Business entrepreneurs are people who own their own business. They frequently work in their own firms themselves, but usually employ others to work in the business for them.

Many small business enterprises begin by relying on family members as the employees. Stories have become
business legends about young computer entrepreneurs, such as Bill Hewlett and David Packard, who started a business in their garage and created a worldwide company, Hewlett-Packard (HP). Steve Jobs and Steve Wosniak share similar modest beginnings and became business revolutionaries and wealthy, as a result of Apple Computer.

Entrepreneurs create value in the economy by providing jobs and investment. Sometimes people start a business out of necessity as a result of being out of work, or being dissatisfied in a current job. For the immigrant community, another impetus may come from over-qualification for the work available, or the non-acceptance of academic or professional credentials.

Why You Should Become an Entrepreneur...

Be your own boss. You choose who you sell to, who you buy from, who you work with. Including how much you work and how much you spend on promotion, production and overheads.

Opportunity for greater financial success. When you work for someone else, you are contributing to their
financial future all of the time and to your own financial future only to the extent that they decide.

Opportunity to build equity. When you own your own business, you also own the means of production, which can develop into substantial value. This equity represents assets that can be sold to someone else or passed on to your heirs.

The opportunity to have control over your life and job. It is not just the ability to say what hours you will work but it also involves every step in the operation of a business. When you are the boss, all decisions from design concept to job creation, sales, business operations and customer relationship management ultimately circle back to the boss and his or her philosophy and motivations.

Successful Entrepreneurs – Are You Like Them?

Entrepreneurs must not be afraid of failure. Thomas Edison is said to have commented about his many scientific experiment failures as not failures at all, but thousands of ways that he learned how not do something.

You must begin with a strong desire to start a business, combined with a good idea, careful planning, hard work and the commitment to stick to it. A supportive family or social network has also been shown to be a contributing success factor.

Entrepreneurship will stimulate economic growth, create job opportunities and change societies. In the developed world, successful small businesses are the primary engines of job creation, income growth, and poverty reduction. Successful entrepreneurs have come from all elements of society. They include people of different ages, different income levels, both genders and all races. Entrepreneurs may be very educated or have little formal education, but most share certain personal attributes, including: creativity, dedication, determination, flexibility, leadership, passion, self-confidence, and street-sense or knowing what works.

Creativity is the spark that drives the development of new products or services, or ways to do business. Entrepreneurs are usually innovators thinking of alternative and better ways to do something. It is the push for innovation and improvement that drives many, along with continuous questioning of the status quo. It is
thinking outside the box that must be combined with self-motivation and hard work. Dedication makes it happen.

Business instincts are important. Instincts combined with acquired knowledge and experience related to the business will result in success. Although not all start-ups are successful, entrepreneurship offers the potential for great rewards at a personal, community and society level.

Calling All Immigrant Entrepreneurs

If you are an immigrant business person who has come to our community only in the last few years you have an advantage over many Irish businesses.

You are part of a large submarket that is made up of people, like yourself, who have been attracted to Ireland for better opportunities.

Being your own boss is an exciting opportunity and contributes to the diverse economy of our area, just as
it can benefit you, the owner. Fingal County Enterprise Board wants to make the process as seamless as possible and to provide you with whatever help and resources are available to make you successful.

Now you can make the most of your competitive advantages by going into business for yourself.

If you are employed in a job that is not equal to your professional qualifications, perhaps now is the time to step out and create a business for yourself in your chosen profession. There are also new markets in your home country that you can serve from Fingal while you enjoy the high quality of life and economic advantages that have been created here. You may be in a position to employ family members and other people from your community because you and they have a cultural understanding in common.

We view our immigrant population as added talent for our community with unique skills and background that
can make our economy stronger from within. Fingal County Enterprise Board encourages you to be part of it and make your own contribution to our forward thinking, high quality and inclusive business community.

How We Can Help...

Your first port of call for all information on starting your own business, or growing your existing business should be Fingal County Enterprise Board. The Enterprise Board provides information, financial assistance, mentoring services and practical training programmes to support the entrepreneur.

At Fingal County Enterprise Board, fostering businesses is our priority, as is the growing and sustaining of an
enterprise culture that makes it all possible.

There is a wealth of support for the would-be entrepreneur from us and all the other enterprise support agencies listed in the directory section of this Fingal Guide to Enterprise, including suggestions on obtaining Enterprise Advice and Information, Enterprise Space, Financial Assistance & Grants, Training and Management Development.

Fingal County Enterprise Board is the local enterprise advisory and support agency designed to be a first-stop shop for those thinking of starting a business. We are also a source of enterprise advice and support for existing small firms.

Fingal County Enterprise Board supports include: -

Enterprise awareness generation
Financial assistance for qualifying businesses
Business advice and mentoring
Training and information services
Management skills development
Business networking opportunities

A full list of the many services provided by Fingal County Enterprise Board for new and expanding small businesses can be found at www.fingalceb.ie