Startup Life is Hard…
Setting up a business is incredibly tough; you start off trying to be all things to all people: the CEO, Finance Director, Sales & Marketing Manager, Head of HR, the list goes on. But it takes time to build a great company (and needless to say having the right people to help you do it is a pretty big contributing factor!), and there is a certain DIY element to many of your endeavours in the beginning, be it optimising your website for SEO, understanding which CRM is better to use, how to be fully tax compliant, etc. In fact, it’s been suggested that reading blogs is one way for entrepreneurs to feel more inspired about their startup journey, with many offering helpful tips and advice on the day to day running of a small company (source).
According to Enterprise Ireland, 2018 saw a 30% increase in the number of entrepreneurs enquiring about setting up a business (more than 1,300 enquiries in total), with the Government organisation investing €23 million in Irish startups last year (source)…this means that there is a continuing appetite for entrepreneurs around the country to commercialise their innovative ideas, which is of course good news for the Irish economy!
In light of this, we wanted to highlight some of the great Irish resources out there for entrepreneurs that may be seeking tips and advice for their own business. While there are thousands of startup blogs available on the Internet, we wanted to check out the ones closer to home…and good thing we did, these blogs really are great!
Business Achievers
Business Achievers (formerly smallbusinesscan.com) is a networking hub and business portal created by Ulster Bank, to help connect entrepreneurs to industry thought leaders and generate new business opportunities. It hosts a very active blog full of wonderful insights around motivation, marketing and management (alliteration not intended!). It’s a user generated content platform, with contributors ranging from veteran CEOs to Digital Marketing Managers, Sales Directors and CFOs all over the world. It also has a regular feature called ‘Gaining Momentum’ which focuses solely on influential Irish business leaders.
Articles on Business Achievers are published every few days which makes it current and relevant to startups in Ireland. Check out these posts:
- VAT in Ireland: Top Business Tips
- Start Up Struggles: How to Cut Costs and Improve Efficiency
- Why You Need to Revisit Your Customer Segmentation Over Time
- Follow them here!
Twitter | LinkedIn | FacebookStartups.ie
As mentioned on the website’s homepage, Startups.ie was established “by entrepreneurs to be a starting place for people interested in setting up their own business.” This is also actually a great resource for anyone who might be interested in learning about the wonderful talent that Ireland has to offer when it comes to enterprising ideas! Most of the articles focus on the success of small businesses here in Ireland, e.g. funding rounds, acquisitions, partnerships, etc, as well as helpful guidance for those just starting out.
Check out these posts:
- The Most Common Mistakes New Business Owners Make
- Top Tips for Trade Marks
- Back To Marketing Basics: Getting Your Message Clear Before Anything Else
- Follow them here!
Twitter | FacebookThinkbusiness.ie
Powered by Bank of Ireland, Thinkbusiness.ie is another great tool for startups, providing some very helpful case studies and guides on a variety of different topics that are useful to know about when setting up and running a company, including how to apply for a business loan, running a financial health check, creating a business plan template, etc. They also have an entire section dedicated to Brexit, offering advice on how to prepare for it, how to deal with any uncertainty or risks, etc.
Check out these posts:
- Taking the Pain out of Payroll
- A Short GDPR Guide for Small Businesses
- Designing an Effective CSR Strategy
- Follow them here!
Twitter | LinkedIn | FacebookDublin Globe
Dublin Globe, a predominantly tech based publication for startups, is definitely ahead of the curve when it comes to updates on all the latest news from the Silicon Docks and beyond! They also provide market insights from around the globe, indicating future trends in different sectors. However, most of their news is centred around Irish tech companies as well as upcoming events around the country.
- Follow them here!
Twitter | LinkedIn | FacebookNew Frontiers
New Frontiers is an Enterprise Ireland led programme that is delivered at local level around the country through the various Institutes of Technology. The blog is a wonderful bank of information based on expert advice from Ireland’s top entrepreneurs, as well as a ‘Featured Startup’ segment focusing on a different company each month. For the most part, content contributors are members of the New Frontiers programme themselves so they are well versed in dealing with the daily struggles of running a startup. What’s also refreshing about this blog is the fact that the focus is equally distributed among startups from all over the country, not just those in Dublin and surrounding areas.
Check out these posts:
- Lean Startup: Using Customer-Focused Development Processes
- Negotiating is Like Going into a Church
- Cork: 14 Entrepreneurs on Their Way to Success
- Follow them here!
Twitter | LinkedIn | FacebookSmallbusinessadvice.ie
Based in Co. Cork, Smallbusinessadvice.ie is a non-profit, business community run programme that helps company owners overcome the challenges of the current economic climate and how it affects small businesses around Ireland. According to its website, 1,250 businesses have benefited from the service over the last 7 years. The blog is very helpful because it uses an introductory based approach to discuss business functions such as Finance and Marketing – functions that might seem daunting to those who are less familiar and only really learning about them since setting up a business.
Check out these posts:
- Marketing Your Business – With Little or No Budget
- How to Maximise Your Company’s Social Media Presence
- The Importance of Technology in Business
- Follow them here!
Twitter | LinkedInCube Digital
Cube Digital is actually a Dublin based SEO agency, but their blog is mainly centred around small business growth. And although most of the articles are heavily Marketing focused, they do offer some great, actionable insights for business owners who are starting out fresh and maybe not so au fait with lovely acronyms like SEO, PPC, CTR, CPL, etc. It’s also claimed that a ‘fear of Marketing’, or an inability to effectively execute marketing plans/campaigns is a contributing factor in many startups failing…so Cube Digital’s articles may definitely be worth a read if any new business is struggling to get to grips with the ins and outs of technical SEO, content creation, or keyword density mapping!
Check out these posts:
- How to Increase B2B Sales Leads Through Your Website
- SEO Case Study for Engineering Company
- A Beginners Guide to Google SEO
- Follow them here!
LinkedInBusiness & Finance
Dubbed Ireland’s leading business media group, Business & Finance is another great resource for startup owners to sink their teeth into! There is a huge bank of information on the blog, with some really interesting sections, including CEO Q&A, Ones to Watch, and 60 Seconds With – all of which are based on Irish companies. They also feature a business person and company of the month in recognition of the wonderful talent that Ireland is lucky to have when it comes to entrepreneurship and innovation!
Check out these posts:
- Spotlight on 2018 Irish Companies
- Staying Relevant is a Key Challenge for any CEO That’s in the Game a Long Time
- Having a Great Support System is Vital When Starting Off
- Follow them here!
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