Supports are available for your Business

What a hard to believe, crazy time that we are all knee deep in! For some it is incredibly busy, coping with fulfilling unprecedented demand in difficult circumstances, for some it is somewhat damaging and messy and for others this “pause” is devastating and real solutions are needed for immediate survival and to plan for a much needed return to some type of normal. The Local Enterprise Office network has implemented a suite of support services to assist businesses at this time. We would urge you to look carefully at these valuable supports, not only to assist you right now, but also to make your business stronger going into the future. There are 31 Local Enterprise Offices around the country, all offering these additional supports: A support we have found to be hugely beneficial for businesses throughout the years is the Trading Online Voucher Scheme.  A second voucher is now available for businesses that have previously availed of this support over the years. Having a strong online presence has never been more important, so whether it’s improving your website and online shop to creating an app, we strongly advise you to check this out. The Trading Online Voucher can also be used to support the below: Website Creation Digital Marketing Social Media for Business Search Engine Optimisation To find more about the online trading voucher and the eligibility criteria visit www.localenterprise.ie and contact your local office. If we can assist you to put a practical plan together in any of these areas give us a call and we will do everything we can to help. As well as the Trading Online Voucher, there is a range of different supports available to businesses impacted by COVID-19. An overview of all supports available: Trading Online Voucher Scheme Second voucher available

Can you do more business online? The expanded Trading Online Voucher Scheme helps small businesses with up to 10 employees to trade more online, boost sales and reach new markets. There is up to €2,500 available through the Local Enterprise Offices, with co-funding of 10% from the business. Funding can be used towards adding payment facilities or booking systems to your website or developing new apps for your customers. The voucher can also be used towards subscriptions to low cost online retail platform solutions, to help companies quickly establish a retailing presence online.

Business Continuity Vouchers  Apply for €2,500 in consultancy

The new Business Continuity Voucher is designed for businesses across every sector that employ up to 50 people. The voucher is worth up to €2,500 in third party consultancy costs (at no cost to the company) and can be used by companies and sole traders to develop short-term and long-term strategies to respond to the business challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to help companies make informed decisions about what immediate measures and remedial actions should be taken, to protect staff and sales. If we can be of assistance, please contact us and we will talk through the challenges you are facing. LEO Financial Supports  Grants for new and established businesses

COVID-19 Business Loans   First 6 months are interest & repayment free New low rate of 4.5% through the Local Enterprise Offices

The COVID-19 Business Loan from Microfinance Ireland (MFI), in partnership with Local Enterprise Offices, is a Government-funded initiative to support small businesses. It’s designed for micro-enterprises that are a) having difficulty accessing Bank finance and b) impacted, or may be impacted negatively, by COVID-19 resulting in a reduction of 15% or more in turnover or profit. To view loan features click here.

Lean for Micro Become a Leaner business

LEAN for Micro is available to LEO clients to help build resilience within small companies. Under this programme, clients can avail of consultancy support with a LEAN Expert (a qualified practitioner), who will work with the company to introduce lean principles, undertake a specific cost savings project and assist the company in benchmarking its performance. LEAN for Micro can also be used to help implement new remote working and physical distancing guidelines.

Mentoring Advice and guidance Now free of charge  Grants for new and established businesses

Under the Local Enterprise Office Mentor Programme, clients work with an experienced mentor to identify solutions to areas of exposure within their business. With advice and guidance from their mentor, clients develop strategies that are more robust, which address issues and maximise potential opportunities when the COVID-19 crisis comes to an end.

Training and Webinars  Upskill and network remotely, for free

Local Enterprise Offices have moved training programmes, workshops and networking meet-ups online, covering areas such as cash management in a crisis, leading your business through COVID-19 and advice for employers impacted by the crisis. Training programmes are free of charge and places can be booked online, through your Local Enterprise Office.

LEO Financial Supports  Grants for new and established businesses

For existing companies and potential start-ups that meet eligibility criteria (such as employing 10 or fewer people with the potential for growth and job creation), Local Enterprise Offices can also offer financial supports to help manage current market challenges: Business Priming Grants Business Expansion Grants Feasibility Study Grants Technical Assistance for Micro-Exporters Grant To view the full details on the supports available to your business and the criteria visit: www.localenterprise.ie/Response. Depending on how the situation evolves, criteria may change so please refer to the above website for updates.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can offer you advice during these difficult times – and try to stay positive and seriously think about using these supports, for today and a much better tomorrow….it will come! Best wishes from all at Fuzion. Greg (086) 8311156 greg@fuzion.ie   Greg Canty is the Managing Partner of Fuzion Communications, Marketing, PR, Graphic Design and Digital Marketing, Dublin and Cork offices

Time for earth and its inhabitants to heal?

In the midst of the horrible nightmare that is the COVID19 disease, which has so many sick and so many dying all over our world, we do need to raise our heads and wonder is there some greater purpose to all of this?

My initial thoughts were that our precious earth has needed time to heal itself for such a long time, and “we” were never going to allow this to happen due to our greed and the crazy pattern of living that we have all adopted as the norm. Has nature found a cruel way of saying STOP, while us humans have to just take our place in the queue before we start to abuse it all over again?

In the last week or so my thoughts have moved on as I observe how we are changing – I’m believing that humanity is also healing itself as we have to stop being selfish and self serving. We have been forced to jump off our respective treadmills and focus on survival and on the things that are really important.

I am seeing kindness, friendship, togetherness, sacrifice, humour, generosity and lots of love.

Do things work this way or is this all a big coincidence?

While I was living with these thoughts a friend of mine shared a post that supposedly came from Bill Gates, which pretty much captured what I was thinking in a way that I could never have:

Message in the letter:

I’m a strong believer that there is a spiritual purpose behind
everything that happens, whether that is what we perceive as being
good or being bad.

As I meditate upon this, I want to share with you what I feel the
Corona/ Covid-19 virus is really doing to us:

1) It is reminding us that we are all equal, regardless of our
culture, religion, occupation, financial situation or how famous we
are. This disease treats us all equally, perhaps we should too. If you
don’t believe me, just ask Tom Hanks.

2) It is reminding us that we are all connected and something that
affects one person has an effect on another. It is reminding us that
the false borders that we have put up have little value as this virus
does not need a passport. It is reminding us, by oppressing us for a
short time, of those in this world whose whole life is spent in
oppression.

3) It is reminding us of how precious our health is and how we have
moved to neglect it through eating nutrient poor manufactured food and
drinking water that is contaminated with chemicals upon chemicals. If
we don’t look after our health, we will, of course, get sick.

4) It is reminding us of the shortness of life and of what is most
important for us to do, which is to help each other, especially those
who are old or sick. Our purpose is not to buy toilet roll.

5) It is reminding us of how materialistic our society has become and
how, when in times of difficulty, we remember that it’s the essentials
that we need (food, water, medicine) as opposed to the luxuries that we sometimes unnecessarily give value to.

6) It is reminding us of how important our family and home life is and
how much we have neglected this. It is forcing us back into our houses
so we can rebuild them into our home and  to strengthen our family unit.

7) It is reminding us that our true work is not our job, that is what
we do, not what we were created to do. Our true work is to look after each other, to protect each other and to be of benefit to one another.

8) It is reminding us to keep our egos in check. It is reminding us
that no matter how great we think we are or how great others think we
are, a virus can bring our world to a standstill.

9) It is reminding us that the power of freewill is in our hands. We
can choose to cooperate and help each other, to share, to give, to
help and to support each other or we can choose to be selfish, to
hoard, to look after only our self. Indeed, it is difficulties that bring out our true colors.

10) It is reminding us that we can be patient, or we can panic. We can
either understand that this type of situation has happened many times
before in history and will pass, or we can panic and see it as the end
of the world and, consequently, cause ourselves more harm than good.

11) It is reminding us that this can either be an end or a new
beginning. This can be a time of reflection and understanding, where
we learn from our mistakes, or it can be the start of a cycle which
will continue until we finally learn the lesson we are meant to.

12) It is reminding us that this Earth is sick. It is reminding us
that we need to look at the rate of deforestation just as urgently as
we look at the speed at which toilet rolls are disappearing off of
shelves. We are sick because our home is sick.

13) It is reminding us that after every difficulty, there is always
ease. Life is cyclical, and this is just a phase in this great cycle.
We do not need to panic; this too shall pass.

14) Whereas many see the Corona/ Covid-19 virus as a great disaster, I
prefer to see it as a *great corrector*

It is sent to remind us of the important lessons that we seem to have
forgotten and it is up to us if we will learn them or not.

Note: It turns out that this “letter” is fake and didn’t come from Bill Gates at all but because his name was on it, it did the rounds with many high profile people sharing it.

I don’t really care who wrote this piece, I applaud them.

After this time, however long it lasts, the scientists will be able to come to us with definite proof about the damage that we are causing this earth by our actions (and inaction) and how it can be healed and what we need to do once this period is over to achieve this.

In the meantime, let’s pray for everyone who is suffering greatly at this time and for everyone else to do the right things to ensure that the hardship is minimised and that we can recover as soon as possible.

Thank you “pretend” Bill for making sense of this…

Greg

Greg Canty is a Partner of Fuzion Communications, a full service Marketing, PR, Graphic Design and Digital Marketing agency with offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

Just call me Sarah!

I love a good apocalyptic film – correction – I even like the bad ones!!

I hate the gory bits, where instead of the Covid-19 virus, it’s flesh eating zombies coming to harm us, or a Robot from the next Century, but what I do love is seeing how ordinary people, like you and I, cope with whatever is thrown at them.

Worldwide pandemic, mass unemployment, billions self isolating, panic buying, some healthcare services in doomsday scenarios.

We are all in that “movie” now – so how are we coping?

Can we be the superhero, the Rick Grimes (Walking Dead) or the Sarah Connor (Terminator) for our business? 

Here is how I am becoming my own Superhero:-

• Checking in with my really great team to keep them together and motivated while working remotely. It’s lonely working on your own so we have found some fun ways to stay connected. Check out our Twitter feed @FuzionComms to see for yourself,
• Make decisions not based on emotions but on what’s good in the long run for the business, the team and the clients
• Take solid (fighting) advice from people I trust, both colleagues and other business leaders
• Constantly check in with my clients – I want to be there to fight in their corner – so we walk towards the dawn together when the nightmare/film is over
• Look for Opportunities for Fuzion and for our clients – it’s a great time for taking a fresh look at business, how we do business and how we tell our story
• Check in on my friends and family – let them know I love them and I’m there for them – even if I can’t hug them in person
• Stay healthy, happy and safe – so I can be strong and fit for whatever curve-ball the “script” throws at me

If you are a business owner, feeling on your own with things, you need to put on your gloves and come out fighting and be your own Superhero. 

If you need help, call me, I’ll be in your corner 🙂

Deirdre 

Deirdre Waldron is the founding partner of Fuzion Communications

Fuzion are a Marketing, PR and Graphic Design firm with offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

15 years and my Fuzion journey!

I can’t believe that it’s 15 years since I handed in my notice to my boss (and separately to my ex – but that’s another story!!!) and 15 years since Fuzion was born!!!

I had gotten to the stage at the ripe old age of 34, where I knew that I could have run the business I was working for much better than my boss, and I thought with an attitude like that perhaps I should start my own business.  So I borrowed a laptop until I could afford my own, invested in a logo , some cool business cards and got the word out that Fuzion was open for business!!

At the time I was living in Tralee and later that year I emigrated to Cork!

I never looked back and am so proud of everything that Fuzion has achieved.  I know that I’m so blessed by all of the friends I have made since then and the talented people I have worked alongside, many of whom have played  a big part in the Fuzion story.  And I am especially blessed for the life Greg and I have made together in Cork, thanks to Fuzion.

Little did we know when we leased our first office in Cork city that the wheels would very soon fall off the Irish economy and our services were deemed as ‘dispensable’ by many clients who were in fear of the recession. It was a very challenging time, so we rolled up our sleeves, we worked even harder, we dug deep and instead of cutting back we grew our business and opened an office in Dublin! When I look back this was a fantastic achievement considering the harsh environment.

We called it ‘storming the recession‘!

So to mark 15 years I thought I’d give 15 things that I have learned about business, that have really helped me along my Fuzion journey:-

1. Tenacity is the difference between success and failure
2. Be absolutely sure you have the right people on the bus with you
3. Treat everyone with respect, even those a**holes who don’t deserve it!
4. Pick a life partner who thinks you could conquer the world
5. Admit when you make a mistake, it’s the first step to fixing it
6. If in doubt, always go with your gut
7. When hiring, look into someone’s eyes rather than their CV’s
8. Don’t work with clients where you care more about their business than they do
9. Business is no place for negative people
10. Do some pro bono work –  it will come back to you in so many ways
11. Don’t be afraid to ask for help – there’s lots of it out there
12. Work every hour that’s needed Monday to Friday, but treasure your days off
13. Dress every day as if you have a photo call
14. Confirm everything by email

And most importantly what we are doing today:-

15… Celebrate the milestones and never waste a good story about your business!
Happy Birthday to Fuzion and a huge thank you to every single person who has supported us along the way and been part of our journey!

Dee x

Deirdre Waldron is the founding partner of Fuzion

Fuzion are a Marketing, PR and Graphic Design firm with offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

We can’t let the South Mall go south!!

When I was in college in Cork in the early ‘80’s I used love to walk down South Mall and take in the atmosphere of this bustling busy business street and I vowed I’d someday work there – that is of course, after I travelled and conquered the world!!!

I always knew that Cork would be my home and after a long and winding road now it is. I can’t believe that I am lucky enough to not only work on the South Mall, but that I own a business on this historic business precinct.

We have an equally good location in Dublin on Fitzwilliam Street and even though we continue to grow in Dublin, Cork will always be my base and the South Mall will always be where I am drawn to work – and often play thanks to great places like Electric, right across the road from us!

I know though at the moment I am seeing the Mall with tinted glasses.

Because it’s home to me the glare of all the “To Let” and “For Sale” signs fade into the façades of the buildings. But what must people think when they look at the South Mall now, when viewing the area as a location to set up a business?

With all the vacant signs, it’s probably the last place people new to the city would consider setting up a business. I bet sometimes some people think all that is missing is the tumble-weed – although there are weeds growing off many of the empty buildings!!!

Something has to be done.

Reports and studies are great but are they getting us anywhere? Is anyone taking the advice, recommendations on board? Where are the incentives to encourage people to move into the South Mall? Are the Estate Agents doing their jobs properly? Is there something more the business community could be doing? Is there more that the landlords should be doing to make their properties more attractive to businesses?

It just breaks my heart sometimes when I see another business leave, just as strongly as it leaps for joy when I see a business opening. Thankfully there have been a few in the last six months.

Perhaps the business community on the South Mall should join together?

Now I know we have an excellent Chamber of Commerce and there is the Cork Business Association – but should we mount an organic PR campaign for the South Mall; where businesses pro-actively talk up this great business precinct and support the businesses on the Mall.

This could not only help keep businesses on our main business centre but also encourage more businesses to make the South Mall their home. We could make sure new businesses on the Mall are welcomed by neighbours, through social media, through one to one well wishes and the ultimate support, by doing the best to do business with neighbouring businesses.

The South Mall could once again become a real thriving business community, supporting each other and encouraging new neighbours.

So who will start the ball rolling………

Deirdre Waldron is a Partner of Fuzion

Fuzion are a Marketing, PR and Graphic Design firm with offices in Cork and Dublin

 

Learning to Crash Land

We were passing some time in New York (we were there for the christening of my brother’s daughter) on a bitterly cold January 15th, 2009 so we found ourselves in the cinema.

We came down the escalators after the movie finished to hear loud sirens and watched as police cars, ambulances and fire brigades sped by in quick succession.

We grabbed a cab to Penn Station and the female taxi driver agreed to take us once we weren’t going in the direction of the Hudson – a plane had just crashed in the river. Her mum called on her mobile and warned her to quickly get out of Manhattan.

By the end of the short cab ride the incident was clarified on the radio – it wasn’t a terrorist attack. It was a freak accident caused by a flock of Canadian Geese and the Captain, Chesley Sullerberger, a former Air Force pilot managed to land the plane safely on the water with all 155 passengers very shook but all in one piece.

Thank god ..

Two days later we touched down at Shannon Airport and grabbed a newspaper to catch up on news since we had been away. Right on the front page we read about one of our clients, a hotel in Kerry that had gone into liquidation – not only did they owe us quite an amount of money but it was obviously the loss of a client.

What were we facing this year?

Over a period of the next few weeks we lost a few really good clients as the wheels came off the economy and budgets were being slashed by everyone – we had just moved into offices only a few months previous and it felt like our plane was plummeting!

Of course we panicked, of course we were worried but we dug in just like we always do. We had a great team and we needed to have faith in ourselves and in our ability.

I remembered clearly one of the lessons of Napoleon Hill in his book published in 1937 “Think and Grow Rich” – Have faith and believe that you will succeed ..he spoke about something that he called “The Secret“.

We have always adopted a positive philosophy, which has served us well – Two months later we won our biggest account, we picked up a few other accounts and later that year we started running training courses – it was an incredibly tough year including some other large bad debts but somehow we managed to bring our plane in without losing any of our passengers!

Since then business has continued to be challenging with plenty of turbulence but thankfully we continue to have faith and we always seem to survive, grow and thrive.

One of these days it will get easier ..won’t it?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion are a Marketing, PR and Graphic Design firm with offices in Dublin and Cork.

Why We All Need to be a Little More Mr. Blue Sky….

I was delighted to read Paddy Clancy’s article in today’s Irish Examiner.

I was actually starting to get concerned about my unwavering optimism and general good feeling about Summer 2012. While the world and its mother have been giving out about this terrible Irish summer, I have been waxing lyrical about how surprisingly nice the weather has been over the past few months. I’ve been getting a few strange looks, but I honestly don’t know what people have been complaining about.

Almost every morning I have managed to walk to work without getting lashed on and most evenings I return home on foot in mild, warm weather. Fair enough there’s usually a downpour at some point during the day, but if you listened to MET Eireann they would have you believing that we’re up to our knees day in day out in flash flooding, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms. Not the case from where I’m standing….what about you?

Now, the mandatory Irish chit chat about our terrible climate doesn’t really bother me, it’s as natural as a morning cup of tea to discuss the weather in this country. But to me it feels as if MET Eireann and very often, the media, seem to focus so much on ‘where it’s going to rain’ as opposed to ‘where it’s going to shine’ and fair enough, I know it’s science, but couldn’t they cut us a break?!!

My attitude now is just look out your window in the morning and take it as it comes. (Unless you’re a golfer  it seems– my father lives by that forecast)

The most concerning thing is the impression it is giving out to international tourists and to all of our lovely family and friends who have emigrated and who, aside from the recession, are almost afraid to give up the sunny climes of Australia and America for ‘depressing Ireland’.

We depend, more than ever, on Tourism for simulating employment and revenue, yet we shoot ourselves in the foot day in day out by giving out about the climate. The whingers are feeding that perception and as per Paddy’s article today, I’m not the only one who believes that. Donegal has clearly enjoyed a fantastic summer, and if you spent any time at all in Dublin and Kerry over the last few months you would have enjoyed some amazing weather and quite a few ‘al fresco’ dining/drinking opportunities!

How many times have you heard people say “We’d be the best country in the world if we only had the weather”. Well, newsflash: Ireland has an unpredictable climate and high levels of rainfall annually – get over it.

Ireland is a fantastic country, despite our current recession and perceived climate. Every day I experience optimism and positivity in the most unlikely places, and most importantly, a little bit of sunshine. I think we could all make a better attempt at encouraging people to come here, by complaining a little less and maybe taking some time to highlight the sunny days when we can. Don’t you think?

Gina Kelly is an Account Director at Fuzion

Gina on Twitter 

Gina Kelly operates from the Fuzion PR office in Dublin

Like the rest of you the Fuzion crew ended up ducking out of work early and headed to Sober Lane (great name for a bar!) to watch Katie Taylor’s Gold Medal Winning Olympic Fight.

I must admit that I had never seen her box before these Olympics but my heart was in my mouth for that really close, nerve racking match as we all watched on the edge of our seats.

Of course it was fabulous for Ireland to win a Gold medal and it was extra special that such a special young girl did it for us, but I did feel there was an extra dimensiongoing on.

To me it felt as if the whole country had funnelled all of our hope, our depression about the recession, our frustration about the lousy weather and even our disappointment about the Euro Championships onto the shoulders of this girl and really “needed” her to do something great – we really, really needed her to do this, maybe in a disproportionate way? After the fight was over I saw a tweet by someone who declared the “recession to be officially over” – I knew what she meant!

The match was really strange with both boxers being very cagey and slow to engage – it had all of us quietly biting our nails but then I listened to the Irish crowd in the stadium and they were literally in a “frenzy” lifting the roof off with their sheer noise. I wondered were they even watching the match? – if they were as nervous as we were, they would have been in near silence. I worried at one point that they might pressurise Katie into launching right in there too quickly, but she kept her focus and did her job.

Were we watching more than a contest for an Irish gold medal – I wonder?

Well done Katie & thank you! 

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Is the Grind worth it?

Is the Grind worth it?

In recent months I have posted about the importance of following your passion and also about avoiding the trap of a job that does not provide fulfilment. Isn’t there a huge personal risk in letting that happen?

I received a response to one of these posts that really moved me and it did make me think long and hard about the grind of working for yourself.

Interesting sentiments Greg. Having always run my own businesses and taken risks from the perspective “you’ll regret what you didn’t do” this is something I’ve reflected upon a lot – At one stage I left a very cushy public sector job and we then went through very tough times as the recession hit.

It’s very hard to comfortably make a good living in Ireland now – fair play to anyone who can make more than they could in the corporate world once all salaries, outgoings etc. are paid. I’ve gone back into the corporate world and am making more than I did at my business at the peak of the boom- with none of the recent stress.

At the end of the day all that matters is your ability to educate your children and give them a decent lifestyle. I would guess that that guy at Guinness slept easy at night and his kids have never wanted for anything.

If you have a true vocation it makes sense to do what you do best – and follow that path. However most small business and startups are struggling – I see people grind away for years, barely surviving – and this is not a good place to be over the long term.

When I read this I started to feel a little guilty that maybe I am being a little disrespectful with my blog posts to all of those who have tried their utmost and despite everything it just still has not worked out for them.

I’ve been reflecting on this ..

If you find a better life working for someone else then well done to you – I hope that in Fuzion we are giving our team a good life.

If you find yourself without work then I would encourage you to take control of the situation and  try to start off something for yourself. It is hard but it can be great fun (and yes…very worrying and stressful at times).

But, someone somewhere always has to be the starter..

If you try and it doesn’t work … well done, at least it was your grind.

What do you think?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

Twitter and the New Car!

At least this guy was making an effort!

My meeting had gone well, I was in a really positive frame of mind so I decided I would take the first step towards possibly ordering a new car for the start of 2012.

On the way back from my meeting I popped into a car showroom just to get a feel for the prices of the new cars, the second hand cars and of course what I would manage to get as a trade in for the Santa Fe that had served us well since the beginning of 2007 despite the high mileage.

I first spent some time looking at the “premium collection” parked outside, the collection of two and three year old cars all in great condition. Hmmm … not bad at all!

I then dared to venture into the showroom to look at the new models and I must admit feeling excited about the thought of being able to drive one of these beauties at the start of 2012. I was waiting for the approach from the salesman to start a possible conversation that could have resulted in a sale – a few of them were busy at their desks, a few walked past me with folders and a few were chatting to other possible customers.

I looked, I waited, I looked again and I must admit after a while that I was feeling a little deflated as car salesman after car salesman seemed to decide that I was an unworthy customer – did I look broke, did I look like a “tyre kicker”, did I look like another casual browser who was just going to waste their time? In any event I ended up leaving after about 20 minutes having spoken to no one.

Those who know me quite well will not be surprised that how I was feeling at that moment was shared on Twitter … “I must look like I am broke, the car salesmen didn’t come near me” I tweeted.

I know …. isn’t it a beauty!

About 10 minutes later I received a call from a friend of mine who is in the motor trade who had spotted my tweet – he was initially concerned that this could have been his car showroom and that there was some issue with his customer service. I assured him that it wasn’t and that if my route back from my meeting passed his place I would have definitely have called in. Needless to say the conversation came around to me possibly being in the market for a new car..

I collected it beauty on the 5th January, it’s a beauty..

Who said twitter was a waste of time for business ..?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion