Think BIG Final Evaluation Sarah Mackey

1. Think BIG Final Evaluation Sarah Mackey

2. Background to Think BIG Business, Innovation and Growth • A Coleraine Borough Council initiative part funded by European Unions Building Sustainable Prosperity Programme and delivered by BITC since 2004 • Designed to improve SME’s performance and growth capacity • Bringing together owner/managers with in-house experts from larger organisations to address specific challenges

3. Programme Targets • Recruit at least 42 SMEs in the Coleraine Area • Carryout in depth analyses of each business • Provide a minimum of three days equivalent mentoring support to each of the participating businesses • An aggregate sales increase of at least 7.5% (10% for first 30 and 5% for remaining 12)

4. Methodology • Profile/Registration of Interest • Free comprehensive business audit • Mentor sourced • First Meeting • Mentoring in progress • Monitoring of mentor match • Evaluation

5. Programme Participants • Farrago Equestrian • First 4 Printing • Fuel Conditioners • Garvagh Café • Goldmine Design • Hot Properties • Industrial Cleaning Services • John Wilson Advertising • Kabanos • Kennedy Forklifts • Absolute Holistic Therapies • Aquaholics • Aura Portrush • B&E Systems • Beauty for You • CK Associates • Coleraine Auto Radiator Specials • Country Courtyard Beauty Clinic • Courtyard Computing • CPW Gas Services • Enchanted Days

6. Programme Participants Cont… • Thai Catering • The Living Classroom • The Salon • Thompson Engineering • Townhouse Gallery • Vivid Signs and Graphics • Watersoles • Wendy Hunter • Wilson Agri • Zing Design & Print • Kids Kit Hire Company • MD Environmental • N2K Visual Design • Natural Solutions • Neu Design Activists • Outdoor Barn • Physiotherapy for you • Pieces of 8 • Promote • Restaurant 22 • Slim Within

7. Programme Mentors • Diane Porter, Crumbs Catering • FG Wilson. Paul O Neill • First 4 Printing, Craig Cameron • First4Fruit, John Lundy • Henderson Group, Michael Lorimer • Horseshop Online, Valerie Hegan • Hot Properties, Allison Torrens • Invista, David Mc Ilmoyle • Laird Design, Niall Laird • Magiligan Field Centre, Liz Wallace • Armstrong Medical, Linda Norris • BB Engineering, Mark Bell • Business Coaching NI, Mike Fountain • Café 22, Paula O'Kane • Cheeky Chimps, Kerry Donald • Clearwater Consulting, Peter Sidebottom • Coleraine Chronicle, Richard Stratton • Dairy Produce Packers, Dr Sam Paul • Dawn McLaughlin, Dawn Mc Laughlin Chartered Accountants

8. Mentors cont… • Smoke Solutions, Todd Sweeney • TBF Thompson Raymond Crilly • Techomes, Gerard Moyne • Tesco, Cliff Kells • The Diamond Centre, Gwenyth McQuinston • The Disability Centre, Martina Tierney • William R Crymble, William Crymble • Zing Design and Print, Karen Yates • Marsh Ltd, Tom McQuillan • Mivan - Stephen Murray & Lee Campbell • Netramedia, Warren Johnston • NHBC, Ken Martin • Property Services Plus, Marlene McFeely • Riada Recruitment, Frances Lundy • Rooms Dynamic, Will Collins • Seagate Limavady, Cora McKenna • Singularity, Dermot McCauley

9. Areas of Assistance • Exporting into ROI • Management • Finance • Financial • Dealing with ‘difficult’ staff • HR Issues • Increasing efficiency • Insurance Issues • Internal Structure Review • Advice on entering a partnership • Advice on marketing from someone in the hospitality industry • Approaching new markets • Business Development • Business Development and Marketing • Business Growth • Customer Management Systems • E-Commerce

10. Areas of Assistance Cont… • Marketing • Marketing and Business Development • Marketing Plan • New Business Development • Professional Accounts • Recruitment of a Manager • Risk Assessment and H&S Policies • Sales and Marketing • Wholesale & Distribution

11. Case Study 1 – Wilson Agri & Invista • Area of Assistance • Wilson Agri, manufacturer of Cow Cubicles and Mattresses, needed • advice on improving the internal structure of the business. Matched with David • McIlmoyle, the Operations Manager in Invista • Impacts • Motivation of Staff – Introduced a Time Card machine – meal break times have reduced, direct benefit to business • Introduction to H&S Risk Assessments and provision of employment contracts – change in attitude • Issue of Production Efficiency – more structured approach • Cost saving to the business and improved customer service by 20% • Experienced a sales increase of 7.5% • Employed 1 new member of staff

12. Case Study 2 - JWA Promotional Products & Seagate Technologies • Areas of Assistance • John Wilson of JWA was matched with Cora McKenna, the Human Resources Officer in Seagate Technologies to improve the structure of the organisation • Impacts • Creating job titles within the organisation • Creating an induction process and improving H&S • Development of appraisal system and • Improved interview techniques and writing job descriptions. • John is now equipped to recruit at least one new member of staff into a sales role and has anticipated a 10 % increase in sales. • Cora supplied templates and systems

13. Case Study 3 - CK Associates & Henderson Food Group • Area of Assistance • Christine Kane of CK Associates received assistance from Michael Lorimer, Henderson Food Group on the development of her business • Impacts • Meetings with Michael helped confirm that Christine was on the right track in terms of ideas • Name of the business has been changed to Food QM • In the process of producing promotional material as well as a website • Michael suggested a couple of publications that Christine could contact in order to try to get an article written about herself. • Michael helped Christine focus on growing the business rather than employing anyone else at the moment. • Christine has reported a sales increase of 30%.

14. Evaluation Process A survey of structured questions was carried out with the SME and signed. This section of the form helped us establish the outputs and milestones that the programme achieved.

15. Evaluation Findings

16. Outcomes of Think BIG 3 • 44 SME Audits - 105% of target achieved • 39 Mentors • Over 336 mentoring hours - £16,800 worth of in kind support • 23.5 jobs created – in addition to expected programme outputs • 18.5% sales increase – 247% of target achieved. One SME who originally reported an 85% sales increase shortly after the programme ended has a sales increase of 350% as a result of the mentoring received. • 15% reported cost savings • Profit margins have been improved by 21%

17. Added Value • Andrew Wilson, Wilson Agri is now looking into the possibility of sourcing the waste from the Lyrca plant for stuffing the cow mattresses and there may be an opportunity there to produce playground matting. • Todd Sweeny, Smoke Solutions has offered Stephen Kelly, N2K Visual Design an opportunity to become an agent in Coleraine for a range of Smoke Detectors. • Martina Tierney, the Disability Centre is in the process of hiring a PR Consultant and has offered to pass on any practical advice she receives to Pauline and Jenny from Physiotherapy to You

18. Added Value Cont… • John Vance, CPW Gas Services was put in contact with Tommy Neill in the Coleraine Borough Council to discuss the possibility of being a service provider. Tommy and John are making arrangements to meet. • Henderson Food Group are in talks with CK Associates regarding carrying out audits with their customers and offering Food Hygiene Training. • Dawn Mc Laughlin registered Hot Properties with Inland Revenue and also set up a Financial Management system for the business.

19. Overall Summary of Think BIG in the last three years • 3 years • 3 Councils • 152 SMEs • 148 Mentors • 670 mentoring hours - £33,500 worth of in kind support • 59 jobs created • 18% average sales increase • Access to experienced business mentors

20. Thank you