Mentoring

Graduate Into Business Programme participants can avail of mentoring support from a range of qualified professionals, including bankers, solicitors, business advisers, and patent agents/trademark attorneys.

Mentoring is specific to each programme participant and tailored to meet their requirements.

General Business Management

Marketing, Sales Development and PR
Specific advice on marketing techniques, sales strategy and general business promotion.

Building rapport with the customer, nurturing that relationship and ensuring constant dialogue requires preparation and a sensible approach to business marketing. Talking to the experts about the latest marketing methods and best value options for your business will ensure customers receive the right message while ensuring you don’t break the bank.

Optimal Resource Management

Including human resources, premises, equipment and stock.

Obtaining capital items requires careful consideration and there are many ways to achieve this other than purchasing equipment outright. Analysing all the available options can help you assess what level of money you can allow to be tied up in stock and equipment.  Careful consideration allows you to take calculated risks.

IT and ecommerce

Reviewing IT support systems, website development or ecommerce possibilities.

Explore new markets by making your business available on the World Wide Web, or simply find out how to protect your business IT systems with the latest firewalls and security options.

Personal and Professional Development

Addressing issues such as self-confidence, attitudes to risk, financial uncertainty and the ambiguity of entrepreneurial life.

Participants are assessed to pin point the specialist areas of professional development where help is most needed. An action plan is developed to address these areas and tackle issues head on.

Often the stumbling block for getting started is lack of business knowledge, but with a range of professionals to guide you along, the fear and anxiety of starting a business can be diminished.

Specialist Business Mentoring

Financial Planning and Management

Including sales forecasting, budgeting and managing cashflow.

A big part of starting your own business or indeed growing an existing business is identifying ways of financing your dreams and ambitions. Speaking with a qualified professional to assess the range of offers available will help ease the burden of making the choices alone. 

Issues such as cashflow management and over/under trading all impact on small business owners, so planning for the future can offset some of the risk.

Business and Commercial Law

Specialist mentoring that includes partnership agreements, company formations and employment issues, to name but a few.

Start on the right side of the law and continue that way by receiving specific legal advice about your business.

Protecting Intellectual Capital

Important where the business owner seeks to address patent protection, copyright and trademark issues.

Perhaps you think you’re the next James Dyson waiting to be discovered? Then protecting your inventions is extremely important.

Many businesses have managed to survive the economic recession by investing in research and development, giving them the competitive edge on other competitors in the market please. Participation on the Graduate Into Business Programme allows you access to patent agents/trademark attorneys, ensuring your inventions are protected.

Research Resource and online resource

Research is the key to building a successful strategy to set up or develop your business, but is often the area most neglected due to time constraints.

Through the programme participants can avail of dedicated research undertaken on their behalf to explore a specific element of their business.

Downloadable resources are also available including a legal library together with over 500 business documents profiling a range of business ideas and corresponding issues to be aware of. 

Business Planning

Business Planning – Starting Up

One fundamental aspect of starting a business is the preparation and market research of your business idea before hand.  Business Plans are a useful planning tool to assist you in doing just that.  But not only is it a useful planning tool, high street banks will ask to see your business plan in order to fund investment in your business idea.

Participants on the programme who are starting up a new business will receive guidance on writing a business plan and compiling financial projections. 

Business Planning – Existing Businesses

Existing graduate entrepreneurs who already have a developed plan can submit this to be reviewed by our panel, consisting of 2 expert mentors from different professional fields. The mentors will then provide confidential feedback on market demand, financial viability, likelihood of attracting third party investment and credibility.

Existing business owners who do not have a business plan are also offered the opportunity to work with a mentor to complete a plan focusing on the expansion of their business.