The Importance of living Your Brand – Starting a business in ireland
The Importance of Living Your Brand
Yesterday I had an interesting experience in Heathrow airport that made me realize just how much everyone in your organisation needs to live your brand. I’ve always been fascinated by Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, not only for his vision, but the way he designed the stores as a 3rd place (after home and work). The design, attributes, and products in a typical store were carefully developed, and his desire to reflect a great coffee experience is notable. But yesterday, I was reminded that with thousands of employees, just how hard it must be for Starbucks (and other big companies) to train employees to live out the brand on a day to day basis.
At Heathrow Airport, Terminal 5 there’s a Starbucks. At 3:15 on Wednesday, while waiting for my flight, I ordered an iced soy latte. I first noticed something odd, when the lady in front of me asked for a drink that was clearly on the menu, but the cashier argued that the drink didn’t exist. Trying to be nice, the lady kept pointing to the menu board, but the cashier wouldn’t even turn around, he just kept saying there was no such drink. Finally, I leaned over and with a little more authority asked him to take a look, and sure enough, there was the drink, right on the menu. But rather than apologize to the customer, he just grunted and rung up the order without a word.
Next, as the barista was fixing my iced soy latte, she inexplicably started squirting caramel into the drink. I asked her what she was doing, and obviously annoyed, she replied, “Putting soy into it.” When I told her that was caramel, not soy, she looked at it, put down the bottle, picked up a spoon, and start trying to scoop the caramel out of the drink. She literally took the drink over to the trash, scooped about a third off the top, put the lid on it, and handed it to me. Pieces of caramel were still floating around, and I had about a third less of the drink in the cup. It was one of those truly amazing moments in customer service…
When I asked her to start all over, she just scowled at me, and refused to speak. She re-did the drink, but obviously was not happy. As I walked away, I noticed the same barista set up the next customer’s drink without putting the top on correctly, so when the customer picked it up, it spilled everywhere. Once again, she simply acted annoyed at the customer.
The point is this – at that moment, all the millions of dollars in advertising, creative marketing, store design, brilliant executives, and great products didn’t matter. The entire brand came down to that single indifferent employee.
Likewise, during the Jet Blue disaster last year when so many of their jets sat on the runways for hours during the Christmas rush, none of Jet Blue’s special ticket prices, advertising, innovative marketing, creative efforts, or anything else mattered. To those customers sitting frustrated on the planes, the flight attendants represented that brand, and in the airport, the ticket agents did the same. How those employees reacted to the customers either built customer loyalty or destroyed it.
If you’re a business, whatever you’ve spent on advertising, promotions, branding, or design, can all be obliterated with a single rude usher, phone operator, receptionist, or other employee. Employees and volunteers are the point people in the branding war, and if they’re not qualified soldiers, you’ll lose the battle.
Too many organizations never take the time to share the brand with every employee, from the front office to the shipping department. Train all your employees and volunteers, and take the time to encourage them to live the brand, every minute they’re on the job. Considering all the interactions your employees have with customers during the week, it can make a significant difference in your success.
Blanchardstown Area Partnership – Start your own Business Courses 2010
Business Workshops 2010 Series of Morning Workshops:
Blanchardstown Area Partnership offers in a variety of workshops and seminars to help people gain the knowledge necessary to develop and run a successful business.
All seminars are from 10am to 1pm unless stated
€10 per seminar.
To book your place contact the Enterprise Dept,
Ph: 01- 820 9550 / 824 7819
Email: enterprise@bap.ie
All classes take place at Dillon House (beside Power City), Unit 106, Coolmine Ind Est, Clonsilla, Dublin 15.
Click here for directions & map >>
26 February
Bookkeeping
Why it is vital to keep the books straight
Recording data in a systematic manner in the books
Tailoring the record keeping to meet your needs
Bank reconciliation
How to use the information recorded
5 March
VAT
Who must register for VAT and why
How to assemble data for VAT and how to completed the returns
What VAT is allowed and disallowed and why
How imports and exports are treated for VAT purposes
Why VAT is the most lethal of all the various taxes
12 March
How To Market Your Business On-line
The concept of on-line marketing
The new media and on-line platforms
Irish consumers and the internet
On-line advertising objectives
Outline internet marketing plan
Types of on-line marketing
Case studies of best practice on-line marketing
The pros and cons of being on-line.
18 March
A ‘How To Guide’ To Designing & Delivering Effective Promotional Material
Promotional Materials within your business
Importance of effective promotional materials
Types of promotional materials and uses
Logo & Corporate Stationery, Newsletters, Brochures, Website
Price Lists/Quotations
Good design practice –v- poor design practice
Real-life examples of strong, effective design
Real-life examples of poor, ineffective design
How to properly brief a designer
Printing options available to your business
How to ensure that your promotional materials get into the right hands!
Hard-copy Delivery (eg direct marketing / An Post)
Electronic Delivery (via newsletter or e-mail)
Top Tips for getting the most from your designer and/or printer
Measuring effectiveness of promotional materials.
26 March
Getting Your Message Across
Effective Communication, Confidence Building and Assertiveness
Understanding Communications
Challenge your understanding of communications
Introducing you to new communications thinking
Being aware of how you communicate
Being confident in your communications
Having confidence in your own communication
What is your message
Know what you want to say
Choose how you want to say it
Exercises for gaining confidence
Tools for communicating
Know the tools, understand the kitbag
Choosing the right tool for the right task
The media – how to make best use of a very diverse market
Practical preparation
Discuss & Rehearse with partner
Listen to feedback
Reverse roles
Presentation
Building confidence
Group communication
Assertiveness
Feedback
30 March
Idea Generation
What is creativity and idea generation;
Creativity exercises;
Brainstorming;
Idea generation techniques;
How to assess your ideas.
31 March
Principles of Employment Law
Summary of relevant Acts, Equality, Unfair Dismissals etc.
Practical application of Acts for the small business
Contracts of employment
Managing poor performance
Policies & procedures
13 April
Business planning
What is a business plan & why write one
Business plan template (workbook will be provided)
Self assessment, background & experience
Legal structures
Your Product/service
Target market, Market research and marketing strategy
Financial projections, cash flow, profit & loss account
16 April
Guerrilla Marketing
Definition of guerrilla marketing
Online examples
Suggesting and using guerrilla marketing for clients
Building guerrilla marketing into a marketing campaign
Case studies
How to do it yourself – brainstorming
20 April
Taxation For Self Employed
Tax registration – sole trader / partnerships / limited companies
VAT – registration / thresholds / cash v accruals accounting for VAT / filing requirements / Year end reporting / penalties
PAYE – registration / filing requirements / year end reporting / penalties
Income tax – calculation / payment dates / allowable expenses V’s disallowable expenses / capital allowances / penalties
Revenue Audits
ROS
How to save tax.
23 April
E-commerce
Payment packages
Shopping carts
Things to watch out for
What works and why.
28 April
What You Need To Know for Importing / Exporting
Speak the language
Know who you will talk to: customers, customers of your customers
Regulations & customs
Logistics.
7 May
How To Create & Use Social Media
What is Social Media?
Facebook, LinkedIn, twitter, bebo, my space, blogs
How to create and use Social Media to benefit your business
Raising your profile
11 May
Market Research
What is Market Research
Aims of Market Research
Primary and Secondary Sources of Market Research
Conducting Market Research on a Budget
14 May
Copywriting For Online and Offline Media
How to write attention grabbing headline
How to use the words that sell, (and avoid those that don’t)
Headlines, the rules you must obey
Proven and effective openings you can use NOW!
What are copy connectors and how to use them
POWER words
Live workbook exercise
What’s your most wanted response
18 May
Idea Generation
What is creativity and idea generation;
Creativity exercises;
Brainstorming;
Idea generation techniques;
How to assess your ideas.
21 May
Setting Up And Managing AdWords Campaigns Effectively
4 questions you must ask about YOUR OWN website
How to avoid the “Newbie” learning curve
What does Google think of you?
How to get results at no or low cost
Outperform your competition – find out what they’re doing
Banner ads – how to get other people selling for YOU
Split-testing your return-on-investment
How YOU can find the best keywords
3 June
Bookkeeping
Why it is vital to keep the books straight
Recording data in a systematic manner in the books
Tailoring the record keeping to meet your needs
Bank reconciliation
How to use the information recorded
11 June
VAT
Who must register for VAT and why
How to assemble data for VAT and how to completed the returns
What VAT is allowed and disallowed and why
How imports and exports are treated for VAT purposes
Why VAT is the most lethal of all the various taxes
15 June
eBay for Sellers
Introductions, How eBay works
How Feedback works
How to Search, Bid, Buy & Pay (PayPal)
Registering as a Seller
Photos & Descriptions
Listing an Item for Sale – Live Demo
Pop Quiz – revision of learning
Tactics & Pricing Strategy
Moving Beyond the Basics
Cross Border Trade
Top 10 PowerSeller Tips
18 June
A ‘How To Guide’ To Designing & Delivering Effective Promotional Material
Promotional Materials within your business
Importance of effective promotional materials
Types of promotional materials and uses
Logo & Corporate Stationery, Newsletters, Brochures, Website
Price Lists/Quotations
Good design practice –v- poor design practice
Real-life examples of strong, effective design
Real-life examples of poor, ineffective design
How to properly brief a designer
Printing options available to your business
How to ensure that your promotional materials get into the right hands!
Hard-copy Delivery (eg direct marketing / An Post)
Electronic Delivery (via newsletter or e-mail)
Top Tips for getting the most from your designer and/or printer
Measuring effectiveness of promotional materials.
22 June
Idea Generation
What is creativity and idea generation;
Creativity exercises;
Brainstorming;
Idea generation techniques;
How to assess your ideas.
25 June
Credit Management
Principles of Credit Control
Before You Make the Call
The 4 reasons people wont/cant pay
Strategies to achieve payment and maintain
For further details, and to register for any of the above workshops, please contact:
Niall Comber
Enterprise Development Officer
Phone 01 820 9550 / 824 7819
Mobile: 086 354 5210
E-mail ncomber@bap.ie.
All classes will be held at Partnership offices:
Dillon House
Unit 106
Coolmine Industrial Estate
Clonsilla
Dublin 15
Viral Loop – From Facebook to Twitter – Adam L. Penenberg
If you are interested in using the Internet to grow your business virally, then “Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today’s Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves” is a must-read.
Viral Loop literally dissects and breaks apart the code behind what makes some businesses and ideas go viral and others go fizzle. The first sentence of the book had me completely hooked.
“Two Heinekens into a lazy Tuesday afternoon, James Hong, a twenty-seven-year-old dot-com refugee from Mountain View California, was listening to his roommate, Jim Young, a Berkeley graduate student in electrical engineering, wax on about a woman he had spotted at a party the previous weekend. Young, also twenty-seven, insisted she was a “perfect 10.” Hong didn’t believe him. He knew his roommate had a thing for “goth,” while Hing’s own tastes were more Abercrombie & Fitch. What the world needed, they agreed, was a metric to reliably rate someone’s looks.”
This book was not only educational, but really entertaining. That’s because the author, Adam L. Penenberg, is a journalism professor and assistant director of the Business and Economics Program at New York University. He has written for Fast Company, Inc., Slate, Wired, and a series of other well known magazines. And you can tell that he is an expert in explaining highly technical information to an audience that needs to learn and understand it, but doesn’t have the time or the inclination to do all the research that’s required to get there.
How to Read Viral Loop
The book is broken up into three major sections:
•I Viral Businesses:
Penenberg gives context to the viral business model by going into detail about the grandfathers of the viral business model: Tupperware, Mosaic and Ning are just a few. If you’re thinking about using a viral model, you’ll want to pay attention because each of these stories holds a key to the foundations of a good viral loop.
•II Viral Marketing:
This section continues to lead the reader from the basics of viral marketing and shows you how these same principles are applied to other businesses. Perhaps the most striking thing to me about this section is how perennial a good business model is. In this section the key story is about Hotmail and how they used the “home party” idea as inspiration to spread the word about Hotmail by placing something in the footer of their e-mails.
•III Viral Networks:
This is where everything you’ve read before comes into play. This book is not for the weak-at-Internet-strategy-heart. In this section you learn about building an architecture that can sustain the masses that will throng to your site if your viral loop is good enough.
You’ll want to read this book slowly and surely page by page, chapter by chapter so that you can be sure to get every bit of viral history, company story and business model.
Why Read Viral Loop
At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, you can’t afford to run a business in this economy without reading this book. The historical perspective combined with the real-life stories and wrapped up in the high quality story telling that Penenberg brings makes Viral Loop a must read.
Need 100k? No Problem! Just solve the national economic crisis…
www.yourcountryyourcall.com
Well points for effort I suppose, the idea is that there has to be one or two genius ideas out there that can save the nation from the mess that it is currently in. As the government is clearly devoid of any inspiration they have thrown the challenge back to us.
My 2 ideas are:
1) Sack the Government
2) Put Michael O’Leary in charge
I accept all major forms of cash as a government cheque would probably bounce….
The blurb goes as follows!
Your Country, Your Call is a competition to ignite imaginations and inspire thinking.
The goal is to pick two truly transformational proposals so big that, when implemented, could secure prosperity and jobs for Ireland. Proposals that could help change the way we do things, allow businesses to grow, employment to be created and prosperity to flourish
Your Country, Your Call gives you the chance to share your creativity to give life to new industry, revitalise or revolutionise an existing market, or even change the way we do business entirely. It’s not about creating new products. It’s about creating something that will make a long term positive impact on the future of Ireland, its people, and its economy.
Your Country, Your Call is all about Ireland. It’s about helping to create sustainable employment and prosperity, whilst at the same time generating hope, confidence, and positive thinking.
Your Country, Your Call is open for proposals.
Company: www.theclothesline.ie
Website: as above
Founders: Tammy Darcy
Age: 30
Based: Waterford
Staff Number: Just me so far!
Date started: February 10
Tell us what your business does?
The website offers parents the opportunity to submit their outgrown or unsuitable kids, babies and maternity clothes in exchange for credits which can be applied towards the purchase of more suitable items
Where did the idea for your business come from?
As a mother of three, the idea actually evolved over a number of years, and I decided to go for it when I lost my job.
Have you always wanted to run your own business?
No! There are obvious pros and cons to running your own business but I feel passionate about what I am doing so I don’t have a problem staying motivated
What planning did you do before you started up?
I researched the idea for six months and tested every aspect of the business before I launched.
What challenges have you faced how have you overcome them?
The biggest challenge is balancing work and home life. When you run your own business it’s very hard to switch off at the end of the working day.
How have you promoted your business?
Because the business is very much a public interest subject, I have received a lot of media interest. Apart from that I have done a lot of online promotion through social networking sites. It really works, and its free!
What has your growth been like?
I’m very happy, we’ve been live for less than a month and it’s hard to keep up with the growth. But its testament to the power of word of mouth amongst parents.
What’s the impact on your home life been like?
I’m lucky to be able to plan my time around my family demands. There are times when it’s a challenge but it’s great to be able to collect them from school, something I wasn’t able to do when I was in full time employment.
Blanchardstown Area Partnership – start your own business courses
Anyone living in or around Dublin West should take note of the great value courses available from the Blanchadstown area partnership. For as little as €10 per person you can learn some key skills and gain valuable information on business essentials such as the Bookeeping and Vat Seminars outlined below.
Places are available for upcoming Bookkeeping seminar (on 26 Feb) & VAT seminar (on 5 Mar)
To book your place, simply reply or email: enterprise@bap.ie with your contact details.
(if you are already registered to attend, please ignore this email)
Both €10 per participant
Bookkeeping (10am to 1pm)
26 February
Why it is vital to keep the books straight
Recording data in a systematic manner in the books
Tailoring the record keeping to meet your needs
Bank reconciliation
How to use the information recorded
VAT (10am to 1pm)
5 March
Who must register for VAT and why
How to assemble data for VAT and how to completed the returns
What VAT is allowed and disallowed and why
How imports and exports are treated for VAT purposes
Why VAT is the most lethal of all the various taxes
To book your place, simply email: enterprise@bap.ie with your contact details.
There are many other upcoming seminars and courses.
More info @ http://www.bap.ie/bus_wshop_sched_2010.html
Market Research – 19 Feb
Bookeeping – 26 Feb
start UP – 1 Day Business Seminar – 10 Mar
How To Marketing Your Business On-Line – 12 Mar
A ‘How To’ Guide To Designing Effective Promotional Material – 18 Mar
Getting Your Message Across – Effective Communication – 26 Mar
Principles of Employment Law – 31 Mar
start UP – 1 Day Business Seminar – 14 Apr
Guerrilla Marketing – 16 Apr
What You Need To Know For Importing & Exporting – 28 Apr
Sage Business Planning Software -help starting up a business
Getting started is often the hardest part of any task. When looking at taking the leap into setting up a new business it is essential to have a road map i.e a business plan to help you along the way. How can you lead if you don’t know where you are going is another way of putting it.
Sage the software people have launched a free business planning tool that is really user freindly and is perfect for helping you to get going. The programme which can be downloaded at www.sage.ie/sage-planning-for-business is as good as some of the business planning software that you normally have to pay for. I presume the logic behind offering the programme for free is that the planning software can integrate with the Sage accountancy packages when you have set up your business.
My only difficulty with this programme was downloading it in the first place, maybe my laptop is to blame but I had to jump through hoops to finally get the programme installed. This may not be Sage’s fault but I must admit it did try my patience a bit.
Features & Benefits
It’s easy to use:
Flexible input options tailored to your experience
Questionnaire helps you identify key tasks
Worked examples show you how things should look
It’s easy to manage your time:
Tasks grouped into logical business areas
Diary, tasks and planning tools to help make the best use of your time
Keep all your information in one place
Fill out your business plan as you go
Format your business plan using templates provided
It’s easy to manage your finances:
Understand and manage your cash flow
See how much you need to take to cover expenses and be in profit
Works with Sage Instant Accounts
Startups.ie road tests Sage’s Free Small Business Tools
There is no such thing as a free lunch or so they say!!. In an effort to save on accountancy costs and to have a greater understanding of my business I have decided to take a accountancy for small business course which is run by my local county enterprise board (a bargain at €100 for a 6 week course!).
With my newly acquired financial wizardery I should be filing my own VAT returns, pondering my own cashflow forecast reports and generating my own employee payslips in no time. At least that is the theory anyway!
Like most men embarking on a new hobby or interest the first thing I normally do is rush out and buy stuff, a room full of fishing gear will attest to this. However the clever people at Sage are offering their entry level accountancy and payroll software for free!. They have also developed some business planning software to help you map out your business. As your business grows you can upgrade to the more professional versions of the software.
Over the next few weeks I will be taking these products for a test drive to see if they are easy to use and will report back on the features available. The business that I will be testing the products on has 5 employees so it should be the right size for the basic TAS books and Quickpay packages.
If you want to check out these free downloads for yourself click on the link below, now I am off to play with my new toys!
Pierre Omidyar’s Success Story – Famous Entrepreneurs
“I never had it in mind that I would start a company one day and it would really be successful. I have just been motivated by working on interesting technology.”
Growing Up
Omidyar was born in Paris in 1967. He moved to Baltimore when his father began his term of residence at Johns Hopkins. Omidyar became captivated by computers while at high school and skipped his gym classes in order to use it. Noticing the boy’s keen interest, the principle gave him the job of creating a program that would produce catalog cards for the library. He was paid $6 an hour.
At Tufts University, Omidyar worked on a program to assist Macintosh programmers with computer memory problems. His request that users of this shareware file pay on the honour system did not bring many replies; the cheques that should have been going to fund his years as a computer science undergraduate went solely to paying for the post office box.
In 1991, Omidyar went to work with three friends to create pen-computing programs. Though Pen computing was a dismal failure, the e-commerce site (eShop) on the Web site that Omidyar introduced and operated enticed Microsoft to buy the company.
Starting The Business
Omidyar went to work with General Magic, a software company, in 1994 and made extra money designing Web pages on the side. The girl he was dating at the time, Pamela Wesley, who would later become his wife, collected Pez dispensers and often complained how difficult it was to meet others passionate about her hobby on the internet. Thoughtfully, Omidyar appended a small online auction to his personal website so Pamela would make contacts with other collectors as well as buy and sell.
eBay (electronic Bay, as in the San Francisco Bay area), as it was when it first appeared in 1995, operated merely as a forum for people to sell and bid on various items. Omidyar did not back goods, mediate conflicts, or get involved if there were accusations of dishonesty or abuse of the system. Almost immediately, collectors of Barbie dolls, Beanie babies and the like flocked to eBay.
Three months after its launch, Omidyar had to ask his friend Jeff Skoll, also a programmer, for help. In order to cover the new costs involved with the growth of the business, Omidyar began charging small change to list an item on the site and took a small commission if the item was bought.
Building An Empire
Omidyar was surpised by his continued success and had to hire someone to open the large number of cheques that were being sent in. He was also surprised that people were not simply using the site to buy and sell, but also as a meeting place where relationships were made over common interests.
After qutting his day job, Omidyar worked along with Skoll to improve eBay. They felt that if a sturdy framework was in place, business would generate by itself. After just under two years of operation, eBay was one of the most popular internet sites, 1,50000 users bidding on 794,000 items daily. And the company was now doubling every three months.
At such a rate of growth, Omidyar and Skoll sought venture capital assistance and a management team that would further move the company forward. Benchmark Capital gave the partners a $4.5 million cheque for 22% of the company. Benchmark also found a CEO for eBay, Margaret Whitham, an executive from Hasbro, and with her leadership, the business became a slick corporate entity. With a new look, better publicity, and greater organization, eBay went public on September 24, 1998. Within four months of trading, the stock, which started at $18 per share, was worth $300. Omidyar became a billionaire.
Now selling far more than just Pez dispensers, eBay has completely changed e-commerce. Despite increasing competition, eBay continues to grow. Omidyar recognized and seized the opportunity that essentially fell into his lap and revolutionized internet use.
What’s Your Story? How to Get Publicity
Want to know how to get some free publicity?
As a new business owner, it’s easy to rush through publicity efforts in order to concentrate or core business activities and priorities. But before you contact the media or post a press release, ask yourself if the information you’re about to send is really newsworthy.
Will a reporter really care about what you have to say?
If you can’t answer this question accordingly, you need to rework your story angle or rewrite your announcement to focus on a specific benefit, current industry trend, or unique idea. This takes extra time and effort, but it can mean the difference between a successful, media-placement and the drawing-board.
5 Quick Ideas for Creating Your Own News
Here are some quick tips to help you get started:
1.Take part in a community event, or create your own. Give something back and encourage others to do the same.
2.Create a brief report or ‘top 10 list’ related to a big trend in your industry that will help others solve a problem. Provide your expertise without asking for anything in return.
3.Submit an opinion piece to your local newspaper about a current news item. This can help build awareness for your business.
4.Give a presentation at a local community college, business group or other organization where your target audience attends. Provide valuable information without giving a sales-pitch and invite pertinent reporters. You’ll establish yourself as an expert and meet potential new customers while increasing your chances of obtaining media coverage.
5.Find success stories and promote them. Talk to your customers and ask them how your products and services have helped them save time and money, increase productivity, meet deadlines, etc.
Media members like unique “before and after” stories, and you can always use these case studies to build credibility and market new customers.
By taking some time to develop unique story ideas, you’ll have a much better chance of garnering good publicity – fast!
