About UsImagine what could be accomplished if we all shared our knowledge, our insights, our experience and our contacts?
The idea for - www.smallbusinesscan.com - comes from Ulster Bank's initiative in Autumn 2007 in tasking the Drive4Growth Company to research small and medium sized business owners and entrepreneurs in relation to the challenges they face in starting, establishing and growing their ventures. Businesses responded and identified the need for a one-stop-resource and for connections to peers, collaborators, enablers and new markets:
"...lack of knowledge about the five main pillars of running a business - finance, administration, hr,marketing and operations. Entrepreneurs usually come from the operations side and know this part, but they don't know the others and the others are big cost drivers in the venture and its viability. Anybody can do what they know well, but that doesn't make it a business..."
"...connect me with other businesses who are facing similar challenges...connect me with a business community I haven't broken into..."
Moreover, they believed that there must be a well-trodden path, successfully navigated by other businesses from which they could learn a lot; avoiding mistakes and anticipating the key growth-driving decisions.
Greg Byrne, Ron Immink and Fionan Murray of the Drive4Growth Company have been tasked by Ulster Bank to independently establish, support and facilitate the embodiment of this new initiative.
Ron Immink
Ron is the author of a range of best selling publications on business planning, start-up and strategy for SMEs.He works as a consultant for the OECD and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development and has extensive international consultancy and training experience working with start-ups, SMEs, governments and enterprise support organisations.
Fionan Murray
Fionan was CEO of an international software business, which he led to global market leadership in operations management software. He completed the Leadership4Growth executive management course for Ireland’s high potential entrepreneurs at the Stanford Business School in California. He is a former Head of Marketing with KBC Bank and worked as a journalist in London where he specialised in finance and technology.
John Boyle
John is currently head of Insight, strategy and planning at Ulster Bank, having joined the Group in 2006. He has 29 years experience in the financial services sector and has previously held management positions in business banking, sales & marketing, business development and customer service areas. He is a regular media contributor on SME issues and has been involved in the development of the smallbusinesscan initiative since its inception.
Greg Byrne
Greg provides strategic marketing planning support to the high-potential entrepreneur community in Ireland as well as supporting the dedicated community resource - www.marketing4entrepreneurs.com. He lectures on ‘entrepreneurial marketing’ and is the author of ‘The Winning Marketing Decisions That Grow A Business - How Successful Entrepreneurs Do It’.
