Businesses seek votes to secure share of €125k

TWO businesses with strong Co Wicklow ties are battling it out to secure a slice of a €125,000 prize fund.

Both the Blessington Bookstore and worldBOX.ie, whose Managing Director Bernie Kinsella lives in Enniskerry, have made it onto the 32-strong shortlist for the IE Domain Registry’s 2016 Optimise Fund.

Both companies are now appealing to the people of Wicklow to give them their vote and get them into the top ten to guarantee a share of the fund. In all, 15 of the 32 shortlisted companies will receive funding; the public vote will select ten of these while an independent judging panel will chose five more.

Janet Hawkins, who opened the Blessington Bookstore in 2005, is hoping a successful result will help her to boost the shop’s online presence.

‘We want to improve our online presence to sell our local history and recommended reads online, and also to attract national and international tourists to Blessington, which will benefit other businesses in the county,’ she said.

‘Running a small business means dealing with a myriad of tasks, making it difficult to find time for important things like web development and e-commerce’ said Janet. ‘ The Optimise fund will work shoulder to shoulder with us, showing us how to make greater use of existing web technologies and improving our return on e-commerce’

Bernie Kinsella from Dublin-based worldBOX. ie believes that winning the prize will completely change how her company performs online.

‘Winning this prize will transform how we do business online and has the potential to realise our ambition for the business, providing an even better customer experience while also unlocking new job and sales opportunities. That’s why I’m hoping that the public will be kind enough to lend their support by voting for us,’ she said.

‘As a small business with limited resources, we need to stay relevant particularly in the digital marketplace. Optimising our website represents a genuine opportunity for us to both grow our business and continue meeting and exceeding the needs of our customers.’

The Optimise Fund, valued at €125,000, provides 10 days’ worth of digital consultancy, training and development to successful SMEs to enhance their e-commerce offering and online presence.

The vote closes this coming Friday, June 17. To vote for any of the shortlisted companies, visit www.iedr.ie/optimise.