Shepherds Pie has just gone on sale nationally. It is very much felt that Shepherds Pie is the ‘here and now’ story in Ireland as it captures first hand the reality of the recession for the average self employed person, its brutal effects on their business, mental health, marriage and family life.

In the book I talk about the most private moments in my marriage, the fear of corporate failure, the public fallout as well as the off the record brutality applied by some Irish banks. These are all topics that I feel very strongly about. In Ireland and the UK today many self employed people have become so utterly gripped by the fear of the recession and what it is doing to their company that they themselves are causing fatal damage. Research shows that 7 out of 10 self employed people do not understand what they need to do in order to keep themselves afloat in the downturn.

My intention once the book goes national is to engage in a public debate on all of the issues that currently hamper SME. I want to be that voice and to use the platform provided by this book to encourage others to stand up and speak.

Some of the topics addressed in Shepherds Pie
                                                                 
Shepherds Pie – family business, recession & recovery – The real story
The 5 Cs – How they could save your business
Why you don’t have to emigrate to have a successful business
Creativity in business – how it will help to save the Irish economy
Being decisive in business – confronting all of your hostile creditors including banks
Coping mentally, financially, emotionally and physically with a global depression
Protecting your family and marriage from the effects of recession in your business
The invisible politics of being involved in a family business
Succession

The huge selling point of Shepherds Pie is that the story comes from a Joe Public. I am a non CEO, non economist and so the story comes from the heart of a normal 30 year old Irish family business. All the advance readings firmly suggest that the book will reach out and touch everybody that has suffered as a result of the prolonged recession. We believe that there is a genuine appetite for a normal story, a story that most people can relate to. The book has been endorsed by a number of people with a national profile and is the only release of its kind in 2011.