RAISING THE BAR

John McGrane, Ulster Bank

An intrapreneur with great admiration and respect for the energy that comes out of the SME sector, John McGrane from Ulster Bank tells Niamh MacSweeney there has never been a better time to start a business in Ireland.

According to John McGrane, Head of Commercial and Business Banking at Ulster Bank, an entrepreneur can be defined by their passion, the strong belief they possess and their ability to execute a project.

Ulster Bank Business Centres nationwide are committing themselves to the support and nurture of start-up businesses in Ireland. Punching well above their weight, Ulster Bank opened 25% of all new start-up accounts in the market last year, which is ahead of their natural market share. John McGrane himself exudes the vitality and the 'make it happen' ethos of a highly successful entrepreneur. His team of 700 Business Banking professionals were each brought on board because they share his passion for entrepreneurship. McGrane's team are naturally oriented toward really understanding and engaging fully with their business customers and they actively participate in local business community activity.

McGrane says it is important to form good relationships with people who he looks forward to doing business with for a long time. “There is no point in us telling start-ups to come and do business with us if we are not the sharpest in the market,” he admits. He also reveals that as the market for start-ups gets more and more competitive Ulster Bank have responded by launching the bank's latest offering which he says is very competitive. “We are offering start-ups access to finance on an unsecured basis; it’s the cheapest form of finance in the market at an incredible rate of 5.95%. Nobody else comes close to that for start-ups and on top of that we are giving start-ups access to transaction fee free banking on their business current account for up to three years,” he says.

Financing A Start-Up

Clearly supportive and encouraging of emerging entrepreneurs, McGrane believes that starting a business is a very positive thing to do. “There is a public perception that starting up is an awful risk to take, but we don’t think that at all. A lot of businesses don’t need to borrow. Often as part of our interaction with our customers, we check in with them and ask, are you sure that you have all the advice you need or would you like us to introduce you to more people in that area who can help you further? Some people just need good support and advice and that is very important to us,” McGrane declares.

According to McGrane the majority of people starting a business don’t feel that they have sufficient collatoral, but he says that Ulster Bank prefers to lend money based on the individual, on their own acumen and passion for doing something that they have an aptitude for. “In particular we guide them to get good people around them; the choice of a good accountant, the ability to avail of good expertise in terms of the staff that they hire, using the enterprise advice networks around the country; these are things that we think are far more important to people than security. If they get the right expertise and they are willing to back their dream, which is what drives them, then we think they are well worth doing business with,” McGrane says.

Prepare for Success

Although preparation is important, before seeking financial backing from a bank or lending institution, McGrane maintains that drive and self belief are the main criteria. “People present themselves in lots of discussions in life with various degrees of preparation, so I wouldn’t slam somebody just because they haven’t prepared very well. What I love to see in somebody is that they have a real passion for something that they do well. That is 90% of the preparation and they either have that or they don’t,” he says.

While McGrane does agree that entrepreneurs do need to develop a good business plan, he says that if entrepreneurs have the ambition, Ulster Bank can help them to get everything else that they need. “If they believe in themselves and their ability to execute the project, that is what defines an entrepreneur, that massive belief in an idea and therefore we believe in it too. We are in business as much to provide advice and information as we are to provide the money itself. The SME start-up expects us to work with them and we love that we are in it for the long haul,” he says.

Avoiding Pitfalls

McGrane reveals that there are lots of things that can go wrong in somebody’s life, but in a start-up business the old saying is true ‘cash is king’. “You can have the best dream, the best belief in an idea, but if you can’t keep cash flowing you have got a problem and you have got to find a way to deal with that,” he advises. In order to keep cash flowing Ulster Bank offers overdraft funding. They also have a product called ‘invoice discounting’, which generates cash for growing businesses. McGrane says there are many more areas where Ulster Bank can help manage a person’s cash. “We work with a number of other agencies around the country who run various educational programmes and training skills programmes for entrepreneurs, which help them to see these principles at first hand. Passionate entrepreneurs are good at taking advice; they are hungry for ideas and advice that will help them be strong and good at their business.”

Network Connections

He agrees that being an entrepreneur can be lonely and so it is important to join like-minded people together. “There is a very supportive community for entrepreneurs. When we form a relationship with somebody they should have fewer surprises in their life, because we have connected them to good infrastructure around them,” he says. McGrane is regarded as an intrapreneur and he says that the Ulster Bank Business Centre support made available to businesses is testament to that. “We have a very entrepreneurial approach, especially in our business centres, because they are run by individuals who run it like they are running their own business.”

Growing A Business

A big issue for entrepreneurs is what do you do when you are up and running and you hit a wall or a plateau. How do you get to the next level? According to McGrane Ulster Bank is part of the RBS group and is now one of the largest banks in the world so they have got products and support for every person at every level of their business development. McGrane believes there has never been a better time to start up an enterprise. “If you have the germ of an idea, if you have good competence and if you have a dream and believe in what you can do, then there have never been as many supports,” he says.

A Buoyant Market

With regard to financing your business he says that while money may have gone up in price internationally, it has rarely been as cheap as it is now, so that’s not an obstacle to setting up. With sheer regard to operating costs in the market he agrees that these are issues that businesses have to grapple with, but when you consider the sheer number of business start-ups created every year the market is obviously very buoyant. “Entrepreneurs are responding to a market where more and more people are at work. There is a very good level of disposable income because there has been a lowering of taxes in recent years. Lower failure rates due to the overall health of the market means people are providing services to busy people and there are terrific opportunities for people who can provide great services to time-poor people. I would say in overall terms the national mood is very strong and there has never been a better time to start a business,” McGrane concludes.