The Company

Xcel Business Solutions provides consultancy, training and mentoring services to organisations, government bodies and businesses.

How we do it

Our interventions focus on improving business skills in areas such as business development, sales & marketing, eBusiness, financial management, budgeting, cost control, systems & report development, accounting, sales projections and operational issues. The delivered results will be in the form of plans, (business, action, financial, marketing, or social media strategy), feasibility studies, reports, presentations or training.  However, the emphasis is on practical and relevant solutions to deliver results. We help businesses to help themselves. 

Training

Training programmes are developed in-house, and are specifically tailored to meet the business needs of the attendees.  Business needs are researched in advance of programme development. Training programmes are constantly updated, to take account of the ever changing business environment and technological advances. We offer a bespoke training service, so that our programmes are current and relevant to the attendees, with a practical focus. Our two most popular programmes are “Marketing on a Shoestring” and “Gaining Markets and Winning Sales – for Rural Tourism”. We ask all attendees to evaluate our training courses so that we can improve our current standards and make future events even better. All training programmes are developed using Best International Practice guidelines as recommended by the Irish Institute of Training and Development.

Experiences

We have more than 25 years of experience in dealing with businesses of all kinds, from professional practices, to multinational manufacturing companies to small and micro businesses. We now service the commercial needs of mainly small and micro businesses, although we find that some of the business techniques that we advocate transfer well to larger scale organisations. We focus on profit, and all businesses need profit, irrespective of size.

We don’t just consult. We do.

Check out our sister website, www.kilmorecottage.com, four star holiday homes in the sunny South East of Ireland. We really understand the challenges of running a business. Because we do it too.

Our Clients

Our client base is comprised mainly of government bodies, third level institutions, business associations and private businesses. Our clients operate in many sectors from medical to retail, from manufacturing to agriculture. We deal with tourism businesses too. We respect our clients’ confidentiality, and do not publish client lists. We are ethically precluded from doing so, and are pleased to say that all our business comes from client referrals.

The People

Xcel Business Solutions is headed up by Helen Cousins. We have a network of professional associates to provide additional support, if required, to complete a particular project.

Helen:

• has a successful business career spanning more than 25 years 
• is a chartered accountant by profession
• has worked in taxation, audit and small business services for PricewaterhouseCoopers
• has held Financial Controller and senior management positions in manufacturing industry
• founded Xcel Business Solutions to provide real, practical business solutions for small businesses
• recently completed a successful term of Office as Chair of The Irish Self Catering Federation, the representative body for holiday home tourism businesses in Ireland
• is a currently a Director of the Irish Self Catering Federation
• has served as both a Director and Council member of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation, (ITIC)
• speaks at conferences and business events
• is a member of the Irish Institute of Training and Development and also the Irish Internet Association
• is a self catering entrepreneur and operates her own self catering holiday cottage in Wexford, specialising in the provision of holidays for the disabled, as well as for anglers and family groups
• keeps abreast of current trends and legislation through attendance and speaking at seminars, conferences and structured CPD courses (Continuing Professional Development)
• has recently obtained qualifications in Directors Duties and Responsibilities, Adult Training and Development, Communications, Group Work Theory & Practice and Train the Trainer.