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Monthly Blog – Starting A Business in 2026

Starting A Business in 2026 – Three Things That Make a Real Difference

Starting a business has never been more accessible, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

In 2026, the landscape is fast-moving, competitive, and often overwhelming. While there’s no shortage of advice out there, the reality is that early success usually comes down to getting a few key things right.

Here are three that make a real difference.

1. Start Before You Feel Ready

One of the biggest mistakes new business owners make is waiting too long.

Waiting for the perfect website.

Waiting for the perfect offering.

Waiting until everything feels “ready”.

The truth is -clarity comes from doing.

Getting your idea into the real world, even in a simple form, will teach you more in a month than planning will in a year. The sooner you start, the sooner you can adjust.

2. Focus on Real Customers, Not Just Ideas

It’s easy to spend time refining your idea, but the real test is whether people will pay for it.

Talk to potential customers early.

Listen to what they actually need.

Be willing to adapt.

In Wexford, one of the biggest advantages for startups is accessibility, you’re close to your market, your network, and your community. Use that to your advantage.

3. Choose the Right Environment

Where you work has a bigger impact than most people realise.

Working from home can be convenient, but it can also be isolating and full of distractions. Being in a space with other businesses creates energy, accountability, and opportunity.

At Wexford Enterprise Centre, we see first-hand how being around other business owners helps people move faster, stay motivated, and solve problems more easily.

Sometimes, growth isn’t about doing more, it’s about being in the right place.

Final Thought

Starting a business in 2026 isn’t about having all the answers.

It’s about taking action, staying close to your customers, and putting yourself in an environment that supports progress. Find a mentor that has done it already, and use the supports available to you in Wexford Local Enterprise Office and County Wexford Chamber to help.

If you can do those three things consistently, you’re already ahead of most.

Monthly Blog: Why where you work matters more than ever in 2026

In Ireland, flexible working has become a defining trend of the post-pandemic era. Hybrid models, where employees split their time between home, office or other workspaces have firmly taken hold. Research shows that many organisations plan to continue with hybrid work as the standard, with a significant portion of the workforce working onsite just part of the week. The Irish Times

For entrepreneurs, startups and growing businesses here in Wexford, that means choice, but also opportunity. Flexibility is now expected, collaboration remains essential, and time has never been more valuable. In this environment, the space you choose to work from can either support your progress, or quietly hold it back.

More than a desk – environment influences outcomes

Workspaces are no longer just about desks and Wi-Fi.  They shape how we think, plan and interact with others.

A professional environment can:

  • Support focus and productivity
  • Create structure and separation from home life
  • Facilitate better meetings and deeper collaboration

Statistics from recent Irish surveys show that hybrid working has become the norm, with many people working remotely or in hybrid patterns and flexible working arrangements are highly valued by employees. (Grow Remote+1)

But while flexibility around where work gets done is important, it doesn’t remove the need for space that encourages connection, professionalism and creativity.

Productivity and collaboration thrive in the right space

Hybrid work offers freedom and convenience, but there are aspects of business that benefit from dedicated environments:

Client meetings and presentations go smoother in professional spaces

Strategy sessions and workshops are more effective when people are present together

Creative work and focus time often require separation from home distractions

Even in hybrid models, many Irish workers experience improved wellbeing and productivity when they spend part of their week in a space designed for work. Grow Remote

Community creates momentum

Entrepreneurship can often feel isolating, especially when working entirely from home. Working alongside other businesses in a shared space, whether that’s for a few days a week, specific meetings, or collaborative sessions -opens up opportunities for growth and support. At Wexford Enterprise Centre, spaces like The Cube provide a modern, bright co-working environment where entrepreneurs and startups can work alongside others, share ideas and build momentum together.

Being part of a business community brings:

  • New perspectives
  • Shared experience
  • A sense of momentum and accountability

These are benefits that purely remote arrangements often struggle to replicate.

Flexibility without compromise

Modern business needs flexibility but not at the expense of professionalism.
Access to shared workspaces, meeting rooms and communal areas allows businesses to scale up or down as needed, without long-term commitments or unnecessary overhead.

Whether it’s a strategic planning session in a dedicated room, a coffee catch-up with another entrepreneur, or simply a change of scenery for focus work, the right environment supports your business goals, without limiting flexibility.

Looking ahead

In 2026, success in business isn’t just about what you do, it’s also about where you do it.

Choosing a workspace that supports focus, professionalism and connection can make a meaningful difference over the course of a year. It’s not about rejecting remote work, it’s about balancing flexibility with environment, community and collaboration.

At Wexford Enterprise Centre, we’re proud to provide flexible workspaces, professional meeting rooms and a supportive enterprise community for businesses at every stage of growth.

With close proximity to Wexford Town and strong transport links to Dublin, businesses based at Wexford Enterprise Centre are well positioned for growth, client meetings and wider market engagement, without losing the benefits of a local enterprise community.

The Gift of Enterprise

Monthly Blog: The Gift of Enterprise

The Gift of Enterprise: Supporting Local Businesses This Festive Season

As the Christmas season approaches, there’s no better time to celebrate the spirit of community and enterprise here in Wexford. Every euro spent locally is more than just a purchase, it’s an investment in keeping our shops open, our restaurants thriving, and our town buzzing with life. This Christmas, let’s give the gift of enterprise and ensure Wexford continues to flourish.

Shop Local, Gift Local

Instead of clicking “add to cart” online, why not explore the incredible range of gifts available right here in County Wexford?

Workshops and classes are another unique option — for example, Helen McClean’s Wreath Making Workshop is a festive, hands-on activity that lets participants create something beautiful while supporting a local artisan.

Restaurant vouchers from Wexford’s many eateries give the gift of memorable dining experiences.

County Wexford Chamber Gift Vouchers make the perfect present, offering flexibility while supporting a wide network of local businesses. More information here

By choosing local, you’re not just buying a gift, you’re helping to keep the doors open for small businesses and ensuring our town thrives.

Festive Family Experiences

Wexford is brimming with magical Christmas events that families can enjoy together: (source visitwexford.ie)

-Santa’s Christmas Cottage (Dec 3–23) brings festive cheer to little ones.

-Santa’s Magical Christmas Adventure at the Irish National Heritage Park (Dec 6–21) offers an immersive seasonal experience.

-Evening Christmas Market at Johnstown Castle (9th Dec)

-A swinging’ Christmas with the Melanie O’reilly Trio (10th Dec)

-A Christmas Party Night in a Wexford hotel or bar

These events not only create lasting memories but also support local tourism and hospitality businesses.

Other Ways to Support Local Enterprise

Corporate gifting: Source hampers, treats, or branded items from Wexford suppliers.

Event hosting: Book local venues for holiday parties or team-building workshops.

Social media shoutouts: Share your favourite Wexford businesses online to boost their visibility.

Festive fundraising: Partner with local enterprises for charity drives that give back to the community.

This Christmas, let’s remember that supporting local businesses is about more than shopping, it’s about sustaining the heartbeat of Wexford. Whether it’s attending Helen McClean’s wreath-making workshop, gifting a Chamber voucher, or enjoying a festive day out with family, every choice we make strengthens our community.

This Christmas, give the gift of enterprise, and help keep Wexford thriving.

Deirdre Fox appointed as Administration Supervisor at Wexford Enterprise Association

Anyone coming into Wexford Enterprise Centre will be very familiar with the friendly face and helpful demeanor of Deirdre Fox. And so it is with great pleasure to announce the appointment of Deirdre to the position of Administration Supervisor at Wexford Enterprise Association and of our Social Enterprise divisions of Wexford Enterprise Centre, Datagroup and Recycling 2000. Deirdre has been a key member of our administrative team for over 10 years and previously served as Administration Project Lead. We wish Deirdre every success and thank her sincerely for her dedication and service over the years.

Wexford Enterprise Centre welcomes new Resident Company – Leahy Investment Advisors

Five new companies took up residency in Wexford Enterprise Centre in late 2020 and 2021 – Leahy Investment Advisors being one of them.

Though new to WEC, Denis and Paul Leahy set up Leahy Investment Advisers back in 2011. Together they have a combined experience of over 50 years in the Financial Services sector. They pride themselves on providing a first-rate service to all who inquire. No one is too small or too big to avail of their services and advice. And if these past couple of years have taught us anything, it is that it pays to work with local businesses, as you are guaranteed personal and attentive service.

Denis Leahy describes his business: “Leahy Investment Advisors provide advice and guidance from Life Assurance to Retirement Planning and everything in between whether you are a family, individual or a business. We cut through the jargon and provide financial advice that is simple and easy to understand. We can also review your existing Life Assurance/Protection/Pension/Investment plans to see if they will provide what you expect of them. We will prepare a report which will give advice that is appropriate to you and your expectations. We will make recommendations that suit your lifestyle and your budget. Feel free to give us a call (053-9140080).”

Wexford Enterprise Centre accommodates office and commercial spaces to suit the needs of its diverse business sectors located within the Centre. Currently there are 33 companies resident in Wexford Enterprise Centre. In addition, The Cube offers personalised work-spaces especially designed in mind for early start-ups and remote workers, with all the facilities and supports of a larger office environment to maximise productivity.

Wexford Enterprise Centre, one of the divisions of Wexford Enterprise Association, wishes Leahy Investment Advisors continued success! For more information about their personalised financial services, visit www.leahys.ie

The Scoop on Scúp

When Wexford company, Scúp Gelato set up their business in 2014, they focused on developing their wholesale market, suppling top restaurants and hotels around Ireland and abroad. And quite successfully too. However, with the onset of the pandemic and the subsequent shut-down of the hospitality sector, this family-owned business was quickly forced to find new income streams and have spent the last year developing their retail trade. Here’s their story.

Scúp Gelato, located in Wexford Enterprise Centre, is a family owned and operated business run by the Devereux family. Even the name ‘Devereux’ is distinctly Wexford. However, their award-winning Gelato can be enjoyed all over Ireland and as far away as Singapore, Dubai and South Korea.

Willie Devereux co-director of Natural Ice Cream Wholesale Limited, operating under the trading name of Scúp Gelato, shares the role with his mother Siobhan. The company was set up seven years ago in 2014 with the vision and ambition of making a range of world class premium quality Gelato and Sorbet products, using the highest quality Irish dairy products, Irish fresh produce, and other natural ingredients at our food grade approved unit at Wexford Enterprise Centre. In that short space of time, Scúp Gelato has won several prestigious food awards. No wonder it is served in Ireland’s top restaurants and hotels.

“Our recipes were created and developed with a Gelato master operating out of Milan, Italy. Our product range was developed for the non-retail food service sector on the island of Ireland with the concept of being natural and only using the highest quality ingredients available, many sourced locally from here in Wexford.

To date, our products have already won prestigious industry awards, including:
• 2 star in Great Taste Awards 2016
• Silver in Blas na hÉireann 2016
• Silver & Gold in Blas na hÉireann 2020
• Blas na hÉireann- Best in Wexford award 2019 & 2020
• Awarded designation under the Origin Green initiative of Bord Bia.

In 2017 we ventured into the export markets of Dubai and Singapore with the help of Board Bia. Encouraged by this positive experience, we decided to further expand our export sales in 2018 we decided to expand export sales via the quality retail consumer sector, again with the help of Bord Bia. This resulted in export sales to South Korea in 2019.

With year-on-year growth and an ever-expanding customer base nationally and internationally, the future of the company looked bright and secure having reached our intended sales and revenue targets while still maintaining the premium quality and integrity of our product.

We began 2020 with very definitive goals for the year. Sales revenues were targeted to steadily increase yet again coupled with employment numbers. We were committed to introducing new production line equipment to increase capacity and efficiencies capability. We planned to introduce new products to our food service range and to the new export consumer retail range. Then came the Covid-19 pandemic crisis which impacted heavily on our business operations and sales revenues.

Since March 2020, we have seen our food service sector customers (hotels and restaurants) and our consumer retail service customers, at home and abroad, face unprecedented challenges. We have had to respond to market conditions that are chaotic, changing constantly, and to a large extent governed first and foremost by the absolute need to protect public health in all the geographical markets we serve. We will pivot to deliver new income streams, particularly in the immediate future through consumer retail sales in the home market as well as available food service channels. The most prominent of these being a shop located on Wexford’s quay front alongside two other local business. This is an exciting new venture and which will also garner great brand awareness to the general public.” – Willie Devereux, Managing Director Scúp Gelato

Yet another tremendous example of the ‘entrepreneurial mind-set’ that is pulsates within Wexford Enterprise Centre. Challenges, anticipated and unforeseen, are the nature of being a business owner. However, it is the ability to adapt to these challenges and ride-out the storm that is the measure of a business. A smooth sea never made for skilful sailors. We wish everyone at Scúp Gelato continued success!

For more information on where to find their award-winning gelato, visit their website www.scupgelato.com or follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

A Whale of a Wexford Story

There’s a story behind every door in Wexford Enterprise Centre. One such story began hundreds of years ago in the sea off the coast of Ireland and landed in Helen McLean’s Art Studio, which has its home in the Centre. The ‘Wexford Blue Whale: Chanies Across the Sea’ project is County Wexford art project which connects shipwrecks, a blue whale and a 77-year-old woman’s extraordinary collection of pieces of pottery collected over the years on the beach in Rosslare. A large whale mosaic created by Helen, in association with Wexford Arts Centre, supported by Wexford County Council, recalls the 25m blue whale which beached in Wexford in 1891 and whose skeleton now hangs at the entrance hall of the Natural History Museum in London.

It is as much of a community project as it is an artistic one. The story of the whale and that of Ann Borg, who collected the shards of pottery over the past seven decades, has sparked the attention of people on both sides of the Atlantic, including that of the Natural History Museum in London.

RTÉ recently interviewed Helen, Ann and Elizabeth Whyte of Wexford Arts Centre about this fascinating project https://rb.gy/uwnnsg

The Whale Mosaic will soon be installed permanently on Wexford’s Quay at the Wexford Bridge side. It will be officially unveiled as part of the Arts Council’s ‘Brightening Air/Coiscéim Coiligh’ festival and will be open to the public from Saturday, 12 June. A beautiful story of history, the community of Wexford and art – all coming together. This tale is set to be told for many more years to come.

If you’d like to know more about Helen’s Artwork, visit her website on https://www.helenmcleanart.com/ or follow her Facebook and Instagram.

Wexford Enterprise Centre opens back up to the General Public on Wednesday, 2 June 2021

Wexford Enterprise Centre is delighted to welcome back the general public into the Centre after the easing of Government restrictions. From Wednesday June 2, the Centre will be open to the public from 8:30am – 5pm, Monday through Friday. Social distancing, mandatory wearing of facemasks, hand sanitizing and temperature access control procedures will continue to be in operation.

The re-opening of the Centre means that anyone wishing to meet with any of the businesses located within the Centre or avail of the popular Centre Point Cafe may once again do so during normal business hours. The Centre Point Cafe is also open from 8:30-3pm daily for ‘Grab & Go’ service until indoor dining resumes on Monday, 5 July.

In addition, the two state-of-the-art Conference Rooms, The Williams Innovation Room and the McConnell Conference Room, have both been upgraded with additional safety features, including the installation of perspex screens and are now open for booking once again.  The Williams Innovation Room can comfortably and safely accommodate up to 6 people, while the larger McConnell Conference Room can safely accommodate up to 11 people.

We wish to especially thank our 30+ Resident Companies who unreservedly supported all the Covid-19 health and safety measures implemented in the Centre over the past year, which included the restriction on outside visitors. It was because of their efforts that the Centre continued to operate and remained a safe place to work for their businesses and their staff.

We look forward to welcoming you back! Stay Safe.

Centre Point Café
Pre-order your breakfast / lunch: anna@ovendoorcatering.ie or ring 053 9144055
Meeting Rooms
To book the Williams Innovation Room or the McConnell Conference Room email info@wec.ie or ring 053 914 1711.

Meet Harry Nolan, Founder of ‘Sticker Your Business’ winner of the 2019/2020 Student Enterprise Award

We often look to experienced entrepreneurs for inspiration, but there is also a lot we can learn from those just starting out.

The Student Enterprise Awards programme was established in 1995 by Wexford Enterprise Centre to give secondary students the experience of setting up and running their own businesses. What began as Wexford only programme is now a successful national programme, administered by the Local Enterprise Offices (LEO). The programme has also been replicated at European level.

Harry Nolan, a student at St Mary’s CBS Enniscorthy, won the 2019/2020 Senior Category in County Wexford with, Sticker Your Club, a customised sticker business. He recounts his experience of setting up and running the business.

“The idea for Sticker Your Club came from a necessity to provide customised products at low cost to individuals and small businesses. Before Sticker Your Club, many small businesses, clubs, and individuals were unable to get personalised products due to prohibitive minimum order quantities. Sticker Your Club fills this gap in the market and allows smaller organisations and individuals to get these personalised products at a bulk price with a low quantity. We now provide a range of business services such as packaging stickers, business cards, leaflets, and clothing.

The most challenging part of the process was the initial set up of the business. At the beginning, it was quite challenging to build up a solid customer base and reputation which made it difficult to make decisions about stock levels as it was quite difficult to tell how much could be sold. However, as soon as this initial challenge was overcome it made it much easier to make these decisions and plan for the future.

Business is going very well. In a short space of time, we have increased our product range and are working on expanding our product range even further with a number of exciting developments in the pipeline.

The Student Enterprise Programme has been a brilliant initiative. It allowed me to develop a vast range of real-world life skills and develop as a person, student, and businessman. I would encourage all transition year students to engage and give their all to the program, as they will get double out of what they put into their projects.”

You can find ‘Sticker Your Club’ on Facebook and twitter @stickeryourclub.

Wexford Enterprise Centre revises guidelines for operations under Government’s move to Level 3 of Covid restrictions

Following the recent downgrading to level 3 of the “Government Plan for living with Covid-19”, Wexford Enterprise Centre reaffirms its commitment to ensure that all those working within the building do so under the highest health and safety measures so that the Centre can continue to be accessible.

Effective Tuesday, 1 December tenants are invited to bring guests into the Centre if necessary, but the main entry door will remain by key-access only. We are delighted to announce that the Centre Point Cafe will open on Friday, 4 December from 8.30am to 12pm each day with seating for tenants and their guests. In addition, the meeting rooms will be available to tenant companies on a restricted basis of 2 people in the upper meeting room, 4 people in the Innovation Room, and 7 people in the Conference room. The Smoking Shelter will remain closed.

Looking forward, it is our intention to reopen the Centre Point Cafe and resume full service to the general public from Wednesday, 6 January 2021, subject to government restrictions. Social distancing, mandatory wearing of facemasks, hand sanitizing, and temperature access control procedures will be observed.

The increased health and safety measures re-introduced in early October are working well thanks to the diligent efforts by the resident tenants. Observing the latest safety and operational upgrades continues to build on the combined efforts to make sure that Wexford Enterprise Centre remains Covid-free.” – Brendan Ennis