When it comes to dealing with Irish people in business on the internet, i tend to stay well clear… rarely if ever will i go into dealings with an Irish webmaster/entrepreneur.
As an Irish person myself, i don’t think like my fellow Irish. This week, for example… i offered to invest $200 in a dead Irish website to renew vbulletin and get a new theme/logo etc… The first question asked was, ‘Why do you want to invest in the site?’ I put forward my plans, my ideas, my goals… but eventually was told ‘no deal’ as the owner ‘didn’t want to surrender ownership’. I was looking for 40%. The site in it’s current state was losing money and had little or no traffic, yet my enthusiasm and cold hard cash were met with rejection!!
It typifies the Irish attitude – very cautious, very defensive and over-protective. In this line of business, that attitude will get you nowhere. This is why i hate working with Irish people on projects.. i feed off enthusiasm, positive thinking and friendship – which is exactly how i’m greeted by fellow american entrepreneurs. At the minute, i’ve several partners in America.
Even if you browse boards.ie, you’ll find a lot of very hostile and angry people there – almost looking to slam someone’s ideas or plans at the first chance they’ll get. A lot of posts are answered with a smilie – one which rolls it eyes and that’s it, nothing else.
It’s a flaw with us Irish. We’re always looking to cut people down, looking to pull them back down to our level… whereas across the Atlantic, it’s the opposite.
