Anyone care to share their story? Part 2.

Animord · 31-10-2013 11:11am

Only glanced at your site, but under the Our Promise section

At Honestcars.ie we promise to ensure that every vehicle advertised on our website has been independently inspected by one of our experienced mechanics and each vehicle has a full history data check from Cartell.ie. All details of each vehicle posted on our website have been written and verified by us. Honestcars.ie takes pride in insuring honesty and transparency when advertising vehicles on behalf of sellers on our website.

It should be ensuring honesty not insuring.

Honestcars · 31-10-2013 11:38am

I noticed that i have been on to the web designer to change it

tricky D · 06-11-2013 3:56pm

This needs a lot of work.

Some techinical points:

The Responsive layout needs fixing as the Details button for listings is almost fully hidden under the right hand side. Multiple browsers.

The homepage slider panel has some text treated as a graphic which would be much better off as text.

Homepage first paragraph should be made into a snappy list of pros. Welcome to... line should be just removed.

Your text treatment wrt capitalisation of honestcars.ie is inconsistent.

Typography could do with some work.

There are many spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes. Proofread properly and/or preferably get some one else with good english/copyrighting skills to to this.

There are links to pages like ?page_id=51. These should be descriptive hence more SEO-friendly.

There's far too many javascript calls (40) under the bonnet for what's going on over the bonnet.

Where is the FAQ?

I can understand to a certain extent why you don't sell directly off the site, but how about being able to book a viewing for buyers and something similar for sellers.

The 'Why sell with us' and 'Why Buy With Us' are leading to dead-ends of a sort. A call to action should be put after their content.

You main selling point is trust but too much is missing on that area: testimonials, full address, names, photos, CRO info, how you make money and typical costs/fees, privacy policy.

As simple and clear how it works for both buyers and sellers is needed.

hth/gl

TonyMCI · 15-01-2014 1:54am

We have been doing business in construction in Dublin for years. I have built up my own client base most of which are people I have grown up around. All this web Jargon is very confusing , so I recruited my nephew to do all this internet donkey work , so I leave most of that to him . He recently set up our site. We will begin testing his work soon with some advertising , which might pick up some work to a higher level.

JustLen · 18-01-2014 1:41am

Honest Cars, I think you could well be onto something there with your business. It still needs work but keep at it!

Honestcars · 23-01-2014 3:41pm

JustLen wrote: »

Honest Cars, I think you could well be onto something there with your business. It still needs work but keep at it!

Hi JustLen. . I really do think we have a good business, we still have lots of work to do with marketing and improvements in our website but were getting there.

Cheers for the feedback.

Honestcars · 23-01-2014 4:00pm

tricky D wrote: »

This needs a lot of work.

Some techinical points:

The Responsive layout needs fixing as the Details button for listings is almost fully hidden under the right hand side. Multiple browsers.

The homepage slider panel has some text treated as a graphic which would be much better off as text.

Homepage first paragraph should be made into a snappy list of pros. Welcome to... line should be just removed.

Your text treatment wrt capitalisation of honestcars.ie is inconsistent.

Typography could do with some work.

There are many spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes. Proofread properly and/or preferably get some one else with good english/copyrighting skills to to this.

There are links to pages like ?page_id=51. These should be descriptive hence more SEO-friendly.

There's far too many javascript calls (40) under the bonnet for what's going on over the bonnet.

Where is the FAQ?

I can understand to a certain extent why you don't sell directly off the site, but how about being able to book a viewing for buyers and something similar for sellers.

The 'Why sell with us' and 'Why Buy With Us' are leading to dead-ends of a sort. A call to action should be put after their content.

You main selling point is trust but too much is missing on that area: testimonials, full address, names, photos, CRO info, how you make money and typical costs/fees, privacy policy.

As simple and clear how it works for both buyers and sellers is needed.

hth/gl

Hi Tricky D

I have shown your post to our web designer and will be making improvements shortly, also i have updated some of the content that was missing on the website.

Thanks for the feedback.

bizinchina · 28-01-2014 12:45pm

Hay this Dan here from Businessinchina.ie, we are Sino Irish agency that helps Irish companies get started in the Chinese market. We cater to a lot of services that will help any Irish company develop in China.

Some of the cervices that we have include , Chinese Translation , Chinese Business Workshops and Chinese Website and Website Development. We are confident in our team and our ability that we can provide the best possible service to any Irish company that is interested in the Chinese Market.

Any questions about the services that we provide visit our website to get a consultation to find solution to your companies needs.

dgerryd · 28-01-2014 1:32pm

Anything on English translation. Your Site looks well I don't know if your link will last long there though have you been in Ireland long or are you actually in China ?

bizinchina · 28-01-2014 1:55pm

Thanks for the heads up about the link. Yes we have both a Chinese and Irish based offices with staff that help businesses from both sides of the world. Our Irish offices is based The Guinness Enterprise Center Taylor’s Lane, Dublin 8. The Company has been around since 2012. If you have any more questions feel free to ask our team for a consultation from our website.

ewilliams · 09-02-2014 1:24am

What started out as another way to make ends meet, took on a life of it's own. As I look back, what I valued and enjoyed the most, working for myself was the flexibility it afforded me, allowing me to be able to adjust my schedule instantly depending on my children needs. Being part of their development early, on a day to day basis, as well as the adolescent and late teen years was critical.

david147 · 26-03-2014 7:06pm

I am also thinking about setting my own company, great to read so many stories

JoePie · 28-03-2014 11:48am

My second attempt at starting a thing. This time: a shop in Cork City.

Got approval for a lease for machinery yesterday. Will be hearing about the business loan today. The wait is killing me. These people have been in work for almost two hours now. AM I NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THEIR LIVES!?

EDIT:
Bank came through. Can't wait to get into massive debt. Or become a millionaire. Let's see what happens.

NabyLadistheman · 20-05-2014 10:11am

Hi Guys would appreciate if anyone could give me some feedback on the following please.

I am currently in the process of setting up a small out-sourcing call-centre. I have funding for equipment and also a premises. Web-site should also be up and running shortly. Main issue I am having is getting in contact with potential clients. We would be looking at something along the lines of customer service.

Has anyone got experience in this? Any places online where I should register. Advice greatly appreciated

montec · 20-05-2014 5:37pm

Hi folks, I am a mature student currently studying for my Masters of Science in Innovative Technology Engineering at Waterford Institute of Technology. For my thesis I am proposing to develop a Strategic Architecture for Innovative, Irish, Hi-Tech Start-Up Companies. The outputs of this project are expected to be of interest to hi-tech innovators and are aligned with key outputs of Ireland’s National Development Plan.
As part of my Thesis I am hoping to conduct short interviews with Irish Innovators and Entrepreneurs with regards to their perspectives on setting up Hi-Tech innovative companies in Ireland. This in-turn will form the basis for the proposed strategic framework which is hoped will lead up-and- coming innovators and entrepreneurs on the paths to future success.
If any of you could spare a few minutes to answer some questions, I would very much appreciate it.

Many thanks,
Victor.

Demo2011 · 23-05-2014 9:43am

montec wrote: »

Hi folks, I am a mature student currently studying for my Masters of Science in Innovative Technology Engineering at Waterford Institute of Technology. For my thesis I am proposing to develop a Strategic Architecture for Innovative, Irish, Hi-Tech Start-Up Companies. The outputs of this project are expected to be of interest to hi-tech innovators and are aligned with key outputs of Ireland’s National Development Plan.
As part of my Thesis I am hoping to conduct short interviews with Irish Innovators and Entrepreneurs with regards to their perspectives on setting up Hi-Tech innovative companies in Ireland. This in-turn will form the basis for the proposed strategic framework which is hoped will lead up-and- coming innovators and entrepreneurs on the paths to future success.
If any of you could spare a few minutes to answer some questions, I would very much appreciate it.

Many thanks,
Victor.

Hi Victor,

Is that the MSc in Business, Innovation, Technology & Entrepreneurship @ WIT ? If so, is it any good. Seriously thinking of giving it a go in Sept. ( if the course actually runs...)

Thanks & sorry I couldn't help with your actual question though !

montec · 23-05-2014 6:36pm

Hi there, no, its actually the MSc in Innovative Technology Engineering @ WIT. Very good course but it is geared towards the medical device industry.

martindoran · 01-06-2014 10:40pm

well im only after starting mine , can i ask for some help in this or do you not want this on your thread ? thanks

Gloomtastic! · 01-06-2014 10:57pm

martindoran wrote: »

well im only after starting mine , can i ask for some help in this or do you not want this on your thread ? thanks

This thread is probably not the best place to post general business queries.

Just stick a new topic on here http://touch.boards.ie/forum/106

martindoran · 01-06-2014 11:02pm

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

This thread is probably not the best place to post general business queries.

Just stick a new topic on here ]

thanks thought it best to ask first glad i did

WillRoyal · 14-11-2014 5:23pm

My business started in a very unconvential kind of way and here is my story.

I set up a Facebook group page in November 2013 called the 'North Dublin Services Page'. I set this page up with the idea to give a means of support to Local Small Businesses in North Dublin.

I wanted to create a Group where Businesses could Advertise there services and North Dublin residents could Browse these services, Ask for Advice and recommend services to each other, a medium of interaction. with a lot of promotion on Social Media the group started gathering momentum and the feedback from Businesses and residents alike was amazing. There was so much business being done through the page and with over 2,000 members in April i decided to launch a Mobile Web Directory www(dot)northdublinservices(dot)ie. I had a number of Idea's for the Directory and i was decided on the brand values i wanted to work from - Fairness, Equal Opportunity and Community Spirit. It is also innovatively linked Directly to the Facebook supporting group page giving members of the Directory an Instant Audience

I was basically broke when i started this project but i seen the opportunity and i took a leap of faith. I drew down a Holiday fund loan from my job (Skipped the holiday) and got the website built to my own unique specifications. To this date i have not spent 1 cent on Advertising the Directory, I used all the free promotion i could get, Submitting my story to newspaper articles, E-mailing, cold calling and Social Media ect but i am happy to let it grow organically.

As of this week the Facebook page is 1 year old and here below is a short summary of what i'm doing and where i am at now:

- The North Dublin Services Page (Facebook group page) consists of over 3,425 members
- The North Dublin Services Directory consists of over 140 local business
- The Directory has 1,000 plus unique visitors per month
- I will be running 2 Small Business Saturday Online events per year - The first was run on 01.11.2014 and i had some great feedback
- I offer free Advertising for Startup business in operation less than 2 years (€15.00 for 3 months for all other businesses)
- Free Category for Crafters
- Free category for Local Markets and Fairs

This is more of a Hobby or Project rather than a Business at the moment but whatever the future holds for North Dublin Services the fact that it continues to help Small Businesses in North Dublin is something i am very proud of.

Rhys Essien · 01-05-2015 5:26pm

Another great story here.He made his first million at 19.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/byting-back-at-malware-after-accidental-download-1.2193715

EIREX · 29-10-2015 10:52pm

I suppose like a lot of posters here my first business was an on line store. It was very tough and I greatly under estimated how difficult it would be to get traffic to the site, market the site and rank anywhere meaningful on Google.

After a while it became clear that while my products were good (well I thought so) that without a serious marketing budget I could just simply not compete in such a competitive market online. The business closed, not easy.

Whilst running the store I initially used a virtual office company so that I could have a professional business address rather than using my home address. At the time I found the services available pretty expensive and not very responsive. It was a side note but for some reason the experience stuck in my head.

Seeing more and more people starting online stores and using these services I thought , wow, I went through that, I could provide a much better service having worked previously in a related industry. So I decided to go for it.

It wasn't easy as to this properly and professionally you need approval from the Department of Justice which is a complex process and a suitable premises in a tight office market.Never mind a marketing plan, pricing structure and everything else.

I didnt just want to copy all the other services, I wanted to do it better, be more efficient and offer services at a more economic cost.

Time passed, work went in and I got the business off the ground and client enquiries started to come in.

Delighted and looking forward.

Out of a failure hopefully a success and looking forward to growing eirex (dot) ie into the future.

jefferytibbs · 03-12-2015 9:12am

My first venture was a guesthouse abroad. Had the opportunity and thought why not. Hadn't thought of owning my own business before then. Whetted my appetite though and gave me the taste. Involved with mostly online stuff these days. Can pick my office then

Rhys Essien · 15-12-2015 2:52am

Another good story here.One of the co-owners started out as a butcher and then a chef and then became an alcoholic.Turned his life around and sold their Irish start-up last week for $44 million.

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/cork-founded-tech-start-up-trustev-sells-for-44-million-1.2462164

AsianIrish · 24-12-2015 8:11pm

Hello folks,

I work full time but I have always had passion to do my own business. Before moving to Ireland in 2004 I was selling all sort of stuff, shirts, gift items, watches, readymade clothes etc. In Ireland I set up a FB page and though My business is at a very early stage but I am already seeing benefits of it. FB page https://www.facebook.com/tornadosportsireland/?ref=tn_tnmn&__mref=message

I am getting boxing, tawekwando and MMA gears from Pakistani factory who make for some world renowned brands and selling them to local clubs and on free sites like adverts.ie. I am now thinking to work on my brand and start a website as money can be made on this. thank you.

robsullivan05 · 20-09-2016 11:08pm

Set up a games publishing company and work full time on it now.

Making an online Sci-fi tactical shooter for Pc and consoles. Looks like doom/aliens.

Launched the website and started to finally see money come in with pre orders.

[www].facebook[dot]com/newlovegames
[www].newlovegames[dot]com

Websites4u · 22-03-2017 3:32pm

great idea thanks for posting!

I think I was always wanted to do my own thing from the start. In college , they showed us how to design websites. That week, i was on a bus out to business parks in dublin selling them. The first company i asked, said yes. It turned out i didnt have the experience to design a website so i had to get someone in the class to do it. This was circa 2000.

I have made a lot of mistakes since. But enjoy what I do and wouldn't change for the world. My problem is that i want to do everything so I must say no along the way. As long as i have enough money to live, I want to have the freedom to enjoy what i want to do career wise!

AsianIrish · 01-04-2017 11:02pm

I started a martial art business importing goods from Pakistan and giving to local MMA and martial art clubs. This took off a bit with 4 clubs who regularly buy from me their suits and boxing gears. Https://m.facebook.com/blizzardsports.ie/

You can have a look

CatchingDreams · 18-05-2017 10:26am

I graduated in November with an IT Management degree as soon as we were introduced to web design I fell in love. I began working on a friend's website first statically and then I moved on to designing and developing using WordPress. I have been designing and managing her site for 3 years but for free so I decided to become official so I can explore my talents with real clients and make a living doing what I enjoy most. I will be officially launching in two weeks so far just have Facebook set up you can check it out using my username /catchingdreamswebdesign

Anyone care to share their story? Part 2.

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