18 Business Friday, January 29, 2010 D Thats my business Sarah Bohan Originally from Cork, Sarah Bohan set up Engage Ireland in Blanchardstown in 2003 to provide marketing, communications and enterprise support to public and private organisations. Clients include the County and City Enterprise Boards, Mondial Assistance, Simtech Aviation and Fresh Supermarkets Interview by Joanne Ahern When I had to think about hiring someone, then I knew I had a business on my hands Why did you start your own business? I studied entrepreneurship and new ventures at college, so I knew I wanted to be my own boss some day. After the closing ceremony for the 2003 World Summer Games, I knew the time was right. What kind of a reaction did you get from friends and family? They supported me at the start and Im glad to say that they still support me now. My brothers, Michael and David, are now company directors, so theyre more involved than ever before. However... I still have my suspicions that my family secretly wished that I had taken a more secure, pensionable job back in 2003. What did you do before you set up your company and how did it prepare you for this line of work? I worked in retail marketing with Musgraves SuperValu Centra and as an account manager with the 2003 equipment, which helped to get me started. Was it easier or more difficult than you thought it was going to be? It sounded straight-forward in theory, but setting up a business was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. The paperwork is OK, but getting people to take a risk and switch to your service might be trickier than you anticipate. If you were doing it again, what would you do differently? If I had to start over again, I would have done a Start Your Own Business Programme with the Enterprise Boards I know a few people who have done that programme in Fingal and they are much better prepared than I was. Whats the best piece of advice youve gotten along the way? Look after your existing clients first, World Summer Games. I count myself very lucky to have worked with highly experienced marketing professionals in both roles Jenny Thornton and Anne Dunphy at Musgraves and Suzanne Weldon and Mary Davis at the 2003 World Summer Games. Both jobs involved long hours and multiple deadlines, so that helped to prepare me for the road ahead. How long did it take you to get it off the ground? In reality, the business was relatively slow getting off the ground and it took me two or three years to get it established. When I had to think about hiring someone for the first time, then I knew I had a business on my hands! How did you finance your company launch? We got a bonus when the 2003 World Games came to a close so I used that money to buy a laptop, a printer and some office before you start chasing new business. What advice would you give to people setting up their own company for the first time? Find out where your local County or City Enterprise Board is and find out what supports they can offer you (enterpriseboards.ie). Theyve restructured their grant system recently, so its worth finding out more about those too. Anything else? Ive only recently joined my local Chamber the D15 Chamber so I wish I had joined a chamber at an earlier stage. Were also members of the Fingal Women in Business Network and the Fingal Business Network, which help us to network with other local companies increasingly important in 2010. www.engageireland.com Toyota safety alert extends worldwide By Nobuhiro KuboTOYOTA extended its safety recall of millions of its most popular cars to Europe and China yesterday in a fur- ther blow to the reputation of the worlds largest carmaker. The recall because of faulty acceler- ator pedals is likely to cost hundreds of millions in extra costs per month. Toyota said it had not yet determined which models or how many vehicles in Europe would be recalled, or when, but analysts believe two million may be affected as well as six million al- ready recalled in Canada and the US. The Japanese carmaker said yester- day it will also recall more than 75,000 RAV4 vehicles in China. All the cars being recalled have pedals made by supplier CTS Corp. Cars sold in Japan do not use the parts in question. The move comes as Toyota grapples with recovery from a global industry downturn and growing competition. Toyota shares fell a further four per cent in Tokyo yesterday, taking losses since last week to more than 15 per cent and wiping about 17.78billion from its value. Meanwhile, shares in Asian rivals Honda Motor and Nissan Motor rose 3.3 per cent and 2.8 per cent respec- tively, while South Koreas Hyundai Motor rose 4.1 per cent. Auto analyst Koji Endo at Advanced Research Japan, said the sales and pro- duction suspension could cost Toyota at least 50billion yen (397million) in operating profit per month. It had been expected to post an oper- ating loss of about 47billion yen in the year to March 2010, before rebound- ing to a 599billion yen profit in 2011. Ratings agency Fitch, placing Toyota on watch negative, said the recalls and damaged its reputation for quality and could hamper its recovery. Business Bites AIRCRAFT maintenance firm Lufthansa Technik Airmotive is to invest 28.5million in its Dublin site after it was chosen to maintain, repair and overhaul its new IAE V2500 engine. Tnaiste and Minister for Enterprise Mary Coughlan TD made the announcement yesterday saying the investment is a significant win for Ireland. GAMES giant Nintendo said yesterday lower sales and price cuts for its Wii console had dented profits for the nine months to December 31, 2009. The Japanese company sold 17million Wiis during the period almost 3.5million fewer than a year earlier as overall sales fell more than 23 per cent. Lower Nintendo DS console sales, as well as a stronger yen, hit profits, which fell more than nine per cent to 192.6billion yen (1.53billion). IRELAND has retained its position as the worlds third most globalised nation, according to a report from consultants Ernst & Young, released at the World Economic Forum. Singapore came top, with China in 40th position in the index which measures openness to trade, movement of capital, exchange of technology and labour movements and cultural integration. business@metroherald.ie Business & Finance DOWNDOWN v$v$ DOWNDOWN vv DOWNDOWN ISEQISEQ by 2.93 at 2,948.13$1.40 0.86 index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html