Dublin City Enterprising Woman Award & Network

Female entrepreneurs apply for the Dublin City Enterprising Woman of 2006 Award today. Previous winners include, Pamela Fitzmaurice of Blazing Salads (www.blazingsalads.com) who won the award last year (photographed with DCEB Chairman Pat Lynch) and Charlotte O'Kelly, M.D. of Techworks Marine.

The prestigious title will be awarded to one of the members of the Dublin City Enterprise Network for Women, which is run by the Dublin City Enterprise Board. The winner will receive €500 cash plus an additional €500 worth of training, mentoring and network membership for 2007. The form is easy to complete - you never know, if you're not in you can't win!! To download the application form for the Dublin City Enterprising Woman of 2006 Award click here. Applications must be completed and returned on or before Friday, 15th September, 2006 to: Eibhlin Curley, Assistant Chief Executive Dublin City Enterprise Board 17 Eustace Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 or email: network@dceb.ie Network Meeting At the September meeting of the Dublin City Enterprise Network for Women, Patricia Callan, Director of the Small Firms Association (www.sfa.ie), will be looking at how to manage your business, cut costs and make it more effective. She will also talk about the top tips for overall best practice for small business owners. This meeting will give everyone the opportunity to have their questions answered. If there are particular questions you would like answered then please email network@dceb.ie and these will be given to Patricia prior to the meeting. This is the perfect opportunity to get all your business management questions answered by one of Ireland’s key business advisors. Members will discuss any further tips or best practice methods relating to this topic. This will give an opportunity for further networking and also allow members to share effective methods for personal and business development. Members will also be given the opportunity to introduce themselves and their business at the beginning of the meeting. Run by the Dublin City Enterprise Board (www.dceb.ie), this meeting is open to all women who run their own business in Dublin City and also those who are thinking of setting up in business. The Dublin City Enterprise Board are delighted to invite female business owners in the Dublin City area to join the network and apply for the Dublin City Enterprising Women Award. This award is given on an annual basis. Pamela Fitzmaurice of Blazing Salads (www.blazingsalads.com) won the 2005 award. For further details please contact the Dublin City Enterprise Board on 01-6776068. Visitors are welcome to attend the network. The first meeting is free of charge. Thereafter, the membership charge is €100 for the year (12 months). All queries regarding the network can be made by contacting Jennifer McConnell, Network Manager on (01) 4197000 or emailing network@dceb.ie About the Speaker Patricia Callan is the Director of the Small Firms Association, “The Voice of Small Business” in Ireland, with responsibility for the overall management and coordination of the Association. The SFA is Ireland’s largest small firm representative organisation, with over 8,000 member companies. Its services include the provision of economic, commercial, employee relations and social affairs advice and assistance, training programmes & networking opportunities, and cost-effective group schemes. Patricia has been the Assistant Director of the Association since 2000, and acted as an Executive for two years prior. She was previously the Business Services Officer with IBEC Mid-West in Limerick. Patricia holds a Masters in International Studies from the University of Limerick, a BA (mod.) in Economics from Trinity College Dublin, and a Diploma in Employment Law from the National College of Ireland (NCI). About the Dublin City Enterprise Network for Women The Dublin City Enterprise Network for Women is run by the Dublin City Enterprise Board to promote and support female entrepreneurs. The Network meets monthly on the 2nd Monday of every month (except August) in the Printing House Hall in Trinity College Dublin. The network is a perfect forum to exchange ideas, build up your contact base and create new alliances as well as promote your own business and ideas. Visitors are always welcome. The first meeting is free of charge, thereafter membership is €100 for the year. Members also have the opportunity to promote their business at each meeting by hosting a resource table, this is an exhibition stand to display products and information about services. Each resource table host will also have the opportunity to give a brief presentation about their business. “The Network is a great idea for people in business to discuss with other small business owners common issues and allow us to see what other people are doing. The Network has assisted me personally to be excited about my business again and remind me of the reasons why we went in to business to begin with,” commented one network member, Cora Barnes of 3Q Catering. All queries regarding the network can be made by contacting Jennifer McConnell, Network Coordinator on (01) 4197000 or emailing network@dceb.ie About Dublin City Enterprise Board Dublin City Enterprise Board is the state agency that assists start-up and micro businesses employing up to ten people in Dublin City. Its area is the same as that of Dublin City Council. There are 35 County & City Enterprise Boards in total. Dublin City Enterprise Board helps its qualifying clients with financial assistance such as grants, loans and investment by way of Cumulative Redeemable Preference Shares of up to €75,000. A business mentoring service is provided. The Board runs Start Your Own Business workshops and training programmes as well as providing management and business skills training courses. Networking initiatives includes PLATO Dublin and Dublin City Enterprise Network for Women.

• Back to Index