If you have not already registered to attend, there is still time to book your place at the annual conference for the Sales Institute of Ireland which takes place this week.

In summary, here are the details:

Date of Event: 16 May 2012

Time: 7.30am- 2.30pm

Venue: The Burlington Hotel, Dublin

Investment: EUR 225 (Non-SII Members: EUR 325)

How to book: Book your place online

The theme this yearf is "Sales 2020 – The Future of Selling" and the conference will feature different perspectives on new market dynamics and developments in communications and technology which are changing the business environment for sales professionals.

The speakers include:

• Ireland - The Comeback Economy - Frank Ryan, CEO, Enterprise Ireland
• The Changing Sales & Distribution of Financial Services Products - Pat O'Brien, CEO, Liberty Insurance
• Reports of the Death of the Salesman have been Greatly Exaggerated - Dr. Susi Geiger, Director of Research & Innovation, UCD Business School
• The Changing Face of FMCG Retailing - Malachy Hanberry, Sales & Retail Advisory Services Director, BWG Foods
• Creating a Commercially Effective Sales Team for the Future - Ciaran Budds, Commercial Effectiveness Director, Diageo Ireland

• Social By Design - Rick Kelley, Sales Director EMEA, Facebook

• Social Ka-ching! - What has, should and can social change about selling? - Leo Ryan, Group Head of Social@Ogilvy, London

• The Importance of Technology, Mobility and Social Media in Driving Successful Sales Performance Orla Sheridan, Consumer Channel Group Director, Microsoft Ireland

You are never too old to be an entrepreneur!

Exploring the Wicklow County Enterprise Board Website for information about their forthcoming digital marketing programme the following event caught my attention.

Programme: 2 day residential programme - download a PDF of the programme here

Location: Killeshin Hotel, Portlaoise, Co Laois

Date: 8-9 May 2012

Objectives: The aim of this interactive 2 day residential workshop is to give entrepreneurs aged 50+ the opportunity to develop a business plan to guide the establishment of their new business.

It is suitable for those with an idea, on which they would like to base a new business, who would like assistance in taking their idea from concept to commercial reality.

Programme Objectives:

- To assess the feasibility of their business idea
- To undertake market research
- To develop an action based marketing plan
- To acquire the knowledge to complete 1 – 3yr sales and expenditure projections
- To develop practical skills for achieving their projected sales targets
- To understand how to manage cash flow in their business
- To identify the amount of capital required to start their business
- To gain awareness of the supports available to new businesses
- To identify appropriate exit strategies.

Cost: €75 to include all training material, food and accommodation (single occupancy) in the hotel.

How to apply: You can book online or over the phone 0404 30800

You must be aged 50 or over and have an idea for a business that you want to start.

My Personal Perspective

I think this 'Start Your Own Business for Seniors' programme is a great initiative though I do wonder how people will feel signing up for a programme for the 'over 50's'?

Perhaps it is just me, but the older I get the less I want to be stereotyped.

I know that the idea of going to an 'over 50's event' as are hosted by Senior Times would be enough to make me stay away (I'm not in that age group yet!).

In my experience, there are significant genrational differences between the young baby boomers (born 1964-1946) who are closer to Gen X in many respects for example in relation to the use of the Intenet versus those of the Silent Generation (born 1925-1945) use as we can see from this research by Pew Internet study. I wonder if that is being taken into account when developing the programme?

What do you think about the title of the programme - how would you feel being called a 'senior' if you were just turned 50 years of age?

I hope that people will be encouraged to register for the programme and not let the 'title' put them off.

I would be interested to know what research was done before naming the programme though - and if there are insufficient registrations perhaps a bit of a brand makeover would be in order?

If you have never been to a BizCamp I've good news - BizGrad is taking place in Dublin on 31 March 2012 specifically for post graduates and students who are looking to set up their own business.

There is a small entrance fee of €10 which is being donated to The Simon Community.

The venue is DIT Aunigner Street and registration will start at 9am with a key-note speaker at 9:30am followed by a day of talks and networking we will be finished up by 4:30pm.

The whole ethos of BizCamps is to share your experience so if you have learnt something on your journey in entrepreneurship make sure you register as a speaker - don't worry it's an informal affair.

 

 

Here is an event that unfortunately I am not able to attend but I know a number of you will be interested in.

This conference is aimed particularly at social media practitioners and will bring together journalists, academics, politicians, and business people with an interest in web-based technologies to look at some of the complex issues facing Ireland's economy.

The European Commission Representation in Ireland is supporting a one day conference in Galway for social media practitioners  "The Challenges facing the Irish Economy ".

In summary the details are as follows:

Date: Saturday 24th March 2012 - registration from 10.30 am

Venue: Aras Moyola Building, National University of Ireland, Galway

The following people will be leading discussions at the conference:

• Professor John McHale, Professor and Head of Economics at the National University of Ireland
• Dr Alan Ahearne, Lecturer in economics at the National University of Ireland
• Seamus Coffey, Lecturer in economics at the University College Cork
• Ronan Lyons, Independent economist

For more details you can visit the conference website.

Entry is free but places are limited - register to attend by sending an e-mail to Sarah.Pearcey(at)ec.europa.eu

Are you an entrepreneur in the County Donegal area? Then make sure you check out the terrific week log programme of events for Enterprising Donegal Business Week 2012.

Events include topics from innivation and ideas through to managing your personal wellbeing.

I am delighted to have been invited to participate in a digital marketing workshop taking place on Wednesday 7 March 2012 between 8- 11 am.

The session is called "Digital Marketing De-mystified" and it will be a step by step guide to attracting more customers to your small business using digital marketing.

There will also be a panel discussion and case studies from local businesses. You can register to attend the workshop and other events taking place during Enterprising Donegal Business Week here.

You can see the itinerary for Enterprising Donegal Business Week below or download the PDF here.

Over the years as a professional speaker I have had the opportunity to share the stage with almost all the Irish Dragons from Dragons Den - so I am thrilled to have been invoted to now join Bill Cullen the host of Ireland's Apprentice and known for his no-nonsense approach to business for a conference taking place on 22 September 2011 at the Europa Academy Swords.

In an early planning meeting it suddently struck me that on the day of the conference there will only be 100 days left until 1 January 2012 - so the idea of creating your 100 day plan was born - and that is exactly what we will be covering - how to get yourself in gear so that 2012 is your best year ever.

Bill Cullen will be speaking in the morning about managing your personal motivation.

Mark Richardson will be covering ideas on how to sell your way to success.

I will be covering how to unlock new streams of revenue through marketing your business online - and I will be covering practical tips and providing guidance on the most common mistakes people are making with their digital marketing and how you can avoid them. I am not just going to be talking about social media!

We have also planned the day so you will have plenty of time

TWO IMPORTANT POINTS IF YOU PLAN TO BOOK A PLACE

1. Book by Wednesday 31 August 2011 and recieve a 30% discount, reducing the ticket price to €87.50 per person which is a huge 30% saving

2. When you book your place mention on the booking form that you heard about the event from me - put "Biz Growth" in the box that says "where did you hear about the event" on the second page of the booking form. I will get notification and after you have attended the event I will host an exclusive webinar about how you can use LinkedIn to support you in nurturing your network and boosting your sales in 2012. This is not because I will get an affiliate or referral fee for attendees - it's becasue I want to encourage you to attend to get your business in great shape in 2011.

In summary here are the details:
 
Date: Thursday 22nd September 2011
 
Duration: 1 Day from 9.00am – 5.00pm with registration from 8.00am
 
Course Code: BC113
 
Venue: Europa Academy, Balheary Road, Swords, Co Dublin

Investment: €125.00 per person or 2 places for €210.00 (early bird price of €87.50 per person until 31 August 2011. Book online or contact Peter Finnegan, Sales and Marketing Manager at peter@europaacademy.com or call him on 01 883 9212 for further information.

I hope to see you there.

I've written before about the great BizCamps that take place each year in Ireland and it's great to hear that in a few weeks there will be a BizCamp taking place in Galway.

BizCamp Galway takes place on Saturday 10 September 2011 at NUI Galway and there is just a nominal fee to attend - just €5 charge that’s being donated directly to Cope Galway when you register.

BizCamps are a great opportunity to connect and network with other entrepreneurs. People come together from all sectors so it's a great opportunity to network - you never know you might meet your next strategic partner or joint venture opportunity.

And if you have an interesting story to share or ideas that can assist other - perhaps it's your own story about how you have overcome some challenges in your small business, then do register as a speaker to inspire and share your knowledge.

BizCamp Galway relies on volunteers to organise it and also the attendees to step forward as speakers.

I'm not able to attend this next event but I am sure you will have a terrific time - so go on and arrange to book your place - I am sure they will be over subscribed.

If you are a woman leading your own business or a small business in Ireland, one event I do recommend that you check out is the National Womens Enterprise Day conference.

I have spoken at the conference previously and it is certainly a great way to meet other women in business. I am not able to attend this year unfortunately as I am speaking at an event in Cyprus.

National Women's Enterprise Day 2011 takes place over a day and a half and the fee to attend is just €100 excluding accomodation - you can also avail of a mentoring session which you need to book ahead of the event.

Here is a summary of the full day conference on the 17 November 2011:

9.40 – Keynote Speaker Debra Searle

11.15 – Panel Discussion with 4 successful female entrepreneurs

12.45 – Lunch and Informal Networking

14.00 – Case Studies X 4 – DVD and Panel Discussion Q & A

15.15 – Keynote Speaker Domini Kemp

16.00 – Closing remarks and Conference Close by Eamon Ryan, Chairman NWED Organising Committee.

(The afternoon of the 16th November is dedicated to networking and also a social media workshop).

Be sure to check out the event - it's especially valuable if you are a start up.

 

Are you a small business in the South Dublin area who is looking for ways to engage with social media marketing to attract more leads? then check out the conference being facilitated by South Dublin County Council in partnership with South Dublin Chamber of Commerce.and which I am delighted to have been involved in when it comes to determining the agenda and the speakers.

It is a half day event taking place on 8 June 2011 and the agenda in summary is as follows:

08.00 - Introduction and Welcome

08.10 - 5 Steps to getting started with social media and understanding how social media can support your marketing, lead generation, and sales objectives, Krishna De, Biz Growth News.

09.15 - Tactics to attract customers and boost sales using Twitter - Case Study, Robert Ryan, Lady Umbrella.

09.45 - Promoting your business using Podcasts - Case Study, Peter Donegan - Donegan Landscaping.

10.15 - Coffee Break

10.45 - 10 steps to effective and productive online networking using Linked In, Krishna De, Biz Growth News

11.15 - Building buzz and generating leads from blogs, blogger outreach and multimedia - Case Study, Eamonn Grant, Flowers Made Easy.

11.45 - Connecting with fans on Facebook - Case Study, Jane Davis, Leopardstown Racecourse.

12.15 - Take the Hotseat - Three businesses will be invited to share their business goals and receive suggestions and feedback from the panel of speakers on actions they can take to integrate social media into their marketing and sales plan.

12.50 - Bringing it all together - conference wrap-up, Krishna De, Biz Growth News

12.55 - Launch of Social Media Academy/Open Academy - a new initiative from South Dublin County Council.

The cost of attending this event is just €20 which is highly subsidised - you can book your place online here.

Are you looking for some inspiration and support to manage your business at this time? Then check out the forthcoming workshops from Jack Black and hosted by Horizon Speakers taking place on 16 and 17 June in Galway and Dublin respectively.

The seminars which are a day in length will be covering:

• How to manage your stress
• Highly useful tools to ensure you maintain a “Positive Mental Attitude”
• How to ensure you set goals that cause you to overcome procrastination

• How to communicate and negotiate better in meetings and one on ones
• How to improve your problem solving skills through becoming more creative and innovative
• How to perform at your very best whatever the circumstance or situation you find yourself in
• How to harness all this to impact your businesses profitability.

‘Jumpstart Your Business’ with Jack Black is for Business Owners and Professionals will take place in Galway and Dublin on Thursday 16th and 17th June 2011. Tickets are priced at 1 for €127 or 2 for €197 ( if you book before 7 June 2011 on a special early bird), following which tickets will be €147 for one person and €247 for two people attending.