Introducing Debbie Rymer

   Debbie Rymer has recently joined the CIM team as a tutor in Northern Ireland and has launched delivery of the Digital Diploma in Coleraine fulfilling a life time ambition of bringing CIM qualifications to rural areas.

Debbie specialises in strategic marketing management and focuses on helping start-up and growing businesses maximise the benefits of a customer led approach and developing meaningful marketing to strengthen their competitive advantage and improve their metrics and return on market investment. She has supported in excess of 320 entrepreneurs in the last 5 years through start-up, business growth and first time exporter programmes.

With 22 years of experience Debbie has worked as a self-employed consultant, a Senior Marketing Manager and as a trainer and mentor across a broad spectrum of industries having worked with blue chip clients from public, private and not-for-profit sectors, both in the UK and internationally. Debbie is passionate about entrepreneurship and helping local business to realize their potential in international markets using digital marketing as a route to market.  She has referred in excess in 50 clients to Invest NI in the last 3 years, single handedly delivering 50% of the Northern Ireland target on the Go For It Start a Business Programme.

In 2013 Debbie developed the Brand and Marketing concept for a new venture capital competition in Coleraine – “Venture Causeway” which won the 2013 Enterprise NI Best Integrated Marketing Campaign Award.

She has been a member of CIM for 11 years and was heavily involved on starting up the CIM Isle of Man Branch where she also served as a board member. In her current role as a Business Consultant within the Enterprise Agency Network in NI she designs and delivers marketing master classes and mentoring for Intertrade Ireland, Enterprise NI, the University of Ulster and Invest NI.

Debbie is excited to join the CIM tutor team and is feeling positive about growing the CIM brand and membership in rural areas of NI. Debbie commented:
“I am absolutely delighted to be a tutor for the CIM and to bring the CIM qualifications to Coleraine. It has been 11 years since I officially started my CIM journey back when I enrolled on the Professional Post Graduate Diploma. At that time I lived and worked on the Isle of Man where unfortunately CIM qualifications were not offered so I studied via distance learning, supported through intense study weekends in Liverpool and Reading which I absolutely loved as you just can’t beat the real life classroom experience. It was at one such weekend that I started dreaming that maybe one day I could bring CIM classes to the island. The dream began to take root 10 years ago, we set up the IOM Marketing Group with support from Dianne Clare who was amazing, she worked really closely with us to turn our group into a branch and within 2 years we were offering the qualifications on the island through the International Business School. Unfortunately for me this coincided with a career move which took me back to my home town of Portstewart in Northern Ireland. While I was really pleased to return home and begin my career within the Enterprise Development Sector, I found once again that to continue my CIM studies I would have to travel extensively. I did this for 4 months finish my post grad and again was struck by how fantastic it was to sit in a room with my peers and a tutor, so again I decided to contact the CIM this time to explore the possibility of bringing CIM out to the Causeway Coast.

Being a business mentor working with micro enterprises and a natural networker I have an in-depth understanding of the needs of small business owners and a wide network of contacts, so I felt I had a lot to offer the CIM in terms of building their brand, membership and studying members in a new geographical market. I contacted Richard Houdmont, another very helpful contact from my IOM days and am really pleased to say that those seeds sown all those years ago have now produced healthy shoots. We are currently offering the Digital Diploma and about to embark on unit 2 with 19 students who are all over the moon to be able to study right on their doorstep. We also have lots of interest from prospective students for courses in mid ulster and other coastal regions which is fantastic. I love learning and I get a real buzz out of imparting knowledge and practical experience. My students in Coleraine are already putting their learning into practice with some great results. I have learned so much from CIM and the amazing marketing directors with who I worked over the years and now this is my chance to give something back. Because of the CIM my career has continued to blossom and it is an absolute pleasure to be able to pass this on to other knowledge hungry marketers who will shape the future of indigenous rural enterprises in Northern Ireland.