Despite the current climate, Northern Ireland remains a good place to do business, writes Francess McDonnell.

WHEN MY grandmother first opened her business in a small Co Derry village in the late 1920s, she did not know whether it was going to succeed or fail. The only thing she was sure about was that she was going to have to work hard, night and day, to make sure it succeeded.

The small, carefully painted grocery business was her pride and joy. She woke up in the morning thinking about business, her last thoughts before she went to sleep at night were about her shop. Some of my earliest memories are of her taking big old-fashioned sweet jars from a high shelf to pass a much appreciated treat to another small child.

One thing she learned very quickly in the 1920s was that, when the local economy was doing well, business was good. But when things were not going so well her business suffered.

Decades have passed since she first turned the key on the small property that became her livelihood. But being in business in Northern Ireland in 2008 is not so different today than what it was more than 80 years ago. There are still no guarantees that any business will succeed and whatever century you are operating in, it still involves a lot of hard work.

The reality of life in the North at the moment means many people who have pursued the dream of having their own business are having a very hard time. There is less money in the economy than there was this time last year - the housing market has cooled, unemployment is rising and the credit crunch is putting the squeeze on personal spending.

According to one of the Norths successful, home-grown entrepreneurs, it is time Northern Ireland woke up to the fact that economic conditions are not good and that something needs to be done about it - and done fast.

Stephen Sproule does not believe in sitting around just waiting for things to happen. Tyrone-born Sproule is a co-founder of Belfast-based chartered accountants ASM Horwath. He also runs three other flourishing businesses - a property company, a commercial vehicle distribution firm and a window manufacturing business.

Sproule's entrepreneurial flair has helped create and support several hundred jobs in the North so his track record speaks for itself. He believes Northern Ireland has been slightly guilty of ignoring economic realities. "The sooner we realise that things are going to be very tough and the sooner we start taking whatever steps that are necessary to deal with the issue, the better."

Despite the current climate, he says Northern Ireland remains a good place to do business, although professionally speaking he would probably advise against starting a new business over the next months.

"You don't jump into a swimming pool which is half empty. Anyone thinking of starting a new business should wait until there are brighter prospects on the horizon.

"But in saying that, there are business ideas which will work because of the current economic conditions. There are great opportunities out there and there will be entrepreneurs who can make money out of this situation," Sproule says.

Sproule is part of a new wave of business leaders who are evangelical about the prospects which Northern Ireland now offers. He has just played host to more than 80 directors and associates of the Horwath accountancy group from across Britain and Ireland.

The group held its annual business conference this month in Belfast for the first time. Sproule wanted the conference to come to the North because this year's theme was "entrepreneurship" and he wanted to show people from outside Northern Ireland that there is a thriving business community. "There is so much entrepreneurial flair in Northern Ireland. But there is also this fear of failure, so we have to work hard to change the mindset."

Sproule believes people should look outside their own space to see the opportunities that exist. He says sometimes life throws you a reason to experience something new. "I remember being in Belfast one day when two soldiers were dragged out of a car and killed in west Belfast. I couldnt believe it, I had just returned home after working in Holland and I had just got married, but after I saw that I felt I had to get away," Sproule says.

He decided to go work in Australia and also travelled for a while in the United States.

Sproule firmly believes this experience gave him a completely different perspective on life and work when he subsequently returned to Northern Ireland.

"We have got to focus on our success stories in Northern Ireland - we have got to look at people like Dr Allen McClay, look at their success and realise that Northern Ireland now has a lot going for it. People just need to be encouraged to go for it."