Exciting Opportunities in Dublin – Bring your Tent!

Pitch the tent lads, we’re going to work in Dublin!

At the rate the housing trend is going in Ireland, more specifically Dublin, this may not be too far from the truth in the near future.

A recent projection from Savills Ireland, has suggested there may be office space for an additional 100,000 workers in Dublin by 2021 and with the projection of new housing at barely one-third of that demand, the question is where are these extra people going to live and how much will it cost?

Rent as of May 2017, has now surpassed Celtic Tiger levels with the average cost now standing at €1784 per month which is a stretch for anybody ‘living’ on the average Dublin wage of €36,519 per annum.

People in the know are calling for increased residential building heights and densities to accommodate people in the city centre to alleviate the strain and urban sprawl that is spreading far and wide. Wexford and Westmeath are now nearly recognised as commuter suburbs of Dublin at this stage.

As I write this, I can see cranes dominating the skyline around the capital and as it was pointed out to me, these are predominantly for commercial developments. These include the recently acquired Capital Dock building by global banking giant JPMorgan Chase for €125m, which is large enough for 1,000 staff not to mention the proposed tallest building in Dublin envisaged by Johnny Ronan.

If this is one of the first signs of Brexit, it doesn’t make for pleasant thoughts for the future of Dublin’s indigenous workforce.

Recently as I was waiting on a friend in the Ferryman on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, I got chatting to a young American guy who voluntarily transferred from Boston to Dublin by his tech company in search of new experiences.

During the conversation, I asked how he found living in Dublin rent wise and the general cost of living. I was told that he found it expensive but didn’t really know the rent costs because as long as he has been here (4 months) his company has been paying and would be for the foreseeable future.

If that trend continues and the tech companies who dominate ‘Silicon Docks’ in Dublin can just pay the inflated prices for rent in Dublin to the REIT’s (Real Estate Investment Trusts), tents could soon be the only next option!

Patrick

Patrick Jones is an Account Manager in Dublin with Fuzion Communications, Marketing, PR & Graphic Design 

Is the grass always greener on the other side?

Did you know that 48,000 Irish people run part of their business in Britain?

I didn’t until, out of curiosity, I popped along to a conference aimed at those interested in dipping their toe in the UK market. Entrepreneurs by their nature are ambitious so there’s naturally a perception that a leap across the pond will be the Holy Grail for business growth and expansion. Wanting a bite of the cherry is naturally tempting for entrepreneurs in Ireland in light of the fact that the UK accounts for €4 out of every €10 generated from our export sales.

So if you’re doing business in Ireland – it can’t be too hard to do the same in the UK. Can it?

While in theory the markets may seem similar, it’s vital that those considering stepping into the UK market invest a great deal of time and planning. It takes months of advance budgeting and planning as well as in depth desktop research of the; market, landscape, locations and workforce. How will you generate the right awareness for your business in such a large marketplace and do you know enough about that marketplace to start to answer that question?

Do you have the finances to sustain the business and the promotion of it while you are on that awareness curve?

Justin McInerney of Accuflow spoke at the conference and was refreshingly open about his experience of setting up his multi million business in the UK.

He warned businesses to exercise caution and that achieving success in the UK is a hard slog: “Many don’t realise that at the beginning that travel and operating costs can reach £1,000 a week”

He also went on to describe how he first set up his business in an area which sounded good on paper – it was a hub for countless other business, but the downside of that meant that the workforce was transient and he found it difficult to retain staff given how many employment opportunities they had on their doorstep. I can only imagine the resources and time the company spent on hiring and rehiring staff.

At the conference, organised by Cork Chamber, I got chatting to an entrepreneur who was keen to investigate the UK market but from a brief and casual chat about their business, it struck me as to whether they were anywhere near optimising the Irish market opportunities with their product.

While it might make perfect sense to look at the ‘bigger opportunities’ the grass may sometimes seem greener when it comes to the UK or any overseas market. It might just make sense to optimise the Irish market first – explore each and every opportunity to achieving business success here first when you have the best and right positioning. If you haven’t achieved that in this country then it might be illogical to feel you can achieve it in another, more competitive market such as the UK.

Aoibhinn Twomey

Aoibhinn Twomey is a Senior Account Director with Fuzion PR & Marketing which has offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland