REST IN PEACE

Jay and Dympna Coleman founders of www.rip.ie

Emerging entrepreneur Dympna Coleman of www.rip.ie talks about setting up a website with her brother Jay Coleman and the difficulties they encountered on the way to making it a success.

With broadband sweeping into homes all across Ireland, we are starting to turn to the Internet more and more for our day to day needs, on-line shopping, banking and college applications are just some of the tasks people are turning to the net for, but what about other occasions in our lives such, as marriage or even the death of a loved one. It sounds morbid and is the last thing we like like to think about, however it’s a reality.

Gap In The Market

Dympna Coleman’s idea for www.rip. ie was born out of what she describes as, “frustration.” Coleman goes on to say, “when going online, we expect to find what we want when we want it, from buying a house to finding a job, basically everything from the cradle to the grave.” When it comes to buying your coffin, well that’s a whole other matter. Coleman feels that this sensitive topic has received little attention hence the idea for www.rip. ie was born.’’

Problems arose for Coleman when it came to introducing new technology to a traditional market, ‘’We need to get the message across that the new technology helps everybody, but doesn’t threaten the traditions surrounding death and bereavement in Ireland.’’ This is a hugely sensitive issue and getting the marketing structure right for this is a tough point of call.

Making A Sucess

However the Colman’s have managed to turn the business into a success by using certain marketing techniques. ‘’We have exploited every means of free publicity available and even called in favours, whenever we thought someone could give us a leg-up. We also got our website mentioned and linked to as far and wide an audience as possible. ‘’ Coleman attributes her success to planning saying, ‘’a new business is not like playing the lottery; you shouldn’t be surprised when you win. Success comes from thorough planning and hard-work.’’

Getting Started

As for entrepreneurs out there looking to enter the Internet market Coleman says, ‘’find a reliable company with a good portfolio to design your site. Visit your website often from your customer’s point of view, to make sure everything is working properly.’’ She finished with this advice for any budding entrepreneur by reiterating what we all know in the back of our minds, ‘’preparation, preparation, preparation! Don’t underestimate your own abilities. Do as much as you can yourself. Get as much as you can for free, particularly publicity. Never be afraid to ask and be open to constructive criticism.’’

OVERCOMING DIFFICULTIES

Emerging entrepreneur, Eileen Meehan of Asha Life Coaching talks about overcoming the difficulties of a young business. Therapies such as Life Coaching and re-birthing are a growing trend in Ireland and for emerging entrepreneur and Life Coach Eileen Meehan of Asha Life Coaching; it’s a market she wants to crack. “Knowledge of life coaching is growing throughout Ireland along with our fantastic economic status but behind all of this is some underlying issues,’’ says Meehan addressing the, ‘career trap,’ that happens to many people in our new economy. Difficulties When Meehan set up her business, she has had to take on board warts and all. Like any start-up this meant sticking with it through thick and thin, whilst waiting for the hard work to pay off. Meehan explains that there were a lot of difficulties setting up Asha Life Coaching. “I am well aware that with this type of business, it takes time to build it up, and not seeing immediate results can be a challenge,” explains Meehan, who has overcome the lack of knowledge of Life Coaching in Ireland by generating good wordof- mouth. ‘’Marketing is important but doing a good job and providing value to people is really the only way to achieve success in this industry,’’ claims Meehan who continues to grow her business. Results Meehan applies a lot of her practises to her life as an entrepreneur saying, ‘’in life coaching, if you don’t believe in your business 100%, then you can’t really expect to get results with clients. I think it is very important to have a lot of knowledge and training.” And with her coaching cap on, Meehan says, “I can’t say enough how important thought-processes are, thoughts create feelings which in-turn create external results.’’ Let’s hope Meehan’s coaching expertise helps her to make a business success of her own.