Down To Business

An Post Commerce are proud to help SME’s to grow and succeed, with an innovative range of parcel solutions and direct mail advertising. One such business is A Sorted Affair by Kim & Lyn who found the An Post Commerce services - like their Advantage Card - a great help in the early days of setting up their business. They pay Bobby a visit to discuss.

There are plenty of candidates for the “toughest job” in business but sales has to be up there. It’s a thankless job and can be tough to stay positive if things aren’t going your way but Jeremy Cassell and Tom Bord the co-authors of ‘Brilliant Selling’ - first published in 2009 and now in its 3d edition - might be just the people to help you with that. They joined Bobby to discuss.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair is Enrico De Luca, Managing Director of Maxi Zoo.

There have been some pretty seismic changes in all of our lives over the past few years, and very few are as big as the way we work. From sudden shifts to working at home, to the delicate balance employers are now trying to find when dealing with their employees whose expectations have changed, the HR departments of companies all across the world have no doubt been pretty busy. Joining Bobby to chat about the area of HR is: - Sharon Vize, Group HR Director for CPL Resources - Liane O'Leary, HR Consultant with The HR Department - Damien McCarthy, CEO, and co-founder of HR Buddy

Cormac Lucey has said that he thinks that the clamour for national wage deals to tackle stagflation won’t pay off in the end. S, what can or should be be done? Cormac Lucey, Economics Columnist with the Sunday Times joins Bobby to discuss.

Over the course of the last few weeks one lucky business, in competition with two others, had the opportunity to win a €100k value package known as The Iconic Business Bursary. The winning prize included: 100k package: €50k worth of workspace at the stunning Iconic Offices, a €25k Newstalk media package, and €25k in marketing services from Marketing Network Group. Down to Business' has been delighted to be involved in with the competition which came to an end this week. Bobby is joined by the winner - James Redmond, CEO of Grab Same Day Delivery as well as Joe McGinley, CEO, and founder of Iconic Offices to discuss.

POWERCUT - the Irish athleisure wear company - has been taking the Irish market by storm both online and in Dunnes Stores around the country. Bobby is joined by Craig and Bronagh Mulhall, co-founders of POWERCUT Clothing to chat about the origins of the business.

Icon Offices want to give back to the business community, therefore one lucky business will have the opportunity to win a €100k value package known as The Iconic Business Bursary. The winning party will get the following in their 100k package: €50k worth of workspace at the stunning Iconic Offices, a €25k Newstalk media package, and €25k in marketing services from the Marketing Network Group. 'Down to Business' has been profiling the three finalists of the Iconic Offices Business Bursary competition over the last few weeks and this week Jonathan Healy was joined by Roseanne Scally, Director of WestTech Technologies to chat about the business.

Jonathan was joined by Nick Connors, a CEO of TEKenable.

We humans are pretty good problem solvers - we probably wouldn’t have gotten to where we are now if we weren’t. But do we fully utilise this skill in the workplace and if not, how do we get better at doing it? Arnaud Chevallier, Professor of Strategy and Decision Making at IMD & co-author of ‘Solvable - A Simple Solution to Complex Problems’ joined Jonathan.

The tourism and travel sectors were hit harder than most during the course of the pandemic. But they’re nothing if not resourceful and have found new ways and means to bounce back despite all the adversity.

Irish households are facing the biggest drop in living standards since the 2008 the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has warned. To discuss this and the wider economic situation in Ireland Jonathan was joined by Declan Jordan, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Cork University Business School.

Irish consumers recycled a record number of electrical items last year. But is simply recycling enough to create a truly green and circular economy? What about the electronic products that might just need a bit of refurbishing? Kilian Kaminski, Co-Founder of Refurbed joined Jonathan today to discuss.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair is Anna Classon, RNLI Head of Ireland.

Energy sustainability and the safeguarding of our coastal regions has never been more important. To chat through what is being done here and elsewhere and how we can protect our coastal regions for future generations, Bobby is joined by Stephen Dunne, Editor of ReNews, Europe’s most prestigious renewable energy trade publication & Ciarán Farrell, COO at Aqualicense, a Wicklow-based company that provides consultation, planning, legal compliance, and project delivery services for firms in the aquaculture and offshore renewable energy industries.

Icon Offices want to give back to the business community, therefore one lucky business will have the opportunity to win a €100k value package known as The Iconic Business Bursary. The winning party will get the following in their 100k package: €50k worth of workspace at the stunning Iconic Offices, a €25k Newstalk media package, and €25k in marketing services from Marketing Network Group. Down to Business' is profiling the three finalists of the Iconic Offices Business Bursary competition on Down to Business. This week Bobby is joined by James Redmond, CEO of Grab Same Day Delivery

Wicklow is known as the garden of Ireland but of course, there are innumerable opportunities for entrepreneurs and business people alike and so Bobby wanted to take a look at what Wicklow as a town and a county has going for it. To find out more Bobby is joined by: - Matt Forkin who is the Wicklow Chamber of Commerce President - Brian Gleeson, Chief Executive, Wicklow County Council - Pamela Walsh, Founder Wicklow Way Wines and Chairperson of Wicklow Naturally

For this week's 'Down to Business,' Bobby & co were in the garden of Ireland at Wicklow Sailing Club for the start of the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race. There he spoke to some local business people to hear how they've been getting on. - Quincey Fennelly of Wicklow Wolf - Mark Van den Bergh of Max Benjamin

Legendary artist, naturalist, and all-round Irish TV legend Don Conroy stopped by to chat with Bobby about what he's been getting up to the past few years, what inspires him to paint and draw, and discuss the importance of keeping in touch with nature.

For a very special show broadcasting from Wicklow Sailing Club ahead of the start of the SSE Renewables Round Ireland, Bobby is joined by Barry Kilcline, Head of Offshore Development, SSE Renewables, and also David McHugh a previous winner of 'Round Ireland' to look ahead to this year's race, and chat about what the conditions will be like and what the competitors might expect from the coming days.

How can you cut through all the unnecessary complexity of adopting new technology and new digital concepts for your business? Bobby was joined by Tom Goodwin, author of the book Digital Darwinism to find out

Art College is possibly not what people might think it is. Bobby took a stroll up to Thomas Street to pay a visit to the National College of Art and Design where this week the work of their graduates is being showcased.

Elon Musk is forcing all Tesla Employees to return to the office. Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, author of Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams: A Manual on Benchmarking to Best Practices for Competitive Advantage, spoke to Bobby about Musk's latest antics.

In the Executive Chair this week is Sarah Jane O’Dwyer, HaloCare Group CEO

Festivals are back! And there are plenty to choose from - and not just ones that require a pair of wellies and a poncho! Bobby was joined in Studio by: ● Sorcha O’Reilly, Artistic Director of Kaleidoscope Family Festival taking place in Blessington, June 24th-26th. ● John Crumlish, CEO, Galway International Arts Festival, July 11th-24th. ● Declan Forde, Festival Director of Beyond the Pale in Glendalough in Wicklow on this weekend June 10th-12th.

Over the next 3 weeks we will be profiling the three finalists of the Iconic Offices Business Bursary competition on Down to Business. First up today is the founder and CEO of Zipp Mobility Charlie Gleeson

Bobby remembers Ray Coye of Largo Foods and Tayto Park who recently passed away.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair is Daniel Mackey, Founder & Chief Technical Officer at Teamwork.com

Things are definitely getting back to normal because after two years of virtual events 'Bloom' is back live in the Phoenix Park. Now in its 16th year, 'Bord Bia Bloom' has become one of Ireland’s largest showcases celebrating the best of Irish horticulture, food, and drink. Bobby took a trip out to Phoenix Park to taste some of the food on offer, meet the people, and of course, take a stroll around the gardens.

Animation is a magical medium that not only captures the imagination but can also teach us valuable lessons as well. It just so happens that here in Ireland, we have some of the most talented and dedicated creative minds in the animation business. So, to help Bobby better understand how it all works, he was joined by three people in the know to discuss: - Tomm Moore, Co-founder & Creative Director of Cartoon Saloon - Gillian Comerford, Creative Director at Bouldermedia - Ronan McCabe, Chief Executive Officer at Animation Ireland

Across the water our closest neighbours are celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee where Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne for a staggering 70 years. But how are things looking for the British economy with a Prime Minister who has skirted dangerously close to being fired, a war in Ukraine, and of course rampant inflation? Bobby was joined by Economics Editor & columnist with the Sunday Times, David Smith to discuss.

For many pop music fans, the return of ABBA live-in-concert has been long-awaited. Tech guru Andy O'Dononbhue joined Bobby to talk about the Abba avatars that have been created to make the show possible - technology which he thinks is the metaverse happening in front of our eyes!

Joining Bobby in the Executive chair is Paul Candon, CEO of United Hardware Limited.

Neil Bannon is a well-known retail property expert and the executive chairman at Bannon. He thinks that the death of the retail property market is being overstated and that the media, including us here on 'Down to Business', are over-egging it. Neil joined Bobby to discuss.

We are a nation of animal lovers, and with that comes a lot of care. But how have things been for those who make it their life’s work to take charge of that care in the last few years? To find out Bobby is joined by: - Elise O'Byrne White, Veterinary Surgeon at the DSPCA who also features on the RTÉ series ‘The Shelter: Animal SOS’ on Friday nights. - Conor Geraghty, Veterinary Surgeon at Geraghty & Neary Veterinary in Mountbellew, Co. Galway & also Former President of Veterinary Ireland. - Dr. Rosalinda Devereux, Owner at Wexford Equine Veterinary Practice & President of Irish Equine Veterinary Association.

Friend of the show, Mark Simmonds, has just published a new book that looks at the growing and the seemingly inescapable problem of letting work stress get the better of you. Mark took a call from Bobby to chat about what we can do to mitigate the impact of a heavy workload as well as his book, ‘Beat Stress at Work-How to Balance Your Ambition With Your Anxiety’.

Leo Cullen’s Leinster take on Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle at Stade Velodrome in Marseille in the Heineken Champion’s Cup Final this afternoon and so to look ahead to what promises to be a colossal match, Bobby is joined by Off the Ball’s Will O’Callaghan to get his predictions.

Bobby welcomed to the studio Fiona Uyema, who is a cookbook author and founder of the Asian cooking essentials range ‘Fused’. Her food, and indeed business journey, began after time spent in Japan and she’s just this week launched 2 new spicy sauces with 100% of profits going to the Irish Red Cross's vital work in Ukraine. She joined Bobby to discuss.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair this week is David Byrne, Managing Director of Lisney. Listen and subscribe to Down to Business with Bobby Kerr on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

Do you feel there should be more to running a business than the focus on profit alone? Do you ever wonder why you work so hard yet still feel that something is missing? Andrew Thornton, the co-author of 'Putting the Heart Back into Business: How to Place People, Planet, and Purpose at the Core of What You Do', proposes a better way of being in business - one that enables everyone to truly be themselves, harnesses their strengths and individuality, and puts people and planet first - whilst trusting that profit will still follow. Andrew joined Bobby to tell him more. Listen and subscribe to Down to Business with Bobby Kerr on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

Physios are an integral part of our health system, keeping us fit and strong to help us deal with whatever life throws at us. Whether you’re a stay-at-home type or a fitness fanatic chances are you’ve had to employ the knowledge, care, and expertise of one of them at some point in your life and so for this week’s Industry Review, Bobby thought he’d catch up with three of them to for a bit of an industry health check. Joining Bobby is Jenny Branigan, Chartered Physiotherapist at Total Physio in Sandyford Margaret Hanlon, Partner at Cityphysio in Lucan & Chairperson of Chartered Physiotherapists in Private Practice Working Group Eoin Everard, of Everard Physio in Kilkenny Listen and subscribe to Down to Business with Bobby Kerr on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

With constant talk of inflation, we may also now have to deal with a dreaded rise in Interest Rates. Writing recently in the Sunday Independent Economist Colm McCarthy talked about the ‘holiday drawing to a close’. Colm joined Bobby in the studio to discuss. Listen and subscribe to Down to Business with Bobby Kerr on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

Bobby was out & about at the Fitzgerald Woodlands House Hotel & Spa in Adare, co. Limerick. There he caught up with Mary Fitzgerald, Elaina Fitzgerald Kane, and David Fitzgerald to find out more about the legacy of the business as well as how the industry, in general, is holding up. Listen and subscribe to Down to Business with Bobby Kerr on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

Bob Hamilton is a former banker who is now making a business out of selling memorials to the Irish diaspora across the world with his business 'Irish Urns'. Bob joined Bobby to discuss. Listen and subscribe to Down to Business with Bobby Kerr on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair is Laura Dillion, Managing Director & Head of the Irish Team at Waterland Private Equity Investments. Listen and subscribe to Down to Business with Bobby Kerr on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

For this week's Out & About Bobby paid a visit to Asia Market on Drury Street in the heart of Dublin city. He was joined by Eva Pau, Commercial Director of Asia Market to discuss the long history of the store which has been in operation since 1981. Listen and subscribe to Down to Business with Bobby Kerr on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

Economists can often be labeled pessimistic, and yet they would counter that they are being realistic. With that in mind, in last weekend’s Sunday Times, Cormac Lucey dared to use the word "recession" in his weekly column so Bobby thought he'd find out just what the prognosis is for the Irish economy in the coming months. Listen and subscribe to Down to Business with Bobby Kerr on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

When you hear about personal insolvency, more often than not it’s some multi-million write-off that you’ve read about in the papers. But what about the everyday working business people who can’t pay off their debts? How does the whole insolvency issue get resolved and what are the usual outcomes? Joining Bobby to shed some light on this area is: Alan O’Kennedy of Mitchell O’Brien’s Office in Dungarvin part of IRS Ireland Eugene McDarby - UHY Personal and Corporate Insolvency Solutions Limited Tara Cheevers - Managing Director & Owner of ACO Financial & Business Solutions Ltd Listen and subscribe to Down to Business with Bobby Kerr on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

Many companies put huge amounts of money into training their sales teams. But when it comes to getting the most out of your team - how can you better coach and nurture the potential you see in them? Mark Garrett Hayes is a Sales Coach and author of ‘Sales Coaching Essentials: How to Transform Your Sales Team’ - he joined bobby to discuss. Listen and subscribe to Down to Business with Bobby Kerr on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.

We all know about increased prices in seemingly every sector of our lives - not least in our shopping baskets - but what about the people who actually make and process our food and drinks? To discuss the impact of inflation on this area, Bobby was joined by Roisin O’Shea, Head of Food & Drink Sector with Bank of Ireland. Listen and subscribe to Down to Business with Bobby Kerr on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Download, listen and subscribe on the Newstalk App. You can also listen to Newstalk live on newstalk.com or on Alexa, by adding the Newstalk skill and asking: 'Alexa, play Newstalk'.