CROWDFUNDING WORKSHOP WITH LORNA SIXSMITH

Lorna Sixsmith Media Consultant and author at Write on Track

When: Thur 20th March, 9.30-13.00 
Where: Town Hall, Augustines Street, Dungarvan 
How much: €35 per person 

 What is Crowdfunding?
Crowdfunding is usually used in the creative world where someone has  publish a book, film or music they want published and can't find funding to get started,
 By reaching out to the public via the internet and social media you seek donations to get your project up and running. Members of the  public are asked to donate any amount they wish to enable you to produce your product. This can be as small as €10 or as large as €1,000, it is up to the donor, there is no pay back on the money and no necessary gain for the lender.  Two of the well-known sites for Crowdfunding are Kickstarter and Fundit.

Crowdfunding has many advantages besides providing you with the finance to get started it also develops:
• Brand Awareness
• Free Press Coverage
• The Creation of Brand Ambassadors

One example of brand funding in recent times is that of film Director Simon Fitzmaurice. Simon suffers from motor neuron disease and was successful when he asked the public  through the Ray D’arcy show to fund him in the process of completing his latest film, "My name is Emily".
 Lorna offers training and bogging services to SME's and start-ups. She works with many of the Enterprise Boards and Partnerships as a social media trainer and mentor.
Lorna's blog has reached the final of the Irish Blog Awards and Social Media Awards on numerous occasions. She has spoken about her blogging and social media platforms at various national conferences and business events. She is a successful Crowdfunder and has self-published her book "Would you marry a farmer".

The content of the workshop entails:
• Explaining the concept of Crowdfunding
• How much should you ask for ?
• What needs to go in a pitch/video?
• The importance of creating rewards that people want
• The importance of community and social media

Participants will be put into groups (e.g 5) and provided with different sample projects. They will decide on
• Main message
• Time Scale
• Selection of rewards
• Action Plan/ social media/press strategy.

For more information on this workshop you can contact Mags on 058 23598 or email: dungarvanec@gmail.com

SALES STRATEGY WORKSHOP WITH MICHAEL GARLAND.

When: Tue 11th March, 9.30-13.00
Where: Town Hall, Augustine Street, Dungarvan 
How much: €35 per person 

Dungarvan Enterprise Centre are delighted to have secured Michael Garland founder of Biz Boost  Waterford and former CEO of Waterford Chamber of Commerce to give an interactive work shop on his Sales Strategy “Best is Best”
The workshop explores some of the key techniques needed to drive a business forward in today’s tough economic climate. The interactive session will consist of Michael giving an introduction of his background in Sales and Marketing. His own key skills and traits and how he found his own unique selling pitch in terms of selling himself and the business. Some of his talking points

• Getting rid of the attitude “I can’t sell”
• Getting people out of their comfort zone
• How business can go wrong
• How to bring staff on board with selling and contributing to the business
• How to make your business and staff stand out from the crowd
• Communication ideas
• How to get your customers to love you

About Michael Garland
Michael is a vibrant inspirational and engaging leader with a hand on approach to work. He has created a proven track record, is an extremely successful negotiator and has a very long and successful list of professional achievements.
In 2013 Michael founded BizBoost in Waterford. The company specialises in working with SME’s to realign Sales and Marketing strategies.  From 2009 to 2013 he held the position of C.E.O of Waterford Chamber of Commerce and under his guidance and hard work the chamber has returned to profitability.
Previous to this he held the position of Director of Golf at the Waterford Castle Hotel &Golf Club where he quickly built the reputation as a respected industry leader. Michael has also held positions in the Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland and the Turret Group England.

Some testimonials from companies that have dealt with Michael and BizBoost.

Business Owner & Managing Director:
“Michael Garland is an excellent person to have on any Business Team. Straight Talking – Action Focused. Since joining the Team, on a change management, mentoring and coaching basis, Michael has focused on sales, marketing and restructuring activities and we have seen an immediate result. He is the guy who will always be on the Winning Team.  Strongly recommended.”

Business Owner:
“Michael listens, reviews and coaches actions,with individuals taking responsibility for their own change. Michael’s winning influence on our company is an attributable factor to our business winning a number of National Industry Awards in 2013. We will continue to use Michael as an impact trainer/coach/mentor as part of our Award Winning Team.”

For more information on this workshop contact Mags on 058-23598 or email:dungarvanec@gmail.com

Results of Online Survey "What Can We Do For You"

In recent weeks we ran an online survey to find out your needs in terms of training. In the region of 95% agreed they needed training in both digital skills and business skills.

Statistics for digital skills show that the areas most people are interested in developing are:

Twitter for business 52%, Facebook for business 56% and Web design 46%.

In relation to developing business skills the most popular areas that you wanted training in are

• Advertising 55%
• Increasing Sales 51% 
• Building Brands 47%

When asked what areas would you like a speaker to give a talk/ seminar on, the most popular topics are

• Advertising 55%  
• Entrepreneurialism 38%
• Innovation and Branding (both 36%)

.

The most popular time for the workshops/training to take place was between 9 -1 (62%) and after hours 6-9 (34%)

In relation to fees for the workshops most people felt the the region of €25-35(36%) was an acceptable price with the price range of €20-25 and €35-45 very similar at 23% and 25% respectively.

When asked if there is anything you would be interested in having us facilitate mentoring was the main area that you sought along with web design and marketing skills.

Thank you for your help with this. Watch this space for our programme of events and also to see who wins a free place on one of our courses

Computers and the Internet? Let Dungarvan Enterprise Centre Get You Started

We are again this year offering a basic computer course which will concentrate on basic computing and the Internet.

The course is open to the absolute beginner who has little or no knowledge of computing and the Internet,so if  you have a son, daughter, mother, father or grandparent who have yet to get started or have just never gotten around to take that class this is the course for them. The topics to be covered include:

• What is a browser
• Using a Search Engine
• Setting up an e-mail Account
• Sending an e-mail
• Searching for and booking a holiday/flight
• Using Skype

The course will be run over four 2 hour sessions and will progress at the speed of the students,so no one will be left behind. As it is being subsidised by the government grant scheme BenefIT 4 the cost of the course will amount to just €10. The course begins mid February.

If you know anyone who would like to participate, contact Mags at  058-23598 or e-mail dungarvanec@gmail.com.
image courtesy of (isophere) Free Digital Photos.net