Dream Big, Win Big at #IBYE 2015

The Search is on for 93 of Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneurs.

Through Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition (#IBYE), over 90 people aged between 18 and 30 will win €10,000 – €20,000 to invest in their own businesses in Ireland this year.

That lump sum can buy that new piece of equipment you need; it can pay the salary of a new employee joining the team or it can fund that marketing campaign that will help your business expand into new markets.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, pictured with the 2014 winners of the #IBYE competition. Photo: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland

Last year, Philip Martin used his prize money to buy specialist machinery, helping him to open Ireland’s first tortilla-making factory in Tipperary (Winner: Best Business Idea).

The money also helped Eamon Keane take on highly skilled staff at Xpreso Software in South Dublin (Winner: Best Start Up Business/ Overall Winner). And it came in very handy when Dean Gammell from Westmeath was expanding his group booking software business into the UK (Winner: Best Established Business).

Every Local Enterprise Office (LEO) around the country has €50,000 (each) to invest in three local businesses and start-ups – and with 31 LEOs, that bring the total number of winners to 93. Each local winner will get an injection of cash between €10,000 and €20,000 to put straight into their business.

And that’s just the start!

Up to 500 young entrepreneurs and business owners will also be invited to take part in Business Bootcamps around the country, helping them finely tune their business plans or learn new enterprise skills. One-to-one mentoring and business coaching will also be available, through all 31 LEOs.

To be in with a chance to win, complete the entry form through the IBYE website on-line. But hurry, the deadline to enter this year’s competition is July 31st 2015.

There are some competition terms and conditions (you have to be aged between 18 and 30 for a start and your business idea or existing business must be in Ireland), but if you don’t try, you can’t win!

So, why not ‘Dream Big and Win Big’ at #IBYE 2015!

See more about #IBYE here on YouTube

(#IBYE is completely free to enter and is part of the Action Plan for Jobs 2015. It is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices http://www.ibye.ie)

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Are You Living in Tomorrowland? Science Fiction to Science Fact

I had the pleasure of seeing Paul Hayes of BeachhutPR at work with a group of start ups. He explained that successful starts ups frame the future of the sector they operate in. Preferably in 5 words.

You need a vision

Which means you need to have a vision of that future. In order to do so you need to understand future trends in your sector. Without that you cannot frame the story.

No direction

But it is amazing how unaware people are of future trends and as a result do not have a vision, let alone a sense of direction.

Play Xbox and read science fiction

We regularly speak to groups of businesses about future proofing their business. The advice we give is this. Play Xbox and read science fiction. Because science fiction is becoming science fact. If you are a science fiction fan, you must have read “Neuromancer” (1984) by William Gibson. Or “Snow Cash” (1995) by Neal Stephenson. Cyber punk is now around the corner. If you belief in “Filter Bubble” then “1984” has already happened.

Tomorrowland

That is the world of “Tomorrowland” by Steve Kotler”. The co-author of “Bold”, the author of “The age of Superman”. A man steeped in science, technology and entrepreneurship. We reviewed it on Newstalk.

Sciencefact

In “Tomorrowland” Kotler describes how science fiction is now science fact, covering:

bionics
mind uploading
augmentation
flying cars
space diving
genetics
nuclear power
asteroid mining
life extension
stem cells
synthetic biology
religion

We are stepping into a weird and wonderful world. Exponential change is changing everything.

Kotler goes back to Kevin Kelly and “What technology wants”, claiming that technology in itself is an organism with an inevitable trajectory to AI, singularity (by 2029) or Skynet.

Some examples of science fact

We are building new bodies, soon we will build new brains. They are building intelligent prosthetics, they are building soul catchers (a micro memory chip implanted in the brain, capturing your life. IBM already build Watson but are now building a blue brain. They have built artificial eyes. We are (re-) terra forming the Everglades and will start applying that to other planets soon. We are 5 years away from asteroid mining (building an oil platform is more difficult). We can build portable safe portable nuclear reactors, which would address some of the climate chance and carbon issues we are (not) facing.

Climate change

Because of our involvement in Climatekick, solving the carbon problem is close to my heart. If an American got all his or her lifetime electricity solely from nuclear power, that person’s share of waste would fit into one soda can. If an American got all his or her electricity from coal, that person’s waste would weigh 68.5 tons and fit into six 12-ton railroad cars. And their share of carbon dioxide coal emissions would come to 77 tons. Nuclear reactors, meanwhile, have virtually no carbon footprint

Immortality

If Kurzweil is right, you will be able to download your brain onto a lap top. Immortality is around the corner.

Hacking biology

Evolution at the speed of Moore’s law. We are hacking Darwin. How long after that until parents are saying: I bought you the best brain money can buy — now why don’t you use it?

Biocrime

Did you ever read “I am Pilgrim” by Terry Hayes? Biocrime is new. But did you know that that the Secret Service is already taking extraordinary steps to protect presidential DNA. According to the Daily Mail, in May 2011, when Barack Obama stopped off for a pint of Guinness at Ollie Hayes’s pub in Moneygall, Ireland, his service detail quickly removed the glass from which he’d drunk.

They have created the world’s first self-replicating, synthetic chromosome. Synthetic Genomics is working on a designer algae that consumes CO2 and excretes biofuel. DuPont recently designed an organism that utilizes corn syrup to create a widely used polymer base for plastics manufacturing, saving 40 percent on energy costs.

Imagine organisms that can thrive in battery acid or on the surface of Mars, or enzymes able to polymerize carbon into diamonds or nanotubes. The ultimate limits to synthetic biology are hard to discern, and have yet to be explored.

Why is this relevant?

We can already hear the questions. Why is this relevant? This has nothing to do with business. Or the best one “this does not apply to my sector”.

Here are some examples of what that means:

If you are in computing or health; $ 2.7 billion to sequence DNA in 2000. Now it costs $ 1,000. It will cost a penny by 2020. It will be cheaper to sequence your DNA than flushing your toilet.
If you are in transport; a Predator drone cost 4 million. The crowd can build if for $ 300. The development of drones is accelerating at twice the speed of Moore’s law.
If you are in farming or retail; in 3 years there will be nano fridges that can print broccoli.
If you are in pensions; in 5 years there will be at least 2 million people that are completely digitized. DNA, neuro-profiles, bio markers, bacteria, food intake, etc. You will live to be 200 years. That is the current pension system gone.
If you are an accountant; Bitcoin will make accounting obsolete.
Builders need to be aware of 3D and 4D printing.

2020

By 2020 there will be fifty billion connected devices. A trillion by 2030. We will have robots, virtual technology, sensors everywhere, augmentation, AI, solar, nano, collaborative consumption, open innovation, local Techshops everywhere, neuro-enhancements, drones, Bitcoin, quantified self (everything in your life is measured).

It is coming your way

Name it. Impacting every industry. Doubling the speed of development every year. Getting cheaper, better, smarter.

Frame your future

Now frame your sector, your business and your success in that future. If you need help, that is what we do. And reading Tomorrowland is a good start.

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Free Trips to Silicon Valley for Tech-Focused Irish Startups

DCU Ryan Academy and Welcome are looking for 7 top Irish startups to win 7 great prizes…

Free trip to Silicon Valley

First up is a FREE trip (including travel) to Silicon Valley for 2 tech-focused Irish startups followed by an EU Roadshow giving your startup the opportunity to meet investors, corporates and international media.

You’ll spend 3 weeks in Silicon Valley at the Mind the Bridge Startup School to immerse your company into the Silicon Valley tech community. And when you get back – you’ll visit 4 EU cities – Milan, Berlin, Madrid and Salamanca and pitch your startup to leading members of their tech ecosystems.

Applications are via f6s and close Sunday 5th July so apply now!

2 major European tech events

Next up we are offering Europass places to 3 lucky startups. Winning companies will attend 2 major European tech events for FREE (including travel) – events like South Summit, Madrid in September and Slush, Helsinki in November.

Applications will open soon and close before the end of July. Keep an eye on our Twitter account for more info.

Special Silicon Valley Package

Last but not least, if you are a later stage tech startup (raised €50k+) we are offering a Silicon Valley package tailored for you.

We’re looking for 2 Irish startups to join our partners Mind the Bridge for a week in Silicon Valley where you will pitch, network and attend the MTB Startup School as well as taking part in European Innovation Day – a unique event designed to expose European startups to American investors. Startups will need to fund their own travel to Silicon Valley (for this trip only) but the value of the prize is €5,000 per startup.

Applications are open now via f6s until 20th July.

All of these initiatives are supported by the Welcome Project – a Startup Europe Initiative and funded by the European Commission.

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How Well Do You Sell?

Conversions are the end product; no way, we can avoid that argument. The question though is not of how to convert: it is of how well can you convert. Converting well is an art, like any kind of well executed business process. But how does one recognize, measure or otherwise gauge how are they faring in this tricky art? If you have bones about the fact that digital marketing does work in as much complication then that’s one topic you can always research more on. The complication for marketers today is not getting conversions done, it’s knowing whether their customers are going home happy or not.

Selling online is easy, selling well is not. Selling well can mean two things really, either your products or services are being sold in tens and hundreds daily or your customer becomes happy with you and you have a constant stream of revenue from a few possible customers. The rest of the gritty details are what we can refer to as extras which can enhance or sometimes destabilize our working flows. As a marketer though, you want to be able to realize what these details are because they can further help us in optimizing the conversion part of our sales campaign.

PR campaigns

Lot of the marketers around the optimization niche recognizes PR as the kind of pivot which a business must adopt in order to establish a more concrete selling policy. PR has taken a new turn though because while readers love blogs where the writers and admins take effort to answer each individual comment, the mass of the building has gone to the social media. Answering the tweets, retweeting the important ones and updating information regularly not only promotes your written article, it also builds positive value for the audience.

Using CTAs

Calls to actions have been around since marketing itself. In fact, it’s debatable as to what came first. Digitally, your one good CTA can make quite a difference in how well you convert your leads to sales or subscription. Remember how performable increase their revenue by 21% just by changing the color of the CTA button.

What surprises people often about CTAs though is how often they can easily end up creating a lot of leads for their websites but no actual conversions, which brings me to the next part of my equation.

Feedback tools

Chat software and heat maps serve an integral part of this conversation. Each serve a different purpose in terms of the data they give and yet the data they end up presenting serves to be equally important. The key driving action behind feedback is improvement. Any feedback you get from your customers can give you a better chance to improve your site’s action. Plus, with tools like live chat and heatmaps you can literally drive your traffic to the point of active conversions. The key highlight is to always note the driving motivator behind your high performing site areas though and then work on the rest of your site according to your findings.

How do you put all this together?

Marketing is a composition game at the end of the day. I can give out a thousand tools and share insights by a thousand gurus but the key to any successful marketing campaign is composition. Your content, your collateral and your website have to make impact, period.

Impact however is only the beginning, once the traffic comes in the thousands and once the content gets read by even more that’s the stage where you need to accurately sum up what you have been doing with the traffic.

As it is though, selling is an art of common sense. Cater to the needs and requirements of the audience and that’s your branding done, go the extra step with their needs and they convert.

Rocket Science? It’s not but then the many variances and complications within it make it fascinating and determine the good marketers from the exceptional ones.

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5 Interview Questions You Cant Ask (Legally)

Job interviews are difficult on everybody involved, and the employer or HR manager is not an exception. Treading lightly around questions that involve personal life is smart, but it can also keep you out of hot water in the legal sense. Read on for our 5 interview questions you cant ask…

1. Are You Married?

Unfortunately for many employers, litigation for these cases regarding questions just like this one often make it to state and federal courts. Interviewers are often tempted to ask this question, and those like it, because they want to know about their potential level of commitment to a career. Asking about an employee’s marital status or sexual orientation is illegal.

2. How Many Children Do You Have?

You cannot ask a potential employee if they intend to have children or if they already have them, according to the law. You are also not allowed to ask who is going to look after the children during work hours. Again, this is another question used to gauge the level of commitment to work. Instead of asking this question, revert to something along the lines of, “Will any of your responsibilities interfere with job requirements?” or “How many hours can you commit each week to work?”

3. What is Your First Language?

You might notice that the individual you are interviewing has an accent or does not seem to be a native speaker; however, making assumptions about their language is not a good idea. It is legal to ask instead, “What languages do you read and speak fluently?” If you slip up and ask a prospect’s first language, the applicant could potentially take you to court. If you find yourself in this predicament, consider asking for professional advice from Sattiraju Law Firm or a law firm in your particular area.

4. How Old are You?

It is understandable that you want your candidate to be mature, but asking about your employee’s age is not legal. Additionally, you cannot ask your candidate about plans if retirement may be nearing. On the other hand, it is legal to ask if your candidate is over the age of 18.

5. What Religious Holidays Do You Celebrate?

While this question seems innocent as a reference to whether or not holidays will interfere with work schedules, asking an employee about their religion is not legal. If you are looking for a way to get around the question without being inappropriate, you can ask, “Are you available to work on Sundays?”

If you find yourself in a position where an illegal question has been asked, it is wise to hire an attorney with a specialty in employment law to help see you through an otherwise trying process.

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Terry Prone at the Business Women Can Networking Lunch

The sun was shining down on the Maldron Hotel at Dublin Airport on Thursday 18th June, which was the venue for Ulster Bank’s Region East – Business Women Cans networking lunch.

Over 50 female-led businesses gathered to listen to the inspirational Terry Prone of The Communications Clinic.

Terry is a leading advisor on reputation management and crisis handling to corporations, Governments and individuals, alongside running a successful PR and training consultancy. She is also no stranger to TV, radio and the stage. She was one of the founders of Carr Communications.

Angela Meegan – Relationship Manager, BC, Karen Quinn – Regional Service Manager, Terry Prone, The Communications clinic, Fiona Kingston – Business Women Can Programme Director, Amanda O’Hara – Business Executive, North Dublin BC.

Terry, who has written eight critically-acclaimed novels, an award-winning collection of short stories and more than a dozen practical guidebooks, is an authoritative commentator on communication issues.

She was able to offer insightful and practical advice to her captive audience around business PR and the art of successful communication.

The sunny afternoon was packed with Networking opportunities and a chance for all in attendance to mix with like minded people.

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The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Time Management

Being your own boss can be a challenge sometimes. You need to work efficiently, yet have the ability to deal with those unforeseen circumstances that always crop up. A balance has to be struck between time spent, efficiency and quality of output. And information has to be managed in a way that makes it both accessible and useful.

Here are five valuable tips from the experts to help manage your time successfully:

1. Give your work day structure by dividing it into a series of concrete tasks.
2. Make a reasonable estimate of how much time is needed for each task and stick to the routine.
3. Keep clear, easily accessible records of each day’s work.
4. Modify and test your daily goals and tweak them to keep up with your changing business.
5. Add padding to deadlines, building in the flexibility to deal with unexpected situations as they arise.

As a self-directed business owner, you are probably adept at seeing the “big picture.” But it’s necessary to look at your business through a closer lens sometimes. Being organized means having the ability to compartmentalize. What is the first thing you do each day? Start there and outline the sequence of actions you take in the course of the day. In your outline, give important tasks the time and attention that they require while also making room for less pressing jobs.

Since human beings are creatures of habit, having a workflow plan helps streamline your day. Setting aside an appropriate amount of time for each task lets you focus on those facets of the working day that are most crucial to revenue. It also helps prevent the problem of getting stuck in one area of the process while neglecting others. Strikingly, one quarter of all small business owners in one survey believe that each hour they work is worth almost $500 in profits. This makes time management an essential part of any business plan.

Having quick and targeted access to information about your business is invaluable. That’s why record keeping is so important. In this computerized age, businesses no longer have to drown in paperwork, but can organize information into digital files that are easy to access.

Consider your hard drive to be a digital filing cabinet. Separate different functions, tasks and data into their own folders and don’t be afraid to create subcategories. The more organized the information is, the faster you will find what you’re looking for.

This is where a good software program can be invaluable. Not everyone is adept at data management and there are programs that not only keep records, but give instant snapshots of the results of your efforts. Nothing is static in the business world, and daily tasks should be continually evaluated to make sure that they are still in step with the goals of the business. Modification and testing, especially with the aid of a top notch virtual assistant, will aid in time management and realization of goals.

As you have probably figured out by now, the tasks you set yourself are not always linear, and sometimes going back to a previous step is unavoidable. Adding extra time to estimates for completing assignments is an effective coping strategy. This gives you the flexibility to step outside the box (or schedule) and deal with contingencies as they arise. If deadlines end up being met ahead of time, that will only make you look good!

The future is bright for entrepreneurs. U.S. census data shows that small businesses have continued to produce the majority of new jobs in the past two decades. The use of data management tools is one of the ways that entrepreneurs can continue to thrive in our economy. Using these five tips as a starting point, running your own business can be an exciting and successful challenge!

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5 Things That Your Small-Business Website Needs

A couple of weeks back, I happened upon a website that probably defined what you “don’t” want in your website. I honestly don’t know where to begin. The website had no proper home page and opens directly to the ‘About’ page, which is practically blank. In fact, when you click on the home page link, it redirects to the pricing page. There was no call to action, the content was far from engaging and there were so many broken links.

A mere glance at it and you could understand how unprofessional the website was. There are so many horrendous sites on the Web that it goes beyond bad web design. In fact, the success of a website depends on numerous things and its aesthetic appeal is just one of them. What is more important is to have a user-friendly website that your customers/potential customers not just love to browse, but actually do business with.

The following are 5 essential elements your small business website must have to boost your business.

1. Have a Simple Web Address

Why make things unnecessarily complicated ?

Your domain name should be simple and easy to remember. Remember that it’s like your brand and therefore must be easy enough for users to remember and type into a Web browser. A “.com” domain is recommended by most marketers. In fact, almost 52 percent of all websites are .com domains. You should therefore try to by a .com site unless it is a government, non-profit or organization website. Even in case of latter, it is recommended to have a .com version as well so that you don’t lose traffic, should a user type the .com address accidently.

It is easy to recall a .com site, which also makes it a default domain extension. Many use dash, hyphen or an underscore if a .com name is not available for their business. While you may choose do so, it is recommended to avoid such practices as they often look spammy apart from causing SEO headaches. The same goes for using numbers in your website address as it usually causes confusion for customers.

2. Say More about You

Take the guessing game out of your business website. When a visitor comes across your website, it should take no time for him/her to understand what you do/offer. In other words, you should clearly state your name along with a brief introduction of your products or services right on the homepage.

This is why experts often advice against using homepage carousels, especially for B2B websites. If possible, avoid them for any kind of websites as they are frustrating for users and bad for both SEO and usability.

As an entrepreneur, your goal is tell people who you are, what you do and how you can help them through your website. A clear description is what you need to tell your visitors that they have come in the right place. In fact, a proper description of who you are and what you do can help you attract visitor’s attention within 2-3 seconds and also encourage them to stay longer and browse through your website.

3. Easy Navigation

Your visitors are no explorers; so stop expecting them to browse through the website to find what they are looking for. Instead, you need to guide them through your website. Clear links and a site map to take your visitors to the important pages of your website is crucial here.

In other words, your navigation should be clearly laid out. Using dropdowns in your navigation menu is one of the best ways to ensure that your visitors can easily see the content you offer throughout the site under every heading.

4. Incorporate a Proper ‘Call to Action’

Just like you need to show your visitors where to go, you would also want to tell them what to do. And while you are at it, make sure you use clear tones of commend to do it. Also use the special call to action (CTA) buttons or at least highlighting the text to make your message stand out again the background and other content.

There are several types of call to action buttons and each serve a different purpose. So the first thing you need to understand is what the purpose of your call to action is – do you want your visitors to sign up or call for free quote, or to download what you have to offer.

It is the most significant part of your landing page. And if you don’t want to join the list of pathetic CTAs avoid using term like “submit,” “buy now” and “click here” etc. Your web designer should also avoid these CTA mistakes that cost you a lot in the long run.

5. Add Fresh, Quality Content

Your website is an opportunity to make a great first impression on your customers. Content is your secret weapon to do it. When you provide your customers with exactly what they’re looking for, they are more likely to come back for more and perhaps also do business with you.

The content therefore should be valuable, original and well written. Besides, Google’s obsession with fresh, quality content is another reason why you need to start adding valuable content to your website on a regular basis. It is a goldmine for SEO.

Incorporating a blog into your business website and updating the same with insightful posts related to your domain, is a great way keep your content fresh. This also ensures that Google and other search engines crawl your website on a regular basis, which again is key to improve your ranking on the search engine result pages.

For example, a web design firm based in Charlotte that keep its blog updated with regular and high-quality content has better chances of ranking on the search result pages when someone searches for a “Web Design Charlotte” company.

Additionally, you can connect your social media feeds to your website for the same purpose.

Conclusion

When developing your business website, remember that it’s not about you but your customers. This is applicable to all aspects of your website, from design and usability to content. Consider what your target audience needs. For every decision you make, ask yourself: “Will my target audience find it useful?” If not, think what you could do differently to increase its value to your target audience. Finally, remember that your focus should be on “user experience” and you goal is to make it as “seamless” as possible.

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Monthly Archives: July 2015