Local Limerick Business scoops National Awards

 Elaine Sparling, Founder, Hummingbird Learning Centre (Photo: Morning Star Photography)

(l to r) Bobby Kerr, Judge, National Vodafone Start Up Awards, Elaine Sparling, Founder, Hummingbird Learning Centre, Colm O’Regan, Comedian & MC , National Vodafone Start Up Awards

Elaine Sparling, Founder, Hummingbird Learning Centre, Bobby Kerr, Judge, National Vodafone Start Up Awards, Ray Sparling, Elaine's husband

(l to r) Gaye Moore, Business Mentor and founder of The Women's Business with Elaine Sparling, Founder, Hummingbird Learning Centre (Photo: Morning Star Photography)

On the 24th of May, local entrepreneur and businesswoman Elaine Sparling, founder of Hummingbird Learning Centre scooped not one but two awards at the National Vodafone Start Up Awards in Dublin.

Please see below the press release with all the details about her win but I would just like to congratulate Elaine on winning the accolade and say well done also on Newstalk on Sunday morning last and on all the coverage today in the Limerick Leader, Limerick Post & Sunday Business Post online! 

Well done to Shauna Kennedy of Morning Star Photography on taking such great pix too which were used in the media today.


Elaine also attributes much of her success to the support of her friends and colleagues in Gaye Moore's TWB , The Women's Business Referral Network .


Great example of a small business using PR to maximise their exposure.!


Best of luck for the future Elaine and for your forthcoming Family Literacy Day planned for the 7th of July at the University of Limerick, further details to be announced soon!


Niamh 

PRESS RELEASE

Local Limerick business scoops Gold & Bronze in National Vodafone

Start Up Awards

(5^th  June 2012) Limerick business Hummingbird Learning Centre, which helps children and adults to overcome learning difficulties, has scooped two prizes in the 2012 Vodafone Start Up of the Year Awards.

Elaine Sparling, founder of the Hummingbird Learning Centre from Adare Co. Limerick, was presented with Gold in the Service Industry Category for her business and Bronze in the Social Enterprise category at the recent Awards ceremony in Dublin’s Burlington Hotel. 

The Awards are about recognising young, exciting, entrepreneurial Irish companies across all sectors of the Irish economy.

Bobby Kerr, of RTE’s Dragons Den and Awards Judge said, “The judges felt that Hummingbird Learning Centre should be awarded gold for a great system of literacy and numeracy teaching, which was unique, innovative and appealing to people. They identified a social issue and developed a strong solution and a teaching method which will change people’s lives.”

Speaking about the Awards, Elaine Sparling said, “We are thrilled that educational needs were recognised as being important through these Awards. Many people struggle with traditional learning methods because they see the world in a different way to everyone else. Through working with people to identify their individual learning style, we help overcome difficulties and turn learning into a positive experience. Often, these people are the innovators and entrepreneurs of tomorrow who will create a better future for us all.”

Based in Adare, Co Limerick, Hummingbird Learning Centre was set up in 2011. Through the Hummingbird Method developed by Elaine Sparling, the Centre specialises in helping adults and children with learning difficulties from mild spelling and maths issues to learning difficulties associated with Dyslexia, Autism, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and other conditions.

Effective learning requires certain basic skills from stress reduction to time management to name but a few. Through The Hummingbird Method these essential skills, when mastered, allow people to store and recall information easily, faster and more effectively.

In addition to offering specialised learning programmes for children, teens and adults, Hummingbird Learning Centre offers support to parents, teachers and others who are helping people to learn and grow.

A Family Literacy Day is planned by Hummingbird Learning Centre for 7^th of July at the University of Limerick, further details to be announced.

Further information will be available on www.hummingbirdlearningcentre.com or on facebook.com/hummingbirdlearningcentre and Twitter @HummingbirdLC.

Ends.

More about Elaine Sparling & The Hummingbird Method™

Elaine Sparling is originally from Derryquay, Tralee, Co. Kerry, daughter of Liam & Sheila Sayers. A Master Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner, she created the Hummingbird Method™ to help adults and children overcome the effects of various learning difficulties and disabilities. Elaine also mentors at Coder Dojo, Limerick. Further details are available on Elaine’s Linked In profile, www.linkedin.com/in/elainesparling.

Elaine is available for interviews, contact her on Tel: + 353 87 299 6054.

Effective learning requires certain basic skills that almost any child or adult can learn with proper coaching and motivation. These essential learning skills include areas such as stress reduction; focus & attention; organization; reading; spelling; handwriting; vocabulary memorization; memorization of abstract information; memorizing maths facts; telling time; goal setting and others.

Through The Hummingbird Method™ these essential skills, when mastered, allow you to store and recall information easily, faster and more effectively. Learning becomes an easy, naturally successful activity and confidence soars. 

More about the Vodafone Start Up Awards

The Vodafone Startup Awards had 15 categories in total and represented entries from young Irish Companies, Partnerships or Sole Traders trading in the Republic of Ireland, privately owned, in business for less than three years on March 1st 2012 and employing 30 staff or less. See www.startupawards.ie for a complete list of winners and further details about the Awards.

Some PR Myths Debunked

There are many myths out there about PR, often compounded by images such as those portrayed in Absolutely Fabulous, the great sitcom. I love Ab Fab, it's hilarious and brilliantly done but it's not PR in the real world. I thought I would try to dispel some of the myths surrounding PR, if anybody has any comments I would love to hear them!


1.PR is free advertising

PR is not free advertising, with advertising you pay for the space and your ad appears. With PR you are working to find an interesting angle and get your story published if it's newsworthy but it's not free in the sense that there is time involved , either your own or that of a PR professional and you will have associated costs etc such as photography.

2. No such thing as bad publicity

I dont agree with this one, I think that there is such a thing as bad publicity and that generally, businesses should avoid it where possible and have a strategy in place to deal with potential crises.

3. PR is too expensive for small businesses

It depends on what you want to do, PR can actually be very cost effective for businesses operating on a tight marketing budget. A simply executed photocall can be very effective for example with the right picture, story and timing.

4. She is 'good with people' so she's 'in PR'

It's a given that anybody in business, let alone PR needs to be good with people.  It's not just about that, there are other skills involved.

5. PR is about sipping champagne and attending functions

This is so not the case, particularly in the current climate. It's the Ab Fab image, sipping the 'bolly'. PR is most certainly not about this and in my experience, PR people are normally too busy at these functions and don't have time to drink!

6. PR is about sending out press releases

Yes, PR involves sending out press releases but it's not just about that. It's about understanding the communications process, what needs to be communicated and why and what is the best way of doing this. It may or may not be using a press release.

The challenge with PR is that it is intangible and misunderstood by many so it often gets confused with other areas of business which may be similar. PR is about reputation and managing that reputation, it's about getting the right message across about your business and what you do as simply and effectively as possible.

All organisations, large or small can benefit from having a sustained PR campaign which can help create a competitive advantage, build business and protect a business in a crisis.

"Not the end of the Story", Sunday Times Magazine, 15th April 2012

I read this article in the Sunday Times Magazine recently (15th April 2012) and it really got me thinking about a world without newspapers and what that might be like - not too nice I would say - personally I like to pick up a newspaper, flick through it etc and generally take my time over it. With the Sunday's , I read them throughout the week and magazines sit around even longer, (Ive only just got around to reading this piece now! ). It's not the same in front of a computer screen and you certainly don't linger over a lengthy feature as you might with a newspaper and a coffee, you grab the headlines and get on with the day.

'Not the end of the Story' explores what newspapers are doing to survive in the Internet Age and is by the journalist Tim Rayment, who began his career in Grimsby Telegraph. When I read it I thought I would share it with you but in tune with the article itself, it is behind a paywall so you have to subscribe to read it in full! So it seems that things are moving in this direction, Mr Rayment's concluding remark was that "the immediate future is multiplatform - on smartphones, tablets, traditional computer screens and printed paper with paywalls proliferating to try to fund the journalism."

So newspapers are not dead yet then?

Much is discussed in this article about the decline in newspaper circulation in the UK and around the world, particularly regional newspapers, and many points are made about the risk facing the industry. There is no doubt but the industry is at risk and giving news away for free online as papers have been doing has, in my view, potentially damaged many brands.

However, according to Rayment's article, papers like the Sunday Times and The Times are making more money now from subscriptions and online advertising than they were from advertising when their sites were free! What news papers seem to be doing is reinventing themselves and I believe that ultimately, this will benefit the reader in the form of better, more creative, interactive and exciting content both online and in printed papers.

Closer to home, our regional titles are being challenged as elsewhere but what I think we are seeing is a reinvention of the model with the introduction of apps, epapers and a mix of paid for digital formats and premium products helping to fund the newspapers so hopefully they will survive.

I for one hope that the newspaper is here to stay, in the same way that I hope books wont disappear, I am all for advances in technology but did I read somewhere that Long Playing records and turntables are making a comeback ......say no more...........!

A picture really does tell a story..............and can sell a story.

Members of the National Harp Orchestra, Castleconnell, Co. Limerick, 

 directed by world renowned Irish harper Janet Harbison, selected to represent Ireland at the 10^th European Youth Music Festival in Linz Austria, where over 198 Music Schools from all over Europe  performed. 

I frequently find that the importance of a good photograph (see above), and by that I mean a shot which is well thought out,  taken by a professional photographer and sent into the papers the way they want it, is often underestimated by many businesses when doing PR. As a result, they may not get the results they are looking for and wonder why. Simply taking a shot with a digital camera and sending it in in the hope that it will be published is not sufficient. It's a very competitive space with local newspapers receiving literally hundreds of photos each week (more at a national level in the dailies ) so you have to stand out to be published.

With that in mind I wanted to put down a few points on the topic which hopefully people will find useful if setting up photocalls to carry out publicity for their businesses.

- think about the shot which you want to set up, who is involved, what is the story , generally I would advise against having too many people in a photograph, try to limit to three or so

- hire your own professional PR photographer who supplies pictures to the newspapers on a regular basis and knows what they want and how to send it to them. I work with several photographers in Limerick including Kieran Clancy, Keith Wiseman & Press 22 - all brilliant and creative.There are others but the main thing is that they are press photographers.

- invite the local press also if the story is strong enough but have your own photographer there as a back up.

- where are you going to take it, inside or outside, do you need permission for a certain location etc.If outside, whats the weather and do you have a fallback if its raining. Discuss the location with your photographer as he may advise you.

- do you need a prop, if so, organise this in advance as it can take time to pull together.

- what time of day and what day of the week do you organise the photocall, this is very much dependent on when you are putting your story out, if its next day, hold early in the morning and if you are targeting weekly papers, generally Monday or Tuesday are good days. Check its not clashing with any other major event.

- write the caption for the photographer and supply him with it , names etc

The above is by no means definitive but it does provide some of the basic tips. 

I have included some more shots below which achieved good coverage at both a local and national level:

Enterprise Boards in Midwest support creation of 245 jobs through Dell European Globalisation Fund

John Twomey, Emutex and Pauric Logue, Wiseloads
Innovative online transport specialist Wiseloads teamed up with Limerick based software developer Emutex to launch a ‘one stop shop’ online delivery service for postage, parcels or pallets to any destination in Ireland, the UK and Europe. 

Marketlink hosts Open Forum on Sports Marketing at LIT

As part of the ongoing programme of activity for Limerick as European City of Sport 2011, Marketlink, the innovation and entrepreneurship programme for students at LIT, hosted its 2011 Open Forum on Sports Marketing at LIT  (5^th April 2011) attended by students and business people from the Midwest Region.

PR for the Small Business Enterprise, Mentoring Clinics by Quinn Communications in Limerick

Following on from my PR course on Effective Strategies for the Small Business for Limerick City Enterprise Board, I will be running a series of mentoring clinics for the Enterprise Board on the 5th of April at the Board's offices in the Granary, Michael Street, Limerick.

The clinics will be from 9.30am to 4.30pm and will be 50 minutes each. Booking is through the Enterprise Board by emailing assistant@limceb.ie , further info on http://www.limceb.ie/.

Some more details:

What will the Mentoring Sessions cover?

The mentoring sessions are designed to cover a specific PR objective which the participant has in mind for his / her business, whether its targeting a particular newspaper or radio station, writing a press release or organising a photocall.

Some typical areas which businesses might want to cover:

• How a good picture sells a story and how to set up a good photo that creates a story.
• Tips on writing a press release that gets results.
• Using PR to get a return for your advertising spend.
• How to create topical angles in relation to what is newsworthy about your business.
• How to build relationships within the media to maximise results.
• How to put together a PR plan for my business


I will be emailing all the participants beforehand to establish exactly what it is they want to cover in the mentoring sessions.

I will also provide email and phone access after the session to should people wish to follow up with any additional questions and I will also contact all participants two weeks after the session to see how they are progressing with their PR.

I would be delighted to have you on one of the sessions where I plan to provide practical and informative advice on how to use PR as part of the marketing mix.

There is a myth that PR is too expensive for the smaller business and I hope to dispel that myth and encourage small businesses to think creatively about how to use PR as a tool in promoting their businesses.

Places are limited to six on the day so if you are interested please book now by contacting Limerick City Enterprise Board on 061 312611 or emailing assistant@limceb.ie. Further info on http://www.limceb.ie/.

Thank you!

Niamh Quinn

PR is like car maintenance.........

Effective PR Strategies

Workshop, 15th March, Strand Hotel Limerick, 9.30am to 4.30pm, bookings assistant@limceb.ie

PR is like car maintenance – it costs time and money when you don’t seem to need it but it saves the expense and embarrassment of major breakdowns! (Public Relations, A Practical Approach by Ellen Gunning). This definition is I think very true, allocating resource to PR is an investment for the future and it can assist in times of crisis.

Also, there are many myths about PR including the most popular one, 'its free publicity' or 'there's no such thing as bad publicity' or ' PR is too expensive for small business'. PR is in fact extremely cost effective for small businesses and contrary to popular belief , it is possible to be effective at it yourself if equipped with the right tools to develop your strategy.

I hope to dispel more myths at a PR workshop which I am running for Limerick City Enterprise Board on 'Effective PR Strategies' , 15th of March, 9.30am to 4.30pm in the Strand Hotel Limerick.

We will also be covering media relations top tips, the do's and dont's when dealing with the media, tips for writing press releases, setting up photocalls and how to be effective in interviews.

If you own or run a small business in Limerick and would like to learn how to deal more effectively with the media and achieve more 'bang for your buck' then this workshop should help you!

If you are interested please email assistant@limceb.ie, places are limited so booking is essential. See http://www.limceb.ie/ for further details on the course.

Economist George Lee addresses Limerick businesses

(l to r) Gerry Moran, ODCL Financial Services, George Lee & Jim O’Donovan, Partner, O’Donovan Caulfield Lavin Chartered Accountants

George Lee, renowned Irish Economist, Journalist and Broadcaster recently spoke to a congregation of business people in Limerick on the 16th of February 2012 about the possible opportunities for growth in the current economic climate.

The breakfast meeting was held in the Strand Hotel which was attended by 100 local business. It seems that SME growth and local businesses building the domestic economy are the key to the future success of the Irish economy, according to Lee who believes "Ordinary people doing great things, that's where the future lies and that's where the passion is right now."

George Lee cited examples of the many inspirational stories he hears each week :

1. Coder Dojo, set up by an 18 year old Irish entrepreneur James Whelton to teach children to write code
2. Stripe, a hi-tech start-up which has just received investment of $100 million
3. Fragrances of Ireland, selling millions on US Shopping channel QVC.

Continued Lee,“In terms of the economy, times are difficult but there are lots of good things happening. Wage costs are down, our inflation rate remains below the European average and our competitiveness continues to improve year on year. I believe that Ireland is well positioned when the recovery comes.”

“There is also much speculation about the Euro but I believe that the Euro is safe and that from an Irish perspective, being in the Euro is a safer place to be than out. “

In relation to the Government’s plan to create 100,000 jobs by 2020, George Lee said, “I do not believe that the Government can create jobs, it can create the environment for jobs and I would urge all SMEs to demand that this environment is in place, rent, rates, access to cash and so on. Exports alone cannot deliver the jobs we need in Ireland. We need Domestic Growth and that growth will be delivered by the SME sector.”

Gerry Moran, Director, ODCL Financial Services also spoke at the breakfast meeting. He focused on small and medium sized business owners, stating the point that Financial Planning and the Financial Planning Process would be very beneficial.

Said Gerry Moran, “Lifestyle Financial Planning is all about ‘knowing your number’ i.e. how much money do you need to fund the lifestyle you have or the lifestyle that you want at some point in the future. For some people, this may mean working longer, spending less or reducing debt to achieve that number. Even in the current economic climate, having a Financial Plan and periodically reviewing that plan is essential if you are to meet your financial goals over time”.

Concluded George Lee, “We have more than what it takes to recover from this recession, but we need to develop a plan, as Gerry Moran has said. The plan should help us to address the new reality which is that maybe we cannot retire as early, or maybe we cannot do the things we want to do right now but, if we have the confidence in ourselves to get on with it, we will be just fine.”

I believe that the advice given by both Lee and Moran should be taken into account as it is highly relevant to many. To see change, we must first be the change.