Stephens Cooke hold seminar on business innovation

It was all about lateral thinking to make your business work for you, even in these challenging times, when Stephens Cooke held a lunch seminar on business innovation in the Annebrook Hotel last week.The guest speaker on the day was Padraic O'Maille, who has worked with some of Ireland's greatest achievers in business and in life.First to take to the floor however was chartered accountant John O'Connell of Stephens Cooke, who talked about getting the most out of tax benefits, which is still an option he assured, even in these stringent time. Consultant George Stephens then explained why it was so important to have a pension, and how one could still claim some pension benefits within the next month, before the upcoming Budget.Padraic O'Maille then took to the stage telling a tale of how he once did a course in Mullingar in the Enterprise Centre, which was facilitated by local businessman Darragh Caffrey.He said how each week Darragh turned up late to the class sporting different injuries, and later found out that he was involved in playing football locally. The long and short of the story was that while Darragh might have taken a beating on the pitch, off the pitch his local retail outlet was doing really well, and so Darragh was using football as not only a hobby but a clever marketing tool which was benefiting his business.This was just one of many anecdotes on how Padraic claimed entrepreneurs see opportunities everywhere.“Be prepared to look outside the box and change your outlook,” he said. He also explained how your own personal energy levels are all important to your business outlook and promoting a positive self image:“A brisk walk every other day will get you motivated, and once you feel good about yourself, it's contagious,” he said. He went on to exalt the effect positive people have in out lives, something which it is impossible to quantify but necessary to leading a happy and successful life:“Get around people who can make you laugh” he ordered in no uncertain terms, while he also proclaimed the importance of listening to constructive criticism.And while many of us do not equate failure with success, Padraic says many of the world's greatest achievers have had a string of failures under their belt, but the only real failure is the failure of not trying.Focus and making others feel important is are also key techniques to increasing your business sales.For more business and financial advice, simply drop into Stephens and Cooke financial services in Blackhall, Mullingar.