Working, Living & Travelling In Ireland

Tag: Galway City

  • Athastours – Small business interview West of Ireland

    Athastours – Small business interview West of Ireland

    Hello Readers,

    Time for a new interview! If you are new to my blog, I have been interviewing small businesses in the West of Ireland since 2016. Check out all the interviews I have done to date. The last interview  was with An Mheital Rothar, Galway’s Community Bike shop and excited the present my newest interview with Gary Casey from Athastour walking tours in Galway.  I was walking around Spanish Arch in Galway City, and just as I walked under the Arch I saw Gary, so I thought I’d go over and say hello!

    So how does this interview work, and how can you get interviewed?
    I have learned that people aren’t responding to email anymore, and have gotten most of my completed questionnaires via Facebook or Twitter. The interview exists out of a number of questions that are stored in the cloud via Google docs.  I then send a link , the interviewee clicks on the link, enters the answers to the questions and the beauty is there is no need to send documents over email. I love it! I then review the questions, ask for clarifications if needed, and then publish. So if you are up for a close-up 🙂 of your business/startup in the West of Ireland, please drop me an email here or connect me with on my Workinglivingtravellinginireland Facebook Page or Twitter. I do read my email! And remember, the more you put in, the more you get out of it. Please share this interview, as I’d like to start a small movement to highlight the brilliant businesses in the West of Ireland!

    Tell us a bit about yourself & where you are located in the West of Ireland.
    My name is Gary Casey, 40, from Galway. I run Athas Tours guided walks of Galway city.

    Picture of Gary Casey of Athas Walkingtours Galway

    Picture of Spanish Arch Galway City

    Can you provide me with a description of your business?
    Athas Tours provided individuals and groups the opportunity to walk around and see all the main Galway city sights in a fun and energetic way. I am a sole trader at the moment and do the tours myself.

    How long have you been in business? In this business? In other businesses?How did you get started in this business?
    I have been in business since February 2017 in this business. I did a course on setting up a business and decided to follow through on this idea.

    Is this your full time job, a hobby or a bit of both?
    It is a bit of both, not quite full-time yet, but hopefully soon.

    How did you get the background and skills necessary to run this type of business?
    I have seen how well-run Galway is as a tourist city. The most necessary skill is telling a story with a bit of wit attached and I think I can manage that!

    How do the social, economic, environmental, technological, legal and political environments impact your business?
    They all have a bearing on it. Economic tourism is the key i.e. keeping the tourist economy competitive. The rest are secondary to this. Keep Joe Tourist interested by not ripping him off and giving him value for his notes.

    Do you know who your competitors are?
    I know very well who they are the buggers. Seriously, I think they compliment me and vice versa. Room for all.

    How do you market your business? How are people aware of your business? Where can people find you?

    Website: www.athastours.com
    Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/Athastours
    Linkedin: https://ie.linkedin.com/in/athastours
    Youtube: https:/www.youtube.com/c/Athastourswalkingtours

    I market via social media but try to keep costs down as Facebook etc can be expensive.

    Where do you see your business in the next year? In the next five years? The next ten years?
    I am just going week on week. I hope to be able to expand enough to eventually get a minibus and expand to driving tours.

    Do you plan to compete in the global market place? If yes, how? If no, why not?
    I would love to but have not thought it fully through.

    How has technology, such as computers and the internet, impacted on how you conduct business?
    It is really everything, just as in every other business.

    What do you love about the area you live in/do business in?
    It is life itself. A flaneurs dream. People of all walks of life mixing in Galway’s tiny medieval streets, all searching for answers to questions asked forever.

    Whom do you seek advice from for your business/ do you meet up with other business owners? If so, where?
    I have talked to several historians and online is an invaluable source of opinion.

    Can you describe your customers?
    Anybody is a potential customer. I just need to make them believe!

    Why do your customers select you over your competitors?
    Karma.

    What are the biggest challenges for running this business?
     Karma and cashflow.

    What keeps you going, when the chips are down?
    Questionnaires from nice people I meet on the streets.

    Do you support local charities? If so which is your favourite charity and why?
    Yes and I fundraise. I have collected for the GRCC and GAA.

    Anything special things planned for 2017?
    Lots but I won’t share just yet!

    Any tips for someone who is thinking of starting their own business?
     DON’T OVERTHINK. As Nike and Arnold say, Just Do It.

    What did you learn from this interview?
    That questions lead to answers and sometimes more questions. Life is a big circle. That is good. Never let it get too square or triangular.

    Just a quick reminder, please share this interview, as I’d like to start a small movement to highlight the brilliant businesses in the West of Ireland!  If you would like to be next, please drop me an email to katleen@workinglivingtravellinginireland.com and I’ll be in touch.

    Connect with me on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook!

    Thanks for reading & sharing & commenting!

    Katleen

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  • From Digital Nomad to Galway City Slicker

    From Digital Nomad to Galway City Slicker

    Hello all,

    This was going to be my last post for 2016, but with Christmas and New Year travel, I didn’t get around finishing it, so here goes! Boy, what a year! Just over a year ago, I decided it was time for a big change on the job front. I had been home-based for the last 5 years, supporting Magento’s Enterprise clients worldwide. I worked with the largest names in E-commerce, and learned so much, and had the privilege of working with the most creative, hardworking, inspiring people I have ever met. (If any of you is reading this, it really was great fun working with you). But it was time to move on…

    What is a digital nomad?

    So what IS a “ Digital nomad”, I found this definition on the wibbly wobbly net via the every so reliable Wikepidea.

    Digital nomads use wireless internet, smartphones, Voice over IP, and cloud-based applications to work remotely wherever they live or travel.[3][4] Digital nomads also often use coworking spaces, cafes, house sitting agreements, and shared offices in major cities around the world.[5] Digital nomads tend to travel, while they continue to work with clients or employers.[6] This sort of lifestyle presents challenges such as maintaining international health insurance with coverage globally, abiding by different local laws and sometimes obtaining work visas, and maintaining long-distance relationships with friends and family back home.[7] Other challenges may also include time zone differences, the difficulty of finding a reliable connection to the internet, and the absence of delineation between work and leisure time.[8]

    Yes, I think I qualified as Digital Nomad, except than that I was at home for most of the time, and as a perk, I had the opportunity to travel for work. I got to see places I’d have never been before, probably the most memorable standing in front of the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles ( See below).

    My visit to the Hollywood Sign
    Yes, that was one of the many highlights. Maybe I am starting to miss the travel ( a bit).

    Working from home, Working remotely

    These days there are many opportunities to work from home, although in my experience very few Irish companies offer this option. For me, it was a Godsent, and, for most of the time, it suited us as a family perfectly. I was able to drop off the kids ( then 5 – 7) and pick them up in afternoon, which is a privilege very few regular employees get. If the kids were unwell, they would stay home, and I would continue to work as usual, keeping an eye on them. So no childcare costs, and no commute (unless falling out of my bed to my office counts as a commute). For those who are reading this and are dreaming of working from home, there are opportunities, and if you really search for it, you will find. Trust me.

    Time to reconnect

    After 5 years working from home though, I came to the point that I felt very disconnected from the rest of the world, and was looking forward to have human, face to face contact with fellow employees and lunchtime shopping. Technology is wonderful, but it does change something in your brain when your day is spent communicating virtually. I found this Tedhour Podcast very interesting about the changes in society, lack of human interaction, compassion and much more.

    So what’s happening in Galway?

    There has been a quiet revolution happening in Galway City, and as I started my job search, I discovered there were a number of new, mostly American software companies that set up in the city and also many promising start-up initiatives and incubators. Some of the vacancies on offer require people to have at least one European language. If you have a few languages and experience ( or a great attitude), there really are a number of opportunities, and Galway is your oyster:). I’ll be dedicating a few article on where to find those jobs, and a few things that will be usefull to know around moving to Ireland.

    Below are just a few articles that touch on this new wave of innovation, technology and job opportunities. Particularly the last article is very detailed and gives you plenty of scope to dig deeper in opportunities or get an idea what Galway City has to offer:

    From Portershed to Jobshed – Published December 2015
    The Portershed and much more a year later Published December 2016
    Foreign Direct investment and Job creation in the West Published January 2017
    Overview of the Galway Startup Ecosystem Published January 2017

    Oh yes, for those familiar with the phrase Galway being the graveyard of your ambition, it really is what you make of it. I found a job at SmartBear, and one of the deciding factors was reading this article. The author moved on before I started, and as there are now nearly 30 of us, we are moving into a new building the week after next! As it happens we are recruiting for new talent, check out our vacancies here and send me your CV to send me a message and I’ll pass it on.

    I’ll be restarting my interviews with small business in the West of Ireland at the end of the week. Below is the list of interviews I did.

    [table id=2 /]

    If you are interested to get featured, or know a small business that would benefit in exposure, click here to send me a message And yes, if you could share this post, I’d appreciate.

    Connect with me on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook!

    Happy New year!

    Katleen

     

     

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