# www.irishwomeninbusiness.ie



## Brendan Burgess (26 Jul 2009)

I heard the founder of this site on The Sunday Business Show just now.

www.irishwomeninbusiness.ie

I still am not sure what the site is about but others may get value from it.

Brendan

By the way,  I don't like the colour scheme.


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## sartay (26 Jul 2009)

Thanks for that Brendan.


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## DrMoriarty (26 Jul 2009)

They have a , too, but it seems you have to register before you can read any of the posts.


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## woodbine (26 Jul 2009)

DrMoriarty said:


> They have a , too, but it seems you have to register before you can read any of the posts.


 
that always puts me off registering. most annoying and i don't understand the reasoning behind it.


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## jhegarty (26 Jul 2009)

DrMoriarty said:


> They have a , too, but it seems you have to register before you can read any of the posts.



Usually a sign of a forum with about 5 posts.


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## Graham_07 (26 Jul 2009)

Brendan said:


> By the way, I don't like the colour scheme.


Brendan, I have a 23 year old graduate daughter. Purple is just so "in" this year ( the colour, not the esteemed AAM member ! although Purple's posts are always in vogue ) ..... no further explanation necessary! 

( please please please no disrepect intended to anyone connected with the aforementioned site, I kinda really like the colour scheme TBH )


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## Graham_07 (26 Jul 2009)

duplicated . . . hit the wrong button after a seriously nice rosé from España  on this lovely showery summers Sunday evening.


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## Brendan Burgess (26 Jul 2009)

woodbine said:


> that always puts me off registering. most annoying and i don't understand the reasoning behind it.



Hi Woodbine

I thought it was quite clever for them. Theirs is a commercial site and they charge something like €50 for registering.

I wouldn't bother registering, but you can see the titles of the threads and how many answers there are, so it probably would encourage people to pay the registration fee.

If AAM ever needed to raise money, we could maybe charge a fee for some aspects of the site e.g. Letting Off Steam and Shooting the Breeze. 

Brendan


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## woodbine (27 Jul 2009)

I agree totally with having a charge for using the off topic sections.

I was (in a previous lifetime ) involved with an international automotive website and we charged for the use of the off topic sections (I think it was £10 for the year) 

The technical sections (which comprised 95% of the site) were and always would be free of charge to browse and to post in. 

The problem with not being allowed to see posts and replies is that you can't judge the quality of contributors.

my personal feelings are that i wouldn't mind paying for the fun/banter section but i wouldn't pay any website to get advice/information from anonymous posters. I don't earn enough for that luxury.


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## foxfire (27 Jul 2009)

I think there is a bit more to the annual fee than just access to the forum. They organise monthly meetings as well, have guests speakers etc so I'd be surprised if they can even break even with a 50 quid a year fee.

Perhaps the expectation that everything on the internet must be free just can be sustained for every site that doesn't have advertising support.


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## RedStix (27 Jul 2009)

Similar and better (imo) forum is   Been around for 3-4 years now and is absolutely free.


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## europhile (27 Jul 2009)

Pink is such a cliche.


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## Romulan (27 Jul 2009)

I heard that interview but had to turn it off

basically 
basically 
basically 
basically 
basically 

was all I could hear.


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## paddi22 (27 Jul 2009)

I am a member of the site and i find it great. The colour scheme is fairly irrelevant to me, each to their own! 

I am a member of the site and the reason I joined were:
• They have a good portfolio section where you can post up images of your companies work
• They organise regular talks based specifically on what members request
• They have a directory where all members are listed
• They have an area on the home page that does a special feature on members businesses

I find all these benefits very useful and have gotten good work leads from it so i find the 50 euro well worth it, and i can understand them charging a cover fee as they promote the site as much as they can, so I don't mind paying for their time and effort a bit.

I find it very odd that people should be sniping about someone setting up a website to promote business and networking. As a small business owner I find it very useful and would encourage ANYONE trying to make an effort in the current environment.


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## Brendan Burgess (27 Jul 2009)

Romulan said:


> I heard that interview but had to turn it off
> 
> basically
> basically
> ...



I noticed that too. But to be fair, it may well have been her first radio interview, so I grinned and bore it. 

Brendan


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## Brendan Burgess (27 Jul 2009)

Brendan said:


> I noticed that too. But to be fair, it may well have been her first radio interview, so I grinned and bore it.
> 
> Brendan



The only snipe was the fact that they were charging or restricting access, which I defended.

My comment on not liking the colour was a joke, but the irony seems to have been lost.

Brendan


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## paddi22 (27 Jul 2009)

sorry, didn't pick up on irony at all. My irony radar is slow on a monday morning!


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## foxfire (27 Jul 2009)

RedStix said:


> Similar and better (imo) forum is   Been around for 3-4 years now and is absolutely free.



The pink is highly subjective you either love it or hate it but you will at least notice it. Conversely the dot com site looks horrible and doesn't seem to have a directory of members businesses unless I'm mistaken.

There's plenty of room for site's like these in the current economy. I'm all in favour of anything that helps people get started or to progress in small business.

There's another site called Small Business Can which visually looks good but then they have the benefit of Ulster Bank footing the bill for design and web development.


[broken link removed]


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## Brendan Burgess (27 Jul 2009)

Some people find it difficult to understand the point of the small business can.

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=118303


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## IWIB (27 Jul 2009)

I'd like to reply to a few of your comments please.  was set up by former members of  irishbusinesswomen.com. We had been asking the moderators since 2007 for a directory of services and to be able to promote our business openly since 2007. Our pleas fell on deaf ears, instead of sitting back and doing nothing we built a site that helps us promote our business and services cost effectively.  

*Brendan* I am sorry you don't like the colour scheme, to me it's irrelevant in the grand scheme  of things and we don't let of steam in the forum, we share resources, advice and information in a nice environment without judgement or sarcasm. 

 yes you have to register before you use the forum, it's a safe place to post and only members can see what you write, just in case there are sensitive issues in which you don't want the world to see e.g redundancies etc etc.

*Woodbine*  it's so members can post without judgement, scrutiny or being criticised. By being a member you are in the company of like minded people. The support comes from Bank Of Ireland and Owner Manager Magazine, when you log into your account you have access to many downloads in pdf format which you can access at your leisure. The advice is not from random posters, it's from members who are very successful business people in their own right. The membership fee is pittance E50 where can you advertise & promote yourself online for such a small amount? Where can you avail of monthly seminars? Compare the cost to BNI & SFA.

*J hegeraty * We have lots of active posters, more than 5 I can assure you.

*FireFox *your absolutely right we don't break even, but we didn't build the site to make a profit, we built it to help each other get back to basics and start networking with the person down the road.

*Redstick *you are not a member of  you have not been to any of our seminars or events nor have your posted on our forum. Therefore you cannot compare to  irishbusinesswomen.com which has it's flaws, trust me.

*Romulan *Apologies I couldn't fit the elocution lessons in along with running my own business, an online resource for women and being a mother to a teenager & wife. My D4 uncle has been away in South Africa for a number of months so I couldn't meet up with him to get the grammar & voice training up to scratch. I run a print business for Gods sake no I don't get interviewed often so my technique is quite rusty. I am who I am, that does not mean I have nothing to share or offer simply because I haven't had voice/media coaching.

*Paddi22 * Thank you for your kind comments much appreciated.

It's not easy to put yourself out there to be scrutinised & criticised by the general public, it's quite difficult actually. On Sunday I should have been in Glendalough with my husband & son. Instead I was in a studio trying to promote Irish Women and their business. The amount of time & effort that goes into organising and promoting the monthly seminars cannot be measured but I do it anyway. Why? Because I believe together we can beat this recession off with a stick. Firefox quite rightly pointed out we cannot even cover the cost of the website. Between the cost of building, hosting and maintaining we are definitely not doing it to make a profit. What we can do is try to support business women, provide a space for them to network in a relaxed environment and provide a forum whereby they can bounce ideas off each other without being judged or worrying about the response. The response is always positive because you are amongst friends and like minded people who are committed to helping. Even the web developer has gone above and beyond the call of duty.

 might not be for you but I think it's kinda lame sitting behind a keyboard procrastinating about a person/site who is trying to promote women and their business in a positive fashion in the current economic climate, without the media lingo or bells & whistles. Ask yourself what YOU have done to help your neighbour/comrades to cope with the economic downturn? I have no control over the government or the VAT rate, I have no control over the banking situation we find ourselves in. I have control over my own business and I tend to spend my time and money in the company of like minded business people. 

_ Advert  for own business removed - Brendan. IWIB do not use Askaboutmoney to advertise _

Thank God not everyone shares the views of the people on this thread.

[broken link removed]


_repeated Advert  for own business removed - Brendan. IWIB do not use Askaboutmoney to advertise _


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