The power of #SMEcommunity:

With the economy the way it is, we as businesses need all the support and help we can get.  It is crucial to keep a clear head and stand together with our fellow brethren.  We are recently seeing a growing trend of Irish business people banding together to support one another. 

A group of Irish business people have set up online support for small businesses via Twitter called #SMEcommunity.  This group has grown from 2 tweeters to more than 750 in three months.  The #SMEcommunity is comprised of a variety of companies ranging from artisan food markets to metal prefabricators.  A tweet by business mentor Vincent Bryne captures the essence of this group: “This business journey isn't meant to be a solo effort - getting help is as much a part of it as the good stuff. So ask! #SMEcommunity”.  This community has set up 12 informal meetings around Ireland and has set up a second round to meet Mayo members last week.  This provides businesses with great opportunities to share ideas and network themselves to new prospects. 

SMEs are the driving force that’s going to pick up Irelands economy.  We are the backbone that holds the weight of Ireland’s burden on our shoulders.   The SME community has taken a big hit with the recession.  In 2007-2010, the SME sector lost more than 128,000 jobs.  This represents about 15% of the total workforce.  The European Commission notes that SMEs account for more than 99% of all EU businesses, two-thirds of private sector jobs, and contribute to more than half of the value-added. 

SMEs are the voices that matter and the people we should be helping the most.  It is amazing to see efforts being made like the Twitter #SMEcommunity.  This is giving people a fighting chance.  Anyone is allowed to join the events hosted by this community and chime in on any of the conversations going on.  The best part about it is it’s free!  There is hope for Ireland.  If we continue to support each other and help in any way, we can bring Ireland back to a glorified nation.  It only takes one to make a difference.  

I’ll end by quoting Debbie Harper of Foxford-based Tus Nua Designs: "The growth of the #SMEcommunity has been so phenomenal — it is all about people giving each other hands-on practical help and advice. Knowing there are other business people rooting for your success gives a feeling of unity and strength in numbers,

Imagine this....

Take a moment and contemplate the following:

Imagine Ireland after the recession. What that will mean for you, your family, your friends. .....Because it is going to happen.

Now imagine a spirit of enterprise and innovation in Ireland after the recession. It won't be  a very dynamic space if  thousands of peoples skills have become obsolete, if skills and talents have been soaked up abroad, if there are thousands of people who have given up hope and face a life sentence on the dole ques.

We have to start seeing beyond the dip and preparing for our recovery. That means investing instead of cutting your most valuable assets- the people who make your enterprise what it is.

For anyone stuck in the dip have a look at this.....

The silver bullet

At the recent Global Economic Forum held at Dublin Castle, President Clinton told us that there is no single initiative that will solve our problems but instead, “There are dozens and dozens of things we need to do and those things need to be worked out by people like you working together and exploring options and seeing how to do them.”

He was right. There is no single silver bullet. We need lots of ideas around which lots of people can collaborate and create a momentum powerful enough to start moving the growth needle in the right direction.

One such idea is The Irish Sun newspaper’s  initiative ‘Get Ireland Working’ and another earlier in the year was TV3’s ‘Every Job Counts’.  ‘Local Heros’ from RTE is another which will be launching the coming weeks. All of these initiatives  need to be applauded. They are examples of organisations walking the talk, doing something to tackle the scourge of unemployment facing  familes and communities all over Ireland. 

In these challenging times we need to be thinking about how can we leverage the opportunity the media industry represents to rally, spread and galavanise support around  the dozens of  ideas that will shape the recovery President Clinton was talking about.

Take Hireland for example. In order to to succeed it needs to spark a wave of imaginative thinking and practical action that tackles unemployment on a massive scale. That means people in living rooms, offices, pubs, clubs  and organsiations thinking, talking and acting differently to create job opportunities  themselves or to shake out ideas about how other people they know could create a job for someone. With the help of the media industry Hireland can reach and motivate  all those people to take action and report back on the results.

Hireland is one of the ideas President Clinton was talking about last week in Dublin and we have a very special silver bullet of our own – a media industry  who are willing to give this movement wings.

Crowdsourcing Expertise.

Hireland is where it is today because a band of extraordinary individuals answered “yes’ to an ordinary question - Can you meet up for a coffee? We have an idea we want to pick your brains about?

Over these coffees respected individuals from the media, marketing, business and creative communities have been utterly generous and collaborative with their thoughts, opinions and ideas around how Hireland will advance - indeed many have become ongoing members of the team contributing expertise, time and resources to mobilize this movement.

The pioneering spirit and gob smacking generosity of these shining lights who got behind us from the get go means Hireland is set to get kind of launch it deserves. Thanks to these individuals Hireland has a media and creative campaign, website, tv production, radio production and public relations machine in development.

To put a number on these pro bono pledges would round off at an impressive figure in any mans language… To put a value tag on the input, expertise and different perspectives that have shaped and continue to shape the course Hireland is taking….priceless.

So here’s to all those conversations that happen over a coffee and the generosity of spirit inherent in people. To all of you who said yes, what can I do to help? Thank you, we are so happy you are on board.  To those who haven’t had that request for a coffee yet - keep your phones at the ready.