Meeting with Enterprise Board: What to wear?

random.stranger

Hi,
I have a meeting coming up with my local Enterprise Board. I was wondering how to dress appropriately?

I was thinking of wearing jeans & a shirt. Would that come across as too casual? Should I wear slacks instead?

Advice appreciated!

keefg

It's a business meeting....wear a suit.

Pretty obvious really.

Bandara

keefg wrote: »

It's a business meeting....wear a suit.

Pretty obvious really.

+1

You wear what you would normally wear to the biggest business meeting of your life. If necessary you buy a new suit.

Jeans and a shirt to a business meeting of this magnitude would suggest 1) cowboy or 2) "this doesn't mean a lot to me"

Wear a beautiful suit and some great shoes and make sure you are colour co-ordinated otherwise it can distract people from what you're about.

I don't know about you but whenever I see a guy wearing slacks with white socks and black shoes - I think "Total Idiot"

TheWaterboy

I would agree with wearing a suit or even slacks, shirt and sports coat. First impressions last.

If you ever watch the UK version of Dragons Den, Peter Jones comments most of the time on what the people making pitches wear. If they are not dressed appropriately he immediately switches off. His opinion is if they are wanting an investment from him, they should show him some respect and make an effort with their appearance.

bigbadben

Deleted User wrote: »

Jeans and a shirt to a business meeting of this magnitude would suggest 1) cowboy or 2) "this doesn't mean a lot to me"

Wear a beautiful suit and some great shoes and make sure you are colour co-ordinated otherwise it can distract people from what you're about.

I don't know about you but whenever I see a guy wearing slacks with white socks and black shoes - I think "Total Idiot"

The colour co-ordination is a very good point. I read a study recently on apperance at job interviews. The nuts and bolts of it was that well presented,slightly less qualified people were getting second interviews more frequently then their badly dressed,more qualified peers.

I'll try and find the link and post it here.

drunkmonkey

Wear a dress, they seem to be all about Women in Business, men can go jump if my experience is anything to go by, utterly disgusted by their carry on.

drunkmonkey

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Wear a dress, they seem to be all about Women in Business, men can go jump if my experience is anything to go by, utterly disgusted by their carry on.

Oh you gotta fill me in on this one.

sengann

Depends a bit on your industry, but just because it's "a business meeting" does not necessarily mean you need to wear a suit. If you're looking for money off these guys, then wear a suit. If you're not looking for money, wear something that you're comfortable in.

Osgoodisgood

random.stranger wrote: »

Hi,
I have a meeting coming up with my local Enterprise Board. I was wondering how to dress appropriately?

I was thinking of wearing jeans & a shirt. Would that come across as too casual? Should I wear slacks instead?

Advice appreciated!

When you make your first billion the jeans idea will look quirky and interesting. Until then it just looks sloppy and disrespectful.

He/She/They will be wearing suits. You should too. And nothing funky. Dark blue or grey with a new white shirt and nice matching (non-funky) tie. Most important, clean your shoes really well and wear socks that are darker than the suit.

Enterprise Ireland are quite rightly as interested in the person as they are the idea. How you dress and how you impress are crucial.

Good luck with your meeting. I hope it's a success.

fmcc

Enterprise Ireland = Suit. county enterprise = smart casual or suit. Some of the guys in my local board don't wear suits and are more interested in the pitch also depends on the sector an IT guy in suit looks unusal an it guy in a "doom" t shirt to me means he probably knows what hes talking about in IT anyway.

VO

In any initial meeting the first thing you are selling is yourself so presentation is a priority. Definitely wear a suit & tie and spend the first couple of minutes "selling" yourself. Also wearing a suit a tie will make you feel confident and give you the confidence to really pitch your idea.

kavoweb

as long as you dont arrive in to interview in full DR FRANKENFURTER mode,you should walk it

greener&leaner

VO wrote: »

In any initial meeting the first thing you are selling is yourself so presentation is a priority. Definitely wear a suit & tie and spend the first couple of minutes "selling" yourself. Also wearing a suit a tie will make you feel confident and give you the confidence to really pitch your idea.

If a suit makes you comfortable wear one.

I always find that a suit makes me feel like I'm a child playing dress up. I don't know why, it just does. I find suit jackets particularly uncomfortable. In addition because I was in engineering, the people I was meeting/interviewing with were quite casual. Suits emphasized the them vs me divide. In the last year I've taken to wearing a plain black skirt and black jumper, or a plain black skirt with a blouse.

I usually dress up quite a bit for work so I feel like I'm wearing normal clothes and I'm at ease. As a result I perform better.

I would wear the most formal thing that doesn't throw you off your game.

random.stranger

Thanks everyone for your input, it's very much appreciated. I'm going to wear a suit, as just about everyone suggested.

fmcc- I thought the same way as you, but I'll have to go with the overwhelming majority on this one.

greener&leaner- I feel the exact same way about wearing a suit, it must be an engineering thing.

suey71

This might seem silly, but what happens if a person is called back for a second interview. Should they where the same suit?
I've only ever worn a suit once in my life, and that was for my wedding, and that was a rental.
How much does a suit cost these days anyway.

Again, sorry if this post sounded silly, but I'm a jeans and t shirt kinda guy.

But I must admit. I did look good in the suit:D.

Best of look Random.

keefg

suey71 wrote: »

This might seem silly, but what happens if a person is called back for a second interview. Should they where the same suit?
.

Just wear a different colour shirt & tie combo and no one will notice.

suey71

Thanks Keefg.
I shoulda thought of that.

Shirts and ties, have to get use to those.:rolleyes:.

random.stranger

suey71 wrote: »

This might seem silly, but what happens if a person is called back for a second interview. Should they where the same suit?
I've only ever worn a suit once in my life, and that was for my wedding, and that was a rental.
How much does a suit cost these days anyway.

Again, sorry if this post sounded silly, but I'm a jeans and t shirt kinda guy.

But I must admit. I did look good in the suit:D.

Best of look Random.

Thanks suey, best of luck with your second interview.

suey71

Hi random.

I wish.

I haven't finished the business plan yet.
I was just curious thats all.

LK1

random.stranger wrote: »

Hi,
I have a meeting coming up with my local Enterprise Board. I was wondering how to dress appropriately?

I was thinking of wearing jeans & a shirt. Would that come across as too casual? Should I wear slacks instead?

Advice appreciated!

Hi

Suit and tie not really necessary.Just smart like you would meet a potential customer. I work with a Board. We deal with businesses of under 10 employees its very seldom we meet the high flying executives. Just your normal Joe Soaps trying to set up a business and other hardworking small business owners. Just be honest in your meeting.Find out about mentoring and training as well as finance.It can be of huge help if you dont get the latter.The grants are limited simply due to resources(and demand).Look at the eligibility criteria on the relevant Boards site.
Good luck

random.stranger

Thanks for posting LK1, nice to get input from somebody in an enterprise board.

kitesurfingbum

The enterprise board are interested in the Business plan, you can ware what you like but if the plan is no good they will not support it.
I have received two grants from the local enterprise board.

simple advice,
keep the business plan short (10 pages max)
Have a good executive summary, (less than one page)
Have a good conclusion, backed by realistic P&L and Cashflow.

Interview
Its about the person, (A suit gives off the right impression)
BUT
you have to convince the Enterprise board you can follow the business Plan,
And that you are worth investing in.

If you need any help, PM me or you contact me on 087 9873645

Sonnenblumen

Not wishing to hijack here but you would think all CEBs would have all relevant guides to download from site eg preparing a bus plan, a marketing plan etc etc?

The financial supports are miniscule and very cumbersome to obtain.

It will be good to see all these CEBs merged with other State support orgs, just too many inefficiencies, duplication and red tape. I cannot help thinking that most of these State orgs are self serving, eg % of annual budget spent on staff salaries and related expenses accounts for a huge proportion of annual allocation?

Why does it cost so much to spend so little?

Presentation is straightforward and would not be overly concerned, smart casual more than adequate, its 'what's upstairs' that counts! Don't be afraid to ask straight questions or be assertive, you'd be wise to find out the calibre of 'your advisor/mentor', so ask about previous experience etc etc.

Short well presented bus plans + good summary also very useful. Strategy much more important than forecasting, IMO too many spend too much effort on 'crystal ball aspects'. Coherent competitive analysis (good market knowledge primary as wqell as secondary info/resoirces) and detailed strategy much more relevant. Good luck anyways.

random.stranger

kitesurfingbum wrote: »

The enterprise board are interested in the Business plan, you can ware what you like but if the plan is no good they will not support it.
I have received two grants from the local enterprise board.

simple advice,
keep the business plan short (10 pages max)
Have a good executive summary, (less than one page)
Have a good conclusion, backed by realistic P&L and Cashflow.

Interview
Its about the person, (A suit gives off the right impression)
BUT
you have to convince the Enterprise board you can follow the business Plan,
And that you are worth investing in.

If you need any help, PM me or you contact me on 087 9873645

Thanks very much for the advice Kitesurf.
Very kind of you to offer help, when I get to the Business Plan stage I would be delighted to take you up on your offer.

random.stranger

Interesting post Sonnenblumen, are there any practical books you can suggest on strategy?

patftrears

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Not wishing to hijack here but you would think all CEBs would have all relevant guides to download from site eg preparing a bus plan, a marketing plan etc etc?

The financial supports are miniscule and very cumbersome to obtain.

It will be good to see all these CEBs merged with other State support orgs, just too many inefficiencies, duplication and red tape. I cannot help thinking that most of these State orgs are self serving, eg % of annual budget spent on staff salaries and related expenses accounts for a huge proportion of annual allocation?

Why does it cost so much to spend so little?

Presentation is straightforward and would not be overly concerned, smart casual more than adequate, its 'what's upstairs' that counts! Don't be afraid to ask straight questions or be assertive, you'd be wise to find out the calibre of 'your advisor/mentor', so ask about previous experience etc etc.

Short well presented bus plans + good summary also very useful. Strategy much more important than forecasting, IMO too many spend too much effort on 'crystal ball aspects'. Coherent competitive analysis (good market knowledge primary as wqell as secondary info/resoirces) and detailed strategy much more relevant. Good luck anyways.

Forecasting is everything, just most people don't know how to do it.

Forecasting pulls everything together, market research (need, size competitors,trends) your company (solution, marketing, sales, finance).
Get that all right and you can do an accurate forecast.

Rujib1

LK1 wrote: »

Hi

Suit and tie not really necessary.Just smart like you would meet a potential customer. I work with a Board. We deal with businesses of under 10 employees its very seldom we meet the high flying executives. Just your normal Joe Soaps trying to set up a business and other hardworking small business owners. Just be honest in your meeting.Find out about mentoring and training as well as finance.It can be of huge help if you dont get the latter.The grants are limited simply due to resources(and demand).Look at the eligibility criteria on the relevant Boards site.
Good luck

Great suit offers in Lidl this week

R1

Sonnenblumen

patftrears wrote: »

Forecasting is everything, just most people don't know how to do it.

Forecasting pulls everything together, market research (need, size competitors,trends) your company (solution, marketing, sales, finance).
Get that all right and you can do an accurate forecast.

Sorry but disagree, the shelves are ful of reports/plands which focussed too much on secondary data. Market metrics are of very limited use, and if you believe that forecasting is a safe way to predict market success (or failure) based on published data which at best might be 12 months older or more, I think you are walking on egg shells!!

Market metrics are just that...numbers, data, and any extrapolation and predictions based on such data without any relevant primary research is utterly useless. It's the kind of thing that academics might thrive on, but the big bad world is very unpredictable, even with huge resources spent on primary research. Anyways a small co going to see the CEB is not a 'market changer' just a 'new entrant' and anything that the applicant can offer in terms of firsthand insight and/or feedback from prospective tade buyers etc is much more relevant than another 'market overview'.

The fact that someone could rely on forecasting without hard data and a corresponding strategy is perhaps the single biggest reason why so many new plans fail!!

Computer modelling/forecasting do not sell products, they are tools of limited use. Ultimately the market (customer) decides, hence my suggestion that the OP provide as much relevant market intelligence specific to the bus plans/market entry strategy!

It doesn't take much effort to cut and paste old hat data, its just a waste of time but it might appeal to uninformed.