Good News Report

Power Kelly & Co Chartered Valuation Surveyors

Good news can be rare and about Ireland's property market even more so but a recent presentation by Adrian Kelly of the famous chartered valuation and Surveyors firm, reported that after 5 years of stagnation and falling property values, the activity amongst domestic and international investors seeking quality property in Ireland has shown significant increase.

Total value of investment transactions in 2012 was €557 million and some €2 billion 2013. Indicators for 2014 look promising with Q1 reaching approx €1 billion alone. Offices have been the front runner followed by retail investment properties”

This might give us food for thought and the greater impact on getting working and our economy on the move again.

Thanks Adrian

“Personal Branding is the combination of one’s skills and talents to produce value for people that creates an impression, a perception and reputation in the mind of others”

  
― Bernard Kelvin Clive,

   

A study of Brand Guidelines   

 

Brand guideline, Brand manual, Brand bible. It’s known under many names but the motivation for having one is always the same - consistency. First things first: Having a logo does not necessarily mean you have a brand! It’s important to distinguish between the two. A brand is the culture that unifies the people using it. These people can be employees of the company or users of the product. For example, a couple enjoying a bottle of Coca-Cola is as much part of the Coca-Cola brand as its CEO, perhaps more. Because a brand is what the public says it is, not its employees. A logo is a part of a brand. It’s the symbol or word-mark that visually represents the company’s values.

When talking about brand guidelines we’re talking about guidelines for the brand as a whole. Some guidelines go in to great detail and describe everything; from the colour and typefaces to the company core values, vision and mission. For most companies this is not necessary. When developing the guidelines for a brand, one of the first things to consider is usability. Will this be useful for people working with this specific brand and how relevant is it? In most cases, brand guides tend to include:

 

• Logo and/or wordmark and the uses for each.
• Typeface – different weights and how they should be used in various types of communication.
• Colour – which are associated with the brand?
• Imagery – does the brand have its own image library or will photos be purchased from a stock photography company?

By covering these topics, guidelines can anticipate most scenarios that it might be presented with. It’s important to know that a brand guideline is never exhaustive. It does not include every single scenario conceivable. The guide is just that – a guide. Its main purpose is to anticipate applications/usage that the brand might be faced with and give the user enough information to adapt to these scenarios.

Whilst it’s good for the company’s management to be aware of their own guidelines – these are not the people guidelines are developed for. They are developed to help the people that will most likely read, and understand them – designers. They depend on the guidelines not for strict rules but rather to hint at the correct usage of the brand in order to maintain consistency. All brand guidelines are open to interpretation and it’s up to the designer to apply sound design practice.

Finally, a brand is a living thing. It’s always changing and so its brand guideline must change with it. For most companies, guidelines should be reviewed once every six months by an agency or designer that understands the brand, its users and its requirements. At this stage, new applications can be included and old ones that might not be relevant anymore can be removed. This way, the guidelines are kept fresh and contemporary and your brand will thank you for it.

Michel Jonas Nilsson

Nilsson Wepa Advertising Ltd.

Networking and Psychotherapy - where two worlds collide...

Networking and Psychotherapy

Networking and Psychotherapy and not necessarily two words that are generally connected yet psychotherapists do need to network and business people often need psychotherapy at some point in their lives. How to blend the two so that a psychotherapist can effectively advertise their wares and fellow networkers can comfortably refer clients or contacts can be difficult but our member psychotherapist has found a way.

 

It's a challenge especially here in Ireland as so many who attend therapy do so without anyone knowing so referring on and indeed receiving referrals can be a challenge in itself. But if it  is something that you are considering then our member Ejiro from Thrutalk can help.

Her presentation on psychotherapy and what it entails provided our network with clear and concise information around what someone can expect and how the process can benefit the client.

 

Read on to understand the presentation further.

ThruTalk : Counselling with Ejiro

ThruTalk offers professional counselling and psychotherapy services to the Irish community. In this article I will give a brief synopsis of what I do and the services I provide.

What I do

I work with any persons (Adults) needing emotional support during particularly challenging times in their lives.

The three aspects of a therapeutic relationship include The Client, The Process and The Therapist.

The Client

The client refers to a person seeking counselling and psychotherapy. My perception of what the problem is can be viewed in the light of alignment.

 

 

 

 

(a)                                                         (b)                                                                         (c)

 

Alignment refers to a match between the life we live expressed through the choices we make, and our true selves.

• (a) The double circles signify the degree of our alignment. The more aligned we are the happier and functional our lives tend to be. Misalignment in this scenario is minimal, this could be the case with young children and people with heightened awareness. There is little room for stress or dysfunction.
• (b) Most people live lives that are to various degrees misaligned. This could be as a result of our conditioning, societal expectations, jobs, careers, businesses, relationships, events etc. The problem is not necessarily in the misalignment but in our ability to manage the discomfort that comes with it. There is plenty of room for distress and dysfunction in this scenario. Awareness and understanding helps us adapt for healthier functional lives.
   
• (c) This is a situation where our choices have created an environment that continuously keeps us completely out of sync with who we truly are. This cannot be sustained for extended periods without developing severely dysfunction lives.
   

The Process

Therapy to a large extent is helping people find alignment. The various strategies and techniques address the problem from different angles. Such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) via the thinking process, Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) via the emotions, others include Behavioural Therapy, Gestalt, Person Centred Therapy and many more.

Me, The Therapist

I believe that the person I am is the most significant aspect of being a therapist. All my skills and techniques would amount to very little if I am not in alignment myself.

So, my number one priority each day is to tend to my alignment. Feeling good within is the main signal that all is well and at times this has nothing to do with having fun or pleasure. It is about being, and being true. Sometimes this takes courage.

I meet all the requirements to practice as a therapist in Ireland. While working towards accreditation with the Irish Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists (IACP), I volunteer with the Living Life Counselling centre Bray and I am also a member of the IACP Workshop Committee, Dublin.

Why Should You Refer a Client To Me?

All clients are cared for and the number one priority in therapy is their alignment. I am warm, passionate and well grounded through age and experience. My perception and inexplicable insight are my strengths that give my work the flavour that clients appreciate.

It is simply exhilarating to help clients clear the emotional fog and allow life flow freely again.

Services

• Individual Counselling
  • €120 per month for two sessions (60 minute sessions)
    • Any two weeks of your choice within a four week period.
• Lunch Hour Recal (recalibrate)
  • €20 per twenty minute session
    • Use your lunch hour refocus a particularly challenging day.
    • 12pm - 2pm only
• Groups (max. 6)
  • Anxiety - €100 per four weekly sessions (1hr 30mins)
  • General – €50 Ongoing, Once a month. (2hrs) 
  •  If you wish to contact Ejiro from Thrutalk you can find her details on the Dublin Business Network website

Facebook and Networking

Facebook and networking go hand in hand in todays business and marketing worlds. Those who use Facebook to market their wares do so under the knowledge that there are pros  and cons connected with that platform. In a recent presentation, network member Cormac O'Kelly of socialmediamanagement.ie provided the network with the latest news and information on networking on the web.

 

Facebook Playing It Safe

Social networking sites like Facebook depends on millions of people voluntarily divulging accurate personal information. But in a world where identity theft is a growing concern and spammers cannot wait to get their hands on your email address, how do you take advantage of what Facebook has to offer for promoting your business while minimising risks to your personal information? This blog post explains Facebook’s privacy issues and gives you strategies for staying safe – from up-front planning to adjusting privacy settings to after-the-fact damage control.

Facebook  An Overview

If you are connected to the internet, you should be concerned about your privacy. Surf the web – privacy risk. Use email – privacy risk. The sad truth of it is that there are a lot of bad guys out there, and your personal information is worth a lot of money to some of them. Even virus-protection and firewalls cannot always protect you and keep bad things from happening to you. And whilst Facebook promises to do it all it can to protect the personal data you add to your profile, mistakes happen. If you would like to read Facebook’s privacy policy, click here.

If you are like most people your personal info is stored in lots of databases (your bank, your supermarket and so on). But what is unique about Facebook’s cache of personal data is that it includes intimate details (like your views on politics, religion and relationships), that are tied to a picture of you (your profile picture), and that it links you to other people – all of whom have also divulged lots of intimate details – and that it tracks your activities online. This combination of identifying details, an image, and a detailed map of your social habits is what makes Facebook social interesting and compelling – but also so potentially dangerous. Theoretically somebody could find out what town you live in, where you plan to be next Tuesday night at 8pm (a club meeting that you RSVP’d to on Facebook) and that you are involved with a lot of charities. Armed with your picture, that person could show up claiming to be your long lost cousin and wanting a loan of money!

The trick is to balance the benefits you get from using Facebook and the internet in general with the risk of losing control of your private information.

Privacy Threats

Some of the privacy threats associated with Facebook re the same that many online companies face, such as reports that the Facebook source code (the raw programming information that powers the site) was once leaked onto the internet, potentially giving hackers access to Facebook users personal data. And, of course, any information you send via the internet is vulnerable to interception. But there are other Facebook-specific threats too:

Third Party Application Developers and other Facebook Partners.

Before you can use a Facebook application, you must grant the person or the company who created it access to your personal data as well as – in many cases – the personal data of all your friends. Once you grant that access, control of your (and your friends) personal data is out of Facebook’s hands. If the applications creator misuses your information, the beef is between you and them. Likewise, Facebook’s privacy policy lets the site share your personal details with companies who advertise or sell products on Facebook, and it’s up to those firms to keep your data safe.

People you didn’t think had access to your profile.

If you think that people who only live in your city, attended your alma mater, or work at your company can view your profile, you’re mistaken. Hiring managers, parents, teachers, police officers, and other people who are determined to view your Facebook profile can find a way to do so – either by asking a co-worker or a friend who happens to be a member o of your Facebook network to look up your information.

People using a Search Engine.

Depending on your Facebook privacy settings, anybody can search your profile information using a search engine such as Yahoo or Google, even if he is not a member of Facebook. Because many of Facebook’s privacy settings are opt out (meaning Facebook assumes you want the whole world to see your personal information until you tell it differently), your information is at risk until your adjust your settings.

Strategies for Keeping Your Information Private

So thats the bad news. The good news is that three simple strategies give you quite a bit of control over keeping your data private.

Don’t put sensitive information on Facebook

You get to choose what sort of information you share on the site, and how much. Data thieves cannot steal your information if you do not make it available.

 Customise your Privacy Settings

Much as keeping your front door locked dramatically reduces the chance of being robbed, customising your privacy settings minimises – but does not eliminate – the chance of your Facebook data falling into the wrong hands.

If the worst happens, fight back

If an ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend tracks you down on Facebook and starts harassing you, you can shut him or her down by blocking him/her access to your Facebook profile or reporting him/her to the site.

Deciding How Much To Share

How confessional you want to be when you create your Facebook profile is entirely up to you. But here are a few things to consider:

Give Facebook only enough information to get what you want out of the site.

If you plan to use Facebook to find parenting tips, you do not need to share your professional or academic background.

Consider keeping your public and private identities separate.

If you are planning to use Facebook for networking, think twice about posting pictures of your wild weekend in Amsterdam. You don;t have to forego mentions of your personal life completely, but you should limit your personal information to the kind of thing you deel comfortable pinning on the office noticeboard.

Think about creating an email address just for Facebook.

Google and Yahoo allow you to create a free, Web-based email address that you can use to sign up for Facebook. Using an email address dedicated to Facebook protects your work or real home email addresses from accidental or deliberate theft and spamming.

If it’s sensitive and optional, leave it out.

Random people viewing your profile don’t need to know your phone number or home address. If you meet people on Facebook and want share such information you can do so via Facebook messaging.

When in doubt, do the ‘Mum or Boss’ check

If you’d be comfortable telling your mother or boss something, then go ahead and post it to your Facebook profile. If not, skip it!

Facebook does not care how much information you put into your profile, but it does demand that what you share is accurate and truthful. Creating a “Fakebook” – an account with a bogus name and made up profile – can get you banned from the site.

“Invisible threads are the strongest ties." Friedrich Nietzsche

“Invisible threads are the strongest ties." Friedrich Nietzsche

By Ian Jackson Business Network Member ~ Website Design

Go To Web

In this week’s 10 minute network presentation Ian Jackson of Web design company “GoToWeb” discussed the benefits of having an effective and working website for your business. He highlighted how this along with networking your business are a killer combination attracting new business opportunities and creating more income while in turn creating a better presence on the web.

Ian stressed how mobile devices are now driving our internet browsing habits. We can all relate to this, nowadays most business owners are closely attached to their iphone, tablet or mobile device, allowing them to be connected to potential opportunities and keeping up with business as well as networking and what’s going on in their area of expertise. Google analytics figures inform us that as much as 50% or more of the traffic to many websites is either via a smart phone o mobile device.

This round the clock connection to business and the internet means by extension we are becoming a lot more discerning in what we view and how long we view it for. Google highlight that if a site or link does not open in less than 5 seconds now people will turn off, return to the previous page and hit a further link. So it’s competitive to say the least.

Having a responsive site means you are in the competition, are professional and up to date and take into account customers feelings when they click the link to your site. This also means that potential customers will most likely view what you offer and consider you for business.

Ian went on to stress that mobile and PC devices can produce different views of the same content. He also underlined that figures suggest that the mobile visitor can spend half the time on a lot less pages that when viewing on a PC.

Having a call to action is vital on any website but even more so now with immediacy and making sure business contacts can find you means having your maps and locations up to date. Ian stressed that every business now needs a responsive website further highlighting that the life of a web designer is one that comes in contact with anyone from a carpet layer to a professional services company.

So if you need a professional website service savvy with today’s requirements call Ian on “Go to Web” today.

"What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand." Confucius

What I hear, I forget.
What I see, I remember.
What I do, I understand.
- Confucius

Peter O’Connor Performance Partner

Team development training and Executive Coaching

In this week’s 10 minute networking talk at the Dublin Business Network, Peter O’Connor from Irish based training company Performance Partners informed the group on what he does for companies.

His experience which he has gained over a 30 year period lends itself effectively to challenge leaders who cannot lead, poorly thought-out strategies that don’t inspire staff, a lack of team work and bad communication. He also highlighted disengaged workforces, ill-fitting roles for individuals and sales people and others who aren’t performing and fail to reach targets and potential.

Peter stressed how the role of training and executive coaching is intended to deliver on the performance objectives of a company by supporting people to be the best they can be and by supporting leaders to get the best from their people.

It was underlined in the presentation that problems that arise out of this situation do so due to a lack of continued support once the training has been executed. Peter reiterated the importance of coaching and how it can solidify and support what has been looked at and learned in training bringing the performance to a more magnified and effective level. Research was mentioned that supported the benefits of coaching staff and workers in this area.

The network presentation was concluded by Peter highlighting that Performance Partners.ie have a range of change oriented training courses available including business skills building and coaching for leaders and people who own the business problems.

Check out www.performancepartners.ie for more.

Tell them what you do not how you do it!!

I was reading an article recently about networking mistakes and it struck me that we often fall in to traps that can hinder our networking potential.  This article will highlight a few mistakes that you yourself might be guilty of.

While we are busy telling potential customers what we provide I noticed that instead of focusing on the solution or the results networkers and those pitching for business start to inform listeners of the process and how they go about their business. Before you know people have switched off and you have lost them.

Most people or customers are consumed by their own situation; they don’t have capacity to listen to you and have only a certain level of interest in how you do your job rather than what you will provide them with.

The key to an effective pitch is to highlight to customers what they will end up with once they have hired you. Inevitably this equates to more money, more sustainability, more publicity, MORE!!

Are there changes you can make to your pitch that can impact here.

Frequently highlighted as a networking mistake is focusing on any networking rather than targeting those who will most benefit you. Seth Godin talks of tribes and these groups that are like small complementary subgroups that can evolve in your networking circles, can be golden for you.  In general if you are trades person you will most likely get a referral from a similar individual while if you are a trainer or recruiter your referral base will be similar or complementary positions within one of these tribes.

Likewise an interior designer can benefit from an architect while a plumber can too, so know which roles in your networking group will help most when drumming up potential business. Focus on those individuals by getting to know them a bit better and making sure they know you and what you can do for them.

Another area where some networkers fall down is they forget just how many people they actually know and come in contact with. Just the other night while I was celebrating a family occasion 3 different potential referrals for colleagues came my way. Previously I might have been closed down to these whereas  now I was asking questions like…. do you have someone to do that for you, I know a good guy can help you with that.


You don’t have to refer business contacts; everything is open to you and when you realise how many people that is, it will be no time before you are exchanging referrals. So don’t forget to listen and keep the big picture in mind.