Watson & Co. Chartered Marketing Chartered Marketer Christine Watson ready to support businesses in Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough council with specialist marketing mentoring support

Watson & Co. Chartered Marketing Chartered Marketer Christine Watson ready to offer bespoke marketing mentoring support to businesses across Antrim and Newtownabbey borough as part of the optimal programme.Watson & Co.Chartered Marketing Chartered Marketer Christine Watson is getting ready to support local businesses across the Antrim and Newtownabbey borough with specialist marketing mentoring support.

The business support programme: Optimal is managed by Mallusk Enterprise Agency in association with Deirdre Fitzpatrick Associates and is funded by Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, Invest Northern Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund under the Investment for Growth & Jobs Northern Ireland (2014-2020) Programme.

The Optimal programme offers businesses access to either 1.5 days, 3 days or 5 days of free mentoring.  Support will be dependent on the growth potential of the business and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council will determine the number of days that will be awarded.

Mentoring is allocated on a per business basis.

To find out more about the programme or to apply if you are a business operating in the Antrim and Newtownabbey area visit the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Optimal website page

Watson & Co. Chartered Marketing Chartered Marketer: Christine is available to offer services in the areas of:

  • Market Research
  • Market Planning
  • Effective PR/Buzz Marketing and
  • Social Media
Optimal has a panel of 35 mentors and will offer bespoke business support totalling 609 days over 2 years. The programme opened for recruitment in May 2018.

Councils and other organisations right across Northern Ireland (and beyond) offer a range of tailor-made mentoring support free to local businesses. Support is generally in business development areas such as marketing, digital marketing, finance and more. To discover the mentoring opportunities available to organisations in Northern Ireland you can visit our blog where we, in support of our next generation of entrepreneurs and local indigenous businesses, are trying to keep a useful listing.

 

About the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Optimal Business Support Programme:

This project is part funded by Invest Northern Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund under the Investment for Growth & Jobs Northern Ireland (2014-2020) Programme.

The OPTIMAL (Outstanding Performance Through Individual Mentoring And Leadership) Programme is Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s principal business support and growth programme.  It provides tailored and specialist business support to micro and small enterprises to support the development of a more prosperous economy within the council area.

The OPTIMAL programme aims to:

  • Support the creation of new sustainable jobs in the council area
  • Refer businesses to Invest NI that are capable of accessing financial support from Invest NI.
  • Strengthen the local business base by assisting businesses to become more competitive in indigenous and export markets
  • Promote business growth and innovation
  • Provide accessible, need driven business support that is tailored to business requirements
  • Engage with key business support stakeholders to develop a portfolio approach to business support in the council area, ensuring that there is no duplication of effort.

Mentors are available right now to help your business.  They are selected based on the business needs to enable them to share appropriate advice, skills and knowledge from a range of specialisms including:

Specialism Examples of Support
Business Planning Health checks, strategic planning, plan development, funding.
Marketing & Sales Effective/digital marketing, tendering/sales, visual merchandising .
Market Research Researching current and new markets.
Finance Planning and management, cash flow, pricing.
Legal Legalities of running a business.
IT Website design/development, digital & social media, systems.
Process & Systems Human resource management, customer service.
Import/Export New markets and suppliers.
Innovation R&D, product development, innovation and linkages.

Businesses can avail of either 1.5 days, 3 days or 5 days of free mentoring support

Who Can Apply?

Small to medium sized businesses with a registered business address in the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area.

How To Apply

Complete the online form available on the Optimal website

For Further Details Contact:

Craig Mullan
Strategic Business Investment & Engagement Officer
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
Mossley Mill
Newtownabbey
BT36 5QA
Email: optimal@antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk
Tel: 028 9034 0052

 

Terms and Conditions

This project is part funded by Invest Northern Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund under the Investment for Growth & Jobs Northern Ireland (2014-2020) Programme and is available to new start-up or existing businesses with a registered business address in the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area.

Businesses can access either 1.5 days, 3 days or 5 days free mentoring.  Support will be dependent on the growth potential of the business and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council will determine the number of days that will be awarded.

Mentoring is allocated on a per business basis.

All mentoring must be completed before the programme end date.

Only mentors approved by Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council will be used in the mentoring process.

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council will not accept liability for advice given by independent advisers.

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