This was a question I know I, and many of my peers, had when we started to research the GEC back home. While this entrepreneurial hub is NOT affiliated with Guinness beer, it’s far more interesting than meets the eye. Guinness Enterprise Centre, or GEC, is central hub that houses over 140 companies and over 900 people, to create and maintain networks and partnerships in a variety of industries. They aim to be industry leaders in healthcare, sustainability, and creativity, but above all, the most important goal is connections. GEC prides itself on creating a networks of companies under one roof to provide a collaborative space for problem solving and creative solutions. As a startup, it can be difficult to bring an idea to life alone, and having the resources and identifying the steps to get there can feel impossible. Encouraging the companies under GEC’s roof to collaborate with other companies just a few office doors down makes it much easier for these companies to form formal and informal mentorships, and have someone else to ask for help. Not knowing who to ask or where to start can be super hard to not only ask the right questions, but have the confidence to ask at all.
Having an entrepreneurial mindset is all about being open and flexible. You may need help with something whether you want to ask or not, so being able to accept constructive criticism or advice from others is extremely important. Having the skills of being open minded and communicating with others is incredibly relevant to all areas of life, because whether its coworkers or friends, you need to collaborate in order to make plans with each other. Admittedly, this mindset does not always come easy to me, because it can be hard to admit when something is wrong. Ultimately, when people give suggestions, I know that it’s because they see an angle that I may not, and it can be extremely helpful.
After our visit to GEC, a few of us decided to check out the National Museum of Ireland. On the way there, it began to downpour. Even though we took a bus most of the way, there was still some walking to do, and we were absolutely soaked. Once we got under cover of what we thought was the museum, we couldn’t find the right exhibit, and had to return once again out into the rain. Finally, we just had to ask the security desk at the front which was the right building to make sure we didn’t have to go out again.
Once we found the right building, the museum was incredible, and we got to see artifacts found from several hundred years of history. There were pieces owned by the first Vikings in Ireland, all the way up to embroidery of the 1900s. The displays were very cool, although looking at the completely dry leather shoes on display from the 1500s did make me think about how wet my own were (LOL).
All in all, it was a super fun day, but I can’t help but think how much dryer being inside 5 minutes (and a few puddles) earlier would be. Similar to making business decisions, deciding plans for a trip may benefit from multiple people putting ideas together. So moral of the story: from business hours to day trips, don’t be afraid to ask for help, or you might just end up out in the rain 🙂