Author Archive
We, the Irish race, are great for the “ole banter”. We could talk for Ireland and we do talk for Ireland. Most conversations begin with a discussion about the weather. Only in Ireland could you hear “sunny spells, chance of showers, developing into thunderstorms, to clear later with a sharp frost” in one sentence. Unless of course you are in Inuvik perhaps. Here is a very funny one I was presented with by our national weather forecast the other day:
As an Irish born and bred national, I have lived and travelled in many different countries. The experience helps me learn about other cultures and countries, but one thing I realised over the years is that people are the same wherever you go – they are good or they are bad. As a race, we interact at an intellectual level, and tend to seek out similar people as ourselves.
The trick really is to look beyond your comfort zone. Look beyond your immediate personal network. Look beyond your social “class” whether that be financially or socially. Look beyond your own capabilities and seek mentors who do things that you think are great.
Build your network. Build your online network through social media, social networking and Read the rest of this entry »
What a week it’s been!!
You know that time, when you know something is coming up, yet you are not quite prepared for it? Well, I am sure we all feel like that when we know we will be exposed to the public at large. I really feel the hardest part is actually watching yourself.
It’s been a great week for Cork on the telly this week. I have the absolute pleasure of being closely involved with a fantastic group of business women in Cork, who meet to support each other and help out with business issues. We spend more time discussing social media, accounts, sales and services than passing business cards and delivering elevator pitches.
The real benefit for the business owners, is the support and information received at the meetings themselves, but more so with the buddy-up system. This allows two randomly picked members to meet 1-1 in between the monthly meetings, and really learn more about their actual businesses. This is the core of the referral and networking that is done secondary to the support and encouragement we can provide for each other.
Like the Bulmers advert on TV lately, when we have a problem what do we do? We fix it ourselves! And that is what Cork Women in Business Advice and Support is all about.
It began in Margaret Smith’s front room, and now we are moving to hotel premises and have regular great speakers every month, a fantastic website, facebook page, twitter account, a dedicated committee and up to Aug 2011, 35 paid up members. I am confident membership will increase rapidly as a consequence of the Nationwide Show this Wednesday.
Of course, no better time than to share air space with the wonderful charismatic James Whelton who has just completed his Leaving Certificate, is planning his graduation alongside running his successful business and FREE coding workshops for young people around the country.
Well done all, a great week for Cork, and a great boost for business owners, technology and innovation, all by the river Lee.
The programme is only live on the RTE Player until mid Sept, so make sure you watch it in time 
[Apologies for the adverts before the actual show]. There is a YouTube version of just Margaret’s story – click the PIC below to watch it.
Click the picture to see the show
Well done Margaret, you are now a star, an inspiration to many women in Ireland this week!!!
P.S. The neck piece I am wearing in the show is from the beautiful Kuta collection from Dink Design
I am no stranger to health and fitness, having been a part of various therapies, classes and courses over the years, mostly as a preventative rather than a cure. Those of you who know me personally will attest to the fact I have NEVER dieted, but do not indulge in fast and overly processed foods, but like anyone else, have my “weak” areas.
Cork Mini Marathon bib 2010
I fought these weak areas for a long time, and there is something about turning 40 that helps us realise that health is so important, because without it, you do not have quality of life.
Now I allow myself my indulgences whenever I want them, and compensate by eating healthily otherwise, drinking lots of water and exercising on a regular basis. To be truthful, mostly my exercising consists of brisk long walks, and generally going to a class of some kind.
Last year, in beginning of 2010, I discovered running was a faster way to improve fitness and endurance, and of course kick me back into a state of racing heartbeat and pushing myself beyond my comfort zone. I wrote a post about it at the time about motivation, and decided to achieve my goals by training for both the Cork Women’s Mini Marathon AND the Limerick Women’s Mini Marathon. I followed a programme to the minute, and achieved my training goals for the first race. The second race was exactly a week later and unfortunately I did enough damage to my lower back that Read the rest of this entry »
W
hen I was in a 9-5 job in 1993, I distinctly remember arriving into work on Monday mornings and being subjected to complaints, grumbles, disdain, and other such negative gossip.
This was the only negative about my Monday mornings. In fact I never had Monday morning blues because I practiced a very simple alternative. Back then, in my early 20’s living and working in recession Ireland (yes, we had one then too) the general gist of good fun was to go out with colleagues and friends.
Traditionally this was done Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Three late nights of overindulgence was bound to take it’s toll, and it did. Coming from a college background, I had become accustomed to going out on “College nights” (aka Thursday nights). I maintained this routine and did not go out late on Sunday nights.
Of course this meant that Friday mornings were tough, but one cannot have Friday blues if they are off for the weekend, and have an early finish to look forward to. So I was therefore able to camouflage my blues into a Friday, rather than a Monday.
However, I feel the negative sentiment has remained with many people, whether they are employed, self-employed, or between jobs.
Why should we dread Monday Mornings? Because we have done so traditionally. For some of us, it’s simply always been that way (similar to finding it difficult to get up in the mornings).
Here are a couple of measures you can take to beat the Monday Morning Blues: Read the rest of this entry »
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 »
