**Charity Project Fundraiser**

New item on the agenda and time is of the essence. For our next project we have to organise and run a quiz night with the proceeds going to a charity of our groups choice. We were unfortunately hamstrung but I suppose you could say we were architects of our own downfall. Being the outside the box thinkers we are we decided to try and identify a project with more longevity than a once off table quiz. We contacted the beneficiaries who were eager to run with it and begun communicating with possible contributors (Easons, Toymaster and Primark/Pennys) But unfortunately before we got too far down the road DITs insurance company shot down the idea. So we are now about a week behind and need a charity, a venue and to get on the promotional bandwagon. My own preference would be for the Laura Lynn childrens sunshine home and the Umbrella Foundation. Laura Lynns children's hospice provides home support, respite and end-of-life-care. It is the first children's hospice in Ireland. The Umbrella foundation provides support and basic education for Nepalese children who after 10 years of civil war have been displaced and orphaned in many cases. With children being so vulnerable facing hardships such as these is something I wish we could eradicate completely but obviously that is not possible. Having experienced the poverty children face on the streets of India while travelling first hand I cannot think of two better charities to benefit from our fundraising and hope their need will motivate us.

On the business side of things we are now faced with the task of sourcing a venue deciding on a date,and looking at revenue streams for the night itself and of course promoting the quiz.

I fear the tagline it's for  good cause will not be enough to sit back and watch the cash roll in.

Further updates will follow.....

Beginning of a Business Blog

A quick trip to the library and rental of 'The rough guide to blogging' has made this entire process seem almost manageable. Setting myself a target of 50,000 - 70,000 readers of each blog by term end is another realistic goal. I'm sure goals such as these feature somewhere in 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' which I've been meaning to read but simply haven't got round to yet.

Not knowing where to begin having never blogged I decided that seeing as the subject matter is business I looked back over the past week and what jumped out at me was the start of the entrepreneurial show that many love, Dragons Den. Still going strong after 10 series and with a prime time slot of 21:30 on BBC2 on Sunday evening what brings people back to this show again and again? The answer in my opinion is simple. We love to look at the quirky ideas ourselves and predict their chances of success and failure. Many is the time I have found myself sitting in front of the box thinking to myself 'Now why didn't I think of that?' and I suspect I am not alone

With a project looming on the horizon that involves generating a business idea developing it and finally pitching it in the same format to possible investors I tried to identify what characteristics or strategies the successful entrepreneurs had. With limited time and and an audience that many would deem un-bluffable I came to the conclusion that presentation skills and anticipation of questions were essentials. Both of these skills in tandem with a creative and viable business model are exactly what the dragons are looking for. Any of these three elements are there own often fail when investment appeared a real possibility. On some occasions I have seen people with a fantastic ability to present but lacking the knowledge and figures upon request that would lead to a huge boost to their chances. Likewise a fantastic product in the wrong hands may be doomed to failure if the ability to sell it and of course the person behind it, yourself are not apparent. To summarise I need to start brainstorming ideas, saving for a brand new tailored suit and working on my public speaking if I'm going to have a chance.



Another positive story I came across from the point of view of a young professional who hopes to remain in Ireland after graduation is the news from Dropbox a US based company

With the news that Dropbox is in negotiation with the IDA, the organisation responsible for attracting foreign direct investment in Ireland, to establish their headquarters in Dublin it seems that our 12.5% corporate tax may prove vital to keep Ireland on the radar of global companies in difficult times. Following in the footsteps of Google, Facebook, Paypal, Linkedin and many others I hope this comes to pass and new and exciting jobs are created. Dropbox is one of the next wave of internet based companies that allows online storage and file sharing. With so many young professionals leaving these shores in search of work it's a really positive sign from someone still studying that upon completion of our course there may be options developing at home.