Webstrong Ltd

We’re always looking for new opportunities to meet other people in business. In the past, networking has been a key factor in winning new business and meeting people who can help us. So when we heard about the new networking and collaborative program aimed solely at businesses in the creative sectors, we jumped at the chance to join them.

Creative D is organised by the Dublin City Enterprise Boards and aims to bring businesses in sectors like Advertising, Architecture, Crafts , Cultural Tourism – Festivals and Events, Culinary Arts, Tours , Design , Designer Fashion , Digital Media, Film, Video and Photography, Publishing , Software Applications, Computer Games and Electronic Publishing, Television and Radio, The Arts – Music, Visual, Literary and Performing Arts together in a way to offer help, collaboration, advice, training and networking.

So far there have been two events. The first was held in The Digital Exchange and included a keynote speech from Chris Horn – a strong voice for innovation in Ireland who’s currently working alongside The Government on their Innovation Taskforce. Damini Kumar – the European Ambassador for Creativity and Innovation spoke passionately about the need for innovation in Ireland as a means to rescue the country from it’s economic woes.

The second event was held last week at the new Wood Quay Venue in Dublin City Council offices. Entitled Meet Your Future Financier, it included senior reps from Bank of Ireland, AIB, Ulster Bank, BES, Enterprise Ireland, and the local enterprise boards. Keynote on the day was given by Paddy Dunning, who’s entrepreneurial ventures include The Temple Bar Music Centre, Grouse Lodge Studios, and more recently The Wax Museum Plus.

I’ve got some notes on this event that I’ll try and share later in the week. But overall it was an inspiring and hugely optimistic event, with all of the lenders on the panel stressing that there is money there, and that funding is available.

Here’s a couple of videos produced by Regenerate Media, filmed at the event in The Digital Exchange.

Every day people like you waste hours of the day doing stuff that’s unnecessary and unplanned. You’re wasting your time doing things that don’t matter.

You probably work 9-5 and find ways to fill the day just so you can go home at the end of it and tell everyone you were really busy.

But what did you get done? What did you do that day that actually brought you closer to what you want? Could you have done it in less time? Could you have been more focused on the important stuff and gone home early instead?

We’ve had the same problem here at Webstrong, working on stuff that doesn’t pay, doing jobs that don’t help us reach our goals, while all the while making us busier then we’ve ever been before.

It had to stop. We had to find an easier way.

Having recognised this, we’re now finding ways to cut through the bullshit, get more done, and make ourselves a lot less busy, doing the more important work first. The stuff that’s enjoyable to work on and the stuff that pays. But we’ve had to go through a very tough time before we got there. A few months ago, we nearly went bust. Not from a lack of work, but from a lack of cash. In this post, my first in a long while, I’ll try to explain how it happened, and what we did to fix it.

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