A small group of us met up in the Clarion on 4th March to share and talk about nifty and useful services that we use on a day to day basis. These were some of the tools we chatted about :
- dropbox.com – easy way to share and backup files, creates a virtual drive.
- jing.com – a super nifty way to easily create screencasts (movies of what’s happening on your desktop) and share these with others on the fly.
- xero.com – was mentioned for online accounts, not sure if anyone is using it though?
- freshbooks.com – invoicing, time tracking and expenses
- 1password – password management for the Mac
- Ta Da Lists - tired of stickies on your monitor? This is an easy to use lists system that you can share
- wisestamp – use your webmail account for multiple personas? then wisestamp automatically throws in a signature or profile that is flexible and easy to use.
Most of the ones mentioned above are free – or cost a few dollars a month for premium services.
I think this is a post we could easily build on as people come across useful tools, services and ways of working; It was intriguing to see how individuals update their own physical journals and diaries – I think we should scan a few of them 
Our next meetup on 1st april is quickly approaching – we are planning to do a video conference with Open Coffee folk in Limerick – more later.
Categories: opencoffee · sligo
Tagged: online services, opencoffee limerick, productivity
Paperwork by Manuela Hoffman (cc) Attribution
Next Open Coffee Sligo:
Thurs, 4th March, 11-1pm
at The Clarion
There were lots of great ideas and themes that came out of the first February Open Coffee and we should have no shortage of practical events and inspiring speakers throughout the year. It seemed only fitting that we get everyone participating in the March Open Coffee (on the 4th) by bringing in practical examples of how you get work done, manage your projects, manage to get paid and any other practical tips you use to just make it happen.
So, be prepared to share everything from invoices, sample contracts, creative briefs, useful links to online tools. You choose. If everyone brings at least one example, you’ll be guaranteed to leave with a half-dozen practical tips on how to mind your own business. Be prepared to ask and answer the question, “How do you do … ?”
Hope to see you there!
Categories: opencoffee · sligo
Tagged: briefs, contracts, invoicing, March, project management, tools
Enterprise & Innovation Week will run from the 22nd to the 25th of February 2010 at The Innovation Centre, (formerly the BIC).
They’ve invited Open Coffee Sligo and Northwest Connects to participate.
We’re holding an evening ‘Open Coffee’ networking event on the Wednesday, the 24th of February from 6.30-7.30pm at The Hub. Snacks and drinks will be served. After our networking event we will go to A0005 in the IT’s main building to see Sean Gallagher from Smart Homes on Dragon’s Den.
The whole week is packed with talks and events, many for the public to join in. On Monday the 22nd of February 11–12.30pm, please join the Launch of Enterprise & Innovation Week with Danny McCoy (DG, IBEC) and Prof. Terri Scott (President, IT Sligo) at The HUB (Innovation Centre).
Categories: networking · sligo
Tagged: ìnnovation
Coffee Beans by Lyncis (cc) Creative commons
We had an epic meet-up last Thursday. A great turn out and many new people, over 25 attendees! We talked about plans for 2010 and I wrote up the notes and we’re discussing them in our new LinkedIn group.
Come join us there and pass on the link to anyone who has been to Open Coffee Sligo or who might like to attend. http://tinyurl.com/sligolinkedin
Some great ideas which can be summed up by our group goals: to network, create opportunities for ourselves and others and improve our skills through exchange.
Kevin, Justin and myself (heather) are meeting on Wednesday to figure out what our game plan is for the next meet up and future ones.
We look forward to your input.
Open Coffee Sligo
We’ll get your info updated on the attendees list. If you don’t see your name there, please remind us by leaving a comment.
Categories: networking · opencoffee · sligo
Tagged: business, linkedin, networking, sligo
We’re kickstarting the Open Coffee meetups for 2010 this Thursday at 11am in the Clarion Hotel, Sligo.
In our last get together in early December – we expected to discuss our plans for 2010; Instead we speedily descended into a discussion around home technology – digital cameras, photographs, etc – which was pretty enjoyable and unforeseen.
This Thursday however – we want to get back on track with discussion, planning and ideas around what people would like to see more of over the next few months.
So If you have views or thoughts on what things you would like to see being presented and discussed – then let us know this Thursday in the Clarion.
Categories: networking · opencoffee · sligo
Art of Coffee - by Minwoo (cc) creative commons
Happy New year!
There’s no “official” Open Coffee Sligo meetup in January, next one is Thursday 4th February 2010.
We’re trying out using Ning to help people communicate about Open Coffee Sligo. There are a bunch of other Irish and international Open Coffee groups there. Please join up!
http://opencoffee.ning.com/group/opencoffeesligo
See you in February!
Categories: opencoffee · sligo
Tagged: opencoffee
A little bit tardy with this note – but we’ve all been very busy with Northwest Connects over the last few days.
As usual though – first thursday of every month – generally in the Clarion Hotel – from 11am to 1pm – and this thursday 3rd December is no exception.
We will be delighted to see familiar faces, and we might see some new ones after the event last saturday.
There is no specific speaker or set agenda at present; however, we may talk about the direction of the group for next year in terms of types of speakers, topics for discussion and so on.
A live video link with Open Coffee Limerick had been planned – but we pushed this out until the New Year. Maybe we could extend this idea to having speakers from different locations via a video link up? OpenCoffee Derry and OpenCoffee Letterkenny have already expressed an interest in this. Maybe we could have a national Open Coffee Ireland video link up day.
Ok… Enough… Let’s enjoy some mince pies, good coffee and good conversation at 11am on thursday in the Clarion!
Categories: networking · opencoffee · sligo
This logo was a collaboration between Open Coffee Sligo members Justin Knecht and Eddie Johnston
We’re getting really excited about the Northwest Connects event… in TWO WEEKS!
28 November 2009; 9.30-5pm at the Innovation Centre at IT Sligo
The event is free attend, but registration is required. Register: http://nwc09.eventbrite.com/
What is Northwest Connects?
A day long conference with talks, presentations, discussion and workshops to share expertise about starting up and running a business. Hopefully lots of business to business opportunities will arise from the event.
A collaborative effort
The schedule has 20 minute speaker slots, two discussion panels, a networking activity and special 5x5 sessions to allow people to sign up to give a brief talk on the day, BarCamp style.
This event is being organised by Open Coffee Sligo members. Many people have made a contribution to planning and coordinating this event.
Denise Rushe & Aoife Porter are taking care of marketing and PR, getting this event into the papers, and getting the word out. Denise even started a NW Connects LinkedIn group & event listing, a facebook group: Northwest Connects, and Twitter @nwconnects! She’s been busy!
Eddie Johnston did the website, Justin Knecht designed the logo (Eddie added the cool dots map in the back). I’m (Heather James) working on the layout of print materials & volunteer wrangling. Kevin Peyton has organised the group panel discussion, and he’s going to chair it. Anne Louise O’Donovan, Aidan McKenna and Feargus Callagy are helping coordinate streams, and communicating with speakers. Anne Louise has also stepped in since last week to crack the coordination whip and keep us on our toes as we enter this home stretch.
Thanks to the sponsors
The reason we can offer this event for free is because of the sponsorship by WDC/Lookwest.ie, Sligo County Enterprise Board, AIB, Infacta and our hosts, The Innovation Centre at IT Sligo.
We’re really looking forward to the event. Please tell anyone you think who might be interested.
Categories: 1
Tagged: derry, donegal, fermanagh, leitrim, mayo, roscommon, sligo
Thanks to Barry from Pure Sales for facilitating a very helpful session on “Increasing Your Sales” – I think everyone enjoyed it.
The emphasis of the discussion was around how to communicate what you do to potential customers – whether that be face to face, on the phone or via your website.
Many people find this “elevator pitch” for their business difficult to define – the thing is – it needs a lot of practice and iteration until the message is clear, easy to convey and is easily understandable to the potential customer.
Some of the things that we practised and discussed included
- Describe what you do in 100 words
- Describe 3 reasons why a customer would choose your product or service above your competitors
- What 3 questions do customers ask you all the time.
All of these questions (which the attendees had to complete themselves) provoked a lot of discussion. Some gave examples receiving good email newsletters (sharing information useful to your customers is good) and the downsides of receiving cold call enquiries (the first question of ‘how much does x cost?’ is usually bad..).
We also had some new faces including Odilon Hunt of AVA Systems, Chris Blake of FiSCA, Enda McCloskey of 21C Training and Mark Capilitan of Mark Capilitan Photography – Thanks for coming along guys!
Categories: opencoffee
Tagged: cold calls, communication, newsletters, sales
After the great tips and practical information on taxation and other finance matters presented by Anne Louise O’Donovan at the October meetup – we’re glad to have another practical session from Barry Murphy of Pure Sales.
Join us on Thurday 5th November, 11am-1pm in the Clarion Hotel.
Barry will speak about “Increasing Your Sales”, and he plans to keep it simple – it’s all about being visible in the market. What are you doing to ensure your market sees you ? How clear are you about what your target market wants ? How are you communicating with your market ?
About Barry : He has been an independent sales, marketing and business development mentor and trainer to small and micro West of Ireland businesses since 2003. Prior to ‘going it alone’, Barry was the General Manager of a French exporting agrifood business for 4 years and the Sales and Marketing Manager of an Irish indigenous manufacturing exporter for 8. He began his career with 2 years in the Marketing Dept of the then Bord Fáilte in its Dublin headquarters. He graduated with a BA in International Marketing and Languages from DCU and speaks fluent French and intermediate German.
Categories: networking · opencoffee · sligo
Heather
Kevin Peyton
Justin Knecht