Back for Business

Support Irish businesses this Christmas! We have put together a list of participants from ACORNS, Going for Growth, and Back for Business who have products or services that would be suitable as gifts for family and friends. If you download the PDF, you can click on a business that interests you under the various sections and you will be brought straight to their website. #christmasgiftguide #supportlocalbusinesses #irishbusiness

Support Irish businesses this Christmas! We have put together a list of participants from Going for Growth, ACORNS, and Back for Business who have products or services that would be suitable as gifts for family and friends. If you download the PDF, you can click on a business that interests you under the various sections and you will be brought straight to their website. #christmasgiftguide #supportlocalbusinesses #irishbusiness

"Ten years of supporting female founders is cause for celebration" Terrific article over the weekend in The Sunday Times featuring past participants Martha Kearns, Geraldine Jones, Ailbhe Gerrard, Emily Brick, and Megan W. The call is now open for applicants for ACORNS 10 and 50 female entrepreneurs from across the country will be selected to participate. Anyone interested in receiving an application form ahead of the 20th September deadline should register their interest at www.acorns.ie.

I recently completed the Back for Business programme which was led by Paula Fitzsimons and supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland. Set up to support entrepreneurs returning to Ireland who have an existing business or in the early stages of setting one up, I spent time with people developing some really cool businesses in Ireland and received a comprehensive introduction to the nuances of being back for business. Big thanks for Morgan Browne for his experience, insights and sense of humour.

It is such a pleasure to see how far Ruby Reese has come in the first half of 2024, particularly with the support and guidance of Back for Business. As an Irish entrepreneur returning from Germany, Killian was selected to participate on behalf of Ruby Reese in January to join the incredibly well-organised programme thanks to the dream team of Paula Fitzsimons, Clodagh Sleator and Orla Mooney. Ruby Reese is a young brand from Cork that provides our dogs a top-quality range that their humans can trust, with a clear focus on short and natural ingredient lists. The Back for Business programme has inspired us to dream bigger and reach more dogs, who doubtlessly deserve longer and healthier lives. We have been encouraged to expand our range and to deepen our core values by building community and sharing knowledge in this space. With the encouragement of the programme, we are very proud to have launched our Ruby Reese Dog Survey 2024, which has already had over 1000 participants. We look forward to publishing really exciting results in August that will cover many things to do with dogs across themes like business, society, trends and lifestyle. We are also delighted to have launched our podcast Tuesday Talks with Ruby Reese, where we tackle different dog topics every Tuesday with the help of experts in that field. The Tuesday Talks with Ruby Reese podcast can be found now on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts and many more. Both Killian and Ruby Reese are hugely thankful for the support and advice of our group's lead entrepreneur Hannah Wrixon 🎓 FAIBF, who is encouraging, wise and inspiring beyond words; Hannah did a great job of selecting a group that gelled so well - you are all appreciated so much! Reidin Magner, Gillian Lawlee, Orlaith Kilgannon, Ciara Moynihan, Martha Timlin, Elaine Ni Bhrion, Maurice O'Driscoll AIRP CWDC MIOR Also to the other groups and lead entrepreneurs - we have learned so much from the stories you have shared! Thomas Ennis, Paul Coyle, Seamus Reilly, Morgan Brown and Paul Duggan And last but certainly not least, a huge thank you to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland for supporting this programme and for this great opportunity.

We are excited to invite you to our latest episode of The Talent Fix where we talk to Caroline Reidy, the owner and managing director of the The HR Suite and an HR & Employment Law Expert. Caroline is also an author and TEDX presenter. Caroline shares her views on #Employee #Engagement; #Flexible #Working; #Interview #Best #Practice and the main challenges businesses are facing today! Listen to Carolines recommendations on how to give objective interview feedback and link it to competencies. In addition Caroline gives her recommendations on what to do when you need to fill a role quickly! Take a listen: https://lnkd.in/egP-uUjQ The HR Suite Caroline Reidy Barry Prost

"𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱𝘆. 𝗡𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 - 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝘀." 𝘖𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦 It was a text message from my mother late last year that started it all. Having ignored far too much of her advice over the years, I couldn't be more grateful in heeding it on this occasion. She suggested the Back for Business programme, hearing of it on the radio. With my return to Ireland after many years in London imminent, I decided to look into it... And so over the past six months, it has been a privilege to be part of this initiative -spearheaded by Paula Fitzsimons - who seek to promote entrepreneurial activity amongst those returning to Ireland. Our final round-table and 'graduation' event was held at The Merrion Hotel, Dublin last week and it was wonderful to meet with other groups within the programme and hear their stories of challenge and success: Kim Whyte Dave McCormack Deborah Kilroy Brian O'Driscoll to name but a few. A particular thank you also to my own round-table group: Pauline D. Vincent Joyner Oonagh O'Brien Emma Collopy Aoife Lafferty from whom I learned a huge amount and whose future successes I look forward to seeing. I am especially grateful to Thomas Ennis for his humour, insights, honesty and time as our lead entrepreneur. Without his support, Polaris Teams Ltd would still be a very rough and unpolished idea instead of a recently-launched and viable business; thank you. Finally a thank you to the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland for their kind sponsorship: Go raibh míle maith agaibh.

So Tuesday marked the end of quite an eventful six months in the Back for Business 2024 programme, I went in with one business and came out with another! 🤝 (more on that to come…) I was truly blessed to have been placed with such a supportive lead entrepreneur in Paul Duggan 🙌. Paul was so generous with his time, and his insights and observations will serve me greatly for the rest of my career 💡 A special thank you to my peers for their collaboration and camaraderie 🙏🏻 ; your diverse perspectives enriched this experience tremendously Shemaine Doyle Eragh Mihalakis Derek Lynch Grace Quinn Slater Sarah Fliessbach Brian Fitzpatrick and particular props to Kim Whyte who represented our group on the day, speaking so eloquently about her business Pawpear 📝 and the journey we’ve all been on. Fantastic to meet up with and learn about (🍻) some of the other participants in the programme Aoife Lafferty Brian O'Driscoll David Sharkey Deborah Kilroy Mo Harvey 夏飛鳴 Anneka Connor Paula Fitzsimons and her team do an outstanding job putting all this together with the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland and I encourage all recently returned entrepreneurs ☘️ to apply for the next intake. Time to get back to business! 💪🏻 BF Sports Analysis Brave. shareclub The Classic Mother & Baby Company Pawpear #business #ireland #video #videoproduction #entrepreneur

In 2022, I successfully completed the Back for Business programme for returned Irish emigrants. The support I received from my round table peers and Lead Entrepreneur Thomas Ennis was invaluable; I went from having a business idea to selling my products in just six months. When the opportunity arose to apply for the Further Development cycle, I had no hesitation in putting myself forward and was fortunate that Paul Duggan selected me to join his 8-person round table back in February. Paul's wealth of experience is so richly varied that it gives him a unique ability to provide clarity and simplify challenges that initially seem complex. The past six months have transformed the way I think about my business and the business itself. This week, we marked the completion of the programme with a celebration at The Merrion Hotel, Dublin. I was invited to share my story with a room full of inspiring individuals who are doing great things and truly making a difference in the world. Their collective knowledge and experience are staggering, and I felt very privileged to be in their company. I want to thank the powerhouses behind the programme – Paula Fitzsimons, Orla Mooney, and Clodagh Sleator – and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland for all your support. Without it, I would still be sketching ideas in a notebook. A special thank you to Thomas Ennis and Paul Duggan for everything. Grace Quinn Slater Dave McCormack Sarah Fliessbach Eragh Mihalakis Shemaine Doyle Brian Fitzpatrick Derek Lynch #backforbusiness #dfa #irish #pawpear

Another great year for Back for Business ! ☘️ The seventh cycle of Back for Business came to a close at a special celebration in Dublin on Tuesday. Back for Business is an initiative which supports returned or returning emigrants to set up businesses in Ireland. Back for Business is funded through the Government’s Emigrant Support Programme and, thanks to the continued support of the Department of Foreign Affairs, is free to all participants. 31 entrepreneurs completed the six-month programme while another eight completed a six-month further development module which is offered to past participants of Back for Business who are serious about further developing their businesses. Read all about this amazing initiative here on BusinessPlus.ie: https://lnkd.in/e7JnUygv #StoryLab #ClientCoverage #BackForBusiness #Irish