Good Business
When businesses (and the whole country) closed in March like many people I sat and wondered what would I do now. I found myself with extra time on my hands because school runs no longer needed to be worked around and I couldn't go anywhere. I became determined not to waste the time I was given. I was soon sitting in on various webinars and courses which were conveniently online. Today I thought I'd give a share of some of the helpful groups, businesses, etc that I came across.
BNI
BNI is hardly a new organisation in Ireland and I had heard of them before but hadn't joined. After sitting in on a couple of meetings I quickly realised how beneficial it could be. Having been a member now for about 5 months I can definitely say it was a great decision. Benefits include:
- Grow in confidence to highlight your business and why you should be hired
- Referrals to potential clients, rather than cold-calling these are warm referrals where the person is already told about you and usually has a need for your services / products
- Accountability, it's not all about what you take but also what you give and being held accountable is good for business
- Business growth is, of course, a big plus
There's many chapters all over the country and you can find out more at www.bni.ie or give me a call.
ActionCOACH
Not long before lockdown in March there was a BizExpo on in Dublin and that's where I came across ActionCOACH. Due to a special offer I had some sessions with a Coach who asked all sorts of questions that really made me think more about my business and where I was going with it. A course of 12 sessions was coming up that looked at businesses from all sorts of angles - financial, systems, teamwork, marketing, and more - which I knew would be really beneficial. With the support of a grant from the Local Enterprise I was able to sign up to the course. It covered a lot of information and while I'm only a new business I still gleaned a little nugget from each session, and banked away many more that can be used as I grow. I can also bring what I've learned to my clients so they're businesses can grow and be more effective too.
If you'd like to get the benefits of a Coach you can contact them ActionCOACH or give me a call and I'll put you in touch directly.
Support Agencies
Throughout the last six months the Local Enterprise office has been brilliant with support both financially and informationally. They run great courses and everyone should be signed up to the newsletters which bring out information pertinent to businesses, as well as upcoming events.
Skillnet also run great courses. One I completed was in Data Analysis & Business Intelligence which was based on using Excel to full advantage for businesses. These are skills I can now bring to my clients.
What have you been up to? Are they're particular agencies, groups, businesses which you have found useful especially over the last 6 months?
If you're having difficulty finding out more about the groups mentioned (BTW I don't get anything if you join / buy from them) then get in touch today and I'll be happy to point you directly to people.
1 COMMENT
Nice work Ruth… Some useful recommendations. Will look into ActionCOACH and Skillnet.