MOCC is a business network run by businesspeople for businesspeople. The event is free of charge. All meetings last between one hour and 90 minutes, and the 6pm time is a departure from the usual 11am one.

The meeting will be facilitated by Aisling Roche from Arms Marketing based in Claremorris, Co Mayo (www.armsmarketing.com). In her presentation “Marketing on a shoestring” Aisling will cover a few practical tips on how small and medium businesses can do their own effective marketing using limited resources.  This will include: the importance of understanding your customer and how to generate publicity for your business.  She will also touch on the appropriateness or not of advertising, social media and other forms of marketing communications.

Aisling has over 20 years experience in international food, retail, services and training businesses gained in France, Italy and Ireland.  She lectures part time in Marketing at the UCD Business School, and on a variety of Enterprise Support Programmes around the country.  She founded ARMS Marketing and Training in 2000 and has since expanded the business to include training in marketing, marketing communications, branding and related communications topics.

All you have to do is turn up on the day. More details on the Mayo Open Coffee Club are available on http://mayo-open-coffee-club.org/, or you can email any of the organisers: Judith Feehan ( iibccastlebar {at} gmit(.)ie  ), Robert Grealis (Robert {at} thediscoverypartnership(.)com) Maria Staunton (Maria.Staunton {at} gmit(.)ie), or Liam Horan (liam.horan {at} slinuacareers(.)com).

Start-up businesses, people with the germ of an idea, and established businesses all find the Open Coffee Club a useful vehicle to get in touch with what’s happening in the business world around Mayo.

Happy New Year to you all from the MOCC  Team.  To get you all off to a new start, the January’s MOCC will take place on Wednesday 11th January at 11am in the Harlequin Hotel, Castlebar where the facilitator for the first month of the year will be Tracey Glacken from Glacken Accountants (http://www.glackenaccountants.com/) who will focus on the “Budget 2012 and the key implications for start ups and small businesses”.

MOCC is a business network run by businesspeople for businesspeople. The event is free of charge. All meetings start at 11am and last between one hour and 90 minutes.

All you have to do is turn up on the day. More details on the Mayo Open Coffee Club are available on http://mayo-open-coffee-club.org/, or you can email any of the organisers: Judith Feehan (iibccastlebar {at} gmit(.)ie), Robert Grealis (Robert {at} thediscoverypartnership(.)com) Maria Staunton (Maria.Staunton {at} gmit(.)ie), or Liam Horan (liam.horan {at} slinuacareers(.)com).

Start-up businesses, people with the germ of an idea, and established businesses all find the Open Coffee Club a useful vehicle to get in touch with what’s happening in the business world around Mayo.

Hosts the Harlequin Hotel will lay on some mince pies to add a seasonal flavour, and Belmullet-based event photographer Proinsias Mac an Tuile from Tullylens (www.tullylens.com) will come along to take festive shots of the attendance. The topic this month will be on “Sources of Funding for Start-Ups and SME’s” and a panel of experts from South West Mayo Development Company, Mayo CEB, Mayo North East and Enterprise Ireland will be there to answer questions from the audience. 

MOCC is a business network run by businesspeople for businesspeople. The event is free of charge. All meetings start at 11am and last between one hour and 90 minutes.

All you have to do is turn up on the day. More details on the Mayo Open Coffee Club are available on http://mayo-open-coffee-club.org/, or you can email any of the organisers: Judith Feehan (info {at} pm-support(.)net), Robert Grealis (Robert {at} thediscoverypartnership(.)com) Maria Staunton (Maria.Staunton {at} gmit(.)ie), or Liam Horan (liam.horan {at} slinuacareers(.)com).

Start-up businesses, people with the germ of an idea, and established businesses all find the Open Coffee Club a useful vehicle to get in touch with what’s happening in the business world around Mayo.

These include Government Departments, State Bodies, Agencies HSE, Local Authorities and the Education Sector – Universities, Schools and Colleges

The size of this market is worth approximately €16 Billion to Ireland.

Procurement Thresholds

• Competitive process should be used unless there are justifiable & exceptional Circumstances
• Low Value Purchase < €5K – One or more Verbal Quotes
• Intermediate Value Purchase Between €5K & €25K – Formal Tender
• Process – Minimum 3 quotes by Invitation or Open Process (Debriefing)
• Higher value Purchase €25K up to EU Threshold: €125K Advertise in e Tenders (open)
• Highest value Purchase €125K +: Advertise in OJEU/TED & eTenders

Sourcing Opportunities

• Register with all Relevant Websites (Public Sector)
• Analyse Tender Notices and Identify Common Requirements
• Draft Standardised Tender Document Based on Requirements
• Amend the Standard tender Document to Incorporate the Specifics of each Tender
• Research the “Buyer Organisation”

What Buyers Want

• Can deliver what’s being asked for
• Evidence that the applicant can meet the need by demonstrating its:
  • Capability
  • Capacity
  • Relevant experience
  • Provide the requested information in the format specified
  • Agree to the Contract Terms & Conditions
  • Provide overall Value for Money and is Affordable

Initiatives to Benefit SME’s

• Circular 10/10
• Standard Documents
• NPS Website – www.procurement.ie
• Upgrade of eTenders

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejtH1x7-sHY

The guest speaker was a previous winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year competition in Portugal, Sandra Correia of Pelcor www.percor.pt .

November’s MOCC Meeting will take place on Wednesday 2^nd November at 11am in the HARLEQUIN HOTEL, CASTLEBAR and this month we will be focusing on the Public Procurement Process.  Annually the market for public procurement in the EU amounts to approx €1800 billion. The opportunities in Ireland and the UK alone are worth approximately €190 billion a year. This represents a huge market potential. The public sector’s buying needs are wide ranging offering opportunities to all business sectors. Public contracts offer guaranteed payment. Public sector clients demand high standards giving companies a future competitive edge.

On Wednesday 2^nd November, Helena will look at the procurement market and basic rules – Sources of information, key contacts and current developments, the bid/no bid decision, designing, writing and producing a bid response document and how bids are marked, debriefing and remedies.

Helena Deane from Business Connection Ireland (www.bcireland.com)is a graduate from the Fachhochschule für Wirtschaft (Business School of Economics) Berlin, and Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. She gained a First Class (Hons) BA Degree in European Business, with special focus on Strategic Management and Central and Eastern European (CEE) Economies, tackling subjects such as the transitional nature of these economies, studying the macroeconomic and microeconomic factors in the SME sector, as well as researching impacts of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Helena has over 20 years of extensive and varied experience of doing business in international markets, including USA, Germany, Romania, Czech Republic, Bosnia & Herzegovina, UK and Croatia.  Over the years, Helena has acquired solid appreciation for different industrial backgrounds including Manufacturing, Trading, Consultancy, Retail, and Wholesale and has thorough knowledge and experience of multiple disciplines, including project management, customer account management, and tendering and biding.

MOCC is a business network run by businesspeople for businesspeople. The event is free of charge. All meetings start at 11am and last between one hour and 90 minutes.

All you have to do is turn up on the day. More details on the Mayo Open Coffee Club are available on http://mayo-open-coffee-club.org/, or you can email any of the organisers: Judith Feehan (iibccastlebar {at} gmit(.)ie), Robert Grealis (Robert {at} thediscoverypartnership(.)com) Maria Staunton (Maria.Staunton {at} gmit(.)ie), or Liam Horan (liam.horan {at} slinuacareers(.)com)

Start-up businesses, people with the germ of an idea, and established businesses all find the Open Coffee Club a useful vehicle to get in touch with what’s happening in the business world around Mayo.

An Taoiseach Enda Kenny will attend the event which commences at 5pm in St Mary’s Hall, GMIT. Two leading entrepreneur businessmen, Sean Gallagher, panelist on tv programme Dragon’s Den, and Ciaran Crean, co-founder of micksgarage.ie, will address the gathering.

The entrepreneurship event begins with client companies in GMIT’s Innovation Centres showcasing their products and services. This will be followed by talks from entrepreneur Sean Gallagher, who will speak about what investors look for in a promoter and pitch, and Ciaran Crean, co-founder of micksgarage.ie, who will talk about selling car parts on-line and e-commerce, and how his website business has grown.

Three companies from the GMIT Innovation Centres will also pitch their business ideas to the general public.

This is the fifth year the GMIT Innovation Centre (Castlebar) has hosted the Spirit of Entrepreneurship event. Previous speakers include Jerry Kennelly, Stockbyte & Tweak, Frank Salmon, CMS Peripherals, John Concannon, JFC Manufacturing, Tommy Griffith, PEL Recycling, Sean Rowland, Hibernia College, Leonard Moran, Ovagen and Biological Labs Ballina, and Jonathon Ruane, Eventovate.  This year’s event is sponsored by CMS Peripherals, Kiltimagh.

Maria Staunton, Manager IiBC, GMIT Castlebar, says: “We want to get people thinking about setting up their own business or developing their existing business further. This event will outline the funding sources and supports available, while successful entrepreneurs who have been through it all will tell their own stories. It will also give potential entrepreneurs a good understanding of what our Innovation Centre here offers. Our overall aim is to create more start-up companies in our region.”

Admission is free. Booking is advisable as places are limited. Register your attendance either by e-mail iibccastlebar {at} gmit(.)ie or telephone: 094-9043198. The Spirit of Entrepreneurship event is sponsored by CMS Peripherals, Kiltimagh. E.Irl are also supporting the event.

This event is being held as part of Mayo Ideas Week, which runs from 19 to 23 September. During Mayo Ideas Week a series of idea generation and entrepreneurship events are hosted by business development organisations and enterprise support agencies in Co Mayo.

The Innovation in Business Centres (IiBC) in GMIT Castlebar and Galway have created the following:

• 160+ jobs created
• €26,000,000 funding raised by client companies
• 14 HPSU (high potential start-up) companies created
• 17 successful spin outs
• The GMIT IiBCs were set up in 2005 and 2006.