The Small Business Show

Small Business Show: The Great Big Internet TV Network

Kehlan Kirwan, Conn Ó Muíneacháin — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:34:29 +0000

This week’s guest is Johnny Beirne, online brand expert and co-founder of the Digital Business Institute. Business, he says is about trust, and the growth of online video is bringing us right back to the kind of face-to-face engagement on which personal relationships are built.

We discuss the week’s business news: Telefónica’s new startup accelerator; new mobile payments system Payjack; investors team up with farmers; and the online funeral home.

The Small Business Show is broadcast each weekend in syndication on Irish radio. Items from the show are published as podcasts throughout the week on FocuSMEIreland.com. You can subscribe for free to download the MP3s automatically using RSS or iTunes.

This podcast is sponsored by mailpak.ie – Custom design, print & mail service

Small Business Show – Company Focus: Shannon Hot Desks

Kehlan Kirwan, Conn Ó Muíneacháin — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:14:32 +0000

This weeks company focus comes from Shannon in Co. Clare, where we talk to Michael Kearney from Shannon Hot Desks.

Michael is a serial entrepreneur and is involved in several businesses. In this interview he talks to Kehlan about what Shannon Hot Desks are and what they do.

Michael also explains what he believes makes a top entrepreneur, starting off with being positive!

This was broadcast as part of The Small Business Show on Clare FM on Saturday, 12th May.

Small Business Show: Bachelors & Farmers

Kehlan Kirwan, Conn Ó Muíneacháin — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:46:16 +0000

Will Humphries of Bachelor Magazine joins us to review the week’s business news. Bachelor Magazine, he explains, started as a blog and has grown to something much bigger, with 9 writers covering topics such as Motoring, Food, Technology fashion and more. Their new initiative is called Pay it Forward, where they cover small businesses who then nominate others for coverage.

Stories covered in this week’s podcast include: Independence for Shannon Airport; 9% VAT to be retained; SFA vs. Farmers; and AIB’s €250m agri-investment package.

This podcast is sponsored by mailpak.ie – Custom design, print & mail service

Small Business Show with Gabriela Avram of 3D Camp

Kehlan Kirwan, Conn Ó Muíneacháin — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:14:41 +0000

Gabriela Avram is a lecturer in Digital Media at the University of Limerick, and one of the organisers of 3D Camp, which will be held on May 26th. 3D camp, she explains, is about how we interact with computers in the physical world and will cover topics such as mobile computing, augmented reality, geocaching and DIY Synthetic Biology! It’s an informal conference on the ‘Barcamp‘ model, so it’s not only free to attend but participants are invited to shape the agenda, contribute and speak.

Also discussed in this week’s business news: Athlone’s planned Chinese exhibition centre; the latest data on new company registrations; free WiFi is launched in Clonmel; and Google bring Streetview indoors.

This podcast is sponsored by mailpak.ie – Custom design, print & mail service

Small Business Show: It’s All In The Genes – Bovigene Genetics

Kehlan Kirwan, Conn Ó Muíneacháin — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:20:31 +0000

Based in one of Ireland’s agricultural heartlands, Co. Laois, Bovigene is providing top quality bovine genetics and fertility management services to farmers and breeders throughout Leinster, Ireland and beyond.

They source embryos from pedigree herds and export them all over the world. Their services include flushing, freezing and transferring embryos. They can also provide bovine pregnancy scanning and semen evaluation.

Founded by Stephen Dowling, their laboratory is in Cloneygowan, just outside Portarlington.

We met up with Stephen in Portlaoise, Co. Laois and asked him about the science behind this and how they have big plans to export their top embryos around the world.

Small Business Show: David Quaid Spills the Beans on SEO

Kehlan Kirwan, Conn Ó Muíneacháin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:01:58 +0000

David Quaid runs Primary Position, an agency which specialises in Search Engine Optimisation or SEO. Recently he met Conn for a coffee and an interview for the Small Business Show.

David points out that SEO and marketing is the first step in online business. Before you build the site – before you choose a domain name – you need to consider your target audience: who they are, and how they will find you.

Content is critically important, he explains. It should be meaningful and useful, in the language of your customers – not of the ‘trade’. Users go online to research solutions to their problems but they may not know the technical terms for those solutions. Good SEO anticipates these searches and responds with meaningful content that draws traffic.

Links are important, he says, but they must be relevant, in the context of the text where they are found and in the overall nature of the subject matter or business in question. You can’t fake this stuff – he says. Search engines devote considerable resources to making sure their results are relevant – otherwise they lose trust and, as a consequence, business. Good SEO, he agrees, is about good marketing and good customer relations.

This podcast is sponsored by mailpak.ie – Custom design, print & mail service

Small Business Show: News Review with Colm Ó Broin of Gaelscéal

Kehlan Kirwan, Conn Ó Muíneacháin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:36:45 +0000

Colm Ó Broin is a journalist with Gaelscéal, the weekly national Irish language newspaper. He joins Conn Ó Muíneacháin and Kehlan Kirwan on the Small Business Show to discuss this week’s news, including: contradictory reports on the business outlook; the importance of food for the tourism industry; a new europe-focused directory of SME resources; and the burden of employment law.

This podcast is sponsored by mailpak.ie – Custom design, print & mail service

Small Business Show: Five Things the Recession has Taught Us

Kehlan Kirwan, Conn Ó Muíneacháin — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:28:47 +0000

This week’s feature interview is with Neal Kelly, co-founder and a director of Thomond Asset Management. Founded in 2009, Thomond specialises in investment stratgey for the post-boom. In difficult times, Neal explains, it’s more important than ever to manage your assets wisely, to provide for the future and guard against the unexpected.

He outlines 5 lessons the recession has taught us:

Property is not always the answer
Diversify, diversify, diversify
Nothing is certain – so protect what you’ve got
Never, ever believe the hype
Saving and investing is the way forward

It’s timeless advice, he acknowledges, and nothing we didn’t know before the boom took hold. If there is a key message in the failure of this crash, says Neal, it is that we mustn’t let our hearts rule our heads. Wise investing is about saving, not borrowing; about questioning, not trusting blindly; and avoiding the pitfalls of greed and overconfidence.

The Small Business Show is syndicated weekly on Irish radio stations and podcast appear daily on focusmeireland.com. You can subscribe for free to download the MP3s automatically using RSS or iTunes.

This podcast is sponsored by mailpak.ie – Custom design, print & mail service

Small Business Show #40: Brian Cleary of Clonmel Chamber of Commerce

Kehlan Kirwan, Conn Ó Muíneacháin — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:40:58 +0000

Brian Cleary joins Kehlan and Conn to review the news for this week’s Small Business Show. Brian is the CEO of Clonmel Chamber of Commerce, who are working hard to make sure local business view their chamber membership as “an essential tool for business”. As part of that they are running a month of free events for members in May, which they’ve renamed SME Month!

This week’s podcast discusses IBEC’s plan for economic recovery; optimism for tourism; Mumpreneurs; and Jam-making!

The Small Business Show is syndicated weekly on Irish radio stations and podcast each Friday on focusmeireland.com. You can subscribe for free to download the MP3s automatically using RSS or iTunes.

This podcast is sponsored by mailpak.ie – Custom design, print & mail service

Small Business Show: Limerick Local Heroes

Kehlan Kirwan, Conn Ó Muíneacháin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:02:03 +0000

Limerick Local Heroes is one of a number of similar voluntary initiatives under way across the country, working to revitalise communities, create jobs and stimulate the economy.

Tony Frawley is the spokesman for Limerick Local Heroes and in this podcast he explains how they were inspired by the original Local Heroes project in Drogheda and encouraged by Animo TV, who are producing a TV series for RTE about the projects.

The Local Heroes approach identifies 4 pillars of the community: Tourism, Retail, Community and Three-Es (Enterprise, Education, Employment) Submissions are invited from the public at large and there is a strong emphasis on turning ideas into action. The work will be coordinated through the Local Heroes Hub office in the Arthurs Quay Centre.

The Small Business Show is syndicated weekly on Irish radio stations and podcast each Friday on focusmeireland.com. You can subscribe for free to download the MP3s automatically using RSS or iTunes.

This podcast is sponsored by mailpak.ie – Custom design, print & mail service