.
David Walsh, co-founder and CEO of Netwatch, reckons that where mentoring is concerned, entrepreneurs shouldn?t simply look to success stories.
?We can learn honest feedback from entrepreneurs who weren?t successful in business. The boy who pulled the cat by the tail learned a lot more than the boy who read about it,” he declared.
Mary Mitchell-O”Connor, minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, closed the event and said: ?We provide the best environment for companies to start, scale and survive.”
Diversifying into new markets will give companies the best chance of growing, and creating new jobs @mitchelloconnor #irelanddebate
” Real Business (@Real_Business) December 7, 2016
It’s important we do this in the right way with a focus on small businesses@mitchelloconnor #irelanddebate
” Real Business (@Real_Business) December 7, 2016
She added: ?Our immediate aim in government is to grow our economy so we achieve an unemployment rate of under six per cent. I, as minister, will continue to work with you and for you.
