Business Support & Services
Antrim Enterprise supports individuals into self-employment and along their entrepreneurial journey; regardless of where they are on that journey.
Enterprise Education
Antrim Enterprise is passionate about encouraging and supporting individuals into self-employment and the younger the better.
That is why we are actively involved in enterprise education initiatives throughout Antrim & Newtownabbey borough both in and out of school.
Pre-Start
We understand that some people reach a crossroads in their life and are not sure what to do or even if self-employment is for them. As such our range of pre-start support helps individuals to develop their own skill sets, research business ideas and look at what is involved in setting up and running a business.
Start Up
So you are ready to take that leap into self-employment but just not sure where to begin? Rest assured our team of experienced business advisers are there to support your journey, providing guidance and support on setting up and running a business regardless of business type or sector.
Existing Business
Whether you want to increase sales in or outside of NI, develop your range of services or products, take on additional staff or need finance, together we can find the answer to help you develop and implement growth in your business.
Case Studies
Trusted by Many Local Businesses
Take a look at how Antrim Enterprise has helped many businesses on their journey.
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When life gives you lemons, make lemonade
When Covid-19 hit, and local entrepreneurs Richard and Natalie Stewart found themselves being made redundant, that is exactly what they did when they turned their hobby and passion for wood-crafting into a business.
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Whispering Alpacas
I am a single parent of two grown up children with additional needs and have a great passion for the outdoors, nature and animals.
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BoilerWorx
I am 29 years old and always had an interest in plumbing since I left school. I completed all the relevant courses and gained my plumbing qualifications and have served my time as a plumber. However after going down another path and being made redundant recently, I decided to reignite my interest in plumbing once again and went and completed a refresher course and decided it was now time to go out on my own.
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T Wilson Handyman Services
After dealing with some personal issues I decided to get my life back on track. I had always been good with my hands and had previously worked as a labourer with my brother so decided now was the time to start my own handyman business.
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BXT Advertising & Marketing
Since I was 13 years of age I have been thinking about starting my own advertising and marketing business as have always had a passion for it and found it so interesting. So, that is what I did. I started up my business and secured clients but then the pandemic hit and I realised the timing was just not right so I went looking for and secured employment but still had the idea in my head so I decided that I could perhaps run my own business and remain in work, which is exactly what I have done.
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Thrifty Bambino
I am a 33 year old mother to twin toddler girls, originally from Northern Ireland but lived abroad for 13 years when in my teens. After moving back home I worked for a number of years in hospitality management before deciding to start my own business.
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Millstream Alpacas
After taking early retirement from Tesco Distribution after 23 years I decided now was the time to start a new business.
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Local entrepreneur has a good sense of business
After being in a public service role for many years and having a baby during lockdown, making me then a mum of three, work flexibility and achieving some sort of work life balance was my biggest driving force in starting my own business.
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Local entrepreneur has a need for speed
As a sprinter and someone who needs to train speed to be successful in their sport, local athlete Dean Adams decided to put his 9 years of experience into action and set up his own speed coaching business, Speed Solutions and since then no one has been able to catch him or his business.
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Naturally Trew
I have always had an interest in fitness and nutrition and have studied sports science and fitness instructing however as I have got older my real passion is learning about nutrition. I am fascinated by food and its healing powers and love to learn about the different types of foods and their nutritional values, especially healthy skin enhancing foods. I also love to cook and experiment with different foods and as a mother I love to watch my son thrive on good foods. For me, it's all about having a healthy body, mind and lifestyle.
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Being made redundant was the catalyst Alison needed to pursue her self-employment dream
Being made redundant last summer may have been the catalyst for Alison Keenan, but it was something she had toyed with for years but never had the courage to do. Having spent 20 years working in the public sector and with the community sector, she was sure that she had skills and enthusiasm to offer which would appeal to both potential markets, it was just a question of taking a deep breath and trusting herself.
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Local man had burning desire to set up his own business
Having enjoyed the challenge of working within the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service Paul Martin decided to start his own business to give him the flexibility to work within his own limits. Quantum Fire Risk Management was born and Paul fully recommends the Go For It & Business Start Up Coaching programmes. It was a good learning opportunity and offered support and skills, which gave him confidence to move forward.
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Young entrepreneur turns dream into a reality
At a young age, Dearbhla McCann always dreamt of being her own boss. Coming from an art background; illustrating and painting had always been her passion however it wasn't until she decided to develop and learn new skills through the years whilst studying Graphic Design, did that dream turn into a reality.
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Luke Roe’s magic touch hits the right spot with his sports massage business
Luke Roe set up RoeFlEX in January 2020, a sport massage and injury rehabilitation business aiming to help people in pain live pain free lives.
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Work Smarter Not Harder … New LEAN start-up providing honest advice to improve your business
Proteus Client Services is a Lean Consultancy business started by Gareth Anderson, providing businesses and people with expert Lean guidance to significantly reduce their costs through improvements to the business, individuals, customer experience, quality and employee engagement. This can be delivered through projects and training both face to face and online. Lean is applicable to all businesses, not just manufacturing and can be applied especially to an office environment
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Local entrepreneur is dyeing to start her own business
After months of training and research, Gabriella Weatherhead, from Antrim decided to combine her love for textile design and nature and plant her business idea firmly on the ground.
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Inspiration from the women around her, helped Joanne start up her online space
Being inspired by so many women around her, for many different reasons and from all walks of life encouraged Joanne Campbell to start up her online business.
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Being in Control
After working in North America for many years, Stephen Shingleton did not waste any time settling back into life in Northern Ireland, instead he decided to use his thirty years’ experience of technical and management experience and start his own business and is now looking forward to being in control.
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When the teacher becomes the pupil to pivot through Covid-19
The Covid-19 lockdown may have put an end to live tuition sessions, but Pauline Nelson from Ballyclare, a former primary school teacher, didn't let that stop her as she developed her fledging tutoring business. Like her pupils she had to do a lot of learning herself - transferring all she taught online and making it just as much fun as before!
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Local entrepreneur brings design ideas to life
After graduating from University, local entrepreneur, Ethan Savage was finding it difficult to secure work as he did not have the required years of experience that employers were looking for. Not letting this stop him from pursuing his passion for design, he set up his own business in August 2019 and the rest is history.
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Local entrepreneur on a high from his new business venture
Ryan McCreanor who previously worked for the Canadian Government as a cannabis educator; returned home to Northern Ireland and noticed the CBD & medical cannabis industries were booming but there was a severe lack of trustworthy education.
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Young entrepreneur MEANs business
Rachel Jameson from Randalstown started her own business, Mean Protein in Spring 2020, with the core objective of helping people achieve their fitness goals through educating them on the importance of protein and with more and more people turning to fitness during lockdown, the idea was born.
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Newtownabbey Videographer focuses his sight on successful self-employment decision
Andrew Kelly from Newtownabbey started his business AK Videography in early 2020 and whilst it was slightly delayed due to Covid 19, he hasn’t let the pandemic blur his dream of running his own business. AK Videography is a digital content production company offering not just video content creation but photography, social media workshops and content audits.
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Petite Treats
The Programme gave me confidence in myself and my ability to start my own business. It opened up a wealth of support and now I feel as though I am operating an actual business and not just baking cakes in my kitchen.
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Wellbeing Fitness & Therapy
It all stemmed from when I was young and my grandmother, who was suffering from cancer at the time, would ask me to massage her and I noticed how much it helped her. My parents then bought me a massage book and as a teenager I used to massage family and friends. Then, when we moved to Germany, I joined the Youth Training Scheme and worked in a gym. I completed aerobics courses and the passion for fitness grew from there