I had the enlightening experience of chauffeuring him around on Saturday (bodyguard as well) to two of his parties. It was like having a green and white Justin Bieber in the car and we were mobbed as we pulled into his first gig in the Astro Park in Tallaght. He’s become quiet a celebrity and the must have party piece at children’s parties.

It all started out quiet innocently when after one of the SR games he went to a nearby hotel  to change from uniform into his civvies, and was mobbed by a group of young Rovers supporters attending a birthday party. And there after the Hooperman roadshow was born.

He’s had an incredible year and was nominated for the recent elections as the Shamrock Rovers Candidate for “Taoiseach”.

Yes, a full blown election campaign with posters, campaign team and press conference (check it out on YouTube “hooperman 2011 election campaign” ).

They’ve written songs about him and he’s been involved in ‘dance offs’ with mascots from other teams. Its all turned into quiet an enterpise and some weekends he appears at seven or eight parties around Dublin.

He has his own Face book page and YouTube channel, and a merchandising train is in motion with scarves, t-shirts and a range of other products on the way.

But credit were credit is due, the teenage Rovers fanatic inside the suit, has turned his role as mascot into an art; perfecting somersaults, handstands and other moves that would grace the floors of any dance competition.

His antics on the sidelines, as he entertains the SR faithfuls, have gained him international recognition with a Shamrock Rovers fan-base that reaches around the globe.

He’ also been involved in his fair share of controversy and when the famous Juventus team came to Tallaght he was chased round the pitch by an Italian camera crew as he thwarted their attempts to interview the Juventus manager.

But it hasn’t all been flowers in the garden. Hooperman was mugged… can you believe it – yes mugged; at a childrens party in Monkstown.

They played football with him – toppled him over - and then tried to detach the head and arms from his uniform. All hell broke loose and the Hooperman uniform spent two days with a seamstress in Tallaght .  And now he has a body guard, his brother Mark.

Yes its turning into quiet an adventure, and when I left him on Saturday he was on the phone to his Hooperman agent.

There’s talks of the show going National, with a Hoopertroupe, and a Hooperdance extravaganza. There’s also rumours of a Hoopmobile to ferry him to gigs and a Hooperwoman is hovering in the background (Ken and Barbie eat your heart out).

And whats all this got to do with The Waverley Academy and Beauty, Makeup, Fitness instruction or Complementary Therapies?

Nothing.  But I love success stories - and Hooperman is a success story.

And who knows – we might be seeing more of the hooped mascot at The Waverley Academy as he is due for a ‘service’ shortly and some pampering may be on offer.

So well done to Hooperman – Mark Lynch and all at Shamrock Rovers.

Entrepreneurism is alive and kicking in Tallaght.

PS. Watch this space for more success stories.

Surrounding yourself with positivity is crucial to your businesses success and will help reduce some of the stresses associated with starting a business. The following four areas are some of the ways you can create a steady flow of positive thoughts and energy. 

What you think

Your thought processes are probably the most important factor in your business been a success. It is vital that you adopt a ‘can do’ attitude and that  your thoughts are directed towards your business been a success. Your thoughts will have a major impact on your ability to move forward and over come obstacles, and it is important that any negative thoughts are replaced very quickly with thoughts that will take you nearer your goal. It is also important from the outset that you accept things will go wrong, or not turn out as you expected. But your ability to deal with these issues, and learn from them, will determine how successful your business will be. Your thought processes and how you percieve events will play a major role in these outcomes.               

What you say

Talking about your business to friends or colleagues can also contribute to your success, as long as you communicate the right messages. You might be suprised at the amount of close connections you have that might want to avail of your services. But you have got to communicate a confident message to them that you are the one to provide the service they need. So when people ask what you do, instead of saying you are just a ‘beauty therapist’ say you have a ‘beauty business’. This kind of a statement relays a professional  message and indicates that you are serious about the service you supply

What you read

The types of material you read can have a very positive impact on developing your business acum and mindset. Newspapers magazines, or biographies of successful people you admire are great ways of keeping you updated and motivated. Two magaqzines I would recommend that provide excellent information and uplifting articles are ‘Glow’ and ‘Women Mean Business’, both which are Irish publications. ‘Glow’ is a health and lifestyle magazine that also has articles on beauty and fashion with a host of top class contributors; while WMB is a business magazine for women with lots of snippets and articles on successful business women. You can find out a lot more information about both these magazines at http://www.glowmagazine.ie/ and http://www.womenmeanbusiness.com/. Two other magazines that are more industry specific to beauty are ‘Irish Beauty’ and ‘Salon’. These provide a range of information on industry trends and news, business related articles, new products and equipment, and training programmes. To subscribe to the Irish Beauty magazine contact 1800625180, and to find out more about Salon magazine visit http://www.ssh.ie/ or phone 01-2958181.

What you listen to

What you listen to and who you listen to can also have an impact on progressing your business. You will need all the positive energy you can get when starting out your business so try and surround yourself with like minded people or people who are supportive of your efforts. If you find that there is a person, or persons, who are negative towards what you are trying to achieve then you will need to spend as little time possible in their company. This may prove difficult depending on who the person is but it’s quiet possible that their negativity could affect your thinking and result in you doubting your ability to move forward. This is not to say that you should’nt listen to advice or constructive criticisim, but you will need to decide are their comments a help or a hinderance.