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Spring – New business, new beginnings

Fiona Carmody — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 10:24:37 +0000

February 1st – the first day of Spring (in the Astronomical sense and not the Meteorological sense). It imbues such a great feeling of new beginnings. Heading to the SFA National Small Business Showcase in the RDS today. Looking forward to seeing all the finalists in the SFA Small Business Awards. Small businesses, Start-ups and growing businesses all showcasing entrepreneurship and innovation. New beginnings and new businesses. What are the main challenges people come to talk to us about in relation to their businesses? Structure – its a whole new challenge to move from employment to running a business. Competition – or the threat of! Remember competition is good, it keeps us all on our toes, prevents us getting complacent in our businesses. Growth, a defined growth strategy is important if you want to develop and grow the business. It doesn’t happen by chance. And Market entry strategies – leveraging resources and capabilities to enter the market and subsequently increase market share. Why do people come to us? We make our clients businesses successful. Its not about us, its about you!

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2017

Fiona Carmody — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 16:29:23 +0000

Well, one month gone already! End of January. This is the stage where our commitment to all those New Year Resolutions often begins to flag. If this is you, refocus on that business. You came up with those original resolutions because you identified weaknesses in the business, areas for improvement or gaps in the market that had not been addressed. This still applies. You cannot keep doing what you did last year, no matter how well the business progressed. The environment we operate in continues to grow and evolve and we must monitor that environment and keep pace with it, or, keep ahead of it, in order to flourish. Get up, get out, reassess the business environment and revisit those business goals. Enjoy the journey!

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And so 2016 is coming to a close!

Fiona Carmody — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 10:27:48 +0000

What a year!

First off from a business perspective,it has been hectic. Hectic in a great way! We have met so many new businesses. New start-ups, existing businesses and so many potential entrepreneurs. Our Start Your Own Business courses have been busier than ever – hopefully this is a sign of increased confidence in the economy. Really looking forward to working with many of these in 2017 as they kick off.

Our role is behind the scenes with most businesses. We are invisible. We guide the business owners, tweak the business plans/business models, we focus the strategy, support in the tough decisions, enable growth and export plans and act as a sounding board for that business owner. At the end of every year I look back and review ‘ how did I add value to that company?’. Delighted to say 2016 was a good year.

Our customers got 100% of our attention in 2016. Business growth is evident for our client companies. Now for the remainder of 2016 our planning starts for those companies for 2017 to ensure they make the next step in their business growth journeys.

Looking forward to it already!

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Local Enterprise Week March 2016

Fiona Carmody — Mon, 07 Mar 2016 10:00:25 +0000

Local Enterprise Week runs from March 7th – 13th 2016 throughout Ireland. Each Local Enterprise Office (LEO) will hold a series of events aimed at supporting local businesses. Check out www.localenterprise.ie for more information.

We are working with Local Enterprise Office Meath on this event. Check out www.localenterprise.ie/Meath/ for a list of the eventsiin Meath. Meet with us to discuss Starting a Business, sourcing funding from Microfinance Ireland or to find out more about the services of the LEO. .

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Start Your Own Business Spring 2016

Fiona Carmody — Sun, 06 Mar 2016 14:48:55 +0000

Well Spring has arrived, evenings are getting longer. Business is always hectic at this time of the year. Our current group of Start Your Own Business participants are really motivated. The range of businesses are broad, the experience people are bringing to the table is strong and I am looking forward to seeing them hit the market later this year. With a considerable amount of market research completed, a detailed gap analysis and a personal SWOT analysis they are working hard to identify the best market position. Once they are ready to launch we will be posting about these businesses on Social Media so keep an eye out.

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What Service Do We Offer to our Clients

Fiona Carmody — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 12:21:15 +0000

So, we are coming to the end of January (where is this year going?) and most of the people who came to me over the past few weeks are very focused on the need for goal setting. They are driven to set financial goals for the year, personal goals, business goals.All very admirable but when we get into discussion, what I find is that for most service based businesses they struggle to define what it is they offer to their customers. It is difficult to achieve a goal if you are not 100% sure what you are selling/offering to customers, or what are you going to achieve for them. So, before you get to the stage of goal setting, define very clearly what it is you achieve for your customers and work from there! If you have set your goals, go back and review them having reconsidered your product/service offering and determine how achievable are they.

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Meath Enterprise Week

Fiona Carmody — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 14:26:17 +0000

Its been a while since I posted up news. Work sometimes gets in the way of our updates! Last week saw the second ‘Meath Enterprise Week’ take place. It was a really great event bringing together all the organisations supporting new business – Meath LEO, Meath County Council, Microfinance Ireland, the banks and of course all the new businesses. Really enjoyed being part of it and looking forward to an even bigger and better event next year.

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Interview on LMFM regarding Startups

Fiona Carmody — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 11:25:38 +0000

Here is a link to my interview with Gerry Kelly on the Late Lunch on LMFM last week. We were talking about new business start ups. Really enjoyed our meeting.

Interview on LMFM

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Interview on LMFM

Fiona Carmody — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 10:30:55 +0000

Today I am on the Late Lunch on LMFM at 1.30pm. I received an email out of the blue suggesting I might attend. Delighted to get the opportunity. This is a great opportunity to talk about our new businesses and our expanding businesses, their successes and challenges and how we can support Enterprise Development. Wish me luck!

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Summer Update on our Business Start Ups

Fiona Carmody — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 10:00:42 +0000

Normally I find August is my quiet time in the year. It is a time for reviewing all the new business start ups and the expanding businesses we have worked with during the year, a time to finalise end of year accounts and a time to finalise plans for the last quarter. This year that hasn’t happened. It has been incredibly busy. So many people starting and growing their businesses; so many people wanting to put structure on the next 12 months. I really am delighted to see so much positivity in the business sector. Our attitude to our businesses and our willingness to learn, to change and to adapt to our changing environment is really a key contributor to our business success.

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