Thoughts and ideas on growing a business

See our sister blog Doing Business in Ireland

This is a curated blog, showing a variety of articles taken from the web, Twitter & the blogosphere generally on the theme of business news and updates from Ireland.

Much of the news features Enterprise Ireland initiatives, Irish business success overseas, Foreign Direct Investment wins, opinions from Irish business managers, policy statements from the Irish government and commentary from diverse sources. News from Celtar clients is also featured, as well as occasional commentary from Celtar.

We use the free ScoopIT curating tool.

See all at  www.scoop.it/t/doing-business-in-ireland

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“Strategy?  Strategy! I never got to where I am today thinking about strategy.”

There are two types of people who run businesses. Those whose eyes glaze over when they hear the term “strategic planning”, and those who are over enthusiastic when the phrase is mentioned and embrace it fully.

Most business owners I work with share the former trait, they are very operationally focused.  Sales and selling, new customers, people performance, maintaining margins and an obsession in meeting customer needs are where they feel most comfortable.

Now is the time of year to stick their heads above the parapets, to gather their management teams to review 2012 and plan for 2013. To get down and dirty, dust off last year’s  SWOT and bring it up to date.  To review last year’s targets and performance, set targets for 2013, first identify and then plan to align resources, and re-plot the path to the long-term objectives.

Yes, that’s what I will be working on – strategy – over the next two months with clients old and new.

See the recent recommendation from Walter MacDonough of property specialist Alan Caren and Partners Ltd.

“Billy Linehan of Celtar business consultants facilitated the development of a new strategic plan for our company. He worked with us in a time of challenge and change and shared a framework for long term business planning, aligning company objectives with departmental & staff goals.

He identified critical business issues to target as part of the strategic review and together we developed a growth plan for the business.

Billy has provided excellent advice to the directors of Alan Caren and Partners Ltd (Property, Facilities & Building Consultancy specialists), and we recommend his services to other growing companies.

Contact us at info@celtar.ie for more information & if you would like an external input into your  company’s plan for growth.

Celtar, business advice in Dublin

Strategy into Action Workshop

be challenged to think about your business differently

·         Date: 12th September 2012

·         Registration 9:45 (Training from 10:00 – 12:30)

·         Location: Dublin City Enterprise Board, 5th Floor, O’Connell Bridge House, D’Olier Street, Dublin 2

·         Cost: €20

Click Here to book now

Brief programme description

An interactive workshop where owner managers of small businesses will be introduced to a practical business planning model.
Celtar consultants’ Pyramid Model for building a business is a proven tool, and has been utilised by over one hundred companies.

From the half day workshop you will

·         be challenged to think about your business differently

·         learn how to apply a practical model for planning business growth over 3 years

·         exchange experience with other business owners and managers

·         execute a real SWOT analysis of your business

·         have an outline plan of prioritised actions that will lead to business growth

The trainer is Billy Linehan of Celtar business consultants, see http://www.linkedin.com/in/billylinehan
Billy is a Certified Management Consultant, and has worked with business owners across many industries

“Best business advice in Dublin!”

Celtar and KDA Accountants support European Enterprise Week

- as part of Bank of Ireland’s National Enterprise Week

Celtar, the specialist management consultancy firm for SMEs, and KDA Accountants are together holding a free business clinic in Bank of Ireland Blanchardstown on Wednesday 26^th of May from 10.30am to 1pm.

“Experts will be available to answer your business queries and point you in the right direction,” explains Billy Linehan of Celtar. “We like to share our knowledge and experience with ambitious business owners, and thank Bank of Ireland for this showcase opportunity.”

Billy Linehan is a Certified Management Consultant and MD of Celtar business and management consultants, a Registered Consultancy Practice of the Institute of Management Consultants and Advisers

For more information

Contact Billy on 086 6086991, www.celtar.ie

Bank of Ireland are delighted to announce that their 2010 National Enterprise Week will commence on Monday, 24th May. The Week will run concurrently with the European SME Week. The overarching objective for this week is to lift the spirit of entrepreneurship in Ireland, by providing businesses with the opportunity to network, and meet with other businesses and experts that can support their business.

European SME Week

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/entrepreneurship/sme-week/

 END

 Commoditisation of legal services

“It is worthwhile to reflect on what is happening in other industry sectors, and to review opportunities in your own environment,” says management consultant Billy Linehan . “The legal profession in Ireland has been battered by the recession, even the best of firms have suffered declines in turnover and profits. Firms must plan for a changing world with new business models” advises Billy who is a management adviser to partners in several professional services practices.

A combination of technology and a change in the law are bringing a radical change to the legal sector in the UK where supermarkets are entering the market for legal services.

In an article today on the small business portal, www.bytestart.co.uk,  UK based solicitor Giles Dixon describes the changes.

If you would like to buy some shares in one of the large City law firms or get a will written while you are in the local supermarket or WH Smith, this may soon be possible.

For a very long time the only people who can own law firms and offer legal services have been qualified lawyers, but this will be swept away by a new law that was passed in 2007 and comes into effect next year. Under the Legal Services Act, non-lawyers will be able to form ‘Alternative Business Structures’ with solicitors. This will mean that large companies such as banks or supermarkets will be free to offer legal services to their customers.

Some organisations are already reported to be getting ready for this brave new world – among them the Co-operative Group which has set up Co-operative Legal Services to support their members and offers will-writing and conveyancing services. Others, such as Tesco and the AA may follow. As the author of one recent report has said, “this is all about opening up the market by using the economies that come through scale and using marketing in a different kind of way”.

So instead of going to a high street solicitor in future, those wanting a legal service may go to a store which employs lawyers to provide services to its customers. And in time we may see new business models developing – for example a new nationwide “Easydeath Services” offering a menu including will writing and inheritance tax advice, funerals and probate services, all for pre-agreed fixed fees.

At the other end of the scale, some large city firms may decide to float on the stock market, releasing capital for the partners and opening up ownership to pension funds and other investors.

While the big bang day is not scheduled until 2011, another even more influential force – the internet – is already making legal services available in new ways – without even the need for the customers to leave their home or office. As well as low cost contract templates, wills and leases, there are services offering online divorce, online dispute resolution and mediation as well as debt collection. And by no means the most recent online service is that run by the Courts which have facilities for claims to be filed online.

The losers in this new legal world are going to include some smaller law firms, but there are opportunities for them as well. There is a limit to the number of legal services that can be commoditised – legal fees may be needed to tailor a contract template to the customer’s particular requirements, but a combination of a £40 template and some legal advice on that template is going to be a lot cheaper for the customer than going to a lawyer in the first place.

So we can envisage partnerships between solicitors and suppliers of templates developing. Indeed, some providers of templates, such as ContractStore.com, already offer customers a limited legal service, using the lawyers who write the templates sold from their website. Others are developing packages that involve a lawyer finalising a document that is initially generated online by the consumer sitting at home.

Commercial deals and complex disputes will always need support from qualified legal specialists who can advise on strategy and negotiate on their client’s behalf.

As for commoditised services, there is a limit to what they can do and they do not always come with a human face. So, just as those wanting quality food will go to a farmers’ market or organic butcher rather than Tesco, so many people will still prefer to go to a solicitor rather than Tesco Law Ltd.

About the Author

Giles Dixon is a solicitor, managing director of ContractStore.com

www.bytestart.co.uk Posted May 5, 2010

www.Celtar.ie