Focus On Self Employment : CCDS
Caroline Creggan Dance School is located at unit 30, here in Cookstown Enterprise Centre Caroline Creggan Dance School is located at unit 30, here in Cookstown Enterprise Centre, a convenient and easily accessible venue for daytime, evening and weekends and accessible parking. The dance school has just entered its fifth year in business offering ballet, tap, modern, lyrical and acro classes to local children. Since the school’s inception, the students have amassed an impressive number of competition awards and a 100% pass rate at examinations.
Caroline herself comes from a strong performance background and is fully qualified by IDTA, BTDA, LAMDA and PTA to teach dance. She is consistently training to be able to offer new dance syllabi to the students and also offers Speech and Drama.
Classes start for children as young as 18 months, where they can wiggle and giggle their way through Melody Bear ballet. This provides excellent exercise and social opportunities for youngsters and as they get older, they can progress into the exam classes or even become competitive dancers at Arts festivals. The dance troupes are often called on to perform at events in the local council area and the dance school is growing from strength-to-strength.
Andrea at Cookstown Enterprise Centre said “The CCDS is an excellent example of how taking the leap into self-employment can be a huge success. There was a substantial market for dance classes in the Cookstown area and Caroline’s experience, as well as her natural warmth with children meant that her business could be established and grow very quickly.”
If you’re thinking of setting up a business in the creative industry, give Andrea a call on 028 8676 3660 or andrea@cookstownenterprise.com for free advice on becoming self employed.
If you would like to get in touch with the “Caroline Creggan Dance School” you can follow on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CarolineCregganDanceSchool/
This programme has been developed to assist community and voluntary groups look at the potential which exists to develop new social enterprises or to grow their existing social enterprises. It will provide support in 2 areas, mentoring for groups that have an idea to set up a new social enterprise under “Emerging Social Enterprises” and mentoring and support for existing groups and social enterprises under “Existing Social Enterprises”.
This programme is now open for applications but is due to close next Wednesday on 27th July 2016. I am attaching the application forms for both streams of the programme to this email but if you would like to contact me to discuss your idea or application in more detail, please contact me and I will try my best to help. Please note that this programme could provide support to develop a business plan / application for funders such as Mid Ulster Rural Development Partnership, Space and Place and the Big Lottery.
Email:michelle@theworkspacegroup.org | Web: www.theworkspacegroup.org
Please note that Cookstown Enterprise Centre will be closed from Monday July 11th until Monday July 18th. We will reply to all correspondence on our return.
New Mid Ulster Business Development Programme Launched
A new programme, funded by Mid Ulster District Council and delivered by Cookstown Enterprise Centre, is offering up to 20 local businesses the opportunity to accelerate their growth and competitiveness.
The Business Development Programme, part of the Council’s overall economic development strategy, is now open for applications from micro and small Mid Ulster-based businesses which would like to benefit from a diagnostic audit, followed by up to 3.5 days’ one-to-one consultancy support worth over £1,000. This support can comprise one or a mix of core business areas, including the development of business plans to Invest NI standard to effective pricing, implementation of quality standards, sales and marketing, human resource and financial management.
Speaking about the programme, Chair of the Council’s Development Committee, Councillor Frances Burton, said:
“The micro and small business sector is a vital part of our local economy and it is crucial that even the smallest businesses have the opportunity to access professional business support and capitalise on business development opportunities to enhance their future competitiveness.
“This is exactly what this programme aims to do, by ensuring knowledge and resources are within the grasp of small businesses and I would encourage those which are eligible to take advantage of the opportunity currently on offer”.
To be eligible to apply, businesses must be located in the Mid Ulster District Council area and not eligible to receive similar assistance from elsewhere. Applicants should note this is a competitive application process and demand is expected to be high.
For further information and to request an application form for the Mid Ulster Business Development Programme, please contact Cookstown Enterprise Centre on 028 8676 3660 or email: andrea@cookstownenterprise.com.
Completed application forms must be returned by 4pm Friday 10 June 2016.
Speaker: Ian Farley
Ian Farley has his own tax consultancy business, IF Tax Consultancy Limited. He specialises in preparing R&D tax credit claims for companies and also advising in relation to the patent box.
He is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser with over 15 years of experience working within the corporation tax departments of PwC and BDO in Belfast. During these employments he was the office expert for both R&D tax credits, preparing hundreds of successful claims, and also more recently the patent box. He also has a scientific background with a first class honours degree in Chemistry.
In this session, Ian will cover.
- Highlight the benefits available
- HMRC’s Current Thinking
- Provide practical examples
- How a company can claim
- Patent Box – provide a quick overview
Date: Tuesday 24th May 2016
8:15am (Registration and light breakfast)
9am – 10am Event
Admission £20
Location Cookstown Enterprise Centre
To register contact andrea@cookstownenterprise.com or call 028 676 3660
Cookstown Enterprise Centre would like to warmly invite you along to an ‘Effective Financial Management Seminar’ on Wednesday 6th April 2016 from 9am – 10am:
To register for this event, please contact Andrea McGuckin or Samantha Thom on 8676 3660 or email andrea@cookstownenterprise.com or samantha@cookstownenterprise.com
Cookstown Enterprise Centre will be closed on:
Mon 28thMarch 2016 & Tue 29th March 2016
Wishing you all a very Happy Easter!
Cookstown Enterprise Centre would like to warmly invite you along to an ‘Effective Financial Management Seminar’ on Wednesday 6th April 2016 from 9am – 10am:
To register for this event, please contact Andrea McGuckin or Samantha Thom on 8676 3660 or email andrea@cookstownenterprise.com or samantha@cookstownenterprise.com
Find below information relating to previously run programmes:
Recent Successes
Cookstown Enterprise Centre recently completed the successful delivery of two key business development programmes aimed at providing a comprehensive range of support to over 110 businesses throughout 2013 – 2014. Both programmes, which were funded by the former Cookstown District Council and Invest NI and part financed by the European Regional Development Fund, under the European Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for Northern Ireland (2007 – 2015), were devised to accelerate the growth potential of businesses from across the Cookstown area.
Funded by Mid Ulster District Council and Invest NI, this project is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for Northern Ireland
Elevate Programme
The Elevate Programme was designed to support 84 micro/SMEs located within the Cookstown District Council area to stimulate growth and productivity.
Fastrack to Finance Programme
The Fastrack to Finance Programme was designed to support 30 micro/SMEs located in the Cookstown District Council area to assess the viability of a new business idea and identify and access the finance required to take this forward.
Tradelinks Business Development Programme
Tradelinks 2 is specifically designed to assist the micro-enterprise sector across Northern Ireland and the Border counties of Louth, Monaghan, Cavan, Leitrim, Sligo and Donegal.
Mid Ulster Business Development Programme
The ‘Mid Ulster Business Development Programme’ was designed by Mid Ulster District Council to increase the sustainability and competitiveness of micro/SME’s in the Mid Ulster Council.