Top Ten Tips for a Healthy Business by Dr. Mark Rowe

“The first wealth, is health” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Spring is the perfect time to think about new beginnings and new resolutions. This applies to personal health as much as business.  Because high performance in life relates to high performance in business the Local Enterprise Office has asked Dr. Mark Rowe of the Waterford Health Park to speak at its latest ‘Top Ten Business Tips’ networking lunch on Thursday April 16th on the topic of ‘Health in Business’.

The lunch will take place as usual at the Bistro in the Tower Hotel at 12.30 and they promise you will be back at your desk for 2pm!

Following on from the success of speakers such as Emma Jane Power of PicStash, Des Whelan of WLR fm and Louise Grubb of Q1 Scientific, Dr. Rowe’s tips are sure to be eagerly received by Waterford business people looking for an edge in business.

Dr. Mark Rowe has a background of working as a family physician based in Waterford City and is a thought leader in the emergent area of health, happiness and high performance in life.

He is a member of "leading by design", an invitation only international collaboration of leaders committed to improvements in health through a more effective design of the environment. He founded the Waterford Health Park (www.whp.ie) as a new paradigm for sustainable improvements in community health. The building was a short listed finalist for World Building of the year at the World Architecture festival awards in 2010. 

In 2013, the Waterford Health Park received the Global Health Improvement Award, "A Place to Flourish". Mark is author of ‘The Men’s Health Book- A Guide for the Irish Man’ which was published by Blackhall Publishing in 2009 with all royalties going to a Cancer Charity. He has also contributed to books on Leadership in Ireland and Healthcare Management.

Dr. Rowe has a long-standing interest in medical education, as a trainer of young family doctors with the South East G.P. Training Programme in Ireland, as Senior clinical lecturer with the University of Limerick Graduate Medical School and formerly as an ICGP examiner.

He has worked with organisations consistently over the years as an advocate for health. He is an international keynote speaker on the topics of " New Philosophy of Wellbeing ", "Health Leadership", "Generative Space" and " A Prescription for Happiness".  He also holds the position of Chairman of the Board at Garter Lane Arts Centre in Waterford City, Ireland and has recently been appointed to the inaugural Healthy Ireland Council.

The cost of this event is €8.50 and booking is essential. For more information or to register your interest please contact your Local Enterprise Office in Waterford on 051-849905 or email info@leo.waterfordcouncil.ie .   

A model business for selling on line!

There is no disputing that the future for many industries is to move to on line sales. The benefits of an expanded market, lower costs and improved technology reducing barriers to entry make on line sales an extremely attractive proposition.

Many agencies such as Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices consciously support digital marketing campaigns directed toward on line selling. It results in business growth, export growth and increased employment.

This is why the start of 2015 is a perfect time for Emma-Jane Power, co-founder of PicStash to give her ‘Top Ten Tips for selling on line’ on Thursday January 29^th. 

Following on from the success of these lunches with speakers such as Des Whelan of WLR fm, Louise Grubb of Q1 Scientific, Ronan Mulligan of Mulligan’s Pharmacies and John Noonan of Flahavans, Emma’s tips are sure to be eagerly received by Waterford businesses keen to develop their on line sales.

These ‘Top Ten lunches’ are a series of networking events on the theme of ‘My Top Ten Business Tips’ delivered by successful local business people and occurring once per month. Each lunch will outline a speakers’ views on a specific topic and take place in the Bistro in the Tower Hotel from 12.30pm to 2pm.

There is a considerable pool of business talent and experience in Waterford and the Local Enterprise Offices hopes to harness this expertise to inspire Waterford’s new and existing business communities.  

As a former model for international brands such as Nike, Riverrock Water, Escada and Paco Rabanne, Emma decided to set up her first business in her late 20's. The idea was to change how brands interact with both traditional and digital media. Making PR more affordable and relevant to brands and media in the Digital Age is a key aim of the company. “Our goal is to be the first go-to resource for any brand to get huge media exposure,” says the Waterford local.

From humble beginnings in her attic, the PicStash now employs over 13 people in Ireland and has a presence in over 7 countries worldwide. It has a list of over 40 international clients including Harvey Nichols, Littlewoods, Sony, Philips and Harvey Norman. Many indigenous companies are also represented, including Meadows & Byrne, Butlers Chocolates and Dubarry.

The cost of this event is €8.50 and booking is essential. For more information or to register your interest please contact your Local Enterprise Office in Waterford on 051-849905 or email info@leo.waterfordcouncil.ie

Enterprising students have Christmas all Wrapped Up!

A Waterford City Student Enterprise Village will take place over two days in the Granville Hotel’s function room on Thursday and Friday December 11^th and 12^th from 10am to 4.30pm.

Since the start of September, 350 transition year students from Waterford City and six Youth Bank community groups have been busy setting up small businesses and creating products to sell for Christmas. They have been assisted by their teachers and Waterford Local Enterprise Office and business mentors.

Everything from crafted cakes to Christmas candles, reflective dog leads to traditional recipe books, Christmas cards and a host of other gift ideas. This array of products will be sold from the Granville Hotel’s function room on Thursday and Friday December 11^th and 12^th from 10am to 4.30pm each day.

Schools involved include De la Salle College, Abbey Community College, Waterpark College, Presentation Secondary School, Newtown Secondary School, Mercy Secondary School and Gaelcholaiste Phortlairge.

Ciaran Cullen of the Local Enterprise Office commented on the importance of the event, “The Enterprise Office continually tries to improve and evolve its services. This event is all about the students. We learned from last year’s experience and thought one event over two days might be more productive and profitable for the students. It is so important for Waterford City students to learn how to interact with customers and sell their products in a live retail environment.”

The student, schools, youth groups and Local Enterprise Office appeal to the public to visit the Student Enterprise Village, support the work they have put into their businesses and encourage their efforts.

For more information please contact your Local Enterprise Office at 32 the Mall in Waterford City. Alternatively you can email info@leo.waterfordcouncil.ie .   

Waterford’s best young entrepreneurs win investment of €50,000

Judge Frank O' Regan, winner Lyndsey Power and Lar Power

Conor Browne, Padraig O’Scanaill and Lyndsey Power have been named as Waterford’s best young entrepreneurs, and have won an investment of €50,000 between them, as part of the €2 million Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition.

Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur is an integral part of the Action Plan for Jobs 2014 and is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through the Local Enterprise Offices.

At a function at the Medieval Museum’s Garden Room on Friday October 10th, awards were made for Waterford’s best start-up, the best new idea, and the best existing business were as follows:

Waterford’s best start-up is Padraig O’Scanaill  Padraig’s company ‘FundRecs’ develops cloud based reconciliation software for the funds industry.

Waterford’s best new idea is Conor Browne who developed a social media app called Grumble, designed to connect you with people you already know anonymously and enable you to speak honestly about things you may not necessarily say face to face.

Waterford best existing business is Lyndsey Power of the South East’s first interactive doggie day care and training centre, Inn the Doghouse.  Lyndsey is a qualified dog groomer, trainer and Canine Behaviour Consultant.

Director of Economic Development for Waterford City and County, Lar Power explained the importance of this initiative, “The aim of the Economic Development Department is to co-ordinate the City and County Council's work and interaction with communities and to support the economic development of the city and county. The IBYE initiative is important to these aims, it encourages and supports the next generation of enterprise in Waterford City and County. I’d like to congratulate all the finalists and entries and wish our three nominations the very best in the next stage of the competition.”

This initiative was created by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD to be implemented by Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices. Central to his plans for jobs and growth is supporting more businesses to start-up as two thirds of all new jobs are created by start-ups.

That is why he put in place the entrepreneurship forum and that is why he established the Local Enterprise Offices, to provide more and better Government supports to businesses in one easily-accessible place at local level.

The three judges were well known Waterford business people, David Breen, Frank O’Regan and Regina Mangan. Speaking on their behalf, David Breen outlined just how tough the judging process was, “Given the overall standard of entry, there wasn’t an easy decision on the winner in any category, each was vigorously debated amongst the judges. It was a long but thoroughly rewarding day. It was also a distinct pleasure meeting each of the finalists and we hope the winners’ progress within the national forum will make our county proud.”

The three businesses will now go through to regional finals in Cork where they will compete for the right to go through to the national finals and ultimately compete for the award of being named Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur at a ceremony on 6th December 2014.