Down To Business

Athlone is home to some very old businesses in the country with Ireland’s oldest department store and also oldest pub. Joining Bobby is Rosie Boles of Burgess of Athlone & Declan Delaney, Manager of Seán’s Bar to talk about the businesses and the history behind them.

Bobby took a cruise up the River Shannon into the heartland of the country with Pearse Connell of Hidden Heartlands Tours where they took in the beauty of the area and chatted about the touring business in general. Bobby also stopped into the Wineport Lodge Hotel to chat to Ray Byrne where they recently celebrated 30 years in busniess.

Bobby is joined by Fianna Fáil TD for Longford/Westmeath Robert Troy who is also the Minister of State with responsibility for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation at the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment. Together they discuss AIB scrapping their plan to remove cash services in 70 branches and what role the Post Office might play in the years to some when it comes to managing personal finances.

Bobby is joined by Michael Hassett, owner of Cork-based 'Hassett's Bakery' who has just secured a deal worth €6m to supply Lidl with a chilled cake and dessert range, available in 175 Lidl stores across Ireland.

Joining Bobby in the Executive Chair is Joe Queenan, Managing Director of Foxford Woollen Mills.

It is one of life’s fundamental truths that if we don’t push ourselves beyond what we think we’re capable of, to take ourselves out of our comfort zone, then we will never tap into the potential we have within us. Sue Stockdale, Business Transformational and Leadership Change Coach and author of ‘Explore: A Life of Adventure’ certainly knows a thing or two about high-pressure situations and living on the edge - she joins Bobby to discuss.

Tourism is a vital component of the Irish economy. So, now that things are back in full swing, Bobby thought he’d get the perspective of three tour guides who make it their business to showcase the natural beauty and historical richness that we have to offer. Joining Bobby is Lorcan Collins, Founder of 1916 Rebellion Walking Tour Derek Smith, Founder of Custom Irish Tours Tommy Graham, Founder of Historical Walking Tours of Dublin

Every leader, no matter whether they have several thousand people working with them or just one, has two main responsibilities: to create direction and clarity and to get out of the way. So says Paula Leach, Founder and Executive Coach of Vantage Points Consulting & author of ‘Vantage Points: How to Create a Culture Where Employees Thrive'. She joins Bobby to discuss.

Bobby stopped into the Celtic Whisky Shop on Dublin's Dawson Street to see how trade is going and to chat with Katie Gibson, Marketing Manager, Store Manager, Darren Maher, and Wholesale Manager, Colm O'Connor.

Paul Howard, creator of one of the most iconic literary fictional Irish characters of the last 20 years - Ross O'Carroll-Kelly - joined Bobby to chat about the return of his smash hit musical, 'Copper Face Jacks: The Musical'.

Last week in our newspaper review Bobby highlighted the good news story of the PM Group who were expanding with a whole host of new jobs. So for this week's Executive Chair, Bobby was delighted to welcome the CEO of PM Group - David Murphy.

Almost half of adults aged 50 years and over in Ireland own a pet, and at the top of that list is dogs. But with all the love and joy they bring us comes a lot of grooming and TLC on our part as well. So, for this week's Industry Review Bobby is joined by three people who make it their business to make sure our dogs are looking their very best. Joining Bobby is - Dylan Brady of 'Barks and Bubbles' - Lisa Kearney of 'Muttugly' - Paul Abbott of 'Groming.Dog'

The biggest political story of the week, if not the year so far, has been the resignation of UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. John Downing, Irish Independent journalist, thought he saw the signs of his inevitable end when he first encountered him 30 years ago. He joined Bobby to discuss.

The Government's Summer Economic Statement published this week shows the forthcoming Budget will contain spending and tax measures equal to €6.7 billion. It has been described as a "temporary once-off increase," which breaches the Government’s own spending rule of 5% and as a result, economist, Jim Power, thinks political expediency is getting in the way of sound economic judgment. He joins Bobby to discuss.

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.