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01.Feb.10 Events, General Read more Comments (0)

Getting on top of time management

A discussion on time management at today’s meeting of Mayo Open Coffee Club inevitably led to one topic – emails!

07.Jan.10 General Read more Comments (0)

Passionate businesspeople brave bad weather to plan for 2010

Despite the bad road conditions, there was another excellent turn-out of over 25 people at yesterday’s Mayo Open Coffee Club (MOCC) meeting in GMIT, Castlebar.

MOCC is beginning to find its feet, and, towards the end of the meeting, a good discussion took place about the future direction of the network. There was a strong consensus that it is proving a valuable and worthwhile network, and we look forward to even bigger gatherings in the months ahead.

Network member Robert Grealis – one of the organisers – delivered a practical and thought-provoking talk on goal-setting. Robert, former Chief Executive of Ireland West Airport, is now a business advisor and mentor with The Discovery Partnership.

The slides he used to illustrate his talk will be made available here on the MOCC website.

Some nuggets that emerged included:

• In these tough times, where things are changing so quickly, it is still important to plan your day, your week, your month, and your year. A plan offers an overview of where your business is going, and helps to focus the people involved;
• ‘Be passionate’ about your business, said Robert. He was preaching to the converted – those who come to the MOCC meetings make the effort because they are determined to succeed;
• Ask customers if there’s anything else they’d like –further opportunity to sell to customers may present themselves simply by asking;
• Brainstorm – with your staff, with your friends, with people you trust;
• Ask yourself “right now, am I making the best possible use of my time” – time management is crucial. Time is one of our biggest resources and must be used wisely. Be careful about the ‘side roads’ you go down;
• Hard work remains the key – persevere – but don’t be afraid to believe in the occasional miracle too.

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 3rd, at 11am in the GMIT. All you have to do is turn up and take part. The more the merrier.

A word of thanks to O’Brien’s, who once again sponsored the refreshments; GMIT, who hosted the event; and guest speaker Robert Grealis.

07.Jan.10 General Read more Comments (0)

Free Mentoring Clinics at GMIT Innovation Centres

The IiBC in Mayo and Galway are holding FREE MENTORING CLINICS AT GMIT INNOVATION CENTRES.

The purpose of this is to give people help and advice to people with new ideas for start-up businesses.

IiBC Castlebar: Mon 18th & Tue 19th Jan 2010
IiBC Galway: Wed 20th & Thu 21st Jan 2010

Contact Trisha Carrick to book your session.
Tel: 091-742853
Email: trisha.carrick@gmit.ie

Download PDF for more information

30.Dec.09 Events, General Read more Comments (0)

19th MOCC – The Mayo Business Network – Setting and Achieving your 2010 Goals – Guest Speaker: Robert Grealis

Setting – and achieving – goals for 2010 will be the theme of a talk by former Ireland West Airport chief executive Robert Grealis, at the January meeting of the Mayo Open Coffee Club (MOCC).
The meeting will take place on

Wednesday, January 6th,

at 11am,

in Seminar 25
on the GMIT’s Castlebar campus.

The move to the GMIT has taken place due to the large numbers attending recent meetings, with each of the last three get-togethers attracting in excess of 40 people.

21.Dec.09 Events, General Read more Comment (1)

Over 40 Attendees at December’s Mayo Open Coffee Club in the new location of the GMIT

There was another excellent turn-out of over 40 people at Wednesday’s Mayo Open Coffee Club, held in the new location of the GMIT in Castlebar.

This is the third consecutive month that the attendance has exceeded 40, and illustrates the desire among Mayo businesspeople to come together to network. The guest speaker was Johnny Beirne, an expert in social media, and his discussion generated a great deal of discussion about how businesses can incorporate social media into their operations.

The format of the Open Coffee Club meetings is very informal, and it is proving an outstanding place to make valuable contacts.

There is no charge for attendance, thanks to the generosity of the GMIT, who provide the venue free of charge, and O’Brien’s Sandwich Bar, Castlebar, who provide the tea, coffee and finger food.

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 6^th. All meetings start at 11am and last between one hour and 90 minutes.

04.Dec.09 General Read more Comments (0)

Record attendance for October meeting of Mayo Open Coffee Club

The October meeting of the Mayo Open Coffee Club (MOCC), a business network run by businesspeople for businesspeople, attracted a record attendance.

Space was at a premium as over 40 people turned up for the meeting, which featured a talk by an expert in design.

The talk by Justin Knecht, Manager of the Centre for Design Innovation at Sligo IT, proved most informative and also sparked a good questions and answers session. Among Justin’s many pearls of wisdom was to “get close to your customer, observe how they behave, and react accordingly.” (The presentation is available for registered users of our forum)

Many present were given an opportunity to promote their business, and it is hoped to expand this element of the club in the coming months. By the end of the meeting, it was clear that a significant number of people were developing strong business ties and bouncing ideas off each other.

Again, we want to thank O’Brien’s Sandwich Bar in Castlebar for sponsoring the event.

The next meeting of the MOCC will take place on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009. Meetings are held in the Innovation in Business Centre, which is located on the GMIT campus in Castlebar. 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 here, or you can email any of the organisers: Chris B Kerndter, Robert Grealis, Maria Staunton, or Liam Horan.

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.

10.Oct.09 General Read more Comments (3)

It’s a forum!

On our way to becomming a proper business network, we have now setup a forum at http://forum.mayo-open-coffee-club.org. Please register and join the discussion!

02.Oct.09 General Read more Comments (0)

PRESS RELEASE: Mayo entrepreneurs and investors get together over coffee

The Mayo Open Coffee Club (MOCC), a business network run by businesspeople for businesspeople, is launching its winter series of monthly meetings on Wednesday, October 7th, in Castlebar.

The Open Coffee Club concept, first established in London, allows for informal meetings between businesses of all types. It is completely free of charge, thanks to sponsorship from O’Brien’s Sandwich Bar in Castlebar, and the aim is to let businesspeople make contacts, pitch their business, and get assistance on business issues and challenges.

“This club exists because businesspeople like to get together and talk. A lot of good tie-ups have taken place as a result of our meetings over the past year. The meetings are facilitated by a member of the group, but they are generally informal in nature, and people can just come along and talk to other businesspeople,” said a spokesperson for MOCC.

“Our guest speaker at the next meeting on October 7th will be Justin Knecht, Manager of the Centre for Design Innovation at Sligo IT. He is recognized and respected as a creative leader and divergent thinker.

“Justin is experienced in design, brand management, e-commerce, information and technology solutions, project management and marketing. Prior to joining the centre, he was the Senior Manager of Creative Services at Crayola Inc. The speakers help to stimulate discussion by sharing their own business experiences with the group.”

Meetings are held in the Innovation in Business Centre, which is located on the GMIT campus in Castlebar, on the first Wednesday of every month. The following is the schedule for meetings over the next three months (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:

Chris B Kerndter (chris@achill-online.net),
Robert Grealis (Robert@thediscoverypartnership.com),
Maria Staunton (Maria.Staunton@gmit.ie), or
Liam Horan (liam@slinuacommunications.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.

18.Sep.09 General Read more Comments (0)

Pixel 4 Startups – Advertising as Recessionbuster

A new project is about to start and will probably go online end of the month. Pixel 4 Startups takes up the idea of the Million Dollar Homepage. One pixel will cost 1€ for one year and 2€ for a lifetime ad. The minimum ad size is 5×5 pixel. 70% of the money will be reinvested into start-ups. Start-ups will be able to apply for amounts up to 50.000€, but smaller shares are also possible and welcome.

The difference to the original is certainly that the money will be mostly re-invested. Another difference will be that a large tool-tip will appear, when somebody hovers over an ad, so that even small ads will have a better exposure.

What do you think of that idea? Would you buy an ad? Tell us your thoughts and get a free 100pixel ad for 6 months…

14.Aug.09 General Read more Comments (0)