Category: Starting a Business

  • 3 Stunningly Effective, Free Ways to Promote You or Your Business

    I attended Evensong in Westminster Abbey last week. Evensong has been sung, celebrated and offered up in worship on the site of Westminster Abbey for over 1,000 years, originally by the Benedictine monks who came to the site in the tenth century. For me, though, it was a free way to get into Westminster Abbey…

  • Here’s 3 Things Which Would Make Me Fire You as a Client

    Let’s be honest. You’re thinking: “he’s a cheeky bugger”, “who does he think he is?” And, perhaps, worse. Hey, it wouldn’t be the first time. But stick with me because the 3 things might surprise you. And may even help you get more out of your professional advisor and better bang for your buck. Let’s…

  • Could This Simple Mistake Cost You Your Business?

    Imagine this. You’ve worked hard to build up a solid base of clients in your hairdressing or beauty salon business. It hasn’t been easy, but you began to see the fruits of your hard work, long hours, and commitment pay off around 12 months ago. In fact, it got so busy that you had to…

  • The Death of the Newsagent: Lessons for Retailers

    There’s nowhere on the main street in Kinnegad to buy a pint of milk or a newspaper now, you know. Not since “Flemings”, the traditional “newsagents”, closed its doors a few months ago. There was no big announcement, no social media campaign to keep it open. Nada. The doors just weren’t opened the next morning. And within…

  • Looking to Start a Business? What You Can Learn From John Boyle of BoyleSports

    John Boyle was fired from his job on a bread van, married at 19, has 7 kids, and turned down £200 million from a U.K. betting chain for his business. I listened to a fascinating interview yesterday on the Business Show on Radio 1-Richard Curran interviewing John Boyle of BoyleSports, the betting chain. Boyle left…

  • Predicting the Past-Why Looking Good With the Benefit of Hindsight Is Not an Option for Your Business

    Nauseating. That’s how I feel about the industry which has grown up since the catastrophic crash in the Irish economy in 2008. The industry I am referring to is the large collection of individuals who I describe as the “I told you so brigade”. These people would have you believe that, just as Cassandra foresaw…

  • Distribution Agreements and Agency Agreements-What You Really Need to Know

    Distribution agreements, agency agreements and franchising agreements are three very common types of commercial agreement entered into by companies and individuals. It is vitally important to recognise the differences between them. All three agreements are, from a competition law perspective, known as vertical agreements. When entering into these types of agreements the key considerations to…

  • 4 Things You Must Get Right When Starting Your Own Business

    Deciding to start your own business is easy. However, ensuring that your start up does not become an insignificant statistic in the “graveyard of broken dreams” is difficult. 85% of startups  fail within 3 years.. Despite the massive changes in technology in the last few years the fundamentals of starting and running a successful business…

  • 7 Crucial Elements of a Shareholder’s Agreement

    Good fences make good neighbours. A shareholders agreement can be every bit as important in a company where there are minority shareholders. Because a minority shareholder(s) whose interests and rights can easily be ignored by being outvoted by the other shareholders, particularly in circumstances where the minority shareholder holds less than 25% of the shares.…

  • Buying or Taking Over a Business-3 Critical Considerations You Ignore at Your Peril

    Are you thinking about taking over or buying a business? Perhaps a coffee shop, or retail business, or hairdressers, or restaurant? It doesn’t really matter what type of business, as there are certain fundamental things you need to watch out for. I’ve bought, developed and sold many businesses since 1986. I’ve made money, lost money,…