Enter the 2015 the InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition

Northern Ireland entrepreneurs could get a huge cash boost for their business, thanks to a total prize fund of €280,000 being offered by the InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition 2015, which is now open for entries. For further details visit www.intertradeireland.com/seedcorn. The deadline for submissions is 29 May 2015.

More than just a competition

With a cash prize fund of €280,000 up for grabs, Seedcorn provides a great opportunity for early stage and new start companies in Northern Ireland. However, entrants can get so much more out of the experience, such as invaluable guidance, tips and advice from experts, investors and other entrepreneurs. They will get guidance on how to improve their business plan and investment pitch as well as how best to demonstrate to investors that their business is worth investing in.

The importance of becoming investor ready

Seedcorn encourages and assists the best start-ups on the island to become investor ready. The purpose of business plans and slide decks as part of the competition is to make the investment case for a prospective investor – how might their investment today multiply in value in the next 3-5 years? The Seedcorn process is designed to help great start-ups develop those compelling investment cases.

Seedcorn

InterTradeIreland has supported more than 2,150 enterprising companies through the Seedcorn process in previous years, with former finalists going on to secure more than €187m worth of new equity. Past winners from Northern Ireland include Catagen and Sophia Search from Belfast, who were overall winners and Jenarron Therapeutics, Dunmurray; See. Sense, Newtownards and Cirdan Imaging, Lisburn, who were regional winners.

Businesses can enter in one of the two categories; new start or early stage and there are four regions; Northern Ireland, Dublin (City & County), Munster, and Connacht & Leinster (including counties Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan).

The process

Companies submit their application along with a visual representation of the business idea. Shortlisted companies are invited to submit a full business plan and, if successful, are invited to deliver an investment pitch in front of the judging panel comprising of venture capitalists, business angels and some of the island’s leading industry experts and entrepreneurs.

Throughout each stage of the competition, companies will be judged on various criteria including financial performance, company milestones and achievements, future strategy for the business, the management team in place, and indeed the quality of the pitch to the judging panel. Feedback is provided to companies at each stage of the competition process.

Free workshops

InterTradeIreland is hosting a series of free workshops designed to guide those considering entering this year’s competition, including providing advice on preparation of video clips, presentation slide decks and business plans. Workshops are planned for Belfast on 22 April at Ulster University and NISP and in Derry~Londonderry on 30 April at NISP. More information on the workshops can be found on the InterTradeIreland website www.intertradeireland.com/seedcorn

Follow the action

You can follow all the action throughout the 2015 competition by searching for and using #seedcorn and following @iti_seedcorn

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Deko Foods – Ethnic Food Producer to Create 20 Jobs in Meath

Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English TD welcomed the announcement that a UK-based company will establish operations in Meath, creating 20 jobs.

The jobs being created are with white-label ethnic food producers Deko Foods Ltd.

The company was introduced to Ireland through ConnectIreland, the company responsible for delivering the Government’s Succeed in Ireland initiative, as part of the Action Plan for Jobs, in association with IDA Ireland. Enterprise Ireland has also been instrumental in helping the company to establish in Ireland.

Welcoming the announcement, Minister Damien English, T.D., said; “I am delighted that Deko Foods has decided to establish a base in Kells. This adds to a growing number of companies who have chosen Meath to set up their business.

ConnectIreland Project

“This announcement is another ConnectIreland project that is being supported by the enterprise agencies and is a great example of how local communities can work to win valuable new jobs for Ireland and, in particular, regional areas throughout Ireland.”

Deko Foods Ltd is a specialist white-label manufacturer catering for the Afro-Caribbean and South-American segments of the worldwide ethnic foods market. In order to meet international demand for their food and drink products, Deko Foods will establish a processing plant in Kells Business Park.

The company, which will focus on manufacturing dry, non-perishable food items at the Kells base before expanding, hopes to hire 20 employees in the coming three years. Recruitment is already underway for a number of junior positions, including full and part-time warehousing staff and administration.

CEO of Deko Foods

Yomi Aiyegbusi, Founder and CEO of Deko Foods, said: “We chose Kells, due to its close proximity to both Dublin’s seaport and airport, and also because we found a suitable premises there, ideal for our type of operation. Another incentive was the level of government support and funding provided to new businesses choosing to locate in the Kells area; it’s exceptionally higher than other regions.

“I was also introduced to several other food producers and packagers in the area, all of whom assured me that Kells and its neighbouring towns could provide the necessary resources my business requires, like the right staff. I currently need to recruit an office manager, receptionist, warehouse clerk, forklift operator and four production staff.

“Ireland is perfect for us as it has a rich agricultural heritage and because of its proximity to the UK, where we have an established consumer base. Aside from its English speaking, highly literate population and its attractive tax system, another attraction was the many incentives Ireland provides to new and foreign businesses, especially those that are export-driven or invest heavily in R&D.

“As most of our revenue is generated from export sales and we invest heavily in R&D and NPD, these were significant deciding factors for us. But the ultimate deciding factor was not only Ireland’s hospitable and relaxed nature but also because Ireland is a progressive EU nation that encourages entrepreneurship and is slowly becoming a cosmopolitan hub for not only European but world business. We wished to be part of that progress.”

The company was introduced to ConnectIreland by local Meath man Hugh Morris. Hugh previously introduced Luxembourg-based company Mafic to ConnectIreland, and the subsequently located in Kells. Simply by striking up a conversation and asking companies to consider Ireland, Hugh has now been instrumental in securing 110 jobs for his local area.

Kevin Stewart, Meath County Council; Joanna Murphy, COO ConnectIreland; Minister for Skills, Damien English TD; Yomi Aiyegbusi, Deko Foods; Hugh Morris, Connector; and Nick Marmion from Enterprise Ireland celebrate the announcement of 20 jobs for Kells

Michael McLoughlin CEO of ConnectIreland commented: “Securing companies like Deko Foods for regional areas is testament to the great work being done by connectors right across the globe. Simply by asking the question ‘have you considered Ireland’, people like Hugh are helping to create job opportunities in their own counties. This company was considering locating in Spain until Hugh introduced them to ConnectIreland.”

This announcement brings the number of projects created in Meath by ConnectIreland under the Succeed in Ireland initiative to five, creating a total of 160 jobs in the region. Four firms have located in Kells, a fifth in Gibbstown.

Michael Cantwell, Divisional Director with Enterprise Ireland added: “This is great news for Meath and EI congratulate ConnectIreland and warmly welcome this food Foreign Direct Investment from Deko Foods. Enterprise Ireland’s Food Division will continue to work with the management as they build their manufacturing operations in Ireland.”

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3 Solid Steps for Defining Your Sales Process

There are three major steps for defining your sales process. First, there’s the type of contact. Second, there’s the milestones reached. Finally, there are helpful tools you can use to improve the sales process and optimize the sales cycle.

Type Of Contact

There are many types of contacts out there.

The Suspect
The suspect is a person’s name only. This is not really a hot prospect but rather someone who might be interested in listening to what you have to offer if they don’t have anything better to do. They might be interested in your product or service, but you’ve no idea and they’ve expressed no interest, so it’s anyone’s guess.

The Prospect
A prospect is a suspect that has engaged with you in one way or another. You might have handed them a business card. They might have called in about information about your service. Maybe you took them out to lunch, or maybe they know you through a friend or associate. At this stage, your job is to qualify them to see if it makes sense to do business with them.

The Lead
The lead is when a prospect becomes an actual lead – someone you could sell to. There’s a definite need there, but he or she hasn’t made a commitment yet for whatever reason. Maybe the person doesn’t have the money right now, or they have to wait until the spring or fall for additional funds to clear up.

The Customer
A customer is someone who has already bought something from you.

Milestones In The Sales Process

Milestones are stages in the sales process that are significant.

Engage
This is where you reach out to them and send them information about your company, your product or service, and your personal contact information. Provide them something of value during this stage so that you can qualify them.

Qualify
Qualification is nothing more than figuring out whether this person is a high-probability sale. A high-probability sale is one that won’t require too much effort to close and the person has the money, the interest, and the need for your product or service.

Assess
Assess whether you can really meet the person’s objectives and needs. Make sure you understand the key factors driving their decision. Are you speaking with the decision-maker? Do they really understand your value proposition, and are they looking at the competition and, if so, who?

Propose
Make a proposal. This is your offer for a sale. It includes quotes, and a formal offer to sell.

Close

If you’ve qualified the prospect properly, you shouldn’t have too much work to do in the close. Leads naturally want to buy from you when they have an immediate interest, and the money, to buy what you’re selling.

Helpful Tools

Some of the most helpful tools that will make your job easier include sales lead management tools, like this mortgage software. Basically, you want tools that will help you capture leads, followup with them, remind you to contact them, and store precious information about where the lead is in the sales cycle.

You also want your tools to simplify, rather than complicate, your life. Use that as the standard by which you judge them. Some tools won’t be worth the money, even when they cost thousands of dollars. Sometimes, free tools are your most valuable lead management asset.

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Calling all Innovators & Entrepreneurs, we need your help & your green VOTE !!

As with any Irish technology company, we all suffer unique challenges when growing business internationally. As a country we have a small population so we struggle when trying to make as much noise as our International competitors. Even places we assume are tiny states such as Haiti & Togo have twice and three times our population.

Hence we need your help…

One of our company’s, Surface Power HONE which has developed a revolutionary “daylight” powered Nano-heat engine technology is short-listed (final 18 was judged by experts) for the 2Degrees Champions Award – “Innovation of the Year” which is the world’s leading collaboration platform and service for sustainable business with over 46,500 members from 177 countries. https://www.2degreesnetwork.com/

Surface Power HONE has nearly 7,000 installations of this patented technology over 8 countries to date and it has been kept fairly secretive until recently. The technology was field tested in the West of Ireland & New Zealand as the daylight levels are some of the lowest in the OECD. In short, it replaces the use of oil and gas for heating and cooling with free daylight. Have a look at LIVE customers on our website such as the UK National Health Service running their hospital’s central heating on free “daylight” (sounds mad but true !!)

The next phase of the 2Degrees “Innovation of the Year Awards” is a voting stage which will reduce the final 18 to 5 for the big awards ceremony and we need your help and your vote.

Although already in the short-list of 18, we are the only Irish Technology company in this shortlist and are up against huge players such as Nestle, General Motors & B&Q.

You can vote for us by clicking the link below to get us into the final 5 and we thank you in advance for that vote. Be sure to tweet it afterwards using the link so we can personally send you a thank you tweet. Go raibh maith agat as do chabhair.

Best Regards, John Quinn, CEO. (Twitter – @johnquinn_irl )

Read our story and VOTE from below.

https://www.2degreesnetwork.com/groups/2degrees-community/resources/surface-powers-nano-engine-harvests-light-generate-heating-and-cooling/

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Top 5 Ways the Government is Supporting SME Growth

Here are 5 of the most important ways in which the UK government is supporting SME growth around the country. A vast majority of businesses in the UK fall into the small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) category and few people would doubt the extent to which their prospects are linked to the potential for growth in the wider economy. Without a vibrant and optimistic SME sector, any economy will struggle to sustain any measure of expansion and to continue creating jobs.

Here are 5 of the most important ways in which the UK government aims to support and encourage SME growth around the country:

1 – Opening up SME access to public procurement

Perhaps the most direct way in which the government seeks to support SMEs is through the procurement system, which has been reformed in recent years in an effort to make it much more accessible to smaller companies. The government procures roughly £230 billion worth of services from third party vendors every year and until recently it was very difficult indeed for SMEs to access any part of that or to compete with large companies in that context.

Key reforms aimed at opening up more SME access to public service contracts have included the elimination of pre-qualification questionnaires for deals worth less than £100,000 and the insistence upon greater transparency around advertising and the allocation of all public contracts. Individual government departments also now have to reveal just how many of the contracts they sign with service providers involve SMEs.

2 – Employment allowances

In an effort to encourage small businesses to take on new employees and pursue growth, the government announced in April 2014 that every company in the UK would be entitled to a £2,000 Employment Allowance. The allowance enables mostly small businesses to reduce their National Insurance Contributions and in many cases avoid having to pay any at all for the year. According to the government’s own estimates, over a million companies with fewer than 250 employees will benefit from the allowance in 2014-15 tax year.

3 – Support, advice and resources

A key aspect of the government’s strategy around encouraging start-up and SME growth is its provision of support, advice and online resources. The website Great Business is one such resource, which is designed to give entrepreneurs and SME bosses access to information, guides and case studies that might help them pursue their ambitions. The site is officially backed by the government, as is its Business Support Helpline, which allows business men and women around the country to speak directly to an expert advisor on issues relevant to SMEs and their development.

4 – Creation of a ‘prompt payment code’

Anyone who has every created a company or operated as a small scale service provider in any industry will understand the importance of being paid on time and as promptly as possible. Indeed, failing to maintain cash flows can be the difference between survival and insolvency as far as many SMEs in the UK and around the world are concerned. With this in mind and in collaboration with a variety of business groups, the government has drawn up and invited signatories to the Prompt Payment Code, which is now administered by the Institute of Credit Management. The code is designed to encourage organisations of all kinds to pay SME service providers on time and in line with pre-agreed terms, and also to encourage SMEs themselves to become more aware of their rights when their invoices go unpaid.

5 – Alternative finance proposals

Few, if any, issues more greatly concern SMEs than access to finance. Traditionally, funding and finance have typically only been sought by applying for loans or other lines of credit from familiar banking institutions. However, in the future, more and more SMEs will be funded in alternative ways and through processes such as invoice factoring, peer-to-peer lending and asset refinancing.

It’s no secret that traditional lenders have retreated from the SME sector in large part in recent years, much to the frustration of the government, which has long been seeking to encourage banks to lend more readily to viable small businesses. The government’s latest efforts to improve matters in this context recently saw legislation drafted that will oblige banks to point their rejected SME loan customers in the direction of alternative funding options and information on finance providers available outside the mainstream.

A thriving SME sector is what virtually every government would want and certainly the UK’s coalition is no exception. Making sure small companies can access finance and find a way to flourish is not easy but it is vitally important to our economy that efforts to that end should continue to be made. Above are 5 important ways the government is aiming to support SME growth around the country but hopefully this list will be added to and expanded upon considerably in years to come.

Conrad Ford is the founder of Funding Options, which provides a range of online tools to help firms and their trusted advisers to manage funding and cash flow.

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26 counties involved in Climate Launchpad

26 countries (and counting)

We are growing. Fast. ClimateLaunchpad is now up and running in 26 countries. Aspiring entrepreneurs with an idea to tackle climate change can enter in their own country. Our cleantech business idea competition takes them on a rousing ride, with a 2-day Business Boot Camp, 6 follow-up Coaching Sessions and a National Final. It all leads up to the thrilling European Final in the Netherlands in September. Europe’s top-8 ideas win direct access to Climate-KIC Accelerator, the only EU business acceleration programme focused on cleantech commercialisation. The European Final top-3 win money prizes ranging from € 2,500 to € 10,000.

Open for applications

Does your business idea tackle climate change? Even if the idea is still on the back of a napkin, you could be the next cleantech hero. Closure dates in Ireland and Slovenia have passed, but we’re still open in 24 countries. Don’t miss out, check the application deadline for your country now. For Ireland you have until Monday. Contact ron@smallbusinesscan.com.

Spread the word

Please share this e-mail with all your friends, colleagues and former classmates. ClimateLaunchpad could be their ticket to European and global success.

Last year’s winner

In 2014 Sara West and Alexander Torstenfeldt won the spectacular European Final in Valencia. Wavetube is their venture based on the idea to produce renewable energy from the motion of ocean waves. Sara tells us what happened since they won the 2014 edition:

‘ClimateLaunchpad has opened up a vast network and expertise that we can easily access as we accelerate our development. Right now we are entering a very critical stage where we are refining the design of our wave power solution in order to maximise the efficiency. We will perform experimental tests in Northern Ireland during the summer before we move on to demonstrating the Wavetube solution in its real environment: the ocean.’ Read the whole story.

Curious about the other winners?

Stay tuned on Facebook and Twitter and follow the updates.

A ClimateLaunchpad glimpse

Check this video for a flashback to the 2014 edition and to get an idea of what to expect for this year’s competition.

The post 26 counties involved in Climate Launchpad appeared first on Small Business Can.

26 countries involved in Climate Launchpad

26 countries (and counting)

Open for applications

Spread the word

Please share this e-mail with all your friends, colleagues and former classmates. ClimateLaunchpad could be their ticket to European and global success.

Last year’s winner

Curious about the other winners?

Stay tuned on Facebook and Twitter and follow the updates.

A ClimateLaunchpad glimpse

Check this video for a flashback to the 2014 edition and to get an idea of what to expect for this year’s competition.

The post 26 countries involved in Climate Launchpad appeared first on Small Business Can.

Are You an Entrepreneur? – 10 Telltale Signs

Are You an Entrepreneur? It is thrilling, punishing, exhausting and emotionally draining, yet at the end of the day, starting your business is one of the most rewarding experiences in life. It is no wonder then that 87% of topics tackled in mentorship forums by The Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ASBE) revolve around success in entrepreneurship.

The U.S Small Business Administration (SBA) reports that over 93% of all queries in its mentorship programs also have to do with the rigorous task of making it as an entrepreneur. The picture is no different at the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship® (USASABE) with startup investors intensively asking for assistance to make it as entrepreneurs.

Is Entrepreneurship Innate or a Trainable Skill?

So, is entrepreneurship a skill that can be taught or is it inherent? Was it special skills that enabled Mark Zuckerberg to see a larger picture for Facemash, the precursor of Facebook, which others in his coterie of friends could not see? In all forums, the late Steve Jobs portrayed confidence that revealed he was born an entrepreneur and these are traits you see in Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and many more successful entrepreneurs.

Reading the Signs that you are an Entrepreneur

Well, various studies have shown there are telltale signs you can use to gauge your probability of success as an entrepreneur. Indeed, maverick contemporary entrepreneurs from Virgin’s Richard Branson to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban show similar traits.

Studies by myriad varied organizations including Harvard School of Business, Gallup and Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), among other bodies, attest to existence of such traits.

Here are some highlights of these signs which can set you on a path of confidence towards business success:

Persistent Restlessness

The saying that you should never sit on your laurels applies aptly for any credible entrepreneur. If you are a go-getter, who achieves one goal and immediately starts hustling for another challenge, you have what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur.

Family Lineage of Self-employment

It might seem like splitting hairs when you say most successful entrepreneurs come from families with a heritage of self-employment, but the numbers prove it. A study by the world renowned Stockholm School of Economics in 2010 showed that 49.5% of nascent entrepreneurs had self-employed parents compared to 37.3% in the control group. A clue here; Bill Gates is the son of William H. Gates, a business magnate. Need you doubt further?

Your Passion is Inborn

If you are a go-getter, who lets nothing come between a project and its objectives to be achieved, then you can ace it as an entrepreneur in today’s increasingly tough business environment. Failure never affects a born entrepreneur because their passion is inborn.

You are a Gadfly

When Socrates was forced to drink hemlock and die, the poignant statement the revered scholar made still applies in modern life. The Greek teacher said he was a gadfly who’d keep pestering the horse, which in this case represented the state.

In business, a born entrepreneur is never satisfied with the status quo and wants to know more. Just look at Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Program to take ordinary people to space, or successful Movie producer James Cameron’s DEEP SEA CHALLENGER voyage to the remotest part of the earth – Mariana Trench – to appreciate this sign.

Self-confidence is Your Nature

When Mark Zuckerberg bought WhatsApp for $19 billion, every pundit thought money was making the young Billionaire go bonkers. However, Zuckerberg was adamant and the buy went through. Today, WhatsApp is not only the most popular App in the world; Facebook has been able to monetize the messaging platform. Such self-confidence is only evident in natural entrepreneurs.

You are a Control Freak

On paper, this might seem like a negative quality until you get into the intricate business world where myriad aspects of your business determine your success. Your success depends on how much control you are willing to yield.

As an entrepreneur, you need to have a feel of every aspect of your business, and while this can be detrimental, it is a trait seen in some of the most successful entrepreneurs including the late Steve Jobs, Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary and Bill Gates, among others.

You are Independent Minded

If you have always had a problem with authority, then it is highly likely that you cannot tolerate being employed. It is a trait seen in Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerbereg, among other billionaires, who dropped out of college as they were uncomfortable with being confined in terms of thinking and application of their genius.

You have a Magnet Effect

While successful entrepreneurs may look aloof, you will be surprised to learn they are really amiable if you have similar interests. They have an effect of pulling like-minded individuals towards them and unusual, albeit profitable, partnerships are born from such character.

Risk Taking

The music industry is one of the most perilous and if an artist makes the wrong choice in terms of a recording label, then they are done for.

Well, the most prolific entrepreneurs in this industry, including billionaires Shawn Carter (Jay Z), who is worth over $520 million, Andre Romelle Young (Dr. Dre), who is worth $550 million, and Sean Combs (P. Diddy) worth over $700 million, have proven that risking is natural to born entrepreneurs. All these music moguls made career suicidal record label moves, but today they are the kingpins.

You are a Doer

One of the most glaring misconceptions about contemporary successful entrepreneurs is that they depend entirely on their skilled staff for ideas and implementation. If this is what you thought then you are wrong.

Facebook’s Zuckerberg is a hands-on project freak, Virgin Group’s Richard Branson is always on the ground even when problems occur, Warren Buffet is always talking and working numbers and Dr. Dre is still producing hits at 50 years. Mind you, these are just a few of the entrepreneurs you can cite in terms of breaking their backs for success.

Well, they say there is no secret to entrepreneurship success, but looking at these 10 traits vis-à-vis the Forbes Top 100 Entrepreneurs, it is obvious there is a correlation. Luckily, you can always surprise everyone by joining this league without these traits. After all, this entire list does not forestall your entrepreneurial success.

Author Bio

Charlie Brown is a web developer and UI/UX specialist at BigDropInc.com. He works at a design, branding and marketing firm, having founded the same firm 5 years ago. He likes to share knowledge and points of view with other developers and consumers on platforms.

The post Are You an Entrepreneur? – 10 Telltale Signs appeared first on Small Business Can.

5 Restaurant Marketing Tips to Help You Spread the Word

Though food will always remain a constant demand, the rise in the number of different restaurants crowding around everywhere makes the restaurant industry no less than a battlefield with all restaurant owners vying for attention. Needless to say, not getting enough customers even if you dish out the best can be detrimental to your business. In this post we will look at 5 restaurant marketing tips that will help you spread the word.

As a restaurateur, spreading the word is as important as serving good food and providing exceptional service. And in this digital era, strutting your stuff online is the quickest way to get a word around!

So here are some tips to help you get started with promoting your restaurant online.

Get a Website

You can’t market your restaurant online without having a website! A website is crucial to any business as it helps establish credibility. Moreover, people all over the world are more likely to check out a product or service online before giving it a try. You’d certainly want people to check out your website and go crazy over your irresistible menu, drool-worthy pictures of your food and the amazing ambience of your restaurant!

Not having a website can put off potential customers, and you certainly don’t want that. People are going to think of you as a big player when they see you have a fine website. And that brings us to the all important points having a fine website!

You need to have a functioning website that is beautifully designed and user-friendly. Make sure that all details related to your restaurant are updated regularly on the website. Furthermore, ensure that your website works just as fine on mobile devices. A majority of people use their smartphones to access the web so it will do you good to design a simple website or create a mobile website.

Be Social Media Savvy

Pinterest and Instagram are great sites to share pictures of your food. Food porn will also work on Facebook and Twitter. Just be sure to time your posts around lunch or dinner time so you get the orders pouring in!

Share your menu, special deals, infographics and more on these sites. A video that highlights the best of your restaurant will also help your business. Consider creating a Facebook page for your restaurant. It is free and you’ll be marketing your restaurant on the largest social networking site!

There are several online communities with members who love food and drinks. Join the best ones and share your valuable content with the members keeping in mind the rules of the community. You can also consider forming your own online community.

Don’t forget to offer a call to action on your website and social media pages. Often, the most successful calls to action are deals and discounts. By making special deals available only for a limited time, you can be sure of getting more orders.

Post Relevant Content

Even before your website is up and running, you need to be ready with relevant content that you can share with your target customers. The relevant content would be articles and stories related to your restaurant and the food you serve.

Also, share articles related to wines, coffee, dining, and more. Establish yourself as an expert in the food industry and write intriguing articles related to food and dining. Do provide expert tips and guidelines too!

Once your website is ready, start sharing blogs on it and keep doing so regularly. Get in touch with local food bloggers and invite them to post on your site. You can also post blogs on their sites and broaden your target base this way.

Optimize Results

You want more people to be aware of your restaurant and you can do this by making sure that your brand is visible enough to everyone. Make a note of all the top directories in your city or country and claim your listings on them. Don’t forget Foursquare, Google Places, Yelp, Yellow Pages, etc.

You also need to adopt SEO techniques for your own website so that you rank higher in search engines. Just having a user-friendly website won’t do; you’ll need to ensure that the titles, descriptions, and tags on your website pages match your content and the information users will be searching for. Fix URL and crawling errors on your site, and make your website fast, reliable, and secure.

Do improve the internal linking structure of your website. Create a sitemap and submit it to top search engines to boost search optimization. Additionally, make sure that the content you post on your website is fresh and unique.

Hire a Consultant

Don’t look at hiring restaurant consultants as an unnecessary expense; hiring professionals for a job that you don’t know much about will definitely work in your favor.

Realize that the restaurant business is complex and that the food industry is relying heavily on the evolving trends of diners. In such a scenario, if you need to stay ahead of the competition, you need to have an insightful approach and plan strategically.

Approaching a consultant might not yield immediate results, but you can be sure of being on the right path!

Conclusion

It might be a tough journey to the top, but there’s no need to worry about the competition you’ll have to face in the restaurant industry. Just get the basics right and you’re sure to be a favorite with everyone.

With the tips mentioned here, you’re sure to market your restaurant online in the best way possible. So get started on spreading the word!

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Start-up Story: SqueezeIT – The Home Straight

Read part 1, part 2 and part 3.

The next thing I needed, obviously, was my own website so more research, I eventually contacted Webbiz and met with them, they seemed to have their heads pretty much screwed on so I gave them the gig – I had written most of the text for the site anyway – and after much toing and froing they came up trumps and as a result they will be helping with some minor aspects of the mobile conversions which is great and this will add another dimension to the business.

I was also looking at ways to advertise for SqueezeIT and contacted Emergo and met with them too and they have also decided they want to actually partner with SqueezeIT which is absolutely fantastic as they are also based in Germany so that could be another possible market for the business going forward.

I am also in talks at the moment with a representative from Lyoness to provide the service to them by offering it to their client merchants both here in Ireland and overseas, especially in the USA and the UK.

Currently I am looking for a “home” for SqueezeIT and should have something sorted soon, fingers crossed!

So if anyone out there would like to avail of our service just visit SqueezeIT.ie and all the details are there and as an opening offer we are prepared to waive the 100 euros deposit for the 1^st 5 businesses who sign up with us regardless of which of the three options you choose to use and we will feature your site on our site also from time to time to say thanks.

Written by Aidan Murray. As part of ‘Use SBC as a channel’ initiative, SqueezeIT has an exclusive offer for SBC members: “We will waive the 100 euro deposit for the first five companies that sign up for our service with us and will give a 50% discount for the next five businesses.”

For more information on this business visit Partner Site: emergo-online.com | Email: squeezeit@yandex.com |Phone: 087 261 7576.

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Category Archives: Start Ups