Entrepreneurship is alive and well in Ireland, and Entrepreneurs can avail of a number of supports from State Agencies together with a current upsurge in the number of academies, workshops, advice seminars, investment competitions, business incubators and propeller programs.
There are a number of agencies and businesses in Ireland and the UK that consider investment in a properly constituted business to be a worthwhile investment and to get in on the ground with something that has the potential for high sales growth.
Entrepreneurs should start by costing their business idea, product or service the preparation of a business model. Every new business looking for investment needs a Business Plan. That Business Plan should factor in the costs of running the business. It is often in this part that Entrepreneurs need guidance and support from people with suitable expertise such as the Commercial Law Department in Moran & Ryan.
For example a business will need to operate from a business premises. You will need to consider the type of interest that you are to have in this business premises. Typically, a short-term lease or a licence is chosen to minimise exposure. Your business model and your business plan will summarise production costs, assembly, distribution and the various other logistics of the delivery of your product or service to the marke. Your business plan should factor in the rental of suitable business premises, the term (length) of the Lease or Licence that you wish to enter into and the floor space that would be needed for the delivery of your product or service ultimately to market.
You would be well advised to meet with your Lawyer and your Accountant to discuss both the financial and legal ramifications of these particular aspects and avail of the mentoring support of your local County Enterprise Board.
In addition with new products, you must give real thought to your intellectual property. Failing to protect your idea or product will result in considerable loss to the business by way of expensive litigation unless you have properly protected your IP. At the outset, you should consider collecting the necessary domain names. Secondly, you should seek advice on the registration of a trade mark for either the business or the product itself.
If you feel that you have a unique or inventive process embedded in the particular product then you should consider patent protection of that process. We are not patent attorneys at the Firm but we are closely aligned with some of Ireland’s best and most respected patent attorneys who are in a position to provide advice on a registration strategy and rights.
When your business is ready for launch then you will be considering investment. This can often be a complex process and can only ever be sought with a properly constructed business plan. We can refer you to one of our associated specialist firms, especially if the investment is being sought by one of the State Agencies whose requirements are quite rigorous and technical. There are also a number of tax relief schemes, seed capital schemes and grant schemes available for new business in Ireland but again the business must comply with the various technical requirements of the Agencies in question to be in a position to avail of particular schemes.
A consultation with your Solicitor will also help you identify the hidden costs of business. At Moran & Ryan, we have experience in the purchase and sale of business, employment law and debt collection. In other words, we have decades of experience in getting an idea off the ground to the point where you must take action against non-paying creditors. We advise in relation to the regulation of companies, licensing, and intellectual property and our significant experience can direct and focus entrepreneurs to the most cost-effective and successful business model from the outset. This avoids the all too often hard-learned lessons with the familiar adage of how things would have been different with the benefit of hindsight.
We are happy to meet with Entrepreneurs for a no-obligation consultation to help them identify the broad heads of business risk that they must familiarise themselves with and to advise them appropriately in relation to strategies for intellectual property, acquisition and/or lease of business premises, employment obligations and issues, regulation issues, online presence and environmental law issues. In other words, we can arm you with the necessary information to ensure that when your business is ready to launch it launches properly and successfully and without hindrance.
