LinkedIn is a wonderful tool for business if you use it correctly. If not, then it’s simply a place you accept hundreds of connections from people you’ve never met before and it’s likely you never will.

Dainty Bear turns three this May. Owner Áine McGurk takes us through the inception of her baby shoe and accessories brand - from corporate IT to designing beautiful baby items.

Laura Grant is launching her family business on 18th of March. Lovelythings.ie sells pre-loved children’s clothing and we caught up with Grant to get her insights on starting her new business.

Like it or loathe it cybersecurity is something you need to be on top of if you are running a small business. One wrong click and you can open yourself up to a whole ball of hassle at best anda financial loss at worst. But then I shouldn’t be ‘scaremongering’ you into reading further, as today’s cybersecurity expert explains, it’s nothing to fear, it’s something to become passionate about.

How many times this week have you opened the fridge or the cupboard just willing a meal to jump out at you? Even without all the challenges we are currently facing in our busy home lives if you are a busy entrepreneur one area we rarely put our energy into is a balanced diet. Nutritionist Laurann O’Reilly owns Nutrition By Laurann, a nutrition consultancy business and gives us her top tips when it comes to food prep.

Sonya Murphy-Lyons is the owner of the award-winning Mezzo Music Academy which she founded in 2011 after a career in marketing and sales. This experience certainly stood to her when last year’s initial lockdown forced her to close the ‘physical’ doors of her music school and move the entire operation online. It took resilience and persistence to make such dramatic changes, skills Sonya could call on from her lengthy career and life experiences prior to entrepreneurship.

The latest news from the network, our members and more.

As we adapt to the new normal of being further away from our customers, social media offers us a powerful solution to bring us closer and to keeping our channels of communication open - here are six tips on how you can can use social media to help your business during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Do you know what your core values are? Could you list your top 5 if you were asked? Or has the epidemic of Covid19 made you reflect on who you really are and what makes you tick?

Everyone has experienced a time when all you can see is a rough time ahead. Out of these experiences we learn the most valuable lessons. And, out of these lessons ideas.

Tips for how to make the most of your WIN membership

Becoming a powerful communicator empowers your marketing.

Looking for gifts of self-care this season? Tune in to the great gift that we already give ourselves about 25,000 times a day. Learn 3 key elements to enhancing this gift and how you can reduce stress, increase productivity and your mood.

5 Ways that Sole Traders can minimise their Income Tax Liability

Lots of people ask me how to use Twitter lists so here's how I use them and why they are useful

If you're not growing then your dying. As you begin to thrive you ignite an energy right at the centre of your being that expands into the space around you. This is your growing edge. When you expand into this space you begin to experience all of the MAGIC of life.

We asked our members to tell us honestly the realities behind the scenes of being a Female Entrepreneur - Suggested solutions by Samantha Kelly.

People have been asking me why Women 's Inspire Network is so special .....well here are the reasons why...

VAT..The letters than can strike the fear of God into business owners. Value Added Tax, a complex subject. I will endeavour to simplify the if, when and how of registering your business for VAT.

Have you struggled with attracting a steady stream of clients with social media? Or maybe you’ve heard that LinkedIn is useful for lead generation, but you haven’t had much success with it. You are not alone. This is a problem faced by many people and businesses. There are a few things you can do quickly and easily to start to attract more leads and clients on LinkedIn.

Yay! You've started a Business. First of all, well done! It takes courage to take the leap. It ain't gonna be easy ...bit of a Roller Coaster actually....but it's sooooo worth it!

Do you want to be paid on time for all of your hard work? Do you want a set of guidelines to assist you when things go wrong with a customer? Do you want clarity for you and your customers as to what service you are providing and under what conditions?

I have watched in the dedicated Women’s Inspire Facebook forum the growth of businesses and women overcoming all sorts of issues and problems. The problems have ranged from unsupportive partners to problem with suppliers. With well over 6,000 women and a few men in the group now, you can draw from a huge wealth of experience and knowledge.

The diversity of human beings and the importance of self-knowing

This blog is an introduction to perimenopause and menopause and why self-care and education are crucial during this stage of our lives. This is the first blog of a number that will look at specific issues in menopause including sleep, exercise, mental health, HRT, heart health, bone health, brain health etc. The focus is to help empower women through information and support so that they can be proactive in optimising their health and wellbeing both for their personal life and their work life.

Sunday Morning Cure 'No More Hangxiety" is the latest book from reporter Angela Doyle Stuart and Therapist Karen Whelan and is in collaboration with Social Anxiety Ireland.

Discover six points to consider when creating your next PowerPoint to enhance your online presence.

Do these five things to maximize your panel presentation and keep your audience engaged.

How the forgotten hit of 90’s inspired headpieces is getting popular in wedding fashion? Time for us to tell you about a brand-new wedding designs, modern 90’s and vintage inspired wedding headpieces that we think you will want to know about, especially if you are looking for a bridal inspirations and original hair accessories you want to wear on your Big Day. So how do you decorate natural waves, loose hairstyles and loose braids this season to stand out from the crowd? Here they are - a bit forgotten, unjustly associated with the times of elementary school - headbands.

Serving customers is an easy task some may think. Serving a customer well is a challenging one. This document is written for pharmacies but could be used by anyone who serves the public in any role.

All wrapped up with our Top 10 Best Moments in 2020! Take a look!

Todays Blog is to share just three of the many tips, that can help you on your self love journey. Whitney Houston even sang about the greatest love of all a song written way back in 1977 !

My historical crime novels, The Abandoned (2018) and The Healer (2019) were kindle best-sellers and The Quiet Truth is launching now December 2020 and The Murdering Wives Club is set to be released in January 2021. Find The Quiet Truth my latest novel here – http://geni.us/TheQuietTruth

The pandemic has shown us how important online is for businesses. Online sales have increased as have users of social media. So what works? What is it that people want right now? Here are some tips to help you

The almost lost art of good listening is one of the cornerstones of good personal and business relationships. Maybe you 'll use it as a refresher. With so much going on all around we can loose sight of the wood with all those. Here's 5 straightforward tips on how to improve your communication.

Here's a little intro to what Shopify is, I hope you find it useful.

Expert travel planner, who helps tailor and book your perfect holiday ensuring that you have a stress free holiday and lasting holiday memories.

Now is a time for Deep Listening. If there was ever a time to STOP, a time to take notice of what is really going on for ourselves and in the world at large, it is NOW!. A time to reflect and take the opportunity to go inward and tune into ourselves to see how best we can move forward. Ironically, to retreat is often the best way to move forward in this life full of paradoxes!. I have a gift of a beautiful healing relaxation to help you with this, from my heart to yours.

As a parent and a business owner who is passionate about children's clothing, I want to share why I love handknits and handmade items. I feel privileged whenever a handmade item comes into stock and pass it on with joy and love to become a treasured possession for its new owner.

What it means to be a member, what I've learned, how this uniquely supportive community has helped me in business, and make friends with like-minded women.

A time of transition is never easy, and it can cause us to lose our focus. When life is challenging we need a symbol that signposts our way, to help us successfully navigate a major change. Author and Transformational Coach Val Mullally shares about her beloved ‘travel companion’ who powerfully reminds her of who she is called to be.

One of the perks of working from home is having no commute. But commuting has its benefits. It helps make the separation between work and home. Read on to learn about the benefit of creating a "Commute" while Working from Home.

Mentoring plays a vital role in so many journeys, but whilst 75% of professionals want a mentor, just over half that have one. Mantra Strategy explores the importance of mentoring from a personal perspective.

Helpful list of ways of coping, when everything seems to be getting too much.

Quick read - Motivation is one of the keys to success. Here's a handy list.

Here are a few suggestions to add into your daily meal planning to power up your energy and feeling fabulous so you can go out and conquer the world like you know you can!

4 Tips to help you improve your mobile phone photos.

It's an unprecedented time for leaders and employees. No one has really encountered the current crisis before in their careers and we are all feeling our way through. It's important that leaders know how to support their teams right now.

Here is how I filter out noise and operate more effectively as a business owner.

Do you have a book in you that you would love to publish but have no clue how to make this happen? Are stumbling blocks and information overload slowing you down? I am an author now turned publisher, and I can help you plan, proof, edit and perfect your book in a stress-free way. Here is my workaround!

An overview of the job interview process and common mistakes interviewers make with it. Did you know that asking "Are you married?" or "Do you have children?" in an interview could land you in trouble in Ireland? Have you ever offered someone a job during an interview or compared candidates to each other? If yes then this post is for you my friend. Read on....

Whether you are only starting out or have started writing and are in need of a creative nudge to Motivation Station, Tamara's 6 steps to blogging success will help you as you carve out your content development journey.

What do you do when someone breaks your heart? Do you cry and spend time obsessing over him? How about dusting yourself off and taking responsibility for your actions? How about reclaiming your power? If you don't want to spend time crying over someone who doesn't deserve your tears then this is the article for you.

In the current modern world of work, the requirement for managers of teams to increase their coaching skills and adapt their leadership styles have never been more important. Especially where we have multiple generations working together and teams being more often remote, being able to build and sustain high trust environments is a top skill. Having a growth mindset will support managers and leadership to adapt to the continuously changing circumstance they are functioning within.

How to keep going even when you don't feel like it! It's really important to take time out from running your business. But what if you can't? What if there are bills to pay and you need to get business in. Sometimes this is the reality of the small business owner.

Here are a few tips about essential oil usage to take the guess work out of natural solutions.

When considering stepping into the world of self-employment and running your own business, there is so much to consider. From “being scared to get started” to acknowledging that “it’s OK not to be perfect”, here are 5 things I wish I had known before getting started.

Do you ever feel like you're going to be "found out"? That your clients will realise that you're not really any good and won't want to work with you? You could be suffering from imposter syndrome, a psychological concept that affects 70% of people at some stage in their life.

The title of this blog sums up my reason for founding the SMBN - it is with great conviction that I speak to help raise awareness of the issues surrounding us to do my bit to minimise difficulty for others.

After the death of my son, my life changed. My world turned upside down.

We all know that SEO can be a bit of a dark art, what with search engine algorithms changing regularly, the millions being spend on paid search results and so on. That said, there are some basic steps that all website owners can take to ensure their site is optimised for search engines, to increase the chances of a visitor landing on their site. The first of these is keywords and this is what I will cover in this blogpost.

Some tips for remaining motivated as an entrepreneur, using the three universal psychological needs.

Bet you’ve never heard of “food jagging” before? Well, if you have a fussy or picky eater, you are more than likely to have experienced it. Food jagging is when a child has a very limited diet.

Taking your brand to the next level with professional photographs that tell the story of your brand.

Since joining the Women's Inspire Network it has helped me on my journey through business and here are the top 5 things I have learned along the way!

Signs that you're ready to start delegating work to a Virtual Assistant

Use just 3 healing crystals to open up your heart chakra and invite love in.

A short article with tips to help you make 2019 your most productive year yet!

Get strong! The one question you need to ask yourself....

Coworking has been growing steadily over the last decade because many people now recognise the benefits to working in this type of environment. Demand for shared office space and meeting room space in Newry has risen so much that we’ve opened two more coworking sites here since our original coworking space in St Colmans Park opened its doors back in 2012. We now have shared office spaces in Abbey Yard and Margaret Street in the city as well, and other providers have followed suit as well – outside of Belfast, coworking enthusiasts in the city of Newry are leading the way in coworking!

2018 really was the year of content marketing and video creation. That trend is only set to grow in 2019 but what else is happening in the marketing world that we should be aware of? In no particular order, here are the top 10 marketing trends that I have observed for 2019:

Decluttering is the first of my happy habits, so start 2019 by getting rid of the things that no longer serve you.

My name is Sharon Thompson and my second crime novel ‘The Healer’ is out on January 22nd 2019. My debut crime novel 'The Abandoned' launched as a number 1 Best-seller in January 2018. I've learned a great deal by starting to write and getting published with a leading digital publisher. Listen, learn and let yourself write is important. Build your writing life with these tips and more on my online writing group www.Indulgeinwriting.com

How to learn to be more self-confident

Do YOU get the fear factor when you hear you’ve been called for a Competency based Interview? It puts the shivers up and down most candidates’ spines. Here is a summary of how I take the fear factor out of the equation resulting in an outstanding interview performance.

When was the last time you disconnected from your business 100%? When was the last time you switched your phone off or left it at home?

The challenge is to understand what you should be saying, to who you should be talking to, how should you say it and how and where to deliver your message. For that, you first need to start listening to your target audience and communicating in a language and style that they do, saying what they want to hear – not what you want to say! If you don’t do this right, all the content and marketing in the world won’t help you.

How to transform your perceived enemy into your best friend. Through love, forgiveness, and gratitude you can heal any relationship, even your relationship with food, your home – whatever your struggling with in your life. Heal the anger or hurt your holding onto. Open to the energy of your compassionate heart and feel unconditional love through forgiveness.

A Case study of a GP Practice

When was the last time you felt 100%? Are you fed up of feeling tired all the time? The stresses and pressures of modern life have left many of us feeling exhausted, overwhelmed and with little time or energy to take care of ourselves. Now our bodies are beginning to pay the price. Sure, that chocolate bar or cappuccino might make you feel great for, ooh about five minutes, but after that quick high wears off, you’ll crash and burn and feel even more drained. So what’s the secret to long lasting energy and keeping sluggishness at bay? Simply follow my 7 fatigue fighters to put a spring back into your step.

Trade marks, logo & designs,, copyright, infringement issues and all other intellectual property areas.

Are you an entrepreneur? How many hats do you wear in a day? Work-life balance – a popular topic amongst entrepreneurs that can be incredibly difficult to accomplish. But self-care for entrepreneurs seems impossible when you wake up early after spending hours and hours in front of the computer the day before. You drink too much coffee, forget about eating healthy and haven’t worked out in while…sound familiar?

It's International Yoga Day this Thursday 21st June. Living with anxiety can seriously contract your universe. You may find basic social activities in life can suddenly become a big ordeal. Learning to live with anxiety is an option, learning ways to transform it is the key to getting your life back. Make a choice today to create a positive shift and change your state of anxiety to a place of calm.

Many congratulations first off!! What a super exciting time for you both! Family and friends will be over the moon for you and want to mark the occasion no doubt or meet up with you to celebrate. Make sure to enjoy these precious moments informing people of your news and beaming from ear to ear – it’s a fantastic feeling isn’t it?!?!

Remote working, and why we should take advantage of it!

Empowerment comes via responsibility. By taking ownership and being fully accountable in our lives, can we be, do and achieve anything our heart desires.

This is a fast paced digital world we live in. Perhaps we should bring it back to basics by taking a queue from our favourite MadMen Ad exec. Don Draper says “Advertising is based on one thing: Happiness."

Maybe you took time out from your career to raise a family or care for an elderly parent. Maybe you wanted to travel, or for whatever reason were unable to commit to a full time position. It can be a daunting prospect returning to the workplace after an extended career break, but according to Anne-Marie Taylor of Career Returners, companies are starting to turn to those who have taken time out to fill vital talent gaps. She speaks to The Daily Slog about how to rebuild your confidence and sharpen your skills to get back out there.

I have a little caravan on a private beach on the edge of a farm. My family have been fortunate and privileged to have been using this spot for over 75 years. It is my soul place. It’s where I go to completely unwind and get away from the stresses of life, television, wifi, housework, weeds….. I am sure you get where I am coming from.

The more I talk to business owners the more I realise that most of them, regardless of industry sector, are working in the dark when it comes to pricing their product or particularly their service. They seem to adopt a finger in the air and hope for the best approach, or they price themselves just a little bit lower than their nearest competitor in the hopes of attracting business. Well, there is a good chance that that competitor is just as clueless about pricing as they are! There has to be a better way..for me I believe it’s all about pricing based on value delivered, but that value must be demonstrated to the potential customer, don’t assume that they understand everything that you are delivering.

The AIDA model is very simple and extremely effective when you understand it. In this post, we are going to walk you through the funnel and show you how to apply it to your sales and marketing efforts. At the end of this article, you will know how to generate better leads, how to build and nurture relationships, and how to accompany those leads all the way to purchase.

Many people say that they struggle with confidence and would love to believe in themselves more and as a result, they stop themselves from following their dreams because they are afraid to fail. In this simple how to article you will learn that it is possible to take charge of your own life and improve your own self-confidence.

Being self-employed isn’t so much a job as a way of life, chances are you’ll be doing the work that you love but is it all a bed of roses and does it really bring continuity family life? Working for yourself clearly depends on your profession, your situation (where you’re based relative to home, family, friends support network, ages of children, are you juggling childcare in the school holidays), in fact there’s a whole host of things it can depend on!

Helena Gilhooly and Jacinta Dempsey have been selected for the inaugural Women's Inspire Network Marie Collins Award!

Here’s a few things I recommend to have in place before you get started with PR, as you know, it’s so much easier to be as prepared as possible right?

Check out these 10 reasons why you should come to our clinic regarding osteoporosis.

How the Tweetinggoddess worked her magic on my confidence and bank balance.

We are confronted by these on a monthly basis hopefully, yet which ones would you pursue?

Hi, my name is Catherine, and I'm writing this blog post to explain to you, the reader, the Top Five Reasons Businesses need to become Video Savvy in 2018.

Auckland is the gateway to the North Island of New Zealand. It is surrounded by water and the Hauraki. The Hauraki Gulf is dotted with Islands and if you fly in on a clear day the view of this part of our beautiful New Zealand is stunningly gorgeous. So let me tell you how to find it. Grab your OBR MERINO travel wrap and come with me.

Social media is not just a marketing tool. It's a great way to build relationships with your customers and peers. Here are some tips to make sure you are using it correctly, how to deal with negativity and how to always have something to say.

You’ve probably seen a lot of acronyms, abbreviations and random words that might be going over your head. I’m here to take away the mystery from a few.

My Biggest Lesson was when I had the Hardest Knock! For one of my first speach contests, I developed and delivered my speech, even tried it out in front of my unsuspecting family -it got the Thumbs up!! Most speech contests had a maxmimum time of 7 minutes and my speech came in at 6:45. However, I found out that this particular contest had a maximum time of just 5 minutes!! I found out this vital detail, a day before the contest.

This month brings the anniversary of my first year in the business. I should have been celebrating this fantastic milestone but the month started with me feeling deflated and finding it hard to get time to work, and to motivate myself when I was working. I half wanted to just let the occasion pass me by, and then I thought back to all the amazing experiences last year and the valuable lessons learnt.

Six Myths of Solicitors

Preparing for tomorrow helps you bring a much better long term future both personally and professionally. Find out how.

Simple steps that everyone can apply to take care of their skin in winter.

Are you work ready for 2018? Here are 7 points to help you.

Taking Control Of the Triggers that are Fuelling Your Dreams

How I found out about the amazing products ASEA has to offer and how it helped my husband.

A little write up about my dream jobs and what I have learned along the way. I'm a professional Equine and Animal Portrait Artist...this is how I got there.

Let me introduce you to my website www.carrieonlife.ie . Carrie on life is a lifestyle blog trying to capture how life is for women at the mid-section of their lives. Its a website for women to share, share their passions, their thoughts and their experiences.

I ask do you wake up in the morning full of excitement and enthusiasm about your day or do you dread going to work? If your job is sapping the life out of you then its time to re-assess your life and your work.

I thought you might want to share in some of the great takeaways and ideas I noted during the morning sessions from four of my favourite sessions at the Women's Inspire Network Annual Event in Dublin on 10th October 2017. I’m still buzzing from all the energy and ideas!

The latest Women’s Inspire Network event took place on Tuesday 10th October at the Radisson Blu Hotel at Dublin Airport. Over 200 women (and a few brave men) arrived to listen to over 20 wonderful speakers and enjoy some networking over tea, coffee and lunch. There was even a chance to buy some gifts and talk to experts in their fields, and a few lucky ladies got therapy treatments including reflexology and hand massage. Here are some of the main takeaways at #WIN17Dublin from people who were there…

15 years ago when I discovered New Zealand merino it was like magic. For the first time in my life I could wear wool next to my skin. No itching! For years I have been in the fashion industry and have travelled the world extensively. (We have to travel so far to see the world from New Zealand!) So now I have put 1+1 together. NZ MERINO WOOL + TRAVEL= MERINO TRAVEL WRAPS.....with style.

Some good things come to end, it is just something you can't help. When one door closes another opens. Being open to changes, accepting some things are out of your hands and learning from them are vital in order to be flexible with your business.

What does it mean to really own our life story? In a nutshell we are finding out what makes us take the actions we take every day. What makes us do the rituals we do daily? Why do we get up before the kids to get organised? Or why do we leave it to the last minute and feel behind for the rest of the day?

A startling number of Gen X professionals shy away from Social Media when they find themselves searching for a job. If this sounds like you, hold my hand, look me in the eye, and repeat after me: "It doesn't have to be that hard." Here are a few pointers to help shake the Social Media heebie-jeebies and get you started.

If you are using a different language or dialect to your tribe, how will they fully understand what you can do for them, when, where and more importantly why they should pick you? Finding the words that connect you and your tribe makes creating content for Facebook a breeze.

What is an SSL Certificate and Why Does Your Business Website Need One? In 2017 all business websites should have an SSL Certificate. Understand More Here.

You have noticed yourself ”borrowing from Peter to pay Paul”; stealing precious hours from your evenings and weekends to finish all these work-related items, trying desperately to keep up while failing to stay ahead. You wind up telling your kids they will just have to wait to spend time with you, only to wind up cancelling on them over and over again. If this sounds familiar, read on to find the solution.

I'm stressed... It's not uncommon to hear people say that on a daily basis dealing with day to day life troubles.. but could this excess stress be affecting our health and we're not aware of it?