Small Limavady Companies Think BIG

Small firms in the Limavady area are celebrating the end of a successful programme that helped build their businesses. Think Big is a Limavady Borough Council initiative, in partnership with Business in the Community, supporting ten companies to develop in the local marketplace.

As a sole trader, the programme has had a major impact on my business and I owe a lot to my mentor.

Providing assistance through mentoring and best practice, the scheme has proved a big success, with participating firms reporting sales increases of 21% on average with five new jobs created locally.

Leanne Doherty, Programme Executive at Business in the Community, said “Since Think BIG was launched in January, we’ve had an incredible response.

“The programme matches in-house experts from large businesses with the owner or manager of a small to medium sized enterprise (SME), operating for less than three years, to help them address specific development issues.

Success Story

One successful participant, George Brian, of Roe Reflexology spoke at the celebration event on Friday 6 June 2008.

He believes; “Working through the Think BIG initiative has been a very rewarding process. 

“As a sole trader, the programme has had a major impact on my business and I owe a lot to my mentor.

“Business in the Community matched me with mentor Fergal Rafferty, Centre Manager of Richmond Centre to help me market my business more effectively.

Fergal helped to expose new opportunities for me to expand, offering very helpful suggestions and practical advice on marketing Roe Reflexology and as a result of his advice my business has experience a 30% increase in sales.”