Culture

Chances are these days if you want to find out how to do something - whether that be baking a lemon drizzle cake or building a bookshelf, you consult the internet. There are a plethora of online resources where other people post their ‘How To’ Guides and within minutes you generally can find a few guides detailing the basics of what you need to do.Until now though, there haven’t ...
Read Post »

An integral part of any business plan is of course the Market Research. Before you can really move on with your concept or idea, it’s essential to undertake sufficient research so that you can get a real insight into your target market. There are several ways of doing this research - from doing vox pops in the street through to creating focus groups. One of the most efficient and accurate wa...
Read Post »

The Creative Industries Innovation Fund (CIIF) which is administered by The Arts Council of Northern Ireland, with sectoral support from Northern Ireland Screen and Digital Circle (the representative organisation for Digital Content businesses in Northern Ireland), is once more on the lookout for businesses and individuals to apply for up to £10k of funding for projects, ideas and initiative...
Read Post »

Since its launch, the Social Entrepreneurs Fund has provided investment to the tune of £1.5 million for people all across Scotland to help them set up social enterprises and the good news is that it is still doing just that.The Fund’s Level 2 Awards have just re-opened and are open to entrepreneurial individuals in Scotland who are involved in the social enterprise sector. Could that b...
Read Post »

The beginner basics of using twitter for your business I shall start this article with an analogy - Twitter is a little like an online equivalent to speed networking. You have only a few words to get your point across and it’s what you say in such a limited way that can help build your relationships. Confused? All will become clear as I reveal my “Twitter Business Basics for Beginners...
Read Post »

What we can learn from Walt Disney - A guest post by Tim ArmooSometimes when starting and growing your business, a bit of advice is needed. And when your mentor is not around you may panic and freeze! But fear not this is pretty common and I figured I would give a helping hand by having a look at Walt Disney-one of the world greatest showmen/entrepreneurs.Setting the scene: Walt Disney had it...
Read Post »

In March this year, the national academies of engineering in the UK, US and China are all participating in a major new initiative - the Global Grand Challenges Summit.The primary purpose of the summit is to bring some of the world’s leading thinkers and innovators together with young people to discuss some of the biggest global challenges we all face today and explore ways that we can deal w...
Read Post »

Some good advice on working with a web designer to ensure you get the results you want Having a great idea on how your proposed website will look and feel is all well and good, however the real deal is getting a Web Design and Development team that can deliver - after all not all of us are Adobe experts! In this post we explore a few tips on working with web professionals to get the website you w...
Read Post »

When you think about the last book that you read, chances are that it was recommended to you by someone - perhaps a friend read it first and suggested you read it too. It was once the done thing when in a friend’s house to take a look at their bookshelves and then if a particular book took your fancy, ask if you could borrow it. Of course with the rise in popularity of e-readers, such things...
Read Post »

Interested in collaborating with others? You may wish to take a look at OuiShare - a non-profit and global community of entrepreneurs, designers, writers, economists and citizens working to accelerate the shift to a Collaborative Economy... Whilst Startacus is aiming to get people together to help ‘make ideas more of a reality’, the thinking behind Ouishare is that it is a collaborati...
Read Post »

Over the last few weeks it would be fair to say that most of us have perhaps used the post more than at other times of the year - whether it’s been for sending Christmas cards, posting presents or waiting for that all important delivery ourselves. Of course with us all leading increasingly busy lives, we can’t always be guaranteed to be at home, meaning that more and more of us ar...
Read Post »

Guest contributor to Startacus, Joseph Benn, highlights some questions that perhaps all Entrepreneurs should be asking (and be able to answer!)  Some Useful Questions for Entrepreneurs...This post is a follow on from my one on five questions. If you haven’t read that one it would be worth going back and doing so. I love questions. To me they are one of the most powerful creative thin...
Read Post »