Thursday 23 May 2013
A long, long time ago, I wrote a book called Community Enterprise, Business Planning for the Social Economy. (It comes to mind now because I was at the Ulster Bank Business Achievers final last week in Belfast and talked to some great social enterprises.)
The Mac – or the Metropolitan Arts Centre, to give it the full title – has just celebrated its first birthday. So, too, has the Canteen at the Mac. But while the Mac is a charity, the Canteen is an independent commercial business, run by JRS Catering.
THE Claro Skin Clinic in Dundonald offers a service that is unique in Northern Ireland, at which people worried about moles can have an expert examination and assessment without the need for a GP referral.
It was in November 2010 that Niall Greenan had his inspired brainwave of a better designed coal bunker. And it is this month that the Smart Bunker has started literally rolling off the production line in Northern Ireland.
Our Business Achievers Live Events are over. We have been all around the island with hugely entertaining panellists from all walks of business making valuable contributions.
The Ogilvie Group is a 60-year-old privately owned Scottish business with big ambitions for the new Belfast operation of its Ogilvie Fleet subsidiary.
Jones Cassidy Jones is a very successful niche employment law firm based in Belfast's Ormeau Road.
Our Business Achievers Live Events are over. We have been all around the island after kicking off in Belfast, with hugely entertaining panelists from all walks of business making valuable contributions.
Fiona Kennedy retains her Scottish accent, despite having spent years in New York and now living in Co Down. She has had a long journey to Holywood's High Street.
The East Belfast Mission has hit the headlines and television screens in recent days, playing a leading role in trying to bring an end to the flag protests and riots that have plagued Belfast for weeks.
Marketing as a profession is under a bit of pressure. Books like Brandwashed and The Old Rules of Marketing Are Dead paint a bleak picture - "Marketeers are nasty and don't know what they are doing".
Blick Studios is one of Belfast's most exciting young businesses - it describes itself as a 'creative hub', which acts as a workspace, meeting place and business services provider for the creative sector.
Over 10 years ago e-commerce innovators Export Technologies made its debut on the IT business market. Now, with £700m of transactions behind it, the Belfast company looks to future.
Novosco is the "plumber of IT infrastructure", explains managing director and co-founder, Patrick McAliskey.
"The storms of creative destruction are blowing us to a better place." This is a quote directly from Megachange, The World in 2050.
University courses are not always the best option and at 19 you're old enough to start your own business - that is the confident message being spread by Londonderry entrepreneur Caroline Gilliland.
The Great Outdoor Gym Company Ireland is one of our newest businesses, but is set to make a recognisable mark on the Northern Ireland landscape.
Start-ups always cheer me up. Particularly start-ups by young people.
Personal experiences of difficulties in finding the right service can often be the inspiration behind a successful new-start business. So it was for then Edinburgh University student Paul Stewart, who is now the director of fast growing emerging firm Uni Baggage.
Branding is important but new quality niche products can be successful if effectively marketed. That is the strong message from The Brewer's House, a gastropub and restaurant in the Co Tyrone village of Donaghmore, near Dungannon.
Public sector borrowing dipped to £6.3bn in April to give the Government breathing space in attempts to slash the deficit.
The UK's manufacturers are still struggling to recover from the economic downturn but remain hopeful about prospects improving soon, figures have shown.
The German IT firm SAP wants to employ people with autism to give itself a competitive advantage over its rivals.
THE International Monetary Fund warned Chancellor George Osborne the UK is "still a long way from a strong and sustainable recovery", sending the pound tumbling against the dollar.
Warning: HSBC chief economist Simon Wells
THE UK's state-backed banks will not have to tap investors for extra cash as they attempt to shore up their balance sheets in case of future financial shocks.
Hi °C | Lo °C