Last Thursday the 3rd of February was the Dublin Chamber of Commerce AGM dinner. It was my time attending the event and I was impressed by the level of organisation and professionalism. There were over 400 people in attendance. From small businesses to large enterprises. The Guest Speaker on the night was Christoph Mueller, CEO of Aer Lingus. Christoph was a true professional speaker, taking only 20 minutes of his 45 minute slot. He covered a wide range of topics from business, technology, politics, Aer Lingus to living in Ireland. Christoph spoke highly of Aer Lingus and said that its staff were its greatest asset. This he said held true for Ireland as well, we were not a country rich in oil, gas, gold or other natural resource. We were a country rich in its people. We must invest in our people in order to bring Ireland out of the current economic situation.
Over all I found the event interesting and fun. I made several new business contacts and would recommend the Dublin Chamber AGM to any Chamber member who does not normally attend. If you are not a member of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and are a business providing services in the Dublin area then I would highly recommend it. We have found it an invaluable resource for events, networking, education and support. I am doing business in London next week and the Chamber have put me in contact with the London Chamber of Commerce to help us with our contacts in the UK. The Chamber have a network of over 400 organisations around Europe, a resource that should not be left untapped for any international business based in Dublin.
As a small business there is nothing more important than keeping your cash-flow moving and that means understanding and having a good credit control system. When I started out in business there were three things I wish someone had made me do.
1. Get a proper accounts package
2. Do a business workshop or course
3. Join a business network
At Damson Technologies we use Freshbooks the online invoicing system. We have been using it since 2008 and it has done wonders for our business and cash-flow. It has given us access to the information we need when we need it. In one click I can see exactly how much I am owed and how long it has been outstanding. As the software is web based I can check this information from any internet enabled computer or smartphone.
A few years ago we did a growing your own business course run by the county enterprise board and I am always on the look out for new workshops or courses that can build my own knowledge of sales, marketing, accounts or business. I am hoping to attend the Keep Your Credit Control Under Control Workshop which is being held on the Thursday 3rd March 2011 in Johnstown Business Centre, Johnstown, Naas, Co. Kildare. Whenever I see events like these on I feel it is a good opportunity to both learn something new that can help my company and network with business owners.
Finally, I am a member of BNI (Business Network International) and the Dublin Chamber of Commerce. I joined the BNI over 2 years ago and as well as receiving tens of thousands of euro worth of business for Damson I have also found it a wealth of knowledge and support for our business. We joined the Dublin Chamber of Commerce this year and have already seen the benefits. The combination of these two organisations is a powerful network for any business when used correctly.
So in summary stay organised, keep educated and get networked!
I went to my first Open Coffee Club Dublin event last week and I have to say I really enjoyed it. As any of you who know me can attest, I am a networking addict, there isn’t a networking style I haven’t tried. However, last year things were very busy at Damson HQ between taking on new staff and expanding our business there wasn’t as much time for events as I had hoped. I kept saying I was going to go to an Open Coffee Club Dublin event, but never seemed to be able to make it.
The group were very nice and I was not the only newbie there, which is always nice. I met some people I follow on twitter, always an odd experience, and Pat from endeavour.biz was there telling us about the fast track programme. It sounded really interesting and if I was starting out in business or had an idea I would definitely check them out. Amazing mentors and support, including finance. The success stories spoke for themselves.
I was very impressed, I enjoyed its simplicity and informal atmosphere. There were no rules, you didn’t have 2 minutes to say your piece or have a 10 minute speaker. When I arrived I just sat down and started chatting to the person nearest me.
Open Coffee Club Dublin is run by Martha Rotter and is held once a month for more info see: www.opencoffeedublin.com
I am really looking forward to next months meetup and I hope I will be able to attend.
Damson Technologies in partnership with Google are running an event entitled “An Exploration of Cloud Computing for Irish Business” in Google Ireland’s HQ on the 3rd of December 2010.
Date: Friday, December 3rd 2010
Time: 11:30 – 13:00
Location: Google Dublin, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4
Duration: 1.5 hours
More than 3 million businesses now run Google Apps. It is a reliable, secure web-based set of office tools for any size business
Powerful, intuitive applications like Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs can help reduce your IT costs and help employees collaborate more effectively – all for just €40 per user per year. Google Apps can offer your organisation:
- Proven cost savings – no hardware or software required.
- Mobile email and calendar sync
- 99.9% uptime reliability guarantee
- 50 times more storage than industry average
- Data security from the ground up
If you would like to join Google and Damson Technologies to learn more about Google Apps go to www.damson.ie/events to register or email events@damson.ie for more information.
To register for this event <click here>
Please note spaces are limited
Fintan speaking on - Cloud Computing&Google Apps (photo by Amanda Webb)
Bizcamp Dublin was held this weekend, Saturday 29th May 2010. The venue was the amazing Guinness Storehouse. What is Bizcamp?
“It’s a chance for us all to lift ourselves out of the gloom of the endless bad news stories. It’s based on the fact that each of us as entrepreneurs have loads to learn from our peers. And we have a lot to share with them as well. There are a lot of great things happening in the Irish Economy – especially in small and medium businesses and this day will be a celebration of those. And a great place to come for people who have lost their jobs and are actively looking at starting up.”
I was lucky enough to be speaking at Bizcamp this year on Cloud Computing and Google Apps. My talk was aimed at the non technical user who wanted to learn about ‘The Cloud’ and its possibilities, but I knew I would get a few technical minds as Bizcamp does tend to attract us geeks.
There is an increased interest in cloud computing from the business community this year. My talk covered everything from what is cloud computing to an overview of Google Apps, one of the worlds leading cloud computing products. Even for the more technical I think they got a greater understanding of the full potential of the Google Apps suite. It can be a challenge to keep up with Google’s many updates to the product, so it’s interesting for people to check out the updates from time to time. I hope everyone learned something from the talk, I know many people were surprised by the number of larger businesses now using Google Apps as their core email solution. There are now over 2 million organisations using Google Apps; including Trinity College, GAA, DCU, Gaiety School of Acting, Telegraph Media, Guardian and Jaguar Landrover
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the organisers Keith Bohanna, Emily Tully, David Scanlon, Alan O’Rourke, Paul Browne, Keith Shirley and Jason Roe for organising this years Bizcamp Dublin. Also a thanks to Amanda Webb for taking some snaps at Bizcamp. You can see the rest of them here and here is a link to Amanda’s site http://www.spiderworking.com
Below I have published the slides of my presentation for those who are interested (on Google presentation of course). If you have trouble viewing the slideshow <<click here>>
Date: Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
Time: 7pm-9pm
Location: Fitzpatrick’s Castle Hotel, Killiney, Co.Dublin
Event Topic: Cloud Computing & Google apps
Speaker: Fintan Murphy, Entrepreneur
The Trading Post is a monthly network for small business owners in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area. The Trading Post meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month. Its aim is to promote small business via the network, exchange ideas with other small business owners & entrepreneurs, and meet business partners, suppliers and customers.
This month Damson Technologies founder Fintan Murphy will be exploring Cloud Computing and its benefits to Irish businesses. Cloud computing is all the buzz at the moment and many small businesses are unaware of what exactly it means to them and how they might use some of these tools to save money or increase their efficiency. The advent of this new form of communication and collaboration is a significant and exciting revolution in computing. Imagine you were a carpenter and someone had just invented the electric saw…you’d want to know about it right?
If you would like to join us on Tuesday eveing email angela@dlrceb.ie with your details
A little bit about Fintan
Fintan Murphy is a Technology Consultant and Founder of Damson Technologies. Fintan has a Diploma in Business Analysis and Consultancy from the National College of Ireland and recently received a certificate in Leadership Management from I.L.M. He has worked in the Technology Sector for almost 8 years. His company Damson Technologies are Google Apps Authorised resellers and work closely with the Google Enterprise Team here in Ireland. Some of Damson’s notable clients include Buena Vista International, Atex-EHL group, Volker Infra and Complete Highway Maintenance Ltd. Damson recently appeared in Business Plus magazine discussing the benefits of Google Apps and how Irish businesses can benefit from using cloud computing in their organisations.
Fintan is a member of the Business Analysts Association of Ireland. He is a Gold Member of Business Network International (BNI) and has just finished his second term as Membership Coordinator. Fintan speaks at business and technology events on topics such as Cloud Computing and Social Media. Fintan also speaks to parent groups at local schools about “Being a Parent in the Digital Age”. Fintan lives in Clondalkin with his partner Lesley and their one year old son Ruairi. When he’s not working Fintan enjoys rock climbing, kayaking and off-roading.
As part of my BNI networking group we are asked to give a positive contribution each week. This can include a referral, a testimonial, bringing a visitor, or feedback on a one2one you had with a member during the week.
The idea is not just to bring business to other members, but to create a positive environment everyone feels part of. On that note, I have decided to to share a testimonial for one of our members on our blog.
This year we were lucky enough to have our pensions managed by Richard Cotter from Growth Investments. What I liked about Richard was his approachability on the subject. Pensions had been explained to us and talked over in our office many times, but Richard made the matter simple, easy to understand and even a little interesting.
Richard explained the pros and cons of the different fund options, our choices and where he thought we should invest our money. A year on we have to put some money aside for our future and feel safe in the knowledge that we made the right decision in getting Growth Investments to manage our money. We also have income protection which will pay our wages in the event an accident or illness prevents us from working. Being self employed with a young family this gives me great peace of mind.
I would recommend anyone considering a pension, retirement or looking for income protection to talk to Richard as no doubt it will be of benefit.
Fintan Murphy
Damson Technologies
