Busy Lizzie Business Brain Interview with Donncha Hughes, Trainer and Business Mentor

About: Based in Galway (native of Tipperary), Graduate of NUIG with Masters in Marketing, works with Startups and Technology and Professional Service SMEs to grow their businesses. 

 

 1.          Why did you decide to start your business?

 I finished as Enterprise Acceleration Centre Manager in LIT in June 2010. I had great experience working with startups and I had a great network built up, so it was a natural decision to set up my own business.

 2.          What have been the biggest challenges and achievements for your business?

As I was leaving my job, I was asked to do some projects and to submit some tenders. As such I was up and running. I also availed of the Short Term Enterprise Allowance which is a great initiative.

My biggest challenge was to figure out what services to provide and who would be my paying customer. The answer is that I provide training and mentoring on behalf of Enterprise Agencies. I had to decide what services I would not provide. It took me almost 18 months to finish the content for my website. One day, it dawned on me that I am a trainer and mentor and not a Consultant. The message on my website is very specific. I removed a lot of the standard marketing consultancy text that you might expect. I win business via direct Sales. This includes leveraging my existing network to get introductions to staff in the Enterprise Agencies. It is great to get a referral and then win work after I meet the new contact.

I have found that I have learned a huge amount about startups, technology and business since I started working for myself. It has been a fantastic experience. My biggest achievement has been to design and deliver a training programme for graduates in GMIT. Working with George McCourt in IiBC, it is branded as the ‘Lean Startup @ GMIT’ programme. We recently completed an End of Programme evaluation and the results were extremely positive. It is brilliant when you get proof that you are making a difference.

3.          What are your plans for the future?

I don’t really have a long term plan. My goals for each of my first two years related to keeping clients happy, winning new clients, and building my profile as an expert (a friendly and approachable one) in the startup community. From a personal point of view, we have two wonderful small kids so ‘being your own boss’ offers great flexibility. What I really like is being in control of my own diary and having the ability to respond to opportunities. As a startup, and particularly a sole trader offering services, it is difficult to forecast given the current environment but I have confidence that I will be busy for the rest of 2013 and into 2014.

 4.          Who do you look up to in business?

I love reading books. My favourite business book ever is the Jelly Effect by Andy Bounds. He has a great story.  My favourite blog author is Seth Godin. I read his blog via email every day. Ash Maurya, Running Lean is the author that I discovered in 2013. Those are three guys I would love to meet.

I have been very lucky in my career to date. I worked with IBEC in Limerick for 7 years. I met CEOs of all the multinationals and the big Irish businesses in the Mid-West. These guys were running big companies and have great pedigrees. But you quickly find out that they don’t know everything. I learned a lot from them and I got confidence that I could help them too. A brilliant guy from my time in IBEC is Liam Ryan, BMS Ireland http://bmsireland.com/. He set up a small business in Limerick 30 years ago and it grew to over 200 people at its peak. The company design and market a range of products to include the ‘Clever Paddy’ a brilliant torque wrench, which sells all around the world. He has a view of design akin to Steve Jobs. Keep it simple. Most recently, I attended a presentation recently by John Conconnan of JFC Engineering in Tuam. He spoke at the SCCUL mentors event hosted by Liam Bluett in the  Ballybane Enterprise Centre.  John has a brilliant story. I admire anyone who is out there running a business. It is a massive challenge and I feel privileged to be in a position to work with them.  I particularly admire women promoters. I have hundreds of examples of startups so it difficult to pick out any in particular. But, Aine Gleeson of WowWee http://www.wowwee.ie based in Ennis is running a fantastic online gift business which now employs 6 people – the business sells thousands of great quality personalised Christmas Stockings every December to every part of the globe.

5.          What is your advice for other entrepreneurs?

 There is amazing ‘startup goodwill’ to be tapped into when you start your business. It is very important to avail of the help that is out there. I definitely recommend Start Your Own Business programmes delivered on behalf of the Enterprise Boards. New Frontiers is a great option for promoters who have ambition to scale internationally over the longer term.

My big advice to entrepreneurs is to focus on the problem faced by an identified customer. Generally, promoters focus on an area of expertise where they have access to customers. It is very important to build up a track record of success by starting small. You can then reach for those ‘stretch’ goals.

 6.          How are you gaining visibility and promoting the business?

 I win business as a result of my network and direct Sales. Tenders are very important and now that I am established, referrals are increasing in importance.

7.        Do you use any Social Media?

I help clients with Social Media and I am a big advocate of understanding how Social Media can contribute to business goals.  I always say that if a business can see two or more of its customers talking about their business or products in a café, then they should be on Facebook (with a facebook business page).

In general, businesses targeting the B2B should be on LinkedIn. I find LinkedIn great as a follow up to real life networking. It is also great for messaging people who I have not talked to in a long time. In general it is fantastic for keeping up to date with what my contacts are doing. I used to like LinkedIn groups to keep up to date on industry activities but I have found recently that LinkedIn groups are not as interactive as they should be. As such I am finding that I am gravitating towards Twitter and more particularly Google+. Both are great platforms for finding really interesting content.

I also write a blog and have contributed several articles to Tweak Your Biz. This is a brilliant network blog all about business. I want to establish myself as an authority on startups and this is a great way to circulate content. I also wrote an article for Small Business Can – this is a great resource for anyone in business in Ireland. Finally on social media, I appreciate the power of YouTube and have created a super video for one client. For my business Slideshare, the presentation sharing platform, is fantastic. I have embedded a few presentations on my website using Slideshare. I recently got an email saying that my presentations had received 10,000 views. But I don’t get carried away with such statistics as at the end of the day, I have to keep in direct contact with my customers. Ideally, you want them to ring you!

 

More about Donncha Hughes

 

About Me (Blog) : http://www.startuphughes.com/blog/donnchahughes/

Mobile : 086 1724887

Website : www.startuphughes.com

Linkedin : http://ie.linkedin.com/in/donnchahughes

Twitter : @donnchadhh

Member of SCCUL Mentor Panel http://www.scculmentors.ie/?p=334

Google+ : https://plus.google.com/118057181258567966884/posts

Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/donnchahughes

Tweak Your Biz: http://tweakyourbiz.com/author/donnchahughes/

 

 

 

 

Do’s, Don’ts & Marketing Etiquette of Community Managers

I have spoken before about the importance of an ambassador for your social media as a brand and with the role, comes a certain amount of responsibility. Social Media has become one of the biggest platforms for customer service and with it comes it’s own set of rules.

The core of any good social customer strategy is conveying to customers they have been heard and you are doing something about the issue. A combination of speed, accuracy and impact will lead to customer satisfaction, and open opportunities down the road. Here are some very basic guidelines about how to approach your brand’s public voice.

Do’s

1. Start and join conversations
2. Be generous and promote others
3. Engage with experts, advocates and customers
4. Share great content
5. Reward your fans with special discounts and promotions
6. Ask customers directly for their feedback about your product or service
7. Encourage engagement by responding to the people who answer

 

Don’t

1. Use social media to ‘push’ products. Suggestions in context of service or support are fine, if carefully handled; blatant  marketing is a no-no
2. Lose focus: be present, responsive and consistent
3. Be defensive. Respond with respect and let the customer know you’re listening and understand.
4. Respond too quickly. Listen first and then decide if a response is warranted. Figure out if this is a loyal customer or a detractor of your brand

 

Manners and Etiquette

1. Listen first, talk second
2. Be yourself, this is a conversation
3. Show and expect respect
4. Never use bad language
5. Apologise with sincerity
6. Be polite; follow normal social norms, just like offline
7. Identify yourself as an employee, do not make anonymous recommendations on behalf of your company

Remember with great power comes great responsibility….

Job Description: Marketing, Web Designer and PR Intern

BusyLizzie.ie is an SME support services provider, specialising in social media and administrative support, and are based in the Galway Technology Centre, Mervue IDA. For the next stage of our growth plan we are offering 2 x Full Time Marketing and Web Design Internships to join our growing team starting in mid-June.

 

We are interested in your attitude and ambition as well as your experience and qualifications. We don’t expect you to re-invent the wheel, but do expect you to create successful campaigns and follow what the industry is doing. You will be given the autonomy to follow through on your ideas and the satisfaction of being a significant member of a team who drives success. Full support and training will be given to help you achieve your goals.

 

On successful completion of the Internship and having achieved your KPIs, you will be appointed as a permanent full-time Product Manager where you will take ownership of one of our other online commercial ventures. You will also receive a financial bonus as a thank you.

 

Purpose of Role:

• Drive awareness of BusyLizzie.ie using both online and traditional marketing activities
• Work with existing customers and identify meaningful ways of attracting new ones and maintaining Customer Relationship Management system
• You understand that customers and consumers are at the heart of any successful business
• You recognise that Google Adwords and Facebook Advertising does not build a business
• The ability to formulate a detailed commercial marketing plan and implement it
• Be comfortable on the phone and speaking to customers, press and partners
• Attend conferences, seminars, networking events and trade shows as required
• Implement industry SEO (keyword research, writing Meta tags, Link building etc.) best practice techniques and apply them
• Write content and articles on a regular basis to drive customer engagement
• Online PR

• General Administration
• Research and Analytics
• Content curation on social networks including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
• List management and other tasks for email marketing
• Promotion of competitions on social media and other electronic channels

 

Skills Required:

• 3rd level qualification, preferable digital marketing qualification
• Be a self-starter who is passionate about generating new and interesting ideas
• Have a strong work ethic and be a core part of a small busy team
• Telesales or customer service experience would be an advantage
• Relevant experience in analytics and SEO would be an advantage
• Excellent computer skills; proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel & PowerPoint
• An eye for detail and a high standard of written English are also essential
• Have a sense of humour when things go wrong… because they often do!

 

How to apply:

• 1 x page cover letter outlining why you would like to work with us and what skills you bring to the party.
• 1 x page CV outlining your career experience and education to date.
• Listing any proficiency in social media management tools, email marketing software and other relevant packages.

 

Send your application to jobs@busylizzie.ie by the 31^st May 2013 for consideration.  

BPW Innovative Business Woman of the Year 2005 Listed in Top 40 Irish Female Entrepreneurs: Image Business 2006 Listed in Top 100 Women in Business by Entrepreneur Magazine 2006 & 2007 Finalist Image Magazine Young Businesswoman of the Year 2008

Busy Lizzie strives to improve our clients’ lives through our time saving services Tel: Dublin (0)1 514 3401  Galway (0)91 39 99 50| Email: info@busylizzie.ie | Web: www.busylizzie.ie   Sign Up for Our Newsletter What are our clients saying

This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and may also be legally privileged and/or copyright material of Busy (or its affiliated companies).  If you are not an intended or authorised recipient of this e-mail or have received it in error, please delete it immediately and notify the sender by e-mail. In such a case, reading, reproducing, printing or further dissemination of this e-mail or its contents is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful.   Busy Lizzie does not represent or warrant that an attachment hereto is free from computer viruses or other defects. The opinions expressed in this e-mail and any attachments may be those of the author and are not necessarily those of Busy Lizzie.

 

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Galway Technology Centre Appoints New Manager

Galway Technology Centre is a state-of-the-art ICT cluster of international repute and reach. It has accommodated the needs of both indigenous start-ups and in-bound international companies ‘soft-landing’ in Ireland. To date, this highly wired and connected facility has supported over 120 companies employing in excess of 1,000 higher value jobs, with this number rapidly growing despite the on-going economic crisis.

 Some of their predecessors and now graduate companies of this facility are major employers. The likes of Duolog Technologies, Storm Technology, Abbott Vascular and BioWare joined the facility in 2010; an IDA supported global leader and major employer for Galway during their launch.

 Promoting entrepreneurship and innovation start-ups at local level is critical for Galway’s future and this purpose built facility contributes to providing the type of environment entrepreneurs and early stage companies need to develop their business ideas into commercial enterprise.

 The centre provides a complete solution to entrepreneurs seeking a high quality environment in which to grow their enterprise from concept to commercialisation and beyond. In the words of GTC’s newly appointed Manager Niamh Costello, “We take care of everything; GTC is a one-stop shop for ICT, digital media, games and other knowledge based companies, offering low cost office space for start-up and growing companies with access to connectivity and a range of services that is second to none in the Galway area. “

 The Centre is supported by Galway Chamber, Enterprise Ireland, Galway County & City Enterprise Board and WESTBIC. WESTBIC are located on site and according to Niamh, “provide support to high potential start-up companies in the form of mentorship and assistance with business plans and preparing them for investment funding. Our close relationships with Enterprise Ireland, The City and County Enterprise Boards, Galway Chamber and many others provide backup and support to companies located in the centre”.

 The GTC now houses over 30 companies and is growing in volume monthly. The centre provides flexible, high quality, serviced office space for early stage and developing enterprises. The integrated range of facilities and services are extensive and specifically designed to meet early stage enterprises with limited resources. The centre has invested in key ICT and facilities infrastructure and equipment so that the entrepreneurs can use their resources to concentrate on developing their products and meeting customer demands.

 Now after 19 years servicing the needs of start-up enterprises in Galway, the Centre is ready to support the next generation of knowledge based high growth companies into the future. This generation included BioWare/EA Games, an international company, which located itself temporarily while recruiting for their Customer Centre of Excellence and Network Operations Centre. Niamh comments that “As well as supporting start-up companies, the centre hosts some of IDA’s multinational clients as they establish a base in Galway, to have a readymade, serviced office space available where companies can be up and running with enterprise level ICT systems in the space of days has proved to be invaluable and most importantly allows these companies to concentrate on establishing and growing their presence in Galway.”

 The Centre is the perfect location for entrepreneurs with great ideas but limited finance who need the option to grow from one location without spending their cash on expensive telephony, broadband and firewall software and equipment. GTC’s serviced office space includes VOIP telephony, broadband, firewall, 24×7 access,  a HP training suite, an on-site O’Brien’s Sandwich Bar and a range of other services.

 Frank Greene, Chairman of GTC comments “GTC is a not-for-profit entity set up by Galway Chamber, WESTBIC & Enterprise Ireland to provide over 50,000 sq. ft. ”Reference Point” for innovation, incubation and entrepreneurship in Galway City and County. GTC compliments the services provided by FAS, City & County Enterprise Board, Enterprise Ireland, Udaras na Gaeltachta, and the NUIG & GMIT Research centres. GTC provides a range of fully IT services spaces ranging from Singe Desk to up to 2500 sq. ft. units.”

 The centre will be holding a series of seminars given by GTC tenants in the coming months, on current topics surrounding social media in the workplace, app building and social management.

Please contact GTC’s new management team, Niamh Costello or Ann-Marie Tiernan on 091-770007 or mail info@gtc.ie with your queries about the services that GTC provides. www.gtc.ie

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