#SMEcommunity is a group set up on Twitter by SMEs for SMEs, with the aim to support, encourage, help and advise each other through social media. It started with a simple tweet on June 16 between Debbie Harper of Tús Nua Designs and Kehlan Kirwin from FocuSMEIreland. Very quickly other Irish business people joined in and by the end of the evening #SMEcommunity was trending in Ireland.
Just over a month later it has grown to include businesses from the whole of Ireland as well as some in the US with Irish links. There are over 70 SME contributors to date and growing, and the great thing is, all you have to do is add #SMEcommunity to a tweet and join in.
There are a huge variety of businesses involved, many of which complement each other and are therefore in a position to help in a practical way. The Irish #SMEcommunity is moving forward as a collective and using the power of social media as a way of connecting with and supporting each other on a daily basis. This community offers practical and supportive advice to fellow small business colleagues trying to get Ireland moving. As a result of all the tweets the #SMEcommunity is gathering at convenient locations around the country. There are three informal meetings happening so far: Letterkenny (Tuesday August 2 at LYIT ), Castlebar (Wednesday August 3 at 11am, Breaffy House ) and Dublin (Friday August 26 at the Red Cow ). It is a chance to put faces to Twitter names and all business people or people who may be thinking of starting a business are welcome to come and join in the chat and find support in the conversation.
About the benefits of being a part of #SMEcommunity Debbie Harper said: “We wanted to be surrounded with people who knew what it was like to be an SME in Ireland, who were happy to help, advise, and share the community spirit and support each other.” Debbie’s feelings were echoed by others as, within days of that first tweet, the community was growing and many positive and amazingly helpful SMEs were on board, giving each other a kick start and the extra drive that comes with strength in numbers. As well as people understanding the ups and downs of being an SME, it is a place where questions can be asked, networking can be done and lightheartedness can be enjoyed. It is a community which grew out of a common interest and the willingness to succeed.
For more information and to join the conversation just search for #SMEcommunity on Twitter and start using the hashtag.
