Questions and Answers from Ulster Bank’s #BusinessAchievers Twitter Q&A

Leading up to Ulster Bank’s Annual #BusinessAchievers Awards, a team of Ulster Bank specialists, Ron the Co-Founder of Smallbusinesscan.com, sat down for a Live Twitter Q&A.

The team provided some tips and tricks for award hopefuls, as well as detailed insight into previous winners, and the application process. For those of you who missed the live event, you can check out the Q&A below! Alternatively, search for #BusinessAchievers on Twitter.

Q1. When is the closing date for entries? #BusinessAchievers via @wellclever

UB: Hi @wellclever, it’s the 25th of September. See here for more details http://bit.ly/1pXjvt5 . Best of luck.

Q2. What would be the number one tip for applying for #businessachievers? via @orangemanta

UB: Hi @orangemanta, make your first paragraph stand out… and run spell check! See here for more details http://bit.ly/1pXjvt5  

Q3. Can you enter the female entrepreneur award if you are one of four founders, the rest being male? #BusinessAchievers via @iveavicky

UB: Hi @iveavicky, if you are the CEO – the answer is yes. Please get in touch via ron@smallbusinesscan.com for more info. #BusinessAchievers

Q4. What categories are there to enter in #BusinessAchievers @UlsterBank? Via @davranetworks

UB: Hi @davranetworks, there are 8 categories and you can enter up to 2 categories. See here for more http://bit.ly/1ECwyC8  #BusinessAchievers

Q5. Can companies operating internationally, but based in Dublin apply? #businessachievers via @spud554433

UB: Hi @spud554433, absolutely. There is also an international category. See here for more http://bit.ly/1pXjvt5 . #BusinessAchievers

Q6. Want to enter the start-up category, when still in the beginning phase. Can we enter&how do we do it? #BusinessAchievers via @iveavicky

UB: Hi @iveavicky, yes. Tell your story from the original idea up to incorporation. Good luck! #BusinessAchievers

Q7. What is the best category to go for in the #businessachievers? Via @orangemanta

UB: Hi @orangemanta, the category that best tells your company story! #BusinessAchievers

Q8. Is there a category for an Irish company that is built largely around trading foreign products? #BusinessAchievers via @TankersleyWine

UB: Yes there is @TankersleyWine. You should take a look at international category here http://bit.ly/1ECwyC8 . #BusinessAchievers

Q9. Are there regional awards or just a national competition? #BusinessAchieversAwards via @kieranomalley1

UB: There are Leinster, Connacht, Ulster and Munster provincial finals and a national final @kieranomalley1. #BusinessAchievers

Q10. I’m a one man show – is there a category I can enter? #BusinessAchievers via @killerfitz

UB: There are a number of categories that you can go for @killerfitz. Check out here for more info http://bit.ly/1ECwyC8  . #BusinessAchievers

Q11. Why do you think applying for #businessachievers is worthwhile? Via @orangemanta

UB: PR, access to the Ulster Bank ecosystem – national & global, networking opportunities AND sales @orangemanta. #BusinessAchievers

Q12. Can I get help with my #businessachievers application? via @bizwomencan

UB: Yes. You can book a free mentoring session with the guys from @SmallBC. See here http://bit.ly/1LvXOF1  @bizwomencan #BusinessAchievers

Q13. Can businesses enter more than 1 category? #BusinessAchievers via @KarKeeley

UB: Yes – you can enter up to two categories @KarKeeley. See here for more http://bit.ly/1LvXOF1  #BusinessAchievers

Q14. Who’s the most famous winner you’ve had? #BusinessAchievers via @kezzamcfezza

UB: Some Include: @taytopark, @Mcor3DPrinting, @RealexPayments,  @MoyParkChicken, @JaipurIndianCO + many more @kezzamcfezza. #BusinessAchievers

Q15. Is there a category for writers/artists or is it just business? via @helenmcnulty

UB: There’s a social enterprise category, but if you sell art or writing for profit, enter biz categories: http://ow.ly/Sh7EW

Q16. Are there any requirements for start-ups planning to enter? Via @iveaLabs 

UB: Biz must be in existence for less than 3 years. Any sector, turnover, no. of employees #BusinessAchievers http://ow.ly/S63Kl

Don’t forget to follow @UlsterBank and @SmalBC for more on this and other events.

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How Can You Get Individual Superstars to Work Together?

When you have a small business, you need to have the best hire to be part of your tram. However, it’s not always a piece of cake to gather aces and put them on their best places and get them to work altogether.

Most managers are then faced with the question on how to combine their talents, skills, and brains for one project and lead them to work harmoniously.

Vince Lombardi believes that the secret to building a team of superstars is to motivation them to work towards a common goal. But even if we’re not talking about sports, the same motivation is quintessential in any team, especially in the workplace.

In the Team Effectiveness Review led by Elaine Yew at Egon Zehnder during the late 90s, she discussed the six critical team competencies that can make an A-team thrive.

Let’s explore the six ingredients that make individual superstars work great with a team.

Balance

It’s not enough that the team understands the importance of diversity of skills and strengths. They should be also willing to incorporate them. Dan of The Leadership Freak noted about 13 reasons why teams lose momentum and one of them is dominant members who cause others to feel insignificant.

As the leader, you are responsible to help your members understand each other’s skills and strengths despite the fact that superstars tend to be “me-focused”. By identifying each superstar’s motivation, you can work around how to best motivate and inspire them to work with others without feeling the need to be always be on the spotlight.

Energy

An ambitious team thinks about long-term momentum at a high level. Superstars are naturally driven individuals who always have the thirst for victory and excellence and each member’s enthusiasm would easily rub off on others.

Alignment

Do your team members understand the larger team purpose? If not, you may want to direct all theirefforts on one central objective. It’s time to leverage their thinking. TribeHR Staff said businesses are most successful when employees’ personal goals are aligned with that of corporate goals. Yes, while each member may have personal goals and priorities, team leaders should aim to make the business thrive and ensure that each team player’s goal aligns with that of company’s.

Resilience

Author Margaret Heffernan said that social capitals make a group resilient. By that, she means trust, knowledge, reciprocity, and shared norms. If you are a team leader, it helps to show your team the outcome of their collected efforts. Writer Glenn Llopis said one of the ways to inspire a team is to make them feel that their hard work makes a difference beyond just profitability.

Efficiency

One of the biggest challenges to teams is how to deal with pressure not only individually, but also as a team. You may encourage your team to try a few quirky de-stress hacks such as photography contest activities or simply employee’s day out. After a super-busy week, your team deserves relaxing and reenergizing activities to keep them motivated and happy at work.

Openness

Do the team members’ value engaging with the broader organization? When each member has connection to one another, it becomes effortless for them to share ideas, concerns and contribute towards the common goal better.

Having great individuals work together as a team is a great opportunity and a challenge to focus on the over-all and high level goals. By focusing on the over-all objectives, one can minimize the potential clashes within the team and make the best use of individual talents, skills and take advantage of the adversity of the group.

Having aces on their best places allow each team member to feel significant without having the need to be constantly on the spotlight and think more of the common goal as opposed to focusing solely on individual ones.

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Moving Product: How to Save Money on Your Startup Transportation

When small business owners launch a transportation service, they usually have high fuel costs right up front. However, there are many ways to keep gas costs low throughout the year. If you use these tips you can help save money and make your investment in transportation pay off.

Design a Strategic Network

To configure the best network, you must understand how your business allocates clients to different distribution centers. By using a networking tool, you can find a good network easily because the system will provide detailed information about historical order volumes. It will also recommend the most efficient routes to use during the day. As a result, you will lower your daily fuel costs. The first step is recording all your trips, who makes the most purchases, and how the traffic is on each route. From there you can work out a good system for improving the costs of getting around.

Route Optimization
You must optimize your routes to cut your costs. By maintaining your vehicles, daily carbon emissions will reduce as well. For this task, you will need advanced scheduling and routing software. Typically, businesses that use route optimization tools lower their fuel costs by nearly 20 percent. Many drivers waste gas because they don’t plan their routes with a good tracking tool. Invest in highly efficient tracking devices to give drivers information about the length of every route. When routes are accurate, drivers get big savings since they don’t waste as much time. Make sure you are always on top of repairs and part replacements as well. When vehicles run at peak health and performance, so will your business.

Lease a Commercial Truck
Leasing a commercial truck will free up capital for your company. The process is very affordable because most companies will not need a down payment. Each payment that you make every month will cover any maintenance issues that could occur. Overall, this transportation option is highly recommended because it can lower your taxes during tax season. Other services like Arrow Truck Sales might also offer commercial trucks for sale which can be a good investment for a company that plans on using transportation like this for a long time.

Fuel Usage Strategies for Commercial Trucks
According the experts, morning is the best time to fill up a commercial vehicle. When pumping the fuel, use the lowest setting to reduce gas vapors and never fill the tank when the gas is nearly gone. If you fill the tank while it is partially full, the truck will have better fuel mileage. Find out what the best hacks might be for your particular vehicle and see how you can improve them.

Train the Staff
If your employees have poor driving habits, monthly fuel costs will be high because frequent starting, stopping, and shifting affect fuel efficiency. To save gas, your drivers should not press the gas petal or the brake petal too quickly since both these actions increase gas consumption. This strategy will only produce great results if the drivers have good routes. If they avoid stop lights and heavy traffic, there will be less starting and stopping throughout the route as well.

Overall, you can save money on your transportation if you rent a commercial truck, choose good routes, and train your staff properly. Preparing for your distribution and transport early on will give you a head start over the competition. Make sure you know what you can afford to invest in and what will pay off in the end.

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Small Biz, High Tech: 4 IT Hacks for Small Businesses

Running a small business is a constant dance between producing a product or service for people at a cost that compares to or beats your competition. One of the costs is information technology or IT. A small business that can find inexpensive and powerful options in this area can create an advantage for their business in their marketplace. Here are 4 IT hacks that can help your small business be more profitable.

IT Hacks: Organize Better Meetings

Increasing a client base can be a challenge for a small business. Meeting with potential clients face-to-face is limited by geography. With technology today, there are simple ways that a business can organize a meeting on teleconference that will allow for face-to-face interaction. There are individual video conferencing tools like Skype that allow for individuals to connect face-to-face across the world. There are also online meeting programs that allow presentations and ideas to be shared over an unlimited number of locations. Low cost products like Go To Meeting or Any Meeting are two meeting software suites that allow for powerful presentations.

Keep Your Office Running Smoothly

Organization is the key to success in any business. Fortunately today there are software suits that can help manage your schedules. For example AdvancedMD is a medical software suite that allows a small office to organize the scheduling of patients, their records, issue bills, manage patient care and measure the performance of your business. The best part is that once this type of system is set up, it runs with very little maintenance. A small office staff can all access the vital information and provide adequate care for all patients. There are similar management software products for almost any type of office as well.

Take Control of Your Web Properties

Managing and developing your own websites may seem like a daunting task but with the technology available today it shouldn’t be. Developing a functional and well-designed site can be done through the use of WordPress with a minimum of training. Having this skill available opens you up to make changes to a website quickly and at a low cost. It will require paying a hosting fee, but this cost is very minimal compared to paying someone to manage your website. HostGator is a great hosting program that is safe and responsive to questions. The investment in this area can save thousands of dollars over the long term and provide your small business with a website that is more representative of your products and/or services.

Build Relationships through Email

Connecting with you customers is vital for any small business. There are many different options available to help manage your email list depending on price and types of communication you desire. Constant Contact is one of the easiest email marketing suites to use although it has some limitations in function. Get Response and Aweber are high-functioning software suits that make it easy to create and run complex chains of marketing emails. The best part about these products is that once you have it set up, it runs on autopilot. Email lists provide a great opportunity to directly contact your customer base and a business can get their product or service in front of the customers.

Running a small business is an exciting endeavor that can become very profitable. Learning to decrease the IT challenges a company faces will clearly make things run more smoothly. All four of these IT solutions can be managed in house with inexpensive and powerful software programs. Allowing a small business to perform big is the goal of these 4 IT hacks for small business.

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Climate launchpad, secret seeds and the road to Amsterdam

Climate launchpad

I got the invitation to attend the Climate Launchpad bootcamp just as a work contract was finishing, the timing was perfect. I had toyed with the idea of working for myself for some time and this bootcamp and coaching seemed like something that would help me on my way. The bootcamp and mentoring sessions over 2 months leading up to the National Finals at the Climate Gathering were tough and interesting and really helped me formulate my concept.

National finals in Dublin

The eight businesses involved were so different but with a common goal in finding a climate friendly business solution that allows them to make a living. We were put through our paces weekly and presented at the National Finals on June 22nd. The eight presentations were very unique to each other and had come a long way from the initial bootcamp.

This was my pitch:

Climate Launchpad International finals in Amsterdam

I was really delighted to be selected in the top three and go forward to represent Ireland in the finals in Amsterdam. However this is where things got real, 28 countries, 84 contestants and all competing for 10 places on an accelerator programme and the top three will get cash prizes. The number of contestants is daunting but the variation in ideas is fascinating, with a common theme and ideal surrounding climate each team has developed very different concepts. I am a mix of nerves and excitement bringing Secret Seeds to the finals in Amsterdam.

Secret seeds

Secret Seeds are heart shaped seedbombs that are full of wildflower seeds. While they look small their impact is large. By using Secret Seeds instead of buying flowers you promote growing your own, you provide food for bees (who are vital for our own survival) and by choosing to buy Secret Seeds instead of cut flowers you reduce the transport emissions, virtual water and even human rights conditions associated with flower farms which are based in the developing world.

Change the world one seed at a time

I am looking forward to meeting the other contestants, hearing their pitch but I am more excited about presenting my business to the judges and showing them that Secret Seeds can change the world one seed at a time.

 

 

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Starting a design led business?

Bolton Trust is seeking applicants for a 30 week #Springboard Enterprise Development Programme free to Jobseekers and based in Docklands Innovation Park.

Register here 

 

 

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Starting a Design Led Business? Bolton Trust is Seeking Applicants

Bolton Trust is seeking applicants for a 30 week #Springboard Enterprise Development Programme free to Jobseekers and based in Docklands Innovation Park.

This Diploma in Enterprise Development Programme is for applicants from within the Greater Dublin area who are aspiring to start a business. This part-time free course will be based in Docklands Innovation Park which is owned and managed by Docklands Innovation – A Bolton Trust initiative. It is a hub for enterprise and business startups close to the city centre with easy access to public transport.

If you are interested then you can apply online here.

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How To Start A Successful Online Business

Whether you’re looking to get away from the 9-5 grind or earn a part-time income to supplement your salary, starting an online business can be extremely rewarding. Unlike brick-and-mortar businesses that require heavy capital investments upfront, business ideas such as a new blog concept or offering freelance services are relatively cheap and easy to build. Here are 5 essential steps to Start A Successful Online Business.

1. Build A Blog or Website

It isn’t the 90s or early 2000s where a blog was optional. If you want to establish credibility for any business, you have to build a blog. And fortunately for non-technical business owners, a blog no longer requires HTML, CSS, PHP, or an in-depth knowledge of any coding language.

Enter WordPress – the most popular blogging software in the world. In fact, your very own Small Business Can is built on it and see how professional it looks! There are dozens of great tutorials and guides that can teach you how to start a blog online.

2. Content Marketing

Content marketing refers to the concept of creating valuable, interesting content for your visitors as a means of indirectly marketing your products or services. Content marketing serves multiple purposes, but the following are the biggest benefits:

  • Developing trust. Publishing quality content allows you to demonstrate your expertise and credibility without being arrogant or making the hard-sell. By addressing their concerns through “how-to” guides, readers and potential customers begin to trust your industry knowledge and insights.
  • Build exposure. It’s hard to get people to link to or visit your website if all you are trying to do is sell them something. Why should other bloggers send their hard-earned traffic to your blog so you can make money? If they do, it’s called advertising and they will charge you. However, if you have unique content that might prove valuable to their readers, it is in their best interest, as an expert in their industry, to be aware of helpful publications.
  • SEO benefits. If you don’t already know, aside from cold-hard cash, links are the biggest online currency because search engines like Google use them as editorial votes to rank web pages. As you build your website’s credibility through links, you eventually start to earn organic search engine traffic from relevant keywords. For example, if you write a very high quality blog post on “How To Invest For Retirement”, you may end up ranking for the term “Investing For Retirement”, which is searched 720 times per month world-wide in on Google. As your rankings improve, a majority of those visitors may end up visiting your site.

3. Leverage Social Media

Social media is a great equalizer in the sense that anyone can become an overnight “celebrity” with the right Tweet, Share, or Pin. Due to the growing popular and user levels on social platforms, this free traffic source is difficult to ignore. However, bloggers and business owners must know where to find their target demographic.

For instance, LinkedIn might be best if your business targets professionals and a B2B audience. Instagram and Pinterest are great for image-friendly blogs, especially catering to women. Facebook is usually best for B2C niches and Twitter is ideal for news and current events.

Knowing where to invest your energy and resource is critical to reaching your best potential customers.

4. Be Consistent and Patient

Forget the Dot Com millionaires who enjoyed overnight success – those days are long gone. Making money online is just as competitive, if not more competitive, then any other industry given that the barriers-to-entry are exceptionally low. Nonetheless, there is still room for new success stories and bloggers looking to build an empire.

You just need to stay consistent and expect your online business to be a long-term investment of your time and energy. If you are doing something special and unique, you will eventually be noticed. Like anything else in life, the things worth doing take time to develop into something great.

5. Be Creative and Take Risks

When people think of innovation, they think of big technologies companies coming up with revolutionary ideas and concepts. But as a small business owner online, you have an opportunity to do something creative as well. Analyzing your competitors and copying their content or offerings will not get you noticed.

Instead, you can change an industry model to challenge established business practices, take a controversial, yet enlightened stance on a public issue, provide the absolute best quality services and products in an industry, etc.

Whatever you end up doing, always strive to be proud of what you’re building. The passion, determination, and goodwill will become apparent to your loyal readers and customers.

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10 Must Know Tips for Selling your Startup

Your business is likely your baby: you’ve nurtured it, cared for it and experienced sleepless nights, early mornings and late nights in an effort to build a viable business. So it’s then only right that when you come to sell your business that you secure both a fair price, as well as the reassurance that the person or company that you’re selling to will take your carefully grown business forward. So here we take a look at seven savvy, must know tips for selling your Startup business and paying the process the due diligence that it commands.

  1. Show sellers your most promising figures

When selling your business you’ll need to provide a comprehensive set of figures that cover everything from profits through to revenue and onto costs. What’s key to grabbing attention however is to highlight the most promising of these figures to demonstrate just what your business has achieved. You may want to speak with an accountant in order to achieve this whilst still maintaining transparency throughout your figures.  Here are some good tips.

  1. Be sure to highlight the transferability of the business

Potential buyers will want to know that your business will operate as it should when and if it comes under their care. So always be sure to explain any training or support you’ll provide.

You should also highlight your marketing efforts and the ways in which you establish leads, sales and, consequently, ongoing revenue.

  1. Be prepared

Being prepared to sell is half the battle of selling, particularly when there is so much information to present and so many figures to gather. Generally speaking you should ideally want to begin preparations for a sale 12 months before hand (although this will, of course, differ depending upon the size of your business, your industry type and the number of due diligence tasks to be undertaken) according to Aperio Intelligence.

  1. Demonstrate your growth consistency

A company that can demonstrate revenue that promises to grow consistently, rather than revenue that merely manages a constant plateau, is always going to be of the most attractive proposition. So be sure to highlight figures that demonstrate your growth and back them up with a growth plan for buyers so that they can see the tangible steps required for continuing in your successful footsteps.

  1. Appreciate the pace of acquisition

Buyers want to know that should they decide to forge ahead with the purchase of your business that the transition will move swiftly. So be sure to highlight your readiness to sell and have an idea of the practicalities to cover the transfer of business along with the associated estimated timescales.

  1. Understand the importance of expert input

Selling a business is a legal process and one that can demand a range of specialist skills, from that of an accountant, right through to a solicitor. However it can be all too easy to become bogged down with expert input, from those that may advise on preparing for acquisition right through to marketing guidance. So choose carefully and appreciate the areas where you truly need an outside helping hand. Here are some legal tips.

  1. Undertake an overhead review

Considering your monthly costings and attempting to drive them down will make your business both more attractive as well as financially more robust. So comprehensively review all of your outgoings and operational costs.

  1. Be prepared to safeguard your intellectual property

Are your products or services adequately protected? If you’re unsure then it may be worth seeking out legal advice, particularly if you work within the realm of technology (or use it as a key differentiator) where protection can be a decidedly tricky business.

  1. Consider the sale of your business as a whole new marketing effort

Just as you’ve marketed your products or services now is the time to market your business. Of course the exact tact that you adopt will depend upon your business and industry type, however generally speaking there will be an online platform out there to advertise your business as on the market, which should serve as your first step towards sale. Beyond this you should perfect your business information pack and be prepared for plenty of inquiries, questions and queries.

  1. And finally… consider the timing of your sale

Before moving ahead with the sale of your business it is worth considering whether now is the right time to sell or whether, given 12 months, you could grow your business figures to boost your sale value.

These 10 tips will make selling your start up a lot easier and ensure you get the best possible deal.

 

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