We attended the Women’s Inspire Network conference in Galway a few weeks ago, and as we spoke to some of the amazing women in business, we were reminded of the challenges we can face while setting up a business. This could be in terms of finance, stepping online and a range of other issues, including the challenges we face within ourselves. If you are struggling with certain things while trying to get your business off the ground, just remember: you’re not alone.

Noreen Taylor Doyle
Co-founder of The Irish Biltong Company
Co-founder of Haynestown Meats Ltd
Twitter @DoyleNorDoyle
@irishbiltong


Noreen is a co-founder of Haynestown Meats Ltd and its sister company The Irish Biltong Company, a popular high protein snack which is available across many counties and also online. She is also a speaker and strong mother of 4 children.

“Getting a distributor was my biggest challenge. The demand was there but it was how to get somebody to distribute to that demand. Eventually, we were approached while pitching at a food fair, so that happened organically.”

Asserting yourself when first setting up a business is important. Network with people, visit conferences & fairs, and get your business’s name out there. Make sure you have easily accessible contact details – a business card with your website address & email is key. Simply searching online for a connection mightn’t be enough. Going out and getting involved is an important way to make contacts and meet people who can help you.

“With stepping online, we were concerned with “will they understand the brand? Will they engage?”, so we were very specific and did background work prior to stepping online. We used specific targeting to get to the right audience and then reached out to influencers of that audience.”

The fear of failure while spreading awareness of our business online is sometimes hard to avoid. It is crucial to plan out exactly who your target market is and to know your customer well. Do the research at the beginning and figure out the best way to aim your message at them online. Think about what they would want from your business, what would catch their attention, and why they should take an interest.

Find out more about The Irish Biltong Company on their website, www.irishbiltong.ie
Keep an eye on our social media for the next part of our series coming during the week.

We attended the Women’s Inspire Network conference in Galway 2 weeks ago, and as we spoke to some of the amazing women in business, we were reminded of the challenges we can face while setting up a business. This could be in terms of finance, stepping online and a range of other issues, including the challenges we face within ourselves. If you are struggling with certain things while trying to get your business off the ground, just remember: you’re not alone.

Lucy Hall
Creator of Social Media Planner
Co-director of Avviso Media
Co-founder of Social Day
Twitter @LucysHall


Lucy is a jargon free, straight talking social media consultant. She is also a founder of SocialDayUK – the UK’s biggest Social Media Marketing festival and a Director at Avviso Media; an agency that specialises in creating content for social media channels.

“Cash flow was a major issue for me at the beginning. It was hard to understand.”

One of the challenges that Lucy faced is a pretty common one among those who are new to business. Managing cash flow can be tough at any point of your business journey. Having your books and accounting clear, simple and up-to-date is vital so hiring a professional can be very helpful if you feel a bit lost. Keep tabs on invoices and customer payments, and separate your business finances from your personal life. Make sure you have an organised and steady system in place. Some popular cash flow management tools include Pulse, Float and Cashflow Manager.

“Also, getting processes into place. As you grow in a business, delegation can become a problem.”

Sometimes when we’ve spent a certain amount of time working on projects of our own, it can be hard to let them go and let others take some control. It’s good to think about what you have and what you can manage. Consider delegating some work in order to help develop processes and do more with the same amount of time. This will ultimately aid in a more efficient workflow of your business.

Trello, Slack and Asana are just some of the available collaboration tools out there which will make assigning tasks, sharing files and communication between co-workers much easier.

Find out more about Lucy on her website, www.lucyshall.com.
Keep an eye on our social media for the next part of our series coming next week.