Pro Bono Work, the pros and cons

I've been thinking about this one for a while.  A good friend of a close family member asked me for some help recently.  They are just looking to focus their strategy, consolidate what they've got going for them and increase good quality sales.  It's a simple, straightforward local service business, nothing too mad or fancy about it.

Very kindly they offered to pay me for my services but I wouldn't hear of it.  When the close family member I know them through was having a tough time a few years ago, this person was there for them.  More than some other family members in fact.  I would love to be able to help her out now without having to worry her purse strings.  I believe that good things should come back to you. 

The freebie help was met with an interesting response.  I think I can understand why: she probably thinks that if there's nothing in it for me, then I won't put much effort into the project.  If I were to have some vested interest, I would drive more power into my efforts, perhaps.

I regret telling her I wouldn't take anything for the work now, not because I'm broke (which I am, GOD I'm so stupid), but because giving the goods away for free is going to devalue the work that I do.

DAMNIT. 

You see? This is why I haven't started up full time.  I NEVER TAKE MY OWN ADVICE. 

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Trust Fund

I just heard about this, although the news is 10 days old...sorry about that! 

An exciting opportunity for existing and budding entrepreneurs based in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown area of our fair city.  From an article in the Indo, it looks like interest free loans are becoming available through a couple of the county's quango's! 

A trust fund has been set up by Atlantic Philanthropies, the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Enterprise Board and the Southside Partnership.  It will charge no interest (just an admin fee) over 1, 2 or 3 years and the amounts can be small like €500 or medium, like €5,000 - or anything in between.  The trust has been set up to specifically aid those who want to start a business but cannot raise capital (working or otherwise) elsewhere.  It is especially relevant for those who are unemployed or suffer a disability. 

It sounds like you still need a business plan to apply - along with the obligatory application form - but there is no security required on these babies so all it's going to take is your time.  What's more there are tons of advisors out there willing to give you a helping hand with the application form and business planning process - I'm sure DLR CEB would be able to point you in the right direction on that when you are making your enquiry.

More information is available through the DLR County Enterprise Board's website, here.  Fair play to philanthropists the world over...the enterprise world needs more please!!

Quality of New Businesses

This recession has brought some excellent business ideas out of the rafters. I'm friends with a lot of people who work in the area of small business - advisors, mentors, bankers, credit union staff, people who train and work with entrepreneurs every other day. They are all having similar experiences lately - businesses are coming out of the woodwork, and they're good.

I shouldn't sound so surprised, but let's think about it. Recession hits, many lose their jobs, people panic and think "I'll create myself a job." I was concerned that many would start businesses to keep the wolf from the door, without experience or know-how and end up risking what savings their family had left.

It is inspiring to see so many excellent businesses beginning. People are realising that they have had an idea niggling at the back of their mind for so long but never done anything about it because "they never got around to it." Substitute the words "lazy" and "too comfortable" as you see fit.

Now that we have more time on our hands because we cannot afford as many holidays, gym memberships, nights out and costly activities; now that the we know the wolf is prowling around out there but we have a choice as to whether we invite him in, we are thinking.

Innovation is a big push at government level - anyone who watched last Monday's Aftershock on RTÉ1 will have seen and heard a lot of talk around this, and the knowledge economy, or the smart economy. There's tons of it about. More importantly, start-up's are more cautious. Previously thrown to the wind when credit flowed freely, now entrepreneurs are starting to listen to their guts and 6th senses to make sure they don't risk the redundancy package on something that just won't work.

Cleverer, sharper, less reckless, more efficient and more cost effective start-up businesses are sprouting up all over Ireland. Quesions like "who will buy this? what will they pay for it?" are getting answered before investment takes place - previously there was an attitude of If You Build It They Will Come.

This is partly to do with the fact that investment itself is scarce. Delighted to see that Simply Zesty got €500k investment today, on their 1st birthday no less. That's some present! Imagine the competition for that cash. Fair play to them.

Business Angels have never been busier - or more in demand. When margins are tight, what little profits we generate don't need to shoot off into the bank accounts of venture capitalists. Angels are where the demand is...

Moral of the post... Green shoots of hope springing up all over the place.

Outvesting is a go, submit your entry by 21st November

Go! Go! Go!

Outvesting is looking for good businesses to invest its first €5,000 in so get going! Submit a form to the organisers by 21st November and let the investors decide who should get the cash injection. There's just a wufoo form you've to fill out...

GOOD LUCK!!!

Now - go go go!

Wouldn't you love to be Nestlé?

I read in the Irish Times this morning that Nestle's first quarter sales are only down by 2.1% - not so much down to recession but a late Easter & a strong CHF. In the Reuters report, analysts are quoted saying that the company is "well positioned to ride out the recession compared to its rivals due to its comprehensive range of products and wide geographical presence."

Sigh.

Wouldn't you love to be so successful that you had a finger in every pie, in every price bracket, in every market? A simple lesson for us all there methinks.

I think I'll go make myself another Nespresso to make myself feel better.

EU Funding

It appears that news stories featuring small businesses & the help available from Europe are like the 46A...none for ages and then 2 come along at once.



Not long after I had the pleasure of posting this about the European Commission, I find something else to be cheerful about.



I have just started following Eoin Ryan on Twitter (I posted about that last week too) and found this interesting tit bit - the European Investment Fund's new programme, called Jeremie.



Think not that I am nailing political support to any flagpoles - this I will never do. I'm too flaky. I am, however, delighted that anyone at all is starting the odd initiative that actually might bring some good to the small and micro enterprise sector. Hoo-bleedin-rah I say. It's not like we don't need it!



So - Jeremie - stands for the Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises. No wonder they abbreviated it. I won't ramble about which EU Fund it's coming from (Structural) but the basic gist is that rather than getting a once-off grant, money will be invested, and then can be reinvested in the same business at a later date. The money is not then linked to a specific project, just the financial health of an enterprise.



This makes a lot of sense, since at the moment you have to be incurring a specific cost in your near future when you apply to EI or a CEB. They always ask "well, what do you need the money for?" when truthfully you just need to be keeping your cashflow healthy and could do with a boost.



Now just to clarify - none of the details have been churned out yet. I'm trying very hard to gag the cynic in me that thinks this in reality this will take so long to put in place that the recession will be over by then, or that the hoops and loops people will have to jump through to get the finance in the first place will still be a pain in the -



But! I am tentatively thrilled that something is happening on the funding front. Hopefully it will come to something - at the moment they are only talking about "a range of financial instruments" so when I hear more I will elaborate!



Oh goodie for more good news... On a Monday too! The shock.



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Footnote of Great Import:

JEREMIE funds are not issued directly to small businesses (SMEs).SMEs should therefore not apply to EIF or the EC for financial support.In due course, SMEs interested in obtaining finance will be able to identify and contact financial intermediaries in their countries based on information provided in this website, which will be provided as and when the JEREMIE initiative becomes active in Member States and Regions.

Twenty's New Business Idea

It's not bad!

Go, have a read. He's a blogger, he's a writer, but he's also too lazy to go and start this new business, so he's putting his idea out there ;)

Amusing Businesses - the original entrepreneurial spirit

I just love this. I was at a local garden centre recently and typically, came across bags of "fertilizer" for sale.

I just think it's brilliant, you sit there for a moment, staring at a big pile of poo and wonder to yourself "what am I going to do with this?"

Sell it.

Making money from the byproducts of your business is a fantastic idea, mainly because it is such a simple one.

I'll admit that this blog originally started out quite aspirational - but I think that bit of my learning curve has maybe ended. The thing about trying to think of something interesting to blog about has turned into blogging about things that come up during the week and just approaching it from a business sense. A business start up sense :)

I have just started a blogroll, I hope that's ok with those I've listed. They are blogs I read that I find amusing. As I venture futher into Irish Blogland I will no doubt keep adding to them...

But back to the point of making business from byproducts. It's not as difficult as it looks - just step outside the box for a moment and have a little think.

This is apparently the time for us as a nation to focus on The Knowledge Economy. So, if your business is not in manufacturing or farming or retail or hospitality, but more service or IT based, then think about getting a healthy cashflow early on.

For Example!

If you have a web based business and you are busy looking for customers but they are not coming along as quickly as you would have imagined - how about selling your valuable IT skills on the side on a consultancy basis, just to get the coffers healthy. It will benefit you in 2 ways:
1) Cashflow, obviously
2) Get you back into other businesses

The second one is another byproduct, but this time - for you. It's a lonely old road starting up a business, and sometimes (cheesey but true) you can't see the wood for the....big leafy things. So interacting with others will help, but learning about their day-to-day issues will help you too. It can only help to discuss general business issues in the long term, I find.