Mallusk Enterprise Park (MEP) supported Sean Grant and John Paul Taggart through the Northern Ireland Business Start Up Programme and Start Up Loans. This is what they have to say about self-employment and the support which they are receiving through MEP.
Did you and your business partner always want to be self employed?
Seán and myself (JP) always had ambitions to be self-employed, yes.
How long did you both have the idea before meeting with a Business Adviser to discuss?
We originally thought of starting our business around 3 years before we eventually spoke with a Business Adviser.
What does your business do?
Our business, Core Impact, is a business consultancy organisation which aims to develop people and organisations. We take an organisational culture focused approach. Our new Impact Success consultancy package is an organisational support and guidance system that allows us to facilitate organisation’s to develop a winning culture by focusing on 5 key nutritional areas: Strategy, Leadership, Communication, Motivation and Attitude (Mindset). We believe that if you lead these areas effectively, through accountability and consistency, you will develop a culture that will retain your best people, increase morale, improve efficiency and save money on your bottom line.
As well as that we are World Host licensed trainers and can run Customer Service Excellence workshops, provide management and leadership training and more recently we have announced our one day Cultural Ambassador Workshop that essentially gives you the tools to guide the organisation towards its vision.
How long have you been trading?
We have been trading since January 2019.
Are you happy that you went into self-employment?
We are delighted that we took the leap and are excited to build a future that we have built the pipeline for.
If you were to give one piece of advice to someone starting up what would it be?
Align yourself with like minded people. Your friends and family care about you, but as a result they will question your every move, for fear of you failing.
If you network effectively and surround yourself with people who’re going through, or have went through a similar process to your own, you will have a better chance to stay in the entrepreneurial mindset. One of the best ways to find people on a similar journey is to sign up to courses like “let’s start a business” with Mallusk Enterprise Park. We’ve met some fantastic people through this.
Above all else, accountability is the best driving force for anyone starting a business, it forces you to take ACTION. Set a date to do something and STICK TO IT. The best way to stick to it is to talk about your plans openly and loudly, people will listen and you’ll feel obliged to follow through on the plans.
Was the Go For It Programme beneficial to you? If so, how?
We found the Go For It Programme to be very beneficial and some of the guidance we received has had a massive impact on our entrepreneurial journey! Thank you Mallusk Enterprise Park!
What was the best part of the program?
The business mentoring! It’s a fantastic way to voice fears and ask for feedback on your progress!
Did you avail of the loan fund?
Yes, we did apply for a loan, and we were successful.
How has the loan fund helped you?
The loan fund has allowed us to get our business out there and trading. We were able to buy two business laptop’s which have been instrumental in trading. It also allowed us to purchase materials to do the job effectively and also market the business through social media and paying a videographer to create some footage of us to share on social media.
To visit Core Impact click here
If you have a business idea which you would like to explore please contact the team in MEP by clicking here
Pictured above are business partners Sean Grant and John Paul Taggart along with Colleen McAreavey (Business Development Manager in Mallusk Enterprise Park)