Cultivating your Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Here are a couple of questions to think about:



💶Are you availing of the financial supports available to you? At the Local Enterprise Offices they offer the Trading Online Voucher, priming grant, business expansion grant and several others.

✅Have you applied for non-financial grants e.g. a consultant who can work with your business to help it become more lean, minimise it's carbon footprint, put automation in place or have some sessions with a mentor?

🙋‍♀️How are you getting exposure to new customers? The TAME grant can help you with the costs of exhibiting at a trade show, #EnterpriseEuropeNetwork can help you find companies in other parts of the world to distribute your product and a trade mission can help you explore an export market.

💠How are you building connections? Growing your network helps with ideas, facilitating introductions, resolving problems and is enjoyable! What events are you going to? Do you follow up (with substance) on LinkedIn afterwards? Do you share updates and insights on social media along the way? For example, the InterTradeIreland Venture Capital Conference is free to attend on Wednesday 5th March at the Titanic in Belfast (and the link to register is https://lnkd.in/e6u9qpMS). Check out Network Ireland, your local Chambers Ireland and IIBN - Irish International Business Network for more ideas.

👩‍🎓 How are you connecting with universities? For example, we have an Innovation Partnership with ADAPT Centre. If you're interested in meeting researchers, check out Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI), Ulster University Business School and TU Dublin Enterprise Engagement.

🤔How can you expand your ecosystem with your other interests? For example, I was in Dubai two weeks ago and attended the CFA Society Emirates Annual Forecasting Dinner, an Irish Business Network Dubai event and delivered an online SavvyTeenAcademyevent from Haibu Space at Abu Dhabi Mall. I'm also an AwakenHub Big Sister.

🌍 Are you aware of how the government is helping you build your ecosystem? The Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland has Embassies and Consulates all over the world (with incredibly helpful people like Peter Ryan ☘ leading them) and Enterprise Ireland has offices dotted all over the globe.

🎙️How do you let others help you build your knowledge through podcasts and newsletters? I turn to Helen Thompson for geopolitics and Sahil Bloom for productivity and mindset.

🚀How do you turn to your ecosystem to solve your problems? If you want to raise money, sell your business or figure out how to implement AI in your processes.

⛓️Do you leverage how your supply chain is evolving? Airtable, ClickUp and Slack all form part of our tech stack and our business improves as they do all the time.