Are you thinking about starting up your own business? Want to know ‘how to’ get everything up and running? Or maybe you have launched your first business but are not sure ‘how to’ take it to the next level?

The All About Business panel of SME contributors and advisors have written a number of ‘how to’ articles which will point you in the right direction!

Here is our top ten “how to” articles from the starting up toolkit but there are many more articles on the site which you can check out here:

Starting up toolkit:

1. How to make the leap from employee to entrepreneur by Liz Barron Read article
2. How to start a business in Ireland – just what does it take? By David Quaid Read article
3. How to write a business plan by Alan Gleeson Read article
4. How to create the ‘perfect pitch’ by Johnny Beirne Read article
5. How to find the right type of customer for your business by Anthony Byrne Read article
6. How to price your product by Gerard Tannam Read article
7. How to make the right first impression by Veronica Canning Read article
8. How to manage your time effectively in three easy steps Liz Barron Read article
9. How to Overcome Your Fear of Marketing by Gillan Horan Read article
10. How to build (and manage!) and loyal customer base by Jenny Taaffe Read article

Let us know what you think of the articles above and which were the most useful for you and why? And if you’d like to see another ‘How to’ article on the site, just leave the title of your proposed article in the comment box below!

Innovative and attention grabbing, guerrilla marketing can make a big difference to your business.

The term was coined by Jay Conrad Levinson with SMEs in mind and is defined as an unconventional method of promotion that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing spend.

Typically, guerrilla marketing campaigns are unexpected and unconventional; potentially interactive; and consumers are targeted in unexpected places. The objective of guerrilla marketing is to create a unique, engaging and thought-provoking concept to generate buzz, and consequently turn viral. …

They say that you can tell a lot about a society by its advertising. If this is true, Irish society has shifted in the past twelve months as ‘staying in’ is becoming the new ‘going out’. You may have seen brands capitalise on this with changes in their messaging such as the new Smirnoff ‘Dress up and Stay in’ ads.

TV stations are also updating their programming with new shows such as RTÉ’s ‘Take on the takeaway’. This new show features celebrity chefs such as Kevin Dundon compete against the contestants’ take-aways to try to beat them in the area of price, speed of delivery and taste.

As consumers demand better value on their weekly shop, they are turning to review websites and forums to find out where to shop and what products to buy. One website that is catering for this effectively is CheapEats – a blog about eating well in Ireland while getting value for money.

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