There are reports that the Irish economy is growing, fractionally, but growing. And there are reports that things are very bleak. The truth probably contains a bit of both.

Conflicting reports about the Irish economy and small businesses

• In February, 2013, the Irish Independent reported that small business failures dropped by 32 percent
• In March, 2013, The Irish Times reported that the services sector grew at a slower rate
• Also in March, 2013, Business + Leadership reported that in a IBEC (Irish Business and Employers Confederation) business sentiment survey, indicators showed strong  improvement in business confidence at the start of 2013
• In April, 2013, the Journal.ie reported that Davy, a stockbroking firm, revised its projections upwards for the Irish economy due to better performance and foreign investment
• In April, 2013, FinFacts Ireland detailed that “Half of all lending to SME (small and medium enterprises) business is in arrears, according to the Central Bank”

But I got curious and asked my counterparts and peers in the #SMEcommunity in Ireland. I posted a query on the Facebook page of the #SMEcommunity.

A few perspectives

Geraldine Kennedy : (Jerros) “I have a boutique in Birr and I am seeing a lift in confidence. People are still cautious but definitely more optimistic. We are seeing more people out and about compared to last year which was desperate at this time.”

Debra Harper: (Tús Nua Designs and co-founder of the #SMEcommunity) “From what I can see there is a lot of small guys emerging, a lot of bigger established companies struggling with big overheads. A lot of biz based from home. There is a real fighting spirit going on, its not easy but the desire to succeed is there. A lot of frustration around new government schemes, all the right language is used but they are not moving with the times, not taking into account that the emerging new biz are tech or digital so can not forecast as easily as someone with a traditional shop and stock.”

Ray Wilkins:  (TotalGiftz.com) “There is a change in the air alright, a little more positive than before, small businesses continue to struggle though and changes are badly needed to help these businesses grow and create employment…government need to listen to the needs of small business and stop overlooking them..then we will see a bigger improvement…desire,drive,determination are all there..government ignoring SMEs causing road blocks..unnecessary.”

Debbie McDonnell: (The Marketing Shop.ie) “There are still no realistic options for a small business owner who provides a service or is a sole trader. If you can create a product or you opt to become a limited company you can get more than advice. Frustratingly there are situations where an enterprise board in one region can provide a lot more than one a few miles away too so your postal address can work against you which is all wrong. I think our government are doing a lot of talking about what they’re doing for small business but I know so many with viable businesses that get nothing because of rules, many of which were created pre-recession e.g. innovation vouchers which were last updated in 2007.”

Not exactly bullish

 While this may be not a technically representative sample, their comments reflect the frustration and concerns shared by SME owners in Ireland. There are calls for the Irish government to create policies that support the business growth of indigenous established small businesses. With the overall Eurozone trending downwards  and mixed signals in the Irish economy, it isn’t going to be an easy ride but it isn’t impossible either.

What is your observation about small business in Ireland?

If you could get someone from the Dáil to listen to you, what would you tell him/her?

What do established small businesses need to succeed?

What makes you optimistic about the future of Irish small businesses?

iStockphoto image by Artsy

If you haven’t seen these posts, let me tell you about them.

On TweakYourBiz

This site is designed for small business owners. Since it’s based in Ireland, I often write posts that are useful to Irish small business owners. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing John McSweeney, project manager of Small Business Advice programme to learn more about this free service. If you are a small business owner in Ireland and would like to get some advice regarding a dilemma or opportunity, read Small Business Advice Programme- Interview with John McSweeney.

On Corpnet.com

With the new year upon us, many of us are looking at our strategic plans to see where we might go in 2013. It might be time to make a new friend out of a SWOT Analysis so you have the best data available for your plan. You can read why a SWOT Analysis Really Is Your Best Friend on Corpnet.com.

On KaizenBiz

Each week, I lead a conversation on Twitter in which we take a look at an business idea and delve a bit deeper. Before each conversation begins, there is a framing post to help guide the conversation. You can read the latest post, Negative Feedback and Performance: Can You Handle the Truth? (you are all welcome to join us any Friday on Twitter at 5pm GMT/12pm ET/9am PT. Just use the hashtag, #KaizenBiz)

I hope you’ll take the time to look at these posts and any past posts that catch your attention. Let me know what you think and continue the conversations!

My new adventure…I was a news reviewer on The Small Business Show with Kehlan Kirwan and Brian Cleary this past Saturday, September 15th (I’ll post the podcast link when it goes live). This radio show focuses on Irish SME’s by highlighting interesting companies as well as discussing news stories that affect small business all over Ireland.

One story in particular caught my eye...

The Minister of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD and the Minister of  State for Small Business John Perry TD announced that a guide titled, Managing Out of a Crisis. This guide is supposed to be something that struggling small business owners could use immediately. With the news remaining grim, it can feel overwhelming or even paralyzing trying to keep things going.

Where do you start? Click here to read more »

On this blog, I write a lot about managing the business owner. Sometimes the business owner who needs to do some self-management is…well. me. I took a break from writing on TweakYourBiz.com (formerly Bloggertone) to take stock of what I wanted to do next. (I’ll write about my experience in another post.)

Well, I’m back blogging on TweakYourBiz.com and, frankly, I missed my blogger friends and the comments that often follow the posts. You can read my posts here:

How Collaboration Creates Growth For Your SME  I’m a big fan of collaboration and working with complementary professionals. It is a terrific way to see what you do through another eyes, improve your skill set and serve your customers well.

If you want to be incrementally better: Be competitive. If you want to be exponentially better: Be cooperative. - Unknown. Perhaps it’s due to the upheaval triggered by the global economic uncertainty or maybe the seeds were planted in the 1990?s but there is more talk about collaboration. This could be an underestimated strategy to growing your business. Read more

What You Need To Know Before You Export to the US Growth stages are growth stages, no matter whether you’re aiming to attract a more sophisticated customer, grow within or beyond your region or meet a need in a new market. However, if your SME is poised to export to the US, planning can help prevent some painful lessons.

Are you considering growing your business by exporting your products to the US marketplace? There are  opportunities to grow beyond your local borders for small businesses. Thorough planning will highlight what you need to know before it becomes a problem. Read more

I hope you will find these posts useful, add your comments and share them.

One of the things I noticed most during my recent visit to Dublin, Ireland was how many new nationalities that could be seen on the streets. Since I’ve been to Ireland over the course of many years, it’s interesting to watch it change over time. There seem to be different groups each time I visit and it’s something to hear the multitude of languages.

In Boston, I experience this on a daily basis. It’s one of the things that makes me love living in such a cosmopolitan area! I get my suppositions and hypotheses about people challenged on a regular basis. But…what preferences or biases am I following without being aware?

Look like us = One of us?

Pankaj Ghemewat wrote an interesting post on the HBR Blog Network, “Stretching Your Global Mindset“. His previous post opened with an observation about how the Arab Spring and the tsunami in Japan made it very apparent how interconnected and even interdependent the world is. When supply chains are disrupted, there is a network of businesses that reaches beyond borders right into our own backyards. Maybe it’s your business and you had to figure out how to respond to a global event.

In Stretching Your Global Mindset, Ghemewat discusses a study that reveals that the further away people affected by a disaster live, the less sympathetic people feel. In a nutshell, if a disaster occurs on the other side of the world versus one in your own country, you will care a great deal more about the people in your country.

Curiously, travel seems to mitigate this.  Well, maybe it’s not so curious. When you meet people from somewhere else, that place becomes real and the people become less strange. They become “one of us”. And when you live there for a length of time, could you (or part of you) become one of  them?

A past client of mine who has a strong affinity for Japan presented an interesting request. She explained that she lived there so it feels like home to her. Speaking Japanese is effortless for her. Her request was to modify how we approached writing her business plan to include imagery rather than creating a linear document.  The result? Her business plan is formatted as a mindmap and is mostly in Japanese. (She provided a translation for me so we could measure her progress).

You’re not from around here, are you?

Maybe it is something wired into our primitive survival instincts. If you’re different, you’re a potential enemy. It underpins the argument for isolationism in political debates.  If you hear someone saying, “I’m not racist but…”, are they really expressing hatred or are they trying to understand how their neighborhood is changing? The thing is, the world has become so connected with social media, ease of travel and  immigration that we can meet someone different very easily. We don’t even have to physically leave our own country to do business with someone who speaks a different language and looks different.

It’s not always comfortable.

It’s easy to get out of your comfort zone while interacting with someone from another country. There can be language barriers. (Yes, even with other English speakers. I’ve managed to create a lot of confusion just telling bar staff that I didn’t want another drink.) There are phrases and slang that we use without thinking. In a business setting, this can create unnecessary tension. There are countries where “yes” isn’t actually yes. Speaking a foreign language is challenging if you’re building up your proficiency. In some places, you have to develop a relationship before you discuss business. These are some of the things that can highlight your preferences in a hurry.

What is going on in your head anyway?

• Do you want everyone to communicate in your language?
• Do you have certain beliefs that all (other nationality) are (generalization)?
• Does the business relationship have to follow a particular pattern?
• Are you willing to learn the language of your customer/business collaborator?
• How would adapting your behavior change your thinking?
• What else are you thinking or feeling?

Not every business is going to do business globally.

But if your business is one of them, becoming aware of your cultural filter is essential. We hear stories, we meet people and we have the choice to broaden or narrow our mindset. There are some days when landing on an alien planet will make more sense. The tension felt is an opportunity to see what biases or preferences you have. Your greater self-awareness may be the difference between going forward or staying home.

*Please join us on Friday, August 5th at 12pm ET/5pm BST/9am PT on the Twitter chat, #kaizenblog as we explore this topic in conversation.

Perhaps in Ireland doom and gloom is just too easy. Sure the Celtic Tiger is long gone, the government is a mess and the banks, well, I suppose the least said the better. However,  I keep coming back to the same thought…what is really going on with small business?

So does Ronan Lyons have it right? He lists “Eleven Reasons To be Cheerful” about the Irish economy. That’s all well and good but what how can you tell on the ground? Where do the small businesses fit in and what are their expectations? If you can believe the Business + Leadership article, less companies are going bust but then in Business World, there is an article about a business survey identifying that Irish business owners have a variety of attitudes that trend to pessimistic.

Where does entrepreneurship fit into this? Lyons didn’t list this in his eleven reasons to be cheerful. It makes one wonder if Irish entrepreneurship is completely separated from small business. It is part and parcel of being entrepreneurial to be optimistic and work towards a better future. Sometimes small business owners get caught up in the day to day, particularly if it involves survival. When you get caught up in the minutiae, it can undermine your attitude, your motivation and your ideals.

Most business owners are working for something beyond the money. Some are working to make sure that they and their families have financial security. Others are seeking to make sure others have a need met. There are other business owners who are motivated to provide something luxurious or pleasuable. This is where it is more than just about the money. These are the ideals that can be hard to keep in mind when the future is looking bleak.

So could 2011 be the year that Ireland can become prosperous and cheerful? It depends on where you are in the economy. Sure various industries recover at different speeds but does size matter? It can since larger organizations can have resources to ride out problems. When a small business has to let go of employees, it is usually someone the business owner knows. Asking employees to take on more work but with no pay rises can be taxing.

So do Irish small business owners have reasons to be cheerful?

Could there be a mindset shift happening and small business is missing out?