I was reminded again yesterday, while listening to a podcast, of the power of story. I had never entirely forgotten but the reminder was valuable. At its simplest a story needs three things: a character a goal/desire obstacles You could get more specific and granular but if you only remember these three things about story… Continue reading The powerful tool of story in your small business marketing
Category: Small Business
Leading from the back
I heard a fascinating interview with Jim Gavin, the former Dublin football manager, on the Business Programme on RTE radio one Saturday morning recently. He was speaking about a concept that I had never heard of before: the idea of leading from behind, not the front. And it made an immense amount of good sense… Continue reading Leading from the back
Tax time
I had a brief conversation with my accountant yesterday morning in which he explained how much money I had to pay the tax man. It was an eye watering sum, and one of the only ways to reduce my liability is to pay a lump sum into a pension, which I have been doing for… Continue reading Tax time
Don’t flaunt your shopping bag
A ‘fan’ who follows my activities and content on social media emailed me recently. She told me that she had followed me for a long time, loved what I did online, loved the helpful content I put out and she was looking for some advice for a first time buyer. When she clarified that she… Continue reading Don’t flaunt your shopping bag
Build your own audience-don’t wait to be picked
I have no doubt that my colleagues who frequently appear in the media-on radio or TV or quoted in the newspapers-are immensely grateful for the exposure. There is no doubt it creates a great deal of credibility around them and their expertise. That cannot do any harm, especially if their target market is likely to… Continue reading Build your own audience-don’t wait to be picked
When we were shopkeepers-meeting Michael O’Leary (Ryanair) in the 80s
It was 1987 or 1988 when I first met Michael O’Leary, the now Ryanair boss. I was 23/24 years of age at the time and had started in my first business along with my brother at Hart’s Corner, Glasnevin, Dublin. We had a small convenience store there which in which we started trading in December … Continue reading When we were shopkeepers-meeting Michael O’Leary (Ryanair) in the 80s
Just a quick question
It is a source of constant surprise the number, and type, of persons who contact me looking for free legal advice. The approach can be made in any number of channels of communication to me: phone, email, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. I do not believe my response to such approaches is overly mercenary or… Continue reading Just a quick question
Email is poetry
When I first read the words “code is poetry” in the back end of the WordPress publishing platform I did not understand what it meant, or what it meant to convey. I think I do now, however. I am no coder, although I have a basic understanding of programming code such as html and I… Continue reading Email is poetry
Why I won’t be starting a podcast
Podcasts and podcasting are all the rage nowadays. But I won’t be starting one, even though I have been requested to do so by subscribers to my YouTube channel. One of the big advantages of podcasting is the ease with which you can set one up. At a minimum you could actually create one with… Continue reading Why I won’t be starting a podcast
1 powerful ingredient common to baking bread, disputes, and negotiating property transactions
There is one tremendously effective ingredient that can be deployed to baking bread, employment (and other legal) disputes, and negotiating to buy or sell property. Time. Time is a fundamental part of good baking but can also be used to telling effect in negotiating disputes. For example, in an employment dispute where the employee is… Continue reading 1 powerful ingredient common to baking bread, disputes, and negotiating property transactions