Empowering Success: How Carlow LEO is helping female led enterprises succeed

The word ‘Powerhouse’ can mean many things to many people, but in Carlow it’s a word synonymous with success. The Powerhouse Women in Business Network is the name of a collaborative programme that aims to support Carlow’s female enterprise community.

Speaking about the programme, Melissa Doyle, business adviser with the Local Enterprise Office, says, “Powerhouse proudly underscores the essential significance of fostering collaboration and support among women-led enterprises in the realm of female entrepreneurship. In a contemporary landscape where diversity and inclusion take centre stage in business discourse, the establishment of networks and alliances among female entrepreneurs emerges as a potent catalyst for success.”

The Powerhouse Women in Business Network, or Powerhouse for short, is a community of women entrepreneurs and professionals who are committed to supporting and empowering each other in their personal and professional lives. The network provides a platform for women to connect, collaborate and share knowledge and resources. Powerhouse offers various opportunities for its members, including regular networking events, workshops, and mentorship programs. These events and programs aim to help women build their skills, grow their businesses, and advance their careers.

The network also provides a supportive community for women to share their experiences, challenges, and successes. By connecting with like-minded women, members can gain valuable insights and support as they navigate their personal and professional lives. This is a valuable resource for women entrepreneurs and professionals looking to grow their businesses and careers while connecting with a supportive community of peers.

“Our commitment to fostering collaboration among female enterprises is rooted in the belief that together, we can create a more inclusive and prosperous business landscape,” commented Sarah Byrne, business adviser with the Local Enterprise Office. “By supporting each other, we not only overcome challenges but also pave the way for future generations of women entrepreneurs."

As the global business landscape undergoes a transformative shift, an increasing number of women are assuming leadership roles in their ventures. Nevertheless, the path to success can be challenging, marked by unique obstacles that women often encounter in the business world. Powerhouse aims to support women as they navigate the business landscape.

Lucy Mullins from MMPS Carpentry Ltd is part of the Powerhouse Network in Carlow, and says it’s been a great addition to the supports offered by the Local Enterprise Office while the company has grown and prospered. “We try to attend as many Powerhouse events as possible throughout the year because they have some fantastic speakers and it’s really nice to meet everyone. It’s not always possible, but we always get a great benefit from attending.”

The supports offered by Powerhouse, and indeed the Carlow Local Enterprise Office in general, has helped the company grow through digitalisation, culminating in MMPS Carpentry winning the Digital Award at the County Final of the 2024 Enterprise Awards.

“We do all sorts of carpentry, mainly focusing on shop-fitting and manufacturing,” explained Mullins. “We work very closely with our clients, offering a bespoke service, so clear communication and organisation is key to good customer service.

“Traditionally, we are a very manual and paper-based company, so we went to the Local Enterprise Office to ask about the Digital for Business programme. They were able to put us in touch with someone who was an expert in digitalisation; from that we were able to develop an online app on which we could record our jobs that were coming through. The guys could fill out information on site, which is relayed back to us so we can see what’s been done, and what still needs to be done. We can also record details and pictures of past jobs, so when we get an enquiry from a customer, we can refer back to the platform and share the details with them.”

The team has made significant savings in time and energy as a result by making every job more efficient and streamlined. “For example, we work with a very large international chain on their stores across the country. They have a lot of stores, and everything has a code, which is assigned to an Eircode. This means the guys can get straight to a store, without looking for directions, and know what they’re doing, what tools they need to bring, how long it will take and so on.”

The network provides a platform for women to connect, collaborate and share knowledge and resources

The effect of the project has been transformative, bringing the company to a new level of success. “It's made an extremely positive impact on the business,” said Mullins, “and has inspired other forms of digitalisation too, for instance, putting our book-keeping online, our HR practices online. We’re really focusing on putting everything onto a digital space, saving time and energy for other ways of improving the business, by doing our jobs better.

“We can organise so much in the office here while the lads are out with the clients. When they need to leave and visit customers, we have all the information they need and they can use the tablet to respond back to us – so we in turn can tell customers, procurement managers etc what need to be done. Digitalisation has therefore improved communication not only internally, but also with our clients and customers – because we have the information at hand.”

The positive effect of the digitalisation project is a progression from other supports that Mullins and the MMPS team have received from Powerhouse and Carlow LEO. “We’ve had mentoring, we have had a business expansion grant, which was extremely helpful, and we participated in the Lean programme. The digitalisation programme was probably the most meaningful for us as a company – it helped us transform the most – but there were plenty of other supports that we benefitted from, and more that we intend to participate in as we grow.”

For other growing companies and female entrepreneurs in Carlow, Mullins’ advice is simple. “Go in and talk to the Local Enterprise Office and Powerhouse because only something positive will come out of it. They have so much knowledge and there are so many supports and programmes available – even if you’re not sure what you need to do next, they can steer you in the right direction. They offer so much encouragement and assistance.”

For further information on Powerhouse, see localenterprise.ie/carlow