Moving over to MarketingWriteNow.com

As a result of amazing job Sabrina Dent did for omani&co & DragonMarketing, I’ll stop this blog.

There’s now a perfectly useful place to put all my writing for business.

Follow us over there  (Twitter @marketingwrite)

&

if you don’t love what your find there, tell everyone. 

POSTED BY writingforbusiness ON 11.05.09 @ 11:03 am | 0 Comments

Sabrina Dent Designs New Website for omani&co

The designer of the best ever commercial website in Ireland (CuriousWines.ie) has done one for omani & co.

This is an extraordinary lucky break for omani & co.  When you see the site you’ll agree, I predict.

The website is there to represent partnership with Dragon Marketing.  It’ll become our primary window the wider world, and  bring us loads of business with profit.

It’ll also show others what can be done when you get the best talent to work for you. 

It was CorkMeet2009 that spurred us to make it happen.

I wouldn’t be saying this if I didn’t feel sure you’ll love it.  Next week, we’ll unwrap it. 

POSTED BY writingforbusiness ON 10.29.09 @ 5:03 pm | 0 Comments

Curious Bubble & Karwig

 They put this up via a Facebook link, inviting "Friends" to take it over to their blog.

 

Three Musketeers?  Hardly - where d’Artagnan? 

The Three Characters from Chinese? - much too ancient to be that.

The 3 Gurus? - maybe they look wise enough 

Celtic Chiefs that survived? - most likely, given they’re just back from harvesting grapes…

The riddle will be solved here… 

 

 

POSTED BY writingforbusiness ON 10.28.09 @ 6:26 pm | 0 Comments

Written for Goodbiz.ie : Is Politics for Business?

This is an article written for Richard O’Brien’s Goodbiz.ie, for publication in their newsletter today. I put it here too, in case you’d like to see it.   I trust Goodbiz.ie will welcome me advertising it.

—————————–
 
Is Politics for Business?   
- or better left to others?
by Paul O’Mahony (omani&co) 
Michael O’Leary won the Lisbon Referendum?  Deserves most of the credit for the political change? Whatever your view on Lisbon, perhaps the most striking aspect of the last few weeks in Irish politics is the role of business.
Declan Ganley, a businessman, seized leadership of the "NO" campaign. For me, the most memorable confrontation on TV was between the RyanAir CEO and Mr Ganley.
This time business mattered.  Business leaders came out in force to influence the result. 
The CEO of Intel made a huge contribution.  He took sides.  Put his company’s reputation on the line.
Traditionally, business lobbies behind the scenes.  
Hires lobbyists to influence legislation at the earliest possible stage.  Business leaders keep quiet about national politics. They often back both horses, in order to influence overall political thinking. They never want to be accused of taking sides between political parties.
This autumn in Ireland, business got organised.  For example, Cork Chamber of Commerce put up huge posters calling for a "Yes" vote. There was a co-ordinated campaign by business to influence the referendum result.
The question now is: was this a one-off? Are business leaders going to keep it up over the next year? Or are they going to retire to the back benches?
Business people want to do business.
They don’t particularly want to attend to the political context.  However, at times it would be unwise (even stupid) to ignore the politics of the situation.
If Lisbon vote had been "No", would that have helped or hindered your business?
You can apply the same logic to the future…
What do you think of the McCarthy Report (July 2009)  That’s next on the political agenda. Have you got a copy? Have you assessed how it might affect your business prospects?
I’d like to argue that :
  • If you’re a supplier to any section of government (local or national), you’ve an interest in the next budget
  • If your business prospects are at stake, you’ve an interest in influencing the public debate
Traditional reticence of business may not serve business well.  
Business leaders have a number of stakeholders to consider:
  • shareholders
  • employees 
  • supplier 
  • customers 
  • wider society
Leaders need to think on all fronts, simultaneously.   
Will the business community take advantage of the practice it got during Lisbon Referendum? Will it continue to engage in public debate of McCarthy before the budget in November? 
The voice of SMEs matters.  
We drive the national economy.  The enterprise behind SMEs is an essential mover of the Irish economy.  But it’s more important that that. SME enterprise influences the atmosphere in society, the sense of hope, the level of confidence. Consumer confidence matters so much.
If you want to influence the political debate on your company’s half, this is what you can do:
  • Contact other business leaders in your network
  • Talk about the political debate and how it connects with business
  • Expand your network of contacts to spread the discussion among business leaders
  • Build your reputation for being on the ball as a "thought leader"
  • Contact & lobby existing business organisations like Chamber of Commerce, ISME, even BNI
  • Write to your local newspapers
  • Phone your local radio station
  • Contribute to internet discussions on forums like David McWilliams, Irish Politics, irish economy, LinkedIn, Twitter, even Facebook
  • See this as an opportunity to hone your political skills
Leading a business isn’t simply about customer service, price & value.  
It’s about influencing the context within which business is carried on.
If others see you actively improving the quality of debate about public issues, your reputation grows: people will be more keen to do business with you. Rapport matters more than anyone ever realises.
Leave it to others:  you run the risk of being reduced to complaining about what’s happened.
Seth Godin’s "Tribes - we need you to lead us" is a useful book to read.  It’s short, easy to read and pointed.  Not full of jargon. If you fancy your leadership skills, try it.
Goodbiz.ie is a business "tribe" (network).  It’s waiting for you to take up leadership.

POSTED BY writingforbusiness ON 10.08.09 @ 5:59 pm | 0 Comments

Latest Writing for Business

I’ve submitted  my latest piece to Goodbiz.ie.  Here’s the start, a taster for you…

_________________________________

The strange ways you find business these days never fail to surprise me.

People & business have moved on from ads in newspapers, magazines, radio & TV.  Those "traditional" media now get a declining slice of advertising cake. You can’t do business these days without a website.  The first thing a customer does is "Google" you.  If you don’t show up, you don’t exist.  Customers are now doing research before deciding who to buy from. Becoming more discriminating.

This has sparked a whole new industry: website "optimizers".  These are the clever people who know how Google works - they understand the tricks that search engines use.  Simply having a website isn’t enough.  No matter how good your website, unless it’s found easily & first, it’s a waste.  The competition for notice is fierce…

POSTED BY writingforbusiness ON 09.09.09 @ 1:59 pm | 2 Comments

David O’Mahony on the value of copy editors

POSTED BY writingforbusiness ON 08.24.09 @ 8:53 am | 0 Comments

The reason why this blog isn’t up to date

POSTED BY writingforbusiness ON 08.18.09 @ 10:18 am | 0 Comments

Great books about business : War & Google & Commodisation

I’ve been reading three books:

"Breaking from the Pack"

"The 33 Strategies of War" by Robert Green

"What Would Google Do?" by Jeff Jarvis

All worth reading, I’ve found.

In later posts I’ll share with you what I think I’ve gained from the reading.

POSTED BY writingforbusiness ON 07.08.09 @ 9:13 am | 0 Comments

Back from holiday in France & Spain : Andre Gide

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of
the shore.

*** Andre Gide ***

For more information on this quotation and the author:
http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/L001930/

POSTED BY writingforbusiness ON 07.06.09 @ 8:52 am | 0 Comments

Richard Branson on business

Great quote this…

I never, ever thought of myself as a businessman.
I was interested in creating things I would be proud of.

For more information on this quotation and the author:
http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf/id/L001911/

Dave Gurteen is a valuable resource.

POSTED BY writingforbusiness ON 06.03.09 @ 7:36 pm | 0 Comments