Testimonials

“Ortus has given me the support and confidence to bring my dream as a children’s author into a reality. Their mentoring and business knowledge has helped my entrepreneurial ideas become a real business venture.In particular, the guidance, underpinning knowledge and network contacts in brand awareness and marketing has given me the courage to continue to go from strength to strength in the Adventures of Fitzy Foo brand.

I would highly recommend Ortus and the Exploring Enterprise course for their overarching help in taking my dream and helping create a viable and growing business.”

“The plans, guidance and help I have received from the Regional Start Initiative have been far more than I could have hoped for. This Experience has helped me greatly and given me the tools and motivation to take the first step in successfully running my own business. I am delighted.”

“I met Margaret a few months ago to discuss constructing a business plan for Enviro Care which is an outdoor and indoor maintenance business. I found Margaret very quick in understanding the key issues facing our business. Our initial meeting lasted a few hours. We discussed the current activities of the business and the areas that we wanted to develop into. Margaret quickly understood the finances of the business and built a realistic and achievable financial and non financial plan. Within a few days of our initial meeting Margaret forwarded me a draft plan & financial projections that only need minor adjustments. The plan was an integral document in the business successfully wining vital funding.”

“I benefited lots from the course and only wish I’d signed up for it sooner.  Taking part boosted my confidence in my business idea and I am determined to make a go of it.  The course gave me access to IT and marketing experts who I would never have met otherwise.  I’d also always been nervous about the financial aspects of starting a business and dealing with tax and other legal responsibilities.  Now I understand that it is all manageable.  As well as the superb, friendly staff at Ortus who gave us every support they could it was also great to have networking opportunities with other participants and with key entrepreneurs in Belfast.”

“Thank you so much for everything you’ve put into my business plan – I can hardly express how delighted I am with the document! It’s outstanding in itself but is also a springboard to me taking much bigger, focused strides towards my career aspirations with Going Sono. I couldn’t have managed a business plan of such quality and so quickly without the help of Ortus.”

““I approached Invest NI looking for advice copyrighting my images. They then told me about a free service where I would get advice on writing a business plan. They put me in touch with Ortus who helped me through the process. Margaret from Ortus was very thorough in helping me with my business plan. She persisted in getting as accurate information as possible in order to provide me with a comprehensive business plan. Most useful to me was the financial forecast which was presented in a way I can both use and edit as required.“

“Coiste Political Tours are delighted with the services and continued support which we have received from Stephanie and the rest of the team at the West Belfast Social Enterprise Hub.  From day one nothing was a problem.  In fact we have been receiving calls from them offering further and incredibly valuable support – particularly concerning issues around social media and advertising, where we were very lacking. This can only be a major plus in our efforts to increase the visitor footfall to West Belfast and Shankill areas.

So I am very glad to publicly declare that we in Coiste are very thankful to our local enterprise hub, its staff and all that they offer. Maith sibhse.”

“In 2015 we began our business adventure with West Belfast Social Enterprise. During this time, and thanks to a dedicated team, we have received training, ideas, a space to work, contacts and most importantly friendship. It has been a year of hard work and without the helping hand of Stephanie, Nicole and Catherine would not have been possible.”

“The assistance Stephanie at the West Belfast Social Enterprise Hub gave us was invaluable. Her vast experience in the social enterprise sector allowed us to easily work through the set-up of this new enterprise. Any organisation based on teamwork – whether it’s in the public, private or voluntary sector – can benefit from The Dark Experience. Organisations working with the sight loss community will deepen their understanding of the people who use their services, and generally, this experiential workshop will help any group of people working together, especially in difficult circumstances when good communication is even more important.”

“I didn’t just wake up one day and decide to become a children’s author. I wanted to start my business but wasn’t sure how. That’s when I saw the two week course advertised with Ortus and I couldn’t believe my luck. It was free and gave me the opportunity to gain valuable education in business related subjects as well as be around like-minded people who had creative ideas of their own”

“Ortus provided me with the support and assistance I needed to develop my creative business from a small craft industry to a fully-fledged set of accessory brands which are now sold across Europe and into the US and Australia. Their guidance to implement best business practice and advice on export has been invaluable”

“Noel Rooney from Fire Risk NI conducted a thorough Fire Risk Assessment in a pleasant and efficient manner, highlighting pragmatic suggestions for continual improvements to minimise fire risk”

Thanks you for all of your help and advice, when you see things through eyes of a business so professional as Fire Risk NI you can grasp the silly mistakes and oversights that are being made. I would highly recommend your services to anyone. Thanks again from everyone at St Malachys.