“Stay Home, Stay Safe” – Corey. (Yeah that’s me)
Let me start this blog post different to my usual by saying I hope you are staying safe and well during the Isolation period. Something I would recommend is to stay active by working out at home but also keep your mind active, get that book you always wanted to read, start that online course you keep putting off. This will help you to keep yourself occupied and not overthink the situation we are in.
LEO Grants Available during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The government has rolled out a number of new grants online that small businesses can take advantage of to keep afloat and make it to the other side of this pandemic.
The Trading Online Voucher:
This voucher is worth up to €2,500 and is perfect for your business if you have a brick and mortar store with no online store. This voucher allows you to avail of a grant to get your products available online and continue running your business from your new online eCommerce store.
Requirements:
- Limited or no e-commerce presence;
- 10 or fewer employees;
- Turnover less than €2m;
- Applicant business must be trading for at least 6 Months**;
- Businesses must be located in the area covered by the LEO to whom they make their application i.e. LEOs cannot accept applications from businesses located outside their jurisdiction.
Once you apply for the voucher through your local LEO office they will ask you to take part in a 1-hour online webinar for trading online, once completed you will then be required to get three estimates for a new website from agencies. You can request one from Vantage Here. Once you have collected the three estimates your case will be reviewed and given your preference of agency you will then be approved or denied.
If you are approved you will need to pay 10% towards the invoice but pay the agency in full. You can then bring the invoice to the LEO who will reimburse you the 90% left on the invoice. This means you could potentially get a €2,500 website for €250.
If you would like to apply for the Voucher you can find your local LEO office here: https://www.localenterprise.ie/Find-Your-Local-Enterprise-Office/
Feel free to contact me with any questions you have and anyway I can help you avail of the support!
The Business Continuity Voucher:
This voucher is worth up to €2,500 and allows you to avail of a third-party consultant to help you plan out a strategy in response to COVID-19. I highly recommend this if you are finding it stressful to work out how your business can advance and earn revenue going forward. Working with a consultant they will be able to do a business audit and find the best strategy for you to get up and running now but also launch into a new strategy once the pandemic has ended.
To avail of this please reach out to your local LEO office which can be found on the LEO Website.
There are a lot more Grants and supports available on the LEO website: https://www.localenterprise.ie/