Local Carlow/Kildare Business Meetup

Just a quick post to let you know of an informal networking session taking place tomorrow evening. Every couple of months i organise an informal get-together where local business people in Carlow and Kildare can get together for a cup of coffee and hopefully gain potential business. But its also about getting to know local business people that you wouldn’t otherwise meet at any other networking events.

 

Details are as follows:
Date: Wednesday 22 April 2009
Time: 7PM onwards
Venue: Carlton Abbey Hotel in Athy
Directions: http://www.carltonabbeyhotel.com/athy_kildare

The reason i’ve chosen this hotel is (1) its pretty much the central point between Carlow and Kildare and (2) Anita from officegenie.ie has organised with the Carlton Abbey Hotel, that they provide us with our own dedicated room (very posh with big sofas) so we can mingle freely. Anita has managed to get us the room free of charge and a contribution of €2.50 each will cover tea’s/coffee’s and biscuits for the night.

 

Hopefully i might see some of you there and don’t forget to bring your business cards.

 

Kildare Business Network

I just thought i’d write a bit about Kildare Business Network, as i’m thrilled to be involved in such an active, professional business network in Kildare.

The Kildare Business Network was established in 2008 by a number of local business people who were looking for a new way to meet and network with other local business people. It was set up by a progressive group of Kildare business people to provide such a network to local owner managers. From the outset it was intended that the Business Network should provide a relaxed setting where members can share their challenges and advice to other members and this is being achieved at meetings held twice a month in Kildare.

We are constantly on the look out for more businesses to join the network, so, If you are interested in attending/joining Kildare Business Network please email me for more details.

As a member of Kildare Business Network, you will :

• Tap into a supportive network of like minded people who may be going through similar situations to yourself.
• Get access to expert guest speakers brought in to present on topics of interest to members.
• Widen your contact base to help you develop your business.
• Have the opportunity to promote your business through the events which the Network develops or sponsors on an Annual basis.
• Enjoy preferential rates for products or services offered by fellow members.

To avoid potential conflict of interest, membership is restricted to one business per business sector.

I really believe this is the way forward and am delighted to be part of such a vibrant and innovative group of business people. For further information, please go to www.kildarebusinessnetwork.com

Budget 2009

As recently appointed Secretary of Kildare Business Network, I am pleased to let you know that our very own member, Eilis Quinlan of Eilish J. Quinlan & Co. Accountants, in association with Naas Chamber of Commerce, will be presenting a talk this Wednesday on The Budget 2009.

Details are as follows:

Date/Time: Wednesday, 8th April @ 6PM

Venue: Osprey Hotel, Naas, Co. Kildare

There is no fee to attend, and all are welcome. For further information, please do not hesitate to contact Naas Chamber on 045-894074 or by email on info@naaschamber.ie

For more details on Eilis and her company, please visit http://www.eilisjquinlan.ie/

Meetup for Local Kildare/Carlow Businesses

As much as i hate to mention the “R” word, it has to be done. The recession is affecting many small to medium businesses on various different levels. That is why there is no better time to be shrewd about finances in your business and cut costs where necessary.

One method of saving money in your business is to curb your spending on advertising. Obviously this is not possible for everyone, but what is possible is promotion of your business without spending a penny!

That is where Networking comes into it. Networking won’t cost you a cent and the great thing is that you get to meet potential clients personally. At the risk of sounding repetitive, its a well known fact that people prefer to do business with or refer business to people that they have met. No one will have the enthusiasm for promotion of your business like you will, which is why we need to get out there and meet people face to face.

And this is why it has been decided to get all us small to medium sized businessed t0gether, where we can do just that. Initally it will start off with a combined networking group for small to medium sized businesses in Kildare, Carlow, Meath and Kilkenny. Its a great way to get to know each other, build business contacts, pass referrals etc.

At an initial glance, i’ve had a good few people express interest in coming along. I have to stress that this will be the first regional networking group and so would encourage any newbie’s who’ve never attended something similar to come along and get to know people from the offset. Some businesses that have confirmed attendance would be:

Business Support (Tipperary)
Sole Recruitment (Kildare)
Australian Visa Specialists (Kildare)
Feelgood Organic Hampers (Kildare)
Mortgage Advisor
Printing.com @ TMC (Carlow)
OfficeGenie.ie (Kildare)
Anois Property Management (Carlow/Kildare)
Mydreamweddings (Kilkenny)
Smart Sewing (Carlow)
Health & Happiness Coach (Meath)
TheLifeCompany (Kildare)
Health & Safety Essentials (Meath)
TopTeam Consulting (Carlow)
Richards Recruitment (Carlow)
Deycom (Carlow)
Flo Web Design (Meath)
Avicenna Health & Lifestyle Clinic (Carlow)
Amosh Designs (Kildare)
Pedreschi Electrical & Alarms Limited (Kildare)
WhatsWhat.ie (Kildare)

Ark Finance (Kildare)
KlassyDressHire
Buyers Broker (Carlow)
Husse Pet Foods
Bespoke Bookkeeping & Payroll Services
Gardner HRM Ltd (Kildare)
ABC Bookkeeping Solutions
Psych Fusion (Kildare)

 

If anyone else would be interested in attending, please leave your name and email address in the comments box and i will confirm a date and time in the next day or so.

Geri

Sisters are Doing it for Themselves!

For anybody who was dining at Le Mangetu Restaurant in Ballsbridge last Friday night, they would be forgiven for thinking that there was some kind of friendship reunion going on! For as soon as you walked in the door, you were presented with a long table of almost 20 women all chatting away and conversing like old life long friends! But the reality is, that most women at that table had only met for the first time that night and were brought together by one common interest.. That of being an Irish business woman.

Meeting online on the wonderfully warm and resourceful www.irishbusinesswomen.com, a get together was organised so we could leave the comfort of our online forum and meet up in person. Kick off was at 7.30PM and before we knew it, it was amost 12am and the restaurant was getting ready to close. The night flew by. The diversity of businesses there was fantastic. We had women representing many types of industries including a hamper company, recruitment company, psychology software company and jewellery company, just to mention a few.  Hot topics of the night were everything and anything from business to family to hobbies and interests.

The importance of networking in business can never be stressed enough. It is vitally important to keep small to medium businesses going. The simple fact is that people prefer to do business with people they know and have met, and networking is a fantastic way to make you and your business known. And if you’re the shy type who finds it difficult to meet people in person, then there’s always the fabulous resource of www.irishbusinesswomen.com

Here are a couple of photo’s from last Friday night. Enjoy!