Author Archive
This blog post is dedicated to RW and written to invoke thought, not provide you with the skills and attributes needed to be an Entrepreneur. There are hundreds of articles out there to provide you with the “know-how”. I am exploring the “why-how”.
My life:
3 yrs ~ Montessori school, fun learning of the basics.
4 yrs ~ Primary School, initially fun to evolve into evening homework, mandatory sports, trips to the Headmaster’s office and mandatory conforming to the rules of the school.
12 yrs ~ Secondary School, more mandatory subjects, mandatory sports, mandatory extra-curricular activities, optional extra subjects (instead of playtime), mandatory career guidance (I won’t bore you with the obvious advice from a religious convent.)
17 yrs ~ Third Level, optional everything. Chaos!
20 yrs ~ Out on my ear. Get a job.
24 yrs ~ I opt out. Sound familiar?
Two decades of being inside numerous education systems. I finally came to the conclusion, the working life I had been groomed for, did not suit me. I may have also thought I did not suit this working life. My instincts told me that I would make money in my life, but not the way I was conditioned to. Where do I turn for guidance? When every person I knew was conditioning me to “get a job”.
24 yrs ~ Enter a boy Read the rest of this entry »
I have met Seán Gallagher twice recently. Ironically it was over cups of tea. Whilst networking! Seán thinks networking is akin to going to an AA meeting “Hi my name is Seán, and I am an Entrepreneur!” And everyone in the group says “Hiiiiiii Seán”.
Boy, I had to laugh at that, as sometimes that’s exactly how it feels. And just a few days ago, at a speed-networking event in Co. Cork, the MC mentioned that there were 45 people in the room selling. He then asked the question “So, who is buying?”
What a pointless exercise: going to a networking event to sell your brand, business or latest product, when everyone is there to do exactly the same thing. There is nothing more frustrating than coming home with 28 business cards in your pocket, and not knowing anything about the person behind the business.
So here are my top 10 tips for good networking practice, and are guaranteed to have you noticed and remembered: Read the rest of this entry »
There is a certain quietness out there, beyond the madness of the noise in our heads as we endeavour to jump-start our new business. That quietness is also full of noise and busy-ness. What only the experienced business owner will realise is that even though starting a business is daunting, there are people out there who are watching, minding, and wishing us well. They are throwing us tit-bits of information and help, enough for us to catch on to, but not obvious hand-outs.
“To background voices, calling from a distance,
Silent partners, listen to the hush Silent partners, you know they don’t say nothing at all”
~ Pat Benatar (The Silent Partners)
These silent partners read our blog-posts, read our tweets, provide clicks and unique visits to our websites, or in the case of back-links. They talk about our businesses to their friends and families, or indeed at networking events. Read the rest of this entry »
International Women’s Day is celebrated across the world, particularly in Russia where they buy flowers for their wives, daughters and mothers. it’s easy to remember all the famous women who have made huge contribution and made such a difference in the world.
Today let us celebrate the ordinary woman who does exceptional things, the woman who quietly raises her family, manages her business, supports her husband, listens to her friends and puts others before herself.
#CWiB gets a new logo
1 in 5 ordinary women in Ireland experience domestic violence while 51% of female murder victims are killed by their partners or ex-partners.
These are the hard facts, but we must ensure we are not seen as mere victims. Similarly, men are at the receiving end of abuse and murder, just not quite the same numbers.
The odds are against us, but when we assert our role in life, as woman, mother, sister, daughter, etc, we are empowering the very substance of our being.
Women are doing it for themselves globally. In Cork alone, there are multiple women-only groups. A supportive Business Group I am involved with provide quality speaking and training events.
We have just launched our logo and annual membership. We even had cupcakes to celebrate. Check out our #CWiB Facebook Page here
The group meet every month at K2C, Blackpool, Cork City
So today, let us celebrate the very essence of every woman we know, and let it inspire us to celebrate those women every day 
Happy International Women’s Day
#internationalwomensday #iwd #iwd2011 #CWiB
We all love free stuff!
We feel good about ourselves when we get free stuff, and we feel good about the person or company that provides the free stuff. It’s a “humanoid” thing.
We have a feel good factor, and openly and willingly talk about the product or service that we got for free. Whether it’s a competition win, or a genuine offer of advice / service, our feel-good hormones kick into overdrive and we feel like a winner. Read the rest of this entry »
Planning an event can be tremendously stressful for some. I have had clients stress over Christamas to the point where complete sabotage and failure are guaranteed. So how can we plan for an event and ensure that we don’t miss anything important?
We can write a list – what to do, what to buy, when to do it. This list can be in the form of chronological importance or priority importance. So let’s back track a bit and assume you are already struggling with ideas and the basic plan, not to mind the where, when, why and how-to?
Very often, someone wants to plan a surprise or event for a friend or loved-one. This can prove an almost debilitating exercise for many; so what I want to to is look at ONE possibility that can help your life to be easier, less stressful and ultimately organised. This will ensure that you enjoy the event as much as the person or people you are organising it for.
Because we are now over the indulgence of Christmas, and have embarked on a journey of resolutions and lying low for January, we do need some indulgence to get some spark back. Read the rest of this entry »
Happy New Year all,
Seefin Coaching is not yet officially back to work, but we have the pleasure of being published in De-Stress magazine again.
Catherine Connors of Stress Solutions 4 Life publishes this great resource for stress-busting and other great topics. It’s a pleasure to be included. Check Page 4 for my article:
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Enjoy the read, and Best Wishes from Seefin Coaching for 2011!!
This month we are running with a great series of TOP 10 tips for your business survival for the traditional break, and on into the New Year.
TIP NO 10:
Be grateful for all your success and learning curves for 2010. There is no such thing as failure, just lessons to be learned from, and appropriate measures to be taken to improve areas that require improvement.
Again, mind-maps come in really handy here, just draw out all your personal and professional successes for the year, and allow yourself to feel proud, be happy, and celebrate.
Christmas is a time of celebration and gratitude. Decide to go into 2011 with a positive attitude for your business, and endeavour to make little changes to the way you do things, just to shake things up a bit. Repetition becomes monotonous, safe, comfortable and can hold you back. Push yourself next year to be the best you can possibly be in your business.
Have a great holiday, a peaceful break, and a very Happy New Year!
This month we are running with a great series of TOP 10 tips for your business survival for the traditional break, and on into the New Year.
TIP NO 9:
S ~ SILENCE
OK, so you are still running around like mad, trying to get everything done. So you promised yourself. So what! There is not a chance on this universe that if you keep going 90 miles an hour, you can suddenly stop at 5pm on Christmas Eve (unless you are the road runner of course). And by 5pm on Dec 24th, it’s too late anyhow, you have missed the buzz and joy around the place.
So it really is now, time to wind down, wind up those chores, push all unnecessary tasks out until 2011, send off your Happy Christmas email and make a conscious decision to stop working.
it’s up to yourself, but unless your business is traffic reporting or weather reporting, you really have no business to keep the vigil on Social Media over the holidays, checking emails.
The time should be spent doing different things for your business, like thinking about potential blogposts, thinking about your business for 2011, making notes.
Someone said recently, a solution to a problem came to them while they were vacuuming (OK, not very quiet, but it worked), he was quite surprised how a mundane job could inspire such creativity.
It did simply because he stopped focusing on the problem, ever experienced that? Then make it a habit, allow yourself time away from your business to work ON your business. It will thank you for it!
Be kind to yourself and your business, and come back tomorrow for our FINAL Step of CHRISTMAS TIPS for your Business (and of course I have it prepared already, because by then, I will be on holidays).
This month we are running with a great series of TOP 10 tips for your business survival for the traditional break, and on into the New Year.
TIP NO 8:
A ~ ACTION
Or lack thereof!
There are 4 sleeps to Christmas. How much have you left to do? Enough to take 10 working days? Are things feeling a little pressured right now? OK, then it’s time for the Seefin Stripper!
Take out a piece of paper.
Either as a Mind-Map or a Matrix, we are going to reduce and prioritise our tasks (TO-DO List).
Mind Map: Put your business name in the middle of the page: Read the rest of this entry »
