How are you, really?
Welcome to the Ireland Together member update. It’s been quite a challenging year for everyone. Looking back, it has been marked with never ending uncertainty, disappointment and disbelief. We’re not out of the woods yet! With a start-stop vaccination programme and a never ending lockdown, it’s no wonder we’re all a little ‘blah’ - the new buzzword of 2021 is ‘languishing’🧠. If you are in this mid-state, please come along and join the conversation on Slack or at one of our online events. We look forward to welcoming you!
The theme for this newsletter is new beginnings.
We’re taking some time to build for the future and would love your input during the process. Just 3 minutes of your time will make all the difference in how much value we can add as a community over the next 12 months. Complete the survey here.
We are seeing the shoots of innovation across the community. Many entrepreneurs are ready to bring their projects to market over the coming months. We are inviting you to join the Beta testing community and support these green shoots (see below)
We are about to go through another great reset as we think about a return to the workplace. We will be hosting our first national conference for SMEs focused on this topic and you are invited to join us. Get involved below —>
The spirit of the community is reciprocity. After all, the rising tide carries all ships! 🚢
We are fortunate to have a rich mix of entrepreneurs within the community - many of whom have spent the last 12 months reinventing their business models as lockdown after lockdown forced their existing businesses to close. One of the community’s first COVID reinvention stories is inviting you to become a member of the first BETA test group!
Ireland Together member Eoin Ryan extends an invitation to all members to sign up FREE to trial his new Employee Wellness app. Eoin had a successful sports events business which was decimated by Covid 19. Based on years of working as an Award-winning Wellness Coach, he has created a comprehensive Employee Wellness package on a shoestring budget. This is self-development with a unique group focus. You’ll be able to see your weekly individual scores and how you benchmark against the group scores too. [Group scores are anonymous FYI 😉]. The app records 12 areas of wellness and wellbeing so there is something for everyone.
The 6 week programme will be supported by a private Slack group and weekly catch-up meetings on Tuesday morning for half an hour hosted by Eoin - lots of opportunities to ask questions, support each other, and provide feedback on your experience. There will also be a prize for the most improved person for that week. New winner each week!
Time investment is a minimum of one minute per day to complete your Daily Journal. However, the more you fill in – the more you will learn about yourself. An opportunity to give back while following through on those commitments you may have made to yourself, but got swallowed up by Pandemic life. Your data is not sold or shared, and you can opt out at any time 🤗
Sign up we’d love to have you onboard….
Return to the Workplace Conference 🏢
With lockdowns beginning to ease around the world alongside a vaccination roll out, we are turning our minds towards another ‘Great Reset’ - returning to the workplace. A recent survey reported that 22% of Irish employees are expected to work remotely full-time. A further 44% intend to work between home and the office. Of these, over 90% will spend three days or less in the office. That means only 34% of employees will return to the office full time! The implications for offices, HR policies, employees, and society are enormous. As you know, we love to discuss hot topics so… we are delighted to announce our 1st conference - running over 4 weeks in May!
To help businesses connect with the right supports, we are preparing a database of all businesses and services that can support in the above areas. If this includes you, please complete this quick form
We are also preparing a playbook for distribution to all attendees and IT members. The content will be a mix of blogs and articles covering advice and best practice, as well as topical feature articles including member commentary and nuggets of wisdom. If you have content to contribute, please register your interest here:
New Grants Available
Good news for the hospitality sector! Hotels, cafes, restaurants, and attractions where food is sold will be able to apply for outdoor dining grants of up to €4,000 to help facilitate an ‘outdoor summer’ this year. Expenditure must be incurred between 1 April 2020 and 30 September 2021 - more information here
Funding of up to €200,000 is also available to local authorities to upgrade and enhance streets and public spaces, as well as to implement weather-proofing solutions which will facilitate year-round outdoor dining in urban tourism centres. Medium-to-large scale, weather-proofed dining areas for a collective of businesses in a single zone or street will be facilitated under the funding scheme, similar to those that exist in various European cities.
Remember the €6M that was raised during the RTE Toy Show at the end of 2020? Community Finance Ireland is inviting registered charities working with Ireland’s most vulnerable children to apply for funding between €25,000 and €150,000. More information here.
A €14M fund to support outdoor adventure activities has been announced by the Government this week. Projects should be located in the countryside and cover activities such as hiking, cycling, horseriding, kayaking, swimming, durfing, sailing, fishing among some others.
No Webinars - Only Great Conversations!
This month we kicked off the Rethinking Lab - a series of sessions focused on how bias impacts our decision-making in everyday life, as well as how it can play out in sales negotiations. You can catch the previous sessions on our YouTube channel - there are still some seats left for next week’s (last) session RSVP HERE.
The Creativity Energiser sessions have also been a big hit - catch up here
Regular in-person events (not recorded)
☕Virtual Coffee Hour / Every Tuesday at 11am - no agenda, just turn up and meet new people
👩🏽🤝🧑🏾Speed Networking / Every Thursday at 1pm - the best way to put faces to names in a series of 10 minute 1-2-1 sessions
🤹♀️Coaching Meet Up / Every Friday at 11am - for coaches, mentors, HR managers and anyone interested in people and potential
❓Ask an Expert / Every Friday at 1pm - rotating between Digital Marketing and Developer expertise. Bring your questions and get answers!
🤝Sales Forum / Every Friday 2pm - whether you are in a sales role or selling your own services - join the conversation each week as we discuss everything from pricing strategies, to negotiations, to closing the deal.
📙Book Club / Monthly Meet Up - this month’s book is Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
And there’s more! Finding it hard to keep up with events? Download the monthly events calendar here
Have your protected your Intellectual Property? Whether you are an artist, a singer, a scientist, a designer, a researcher, a farmer, an inventor or a startup. Join NSAI and Enterprise Ireland Monday 26th April 11am-12pm to hear from experts and SMEs on the importance of embedding an IP strategy early in your journey. REGISTER HERE.