Which problems are you facing ?

Louis Text Republic

Hi All,

I'm asking this question specifically for Business Owners or Managers : what are the most urgent and sensitive problems you are facing today in your business ? Also, which industry are you in ?

You can be as specific as you'd like.

I'm asking you this question to create content that will help professionals solving their problems.

Thanks in advance,

Louis

PS: if you don't want to share those in public, you can send me a private message!

Gloomtastic!

Lack of consumer confidence is the no. 1 concern for my business which is in children's entertainment.

Bandara

Getting good retail staff with experience

Close to impossible

dbran

Lack of confidence and consumer spending in the economy and getting paid

professore

Getting paid. Plenty of work out there but Getting Paid !!!!!

Louis Text Republic

Thank you for all your replies so far, I really appreciate it.

Gloomtastic!, can you please be more specific when you say :

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Lack of consumer confidence is the no. 1 concern for my business which is in children's entertainment.

Thanks again,

Louis

Gloomtastic!

Louis Text Republic wrote: »

Thank you for all your replies so far, I really appreciate it.

Gloomtastic!, can you please be more specific when you say :



Thanks again,

Louis

When consumer confidence is high people spend a little bit extra. When it's low they rein in all spending.

Earlier this year, news in the media was generally good, this equated to a boost in business enquiries and actual spend. Then the Local Property Tax came along with the media going into doom overdrive. The level of enquiries dropped.

Hope that helps!

Louis Text Republic

Thanks, yes, it's very helpful

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

When consumer confidence is high people spend a little bit extra. When it's low they rein in all spending.

Earlier this year, news in the media was generally good, this equated to a boost in business enquiries and actual spend. Then the Local Property Tax came along with the media going into doom overdrive. The level of enquiries dropped.

Hope that helps!

MidlandsM

cashflow .......tis tight

UBERTILT

Pricing Vs. Perceived value.

robertdoyle

Hammertime wrote: »

Getting good retail staff with experience

Close to impossible

I find that there are lots of willing and enthusiastic staff both young and old. It really is an employers market out there. If you can target a person that you believe will have a genuine interest in your product or business, it is very easy to train them in. You have to think, a lot of the college students looking for work are smart kids, once they are pleasant, all they need to learn is about the product and the till system.

Experience should not be essential. As I said, its an employers market.

Bandara

robertdoyle wrote: »

I find that there are lots of willing and enthusiastic staff both young and old. It really is an employers market out there. If you can target a person that you believe will have a genuine interest in your product or business, it is very easy to train them in. You have to think, a lot of the college students looking for work are smart kids, once they are pleasant, all they need to learn is about the product and the till system.

Experience should not be essential. As I said, its an employers market.

I couldn't disagree more !

MidlandsM

how can it be an employers market, when there's no decent candidates?!

robertdoyle

The unemployment rate was over 14% in March 2013, thus there are quite a number of people in search of work. I have not come across anyone that has had difficulty hiring in years! When you say retail staff, I assume you mean somebody to stock the shelves, work the till and be polite? If you can't find somebody suitable for that role your obviously looking in the wrong place.

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

MidlandsM wrote: »

how can it be an employers market, when there's no decent candidates?!

How do you figure there are no decent candidates? We've the highest unemployment level we are likely to see in the next 19 years. If your having problems hiring i'd either you are not offering fair compensation or else when you hire you are not correctly motivating the staff. Is it possible you've just had a bad isolated experience?? Your title says Midlands - having two businesses in Portlaoise The last three jobs opening we've had have had a massive amount of applications and the quality of those applications was well above the job minimum requirements.

herthabsc

Well now that we are on this subject. This is one of my most difficult aspects. Trying to find somebody who is ambitious and creative with sales is very very difficult. Yes we have 14% unemployment but be damned if I can find decent people. I have got my local TD, chamber of commerce and now am going over to my local social welfare office to try and get decent CV's. Getting off the ground is tough but finding staff is even tougher. I thought with unemployment it would be a lot easier but it ain't. It is a nightmare that is taking up a lot of my time.

robertdoyle wrote: »

The unemployment rate was over 14% in March 2013, thus there are quite a number of people in search of work. I have not come across anyone that has had difficulty hiring in years! When you say retail staff, I assume you mean somebody to stock the shelves, work the till and be polite? If you can't find somebody suitable for that role your obviously looking in the wrong place.

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

So i agree that Ireland has a shortage of high skilled sales people, but the real answer to that is to find someone enthusiastic and create a training system to bring them up to the level you need. Ireland should have a world class sales training educational college but alias we dont.

What i feel you might be experiencing though is that you are in start up mode so funds may be tight, really it's the lack of capital / maybe experience that you need to bring someone in at a fair compensation and sell them on your project.

By it's definition you are not going to find a great sales person, who is ambitious and creative, sitting around wait for you to find them. They will be out there selling themselves and creating opportunities and jobs for themselves. There is no cheap way to get an expensive job done, on a long term basis without adequate remuneration - either pay in cash or equity, but don't expect someone to further your aspirations without you meeting their aspirations too.

syklops

One aspect of my job is business development(finding clients) and the biggest problem we are seeing is finding clients. People seem unwilling to part with cash.

On the finding people for jobs thing, we see it on boards all the time. "I've sent out 800 CVs and got no responses". People are using the shotgun method to try and get jobs and its not working. If I was going for a retail job in the morning I would big up all(and admittedly lacking) retail experience on my CV, and I would write a cover letter which brought attention to my experience, and I would try to make up for it by coming across enthusiastic, and energetic.

herthabsc

Totally agree. This is exactly what is happening. The "shotgun" approach. Fire any amount of cv's off regardless of the job title or your experience. Maybe it works for some people in that they will luckily get one or two positive responses. Far better that they tailor their CV and cover letter and try to impress for their job they are going for.

Louis Text Republic

Thanks for all your replies guys, it's very helpful, trust me.

Louis

fasttalkerchat

Hammertime wrote: »

Getting good retail staff with experience

Close to impossible

Where are you based? PM me details, I might have a candidate.

robertdoyle

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

Where are you based? PM me details, I might have a candidate.

I love this comment!

UBERTILT

herthabsc wrote: »

Totally agree. This is exactly what is happening. The "shotgun" approach. Fire any amount of cv's off regardless of the job title or your experience. Maybe it works for some people in that they will luckily get one or two positive responses. Far better that they tailor their CV and cover letter and try to impress for their job they are going for.

I run an employment agency and can't begin to tell you how annoying the "Shotgun" approach is. When I opened the agency my mission was to reply to and serve each and every applicant to the best of my ability. After receiving a few hundred shotgun applications I soon learned to use the delete button.

eg. Portuguese Fraud Detection Agent Required...4 out of 125 applicants spoke Portuguese.
Slot Technician Required. Full drivers licence essential...Applicant wanted to know if he could take the machines on a bus as he didn't drive..

herthabsc

Haha. That made me at least laugh!

bogwalrus

cash flow. coffee shop.

UBERTILT

bogwalrus wrote: »

cash flow. coffee shop.

Ever thought of additional revenue streams?
Online gaming terminals keep bums on seats and an affiliate deal with the right gaming company can provide a surprisingly high monthly income.

syklops

bogwalrus wrote: »

cash flow. coffee shop.

Decent internet would attract me to spend a bit longer(and spend a bit more) in your coffee shop. Most places it is just crawling along.

herthabsc

I will write a separate post to this but my biggest problem is lack of experience in driving a business forward Louis. My business has started and all the foundations are there but I am the only one driving it forward.

Basically I am stuck and not moving forward but swimming against the tide so to speak. I would so love to find someone who is a dragons den type person who has experience in guiding a new start up going forward, has time and is not looking for financial incentive now/share but in the future when the company is successful. I am not looking for investment but more experience.

I would be also interested in hearing from someone who is unemployed but has worked in business development and is able to live off a small basic salary until we move forward. Maybe I am in dreamland in such a senerio and I am sure that there are loads of people out there in a similar situation but I am only really coping on to my one now.

On a separate note but from a previous thread, I have decided to give up on looking for a sales person. As a start-up it is probably better looking to outsource sales. If anybody knows of a good company/person who work mainly on a commission basis please pm me. Thanks.

UBERTILT

http://intern.jobbridge.ie/

herthabsc

Thanks Ubertilt. I put my add on Jobbridge and I got a reply back from a lady who has got 20 years of business development in Spain and has just returned home and is finding it difficult to get a job. As you said, you found a very good person on Jobbridge and they are working wonders for you. I hope that the same happens to me. I am meeting up with her on Monday and we will see how it goes!

DubTony

UBERTILT wrote: »

I run an employment agency and can't begin to tell you how annoying the "Shotgun" approach is. When I opened the agency my mission was to reply to and serve each and every applicant to the best of my ability. After receiving a few hundred shotgun applications I soon learned to use the delete button.

eg. Portuguese Fraud Detection Agent Required...4 out of 125 applicants spoke Portuguese.
Slot Technician Required. Full drivers licence essential...Applicant wanted to know if he could take the machines on a bus as he didn't drive..

This is interesting. Aren't the agencies in many cases their own worst enemies? I've spoken to some and I've been told that it's easier to run an ad than to go back through the CVs they have on file. So even after taking the time to meet with applicants some agencies never contact those people again for positions they are probably qualified for. The result is that desperate job seekers, getting no results from agencies, simply "shotgun" the CV in the hope that they'll get something. A double edged sword I think.

srsly78

UBERTILT wrote: »

Ever thought of additional revenue streams?
Online gaming terminals keep bums on seats and an affiliate deal with the right gaming company can provide a surprisingly high monthly income.

If you mean gambling then there are loads of regulatory issues that come along with it - would be like running a casino.

UBERTILT

srsly78 wrote: »

If you mean gambling then there are loads of regulatory issues that come along with it - would be like running a casino.

There are little or no regulatory issues to be concerned about. The 1956 Gaming & Lotteries Act is outdated and as long as you don't sell alcohol you'll be fine.

syklops

DubTony wrote: »

This is interesting. Aren't the agencies in many cases their own worst enemies? I've spoken to some and I've been told that it's easier to run an ad than to go back through the CVs they have on file. So even after taking the time to meet with applicants some agencies never contact those people again for positions they are probably qualified for. The result is that desperate job seekers, getting no results from agencies, simply "shotgun" the CV in the hope that they'll get something. A double edged sword I think.

I would be stepping into the lions den by trying to defend recruitment agencies as a whole, but however bad recruitment agencies are, never in the history of the planet has a person gotten a job from the shotgun method. Its better to send out 3 CVs and tailor made covers letters in a day, then 300 generic ones. If you are not getting responses from recruitment agencies skip them and go direct to companies. Many companies had had equally bad experiences with agencies and don't like dealing with them.

herthabsc

Agree totally. I just had a "shotgun" CV today from a guy lets put it this way who is not from Ireland who has been a builder for 4 years here. I am looking for a sales person. This guy can't even formulate a sentence properly and there are loads of grammatical mistakes. Bin straight away.

CatFromHue

herthabsc wrote: »

Thanks Ubertilt. I put my add on Jobbridge and I got a reply back from a lady who has got 20 years of business development in Spain and has just returned home and is finding it difficult to get a job. As you said, you found a very good person on Jobbridge and they are working wonders for you. I hope that the same happens to me. I am meeting up with her on Monday and we will see how it goes!

Don't mean to hijack this but have got this right? You going to discuss an internship position with someone who's 20 years experience in the area the internship would be in?

dbran

Hi

I think I would want to meet the person first before I allowed them into my business as an employee/internship. Dosen't matter what the circumstances or what they have on their CV.

dbran

herthabsc

Totally agree. I met with them for almost 3 hours yesterday. They are very clued in re business development. The reason why they have gone to Jobbridge is as they say themselves, they have sent out countless CV's to employers and have not got reply. Also when employers find out that your leaving cert was in such a year they don't want to know. Is this for real? Sad situation if ageism is creeping in. Maybe I am being delusional about this subject.

Therefore they have decided to go the Jobbridge way and get "their teeth stuck into something". I have made it clear that if somebody comes the Jobbridge route then I want them to stay in the company. In fairness last year before setting up my own business, I was forced to look through Jobbridge for work. To myself and like the person I met yesterday, work is work and I would prefere doing something and at least seeing positive signs then sending CV's to fully paid jobs and getting no interview or answer back. Maybe it is the way the country is in.:(

CatFromHue

Would you pay the person if you could Herthabsc?

What you're possibly proposing is completely against the ethos of JobBridge (the person is already vastly experienced) but I've no doubt is 100% possible to do (if you both chose to go ahead with this I've no doubt it will be approved).

While I really want your business to be a success you shouldn't be allowed to give an internship to someone so experienced but as you say yourself maybe it is the way the country is in.

Joe10000

The biggest problem I have is access to finance to grow the business, I have the customers and have the orders but cannot finance the stock, very frustrating.

UBERTILT

DubTony wrote: »

This is interesting. Aren't the agencies in many cases their own worst enemies? I've spoken to some and I've been told that it's easier to run an ad than to go back through the CVs they have on file. So even after taking the time to meet with applicants some agencies never contact those people again for positions they are probably qualified for. The result is that desperate job seekers, getting no results from agencies, simply "shotgun" the CV in the hope that they'll get something. A double edged sword I think.

This is exactly what I tried to improve on with my company. If I take the time to interview a potential candidate (at least 30 mins but often runs longer) I add interview notes to my CRM system. Then I skillcode the candidate accordingly to ensure they are showing up in relavant searches/mailshots. Skillcodes vary from sector to sector but below are a few skillcodes from each sector to use as examples.

Gaming: Casino, Fraud, Anti-Money Laundering, Legal Compliance, Game Development
IT: Java, C++, Ruby, Python, PHP
Hospitality: Food & Beverage, Conference & Banqueting, Front Office, 5 STAR, Revenue Managment
Education: HDip, Train the Trainer, French, Economics, Special Needs
Childcare: Special Needs assistant, Level 5, Level 6, First Aid, Montessori
Healthcare/Medical: Care of Elderly, Palative, Level 5, Driver, Defibrilation training.
I add as many skillcodes to your CV as we can identify.

Here's where the fun begins. My phone rings and it’s the CEO of a major hotel group. He’s frantically looking for a Revenue Manager with front office experience .
We reassure him he’s come to the right place and listen carefully to exactly what candidate they require. Before hanging up we let him know the time-frame for our search.
So we then go to our CRM system and enter some skill-codes..

Revenue shows 1570 results
Revenue + Front Office shows 78 results
Revenue + Front Office + 5 STAR shows 12 results.
7 Candidates are within an hours drive of the Hotel.

We then ring all 7 candidates to determine their interest.
Only 3 are interested in moving at this point in their career.
We put all 3 through our 25 point checklist system and only two are suitable.
Having interviewed the candidates before there is no need to call them back for another round.
We submit an application on their behalf and request feedback.

If you apply for a role which you are not suited (or grossly underskilled) I will hit that delete button and not give it a second thought.

UBERTILT

syklops wrote: »

Its better to send out 3 CVs and tailor made covers letters in a day, then 300 generic ones. If you are not getting responses from recruitment agencies skip them and go direct to companies. Many companies had had equally bad experiences with agencies and don't like dealing with them.

This is so true. If the truth be told you should always try to contact the companies directly to make your application more favourable. (I can say this as I work in a highly specialised niche market). Lazy agencies give a bad name to the reputable ones and you are only as good as your last placement.

I don't believe in throwing applicants at a role hoping something will stick. I believe in accurate placement.

UBERTILT

Joe10000 wrote: »

The biggest problem I have is access to finance to grow the business, I have the customers and have the orders but cannot finance the stock, very frustrating.

If you have the customers and proof of orders perhaps you may be able to approach your local County Enterprise Board?

herthabsc

Sorry if various bits of thread of going around here. I agree with you CatfromHue. I actuelly rung the lady today asking would she consider a salary. To my amazement after putting in my opening minute of how Monday went etc she said that she has decided to accept another Jobbridge offer and despite me offering a salary she felt that she was going with a more established company and there was a chance for her in 6 months to get full-time work and that my company was too much of a risk.

I had another lady (non Jobbridge) who cancelled a interview at the last minute yesterday. Maybe I was been very naive in thinking it would be easier finding a business development/sales person. I am going for a few days holidays to Germany but am seriously thinking of calling quits and jacking the whole thing in.

UBERTILT

It's only been on Jobbridge for a very short time. Enjoy your holiday and return refreshed with lots of new ideas. Never give up!

DubTony

syklops wrote: »

I would be stepping into the lions den by trying to defend recruitment agencies as a whole, but however bad recruitment agencies are, never in the history of the planet has a person gotten a job from the shotgun method. Its better to send out 3 CVs and tailor made covers letters in a day, then 300 generic ones. If you are not getting responses from recruitment agencies skip them and go direct to companies. Many companies had had equally bad experiences with agencies and don't like dealing with them.

I agree completely. There is no point in sending out the same cover letter and CV for different jobs. The point I'm making is that when an individual effectively places his trust in an agency and never hears from them again, and does this with several different agencies with the same result, a type of desperation sets in, and so job seekers start throwing mud at the wall to see what sticks. I imagine this is a result of disappointment and frustration, caused by receiving no reply whatsoever from advertisers, who are primarily recruitment agencies. It seems to me that many of them they're a large part of the problem, and have created it for themselves.

herthabsc

Thanks Uberteilt for your support. I think the holidays have done me good and I am ready to continue the stuggle again with a refreshed mind!!

UBERTILT

It's funny but I had a moment of doubt when I returned from a recent holiday. Things were unusually quiet (due to me winding down for the holiday) and I decided to contact every client to let them know i was alive and kicking. That was a week ago and I'm up the walls in work her now. Be careful what you wish for

herthabsc

I think I saw unfortunately the worst of recruitment consultants yesterday. 2 days days ago I got a unsolicited private call (I like I suspect a lot of people don't answer private calls) They did not leave a message but I then got a email from them saying that they just called. I did not respond to it.

Yesterday I got a private call again. Again I did not respond. However 2 minutes after this I got a call from a mobile number and it was the recruitment consultant (company will remain nameless) who were looking to "help" me get the right person for the company. I advised them in no uncertain fashion that if I wanted to use them then I would have responded back to their email and not to call me again. Sorry for all decent consultants out there but this smacks of pure desperation.

Gloomtastic!

herthabsc wrote: »

I think I saw unfortunately the worst of recruitment consultants yesterday. 2 days days ago I got a unsolicited private call (I like I suspect a lot of people don't answer private calls) They did not leave a message but I then got a email from them saying that they just called. I did not respond to it.

Yesterday I got a private call again. Again I did not respond. However 2 minutes after this I got a call from a mobile number and it was the recruitment consultant (company will remain nameless) who were looking to "help" me get the right person for the company. I advised them in no uncertain fashion that if I wanted to use them then I would have responded back to their email and not to call me again. Sorry for all decent consultants out there but this smacks of pure desperation.

If you stick (No Agencies Please) in any advert, if they do contact you, you have carte blanche to abuse them!
Recruitment consultants are some of the lowest form of life on this planet!

UBERTILT

herthabsc wrote: »

I think I saw unfortunately the worst of recruitment consultants yesterday. 2 days days ago I got a unsolicited private call (I like I suspect a lot of people don't answer private calls) They did not leave a message but I then got a email from them saying that they just called. I did not respond to it.

Yesterday I got a private call again. Again I did not respond. However 2 minutes after this I got a call from a mobile number and it was the recruitment consultant (company will remain nameless) who were looking to "help" me get the right person for the company. I advised them in no uncertain fashion that if I wanted to use them then I would have responded back to their email and not to call me again. Sorry for all decent consultants out there but this smacks of pure desperation.

This smells of desperation alright. I think they saw your ad on jobbridge and decided to do some loose business development. This is really bad practice on so many levels. If somebody was utilising an intern portal to advertise for a position they probably don't have the capital to spend on recruiter fees. I have only five clients who between them keep me busy with an average of one placement per week. I meet these clients socially and would never coldcall random companies.

If you want to pm me their details I can ring their boss asking if they require 'help' in finding decent recruitment consultants