Digital June in Dungarvan Enterprise Centre

June is Digital Month here in Dungarvan Enterprise Centre

We have a busy month ahead here in the Enterprise Centre, the following events are planned:-

• E-commerce Clinics
• Introduction to Digital Marketing
• Open Evening with Digital Marketing Institute

E-commerce Clinics

We are starting off the Month with an E-commerce Clinic on the 5th of June, these one-to-one  clinics are for anyone who needs help with strategy and marketing.  These clinics are being run by Niall McCann who is the founder and owner of a highly successful online business thewoolshop.ie
The cost of these clinics will be €20 per person for a private consultation.

(image courtesy of www.fbw.cpa)

Introduction to Digital Marketing

We are then hosting an Introduction to Digital Marketing, this is a two day programme being hosted by Justin Kearns of Shadow Marketing, who are the sole distributor for Purple Wifi in Ireland
The skills that will be obtained will be:-

• Ability to identify each basic component of online marketing
• Understand how to create content & engage with a customer on each social media platform
• Design a basic email marketing campaign
• Recognise the importance of search engine optimisation
• Be familiar with the various free tools used to measure the success of online marketing
• Create an outline for a Digital Marketing Strategy

This will be held here in the Enterprise Centre on the 23rd and 24th of June, The cost for the two days will be €90.00.

(image courtesy of www.askingsmarterquestions.com)

Open Evening with Digital Marketing Institute

In Business it is now more important than ever that we understand how to maximise the digital tools that are available to us.

On the 26th June at 6:00 pm we will be holding an open evening in conjunction with the Digital Marketing Institute. The Institute are the leading providers of Digital Marketing education globally.

This open evening will be particularly useful for anyone who is considering taking the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing from the Digital Marketing Institute.

This course has been over subscribed each time it has been held in Dublin so we are delighted to be able to run it here in Dungarvan.

We are also happy to announce that we now have a easy payment plan available to anyone who would like to spread the cost of the course over several weeks.

The open evening will be held here in the centre and is free to attend. This is a great opportunity to meet the people behind the course as the Representatives will be on hand to answer any questions you might have.

Further information about any of these events or if you wish to book any of the above you can contact us on 058 23598 or dungarvanec@gmail.com.

Coder Dojo needs You!

As the song says “Children are the future teach them well and let them lead the way”

All kids now seem to be whizz kids when it comes to using iPad and laptops to play games. Would it not be great if they could put all that time to better use?, The Coder Dojo programme does exactly that, it teaches kids the skill of computer programming so that they can create their own websites and games and even design apps. Coder Dojo is a non-profit programme that relies solely on volunteers. This is a global movement and there are currently 420 Dojos in 43 Countries. The Ninjas will learn to use HTML, CSS and PHP. Bill Liao who has been involved in the set- up of the Coder Dojo movement encourages us to empower children to be creators rather than consumers, to get the children to start thinking about how these games work as opposed to just swiping screens. This is a free programme  open to kids from 8-11 years of age. The Eircom Junior Spider awards have seen a 45% increase in participants, many of these kids are or have been Coder Dojo Ninjas.

Dungarvan Enterprise Centre has been involved in  the Coder Dojo programme since 2012, and so far has put eighty Ninjas through the programme so far. The Ninjas from the 2013 programme will receive their belts on the 31st of May 2014.

If you have a programming background and are familiar with HTML, CSS and PHP and can give the kids two hours of your time every second Saturday during the school term we would love to hear from you. Without the help of volunteers this programme can't go ahead, thus preventing the kids from discovering their potential which may set them on a career path that may never have been explored without Coder Dojo.

If YOU can help keep this programme in Dungarvan or have kids interested in becoming Ninjas please contact us on 058 23598 or dungarvanec@gmail.com

Open your Eyes to Alternative Funding 14th May 2014

When:                  14^th of May 2014

Where:                 The Town Hall, Dungarvan                                                          

How Long:           9:00- 1:00

So, you have a great idea and need the funds to make it happen? Alternative Funding is now providing entrepreneurs, business people and athletes, sports clubs, arts, film and drama groups alike with the means to get that project up and running.

In partnership with the Local Enterprise Office, we have decided to run an Alternative Funding seminar to inform people about what other options are available to them.

The speakers at the seminar are a representation of some of the Alternative Funding services that are available in the Waterford area. This is a free seminar which aims to arm you with the knowledge you need to make your dream a reality. The speakers  at this event will be;

Lorna Coleman : from MicroFinance Ireland has spent many years as a self-employed training consultant working with SMEs, business start-ups, and enterprise development agencies in Ireland and the USA.  Now working fulltime with Microfinance Ireland, she manages the stakeholder relationship and business development functions.  www.microfinanceireland.com

Marc Rafferty: from Linked Finance Marc is an entrepreneur with 12 years’ experience in US, Holland and Ireland setting up and running SMEs. Marc looks after all aspects of business development as well as heading marketing at Linked Finance.  www.Linkedfinance.com

Aidan Shine: is Assistant CEO of South East BIC. His role is to advise entrepreneurs and small companies on all aspects of business planning and development, with a special emphasis on financial planning and sourcing funding.  As part of its remit in sourcing funding for start-ups, South East BIC manages the Halo Business Angel Partnership (www.businessangels.ie) in the South East region

David O’Shea: is a former athlete and co-founder of nTrai, who hopes to provide an easy way for athletes to raise money for their training and equipment needs.  nTrai provides an on-line funding platform to encourage family and friends and supporters to invest in the athlete’s future by pledging to their crowdfunding campaign.  www.ntrai.com

There will also be an opportunity to hear some case studies from local business that have used alternative funding and how they got on, such as Justin Collery from Multipath Networks, a huge success story based here in Waterford, Justin will talk about his experience with CrowdFunding.   To give us some insight of their experience we are delighted to welcome other local business such as Jitterbeans and M&D Bakers also Chia Bia who have all had experience in Alternative funding.

This is a free event open to all, for further information and bookings please contact us on 058 23598 or email: dungarvanec@gmail.com   Booking Essential and can be done by clicking here:  Get your free ticket

Crowdfunding Workshop

Crowdfunding is now constantly in the media, lots of success stories of projects that are now up and running like Hello Ruby that managed to get 9,258 backers and funding of $380,747! We needed to know more.

Last Thursday we had a very enjoyable workshop on Crowdfunding given by a very entertaining and informative Lorna Sixsmith. Lorna has written and successfully used crowdfunding to publish her own book entitled “would you marry a Farmer?”

Lorna  talked us through her own crowdfunding campaign , it gave us a working insight into the whole crowdfunding process from how she established and achieved her goals, set her rewards, right through to putting her books in the post.

From the start of the workshop Lorna captured our attention with her witty examples of good and not so good crowdfunding pitches and through this we learned what makes a successful crowdfunding campaign 

What did we Learn?

 

·         A great video - The video is king to entice prospective pledgers, you need to introduce the product and the people behind the campaign, people need to feel your passion before they are enticed to pledge to your campaign. Using the likes of  u tube to host your video means you only have a few minutes to grab peoples attention so make the most of it! 

·         Itemise spending -  Do your homework on the finances, pledgers need to know where their money is going. Give a clear and concise breakdown of what your expenditure is going to be.

·         Put up some funds yourself - You need to invest some of your own money in to the project, this shows that you have confidence in your own campaign. Pledgers like to see that you are prepared to "put your money where your mouth is" so to speak

·         Set realistic targets – you need to plan your campaign carefully, send press releases, tell family and friends to spread the word and remember hidden costs such as postage.

·         Rewards - Rewards are very important, also keep them relevant to your project and even better if the reward is something that money can’t buy like naming a character in your film after them!! 

·         Pledges - The importance of correctly gauging your pledge amounts, the most popular is €40 – €50. Get your family and friends to get the pledging off to a good start, solid pledging entices others to pledge.

·         Use positive language - Staying positive even when things get tough is vital to the success of the campaign. To entice your followers give out little tit-bits like a chapter of your book or a trailer of your film. 

·         Keep in constant touch -Use social media during your campaign to engage with your pledgers, by using  tweets, engaging in light positive conversation, and keeping your blog and Facebook current. 

Some of the crowdfunding websites that should get your crowdfunding project up and running are:

• Fundit.ie
• ifundit.ie
• Linkedfinance.com
• Kickstarter.com
• indiegogo.com

There are two types of funding:

All or nothing  and  flexible funding 

• Consider your options carefully and read the terms and conditions and charges carefully before you decide which option is best for you. 

If crowdfunding has got you thinking, on the 14^th of May we are holding a workshop on Alternative Funding which will definitely inspire you to get that project up and running.

Power Hour in association with Dungarvan Chamber

Power Hour for YOUR Business
When;   Tuesday 25^th March 2014
Time; Lunch at 12.30pm   Power Hour 1-2pm
Where; Town Hall, St Augustine Street, Dungarvan
Cost; €15 per member     (light lunch included)

How about 1 hour where you get to showcase your business, build contacts, raise your profile and gain referrals….?

The Dungarvan & West Waterford Chamber is joining forces with the  Dungarvan Enterprise Centre  to host a Power Hour. This was a huge success in 2013 and we would like to give attendees another opportunity to give a 90 second presentation about their business or services.

The session will then continue in groups that will be rotated where we hope people will be able to meet, network and product bundle. Leaving the power hour we hope you will have built your profile, informed others about what you do, work together in the future with other members and gain referrals.

Max 18 people per session.

Have You Been Left Behind by Digital Marketing?

Dungarvan Enterprise Centre in association with Digital Marketing Institute are delighted to run the highly sought after Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing again in April 2014.

This globally recognised qualification carries with it the distinction of being the only course available to carry the much coveted Digital Marketing Institute accreditation as well as the brand awareness associated with it.

All course materials and lectures are identical to those used in the Dublin courses so participants will enjoy all the advantages of this excellent course without the hassle of travelling to Dublin.

This course is specifically designed for those responsible for developing and implementing their organisation's online marketing strategy. People that could benefit immensely from this course are small business owners, IT and Marketing Managers as well as anyone from a marketing background.

Course Content 

A former graduate of the course summed up her interpretation of the courses' suitability by saying "It's suited to anyone who is being tasked with creating a marketing plan for their business or workplace" Director of Irish Operations, TEFL Express

The key output of the course is a digital marketing plan for your business.

The Digital Marketing Institute is Ireland's top provider of courses in online skills and marketing strategies. It has worked with Internet giants such as Facebook, Twitter, Google and eBay and their expertise is one that is sought after by hundreds of companies.

Another participant in last years course had this to say  "I have worked in the marketing industry through a pace of change that is challenging for marketers to stay on top of! The need to understand the implications of emerging technologies and trends is more important than ever; the change in strategies from 'sell sell sell' to 'engage engage engage' and the move from 'brands being seen' to 'brands being found' means that Digital Marketing education is becoming more and more important" Project Officer, WIT

Cost is €1500 with an early bird discount of €250 if you book before March 14th. Small businesses can also avail of a 15% rebate from Waterford County Enterprise Board. 

Further details or to book your place please contact Mags on 058 23598 or email dungarvanec@gmail.com

Other testimonials include: 

"What I found most useful about the course was the content.  It covered all the areas of digital marketing that I required in order to successfully return to marketing.  Of particular interest to me was the SEO, Analytics and Email Marketing lectures as these were areas I was less knowledgeable on and the lectures provided me with the tools I required to be able to confidently say yes this is something I can now do. I found the access to the notes, which were provided prior to each lecture, most helpful as I was able to print these out and write in my own notes during the lecture. Since undertaking the course I have secured a new job in marketing.  I instantly noticed my
confidence levels and expertise when talking about digital marketing in my interview were paramount and I was even able to present a digital marketing strategy to my new employers. This course definitely stood to me and without it I would never have been able to return to marketing." Marketing Professional, PE Global 

I took the course because I felt we were being left behind in the world of digital marketing and I needed to come up to speed.  What I found most helpful was the push it gave me to design a  digital marketing strategy and to just get out there and get posting as opposed to sitting wondering where to start. Owner-Manager, Engineering Firm 

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