Events aimed at inspiring female entrepreneurs to “Make it Happen” will take place across the country on National Women’s Enterprise day, 17 October. Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are organising 17 entrepreneurial events, funded by the Government of Ireland in partnership with Enterprise Ireland and Local Authorities.

“This year, we’ve 17 LEO events, all to celebrate women in business. Some are on their own, some with their partners and some in a family business,” Orla Martin, chair of the National Women’s Enterprise Day Committee and head of enterprise with LEO Offaly, told Irish Country Living.

"Studies done show the importance of role models that other female entrepreneurs can identify with."

“The purpose is to showcase the variety of women in very different businesses. Some are artisan food businesses, right up to multinational companies.”

National Women’s Enterprise Day (NWED) takes place on 17 October.

NWED ambassadors will be sharing their success stories at events in Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Sligo, Waterford, Wexford, and Wicklow.

These include Sonia Deasy of the global skincare company, Pestle & Mortar; food entrepreneur and TV chef, Catherine Fulvio and fashion tech entrepreneur and broadcaster, Sonya Lennon.

While the day is targeted at women who are already in business, Orla says talks will also apply to start-up companies.

“It’s really about the inspiration. The theme this year is ‘making it happen’. We’re conscious that it is how each individual wants it to happen, a pace that suits them.

"As a Local Enterprise Office staff person you can look at a business and envision huge growth. But the business owner may want to focus on a new product range rather than hiring staff.”

Speakers at the various events will share their own stories about getting into business, overcoming challenges and insights into how they dealt with them.

“For plenty of people, there will be a real human story such as overcoming serious illness, in addition to business. The idea is to connect and inspire.”

There are a lot of people looking at self-employment either on a part-time or full-time basis in their 40s and 50s

Nearly 40% of new business owners in Ireland are women, showing that the gender gap is narrowing, according to the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report.

Through the LEOs, there was a higher take-up of supports by female entrepreneurs last year – from those that were looking to start a new business venture by themselves to those that wanted to grow an existing family business.

“There are a lot of people looking at self-employment either on a part-time or full-time basis in their 40s and 50s, it’s not necessarily just people in their 20s.

"These would have a wealth of experience in industry or business and want to try something new,” Orla says.

Some 21,859 female participants took part in training programmes with their LEO in 2018, an increase of 18% on 2017 figures. There was also a big increase in the number of female entrepreneurs benefiting from business mentoring through their LEO last year – from 3,832 in 2017 up to 4,565 in 2018 (up by 19%).

For more information on National Women’s Enterprise Day and to find out how to book tickets to events nationwide, go to www.LocalEnterprise.ie/nwed. Tickets are subsidised and some venues are free to attend but pre-booking is advised.

In conversation with

The following give a flavour of some of the ambassadors that will be taking part. To find out who is ambassador for your local event visit www.localenterprise.ie/nwed

Vicki O'Toole of JJ O' Toole Packaging in Limerick.

Cavan

Vicki O’Toole, CEO, JJ O’Toole Ltd, Co Limerick

Founded in 1914, JJ O’Toole Ltd is a packaging and design company supplying places such as Brown Thomas, Selfridges & Co, Newbridge Silverware, Dunnes Stores and Shaws.

In 2002, the company suffered major losses overnight with the introduction of the bag tax – this is when Vicki stepped in to help out her husband, Fergus. She took over as managing director of the company in 2008 when her husband became ill.

“I don’t get out of the office that much, when you actually go and meet and connect with people it’s fantastic. We have all had rocky roads, ups and downs. It’s been tough work and every day we are learning.

“I like to hear real stories, not just pie charts, percentages etc. The bad things have to be thrown in with the good things. Being self employed is hard work, I was working last Sunday. Nine to fives? Forget it.

“Standing in front of people telling my story is still difficult, but I feel a bit better because you are helping others.

“You do feel good when you challenge yourself to do something you’re not comfortable doing.

“Everybody should make more of an effort [to attend events], including myself, because you come away buzzing. It’s also the connections – you never know who you’re going to meet. The more you get out of the four walls in your office you think clearer. Sometimes it is easier to stay in the office. But making the effort is always worth it. It’s like going to the Ploughing, meeting old clients and new ones. It has to be enjoyable, it’s not supposed to be hard work.”

Liz Christie of Hand Woven in Ireland in Monaghan.

Monaghan

Liz Christie, founder, Hand Woven

Liz Christie set up Hand Woven in 2001 and built up her hand-weaving business firstly by working from home. In 2003, she built a workshop beside her house for her growing family of looms before moving into Swallow Studios in 2004.

Liz is a member of Monaghan Women in Business and Business Network Ireland.

“I have been going to the network events for years. You always learn something; every day is a learning day. To hear people telling their stories is invaluable. I don’t get to all the events [LEO] put on, if there is something I think is particularly relevant to me, I make the effort to go to it. Especially in a creative business, I’m very hands-on and sometimes it is good to step away for a while.

“For the National Women’s Enterprise Day events there’s a great opportunity when the speaker is finished to get around the table and learn from each other. It’s very much peer to peer learning. You could end up talking about physical or mental issues as well as business.

“LEO is very supportive to small businesses. The first funding I had for my business was from the county development team in 1998 towards buying a loom which I’m still using.”

“One LEO workshop that really sticks out for me is one I did on how to make a high-quality video on your mobile phone, set it up, make it and upload to the internet. The company they got in to do that was excellent.”

Kate Gaynor of The Paint Hub in Carlow.

Carlow

Kate Gaynor, The Paint Hub

Kate Gaynor took over the family business – an industrial paint business – in Carlow in 2011. She also recently opened the company’s first specialist decorative paint store called The Paint Hub.

She travelled to the UK to study paint and became the first woman to qualify as a level II Paint Inspector with the British Institute of Corrosion.

Emma Rose Conroy of EuroStallions Ltd in Offaly.

Offaly

Emma-Rose Conroy, CEO, Euro Stallions (Ireland) Ltd

Dr Emma-Rose Conroy is a vet, she runs a stallion semen agency for breeders and has established an EU-approved stallion semen, embryo collection and freezing centre.

This allows them to export semen and to offer this same service to stallion owners based in Ireland who own a stallion with EU customers.

Mary Walsh of Ire Well Pallets Ltd in Wexford.

Wexford

Mary Walsh, founder, Ire Well Pallets Ltd

Mary Walsh is the co-founder of Ire Well Pallets Ltd, which was set up in 1990. Starting out with just three employees, the company manufactures pallets and now employs 50 people in their facility outside Gorey. Mary comes from a background in banking and finance.

Clare

Jean McCabe, founder, Willow

Jean McCabe is the founder of multi-brand retail stores in Ennis and Galway, targeting fashion-conscious women.

At the age of 21, she created the brand Willow and her first fashion retail store in Ennis. Jean is winner of Retail Excellence Store of the Year 2019 and deputy-chair of Retail Excellence Ireland.

Georgia Visnyei of The Art of Coffee in Leitrim.

Leitrim

Georgia S Visnyei, founder, Art of Coffee

Originally from Hungary, Georgia S Visnyei originally worked as an architect but due to the recession, she lost her job in 2008. Starting off by roasting coffee in her kitchen, Georgia then set up Café Lounge in 2010. As the demand for her roasted coffee grew, she invested in a separate coffee roaster premises.

Wendy Oke of TeachKloud in south Cork.

South Cork

Dr Wendy Oke, founder, TeachKloud

Dr Wendy Oke has always believed that access to a quality education can help any child reach their full potential. During her PhD she discovered that in early childhood education and care there is a staff turnover rate of 28%. TeachKloud is a cloud-based management and compliance platform that helps teachers refocus their attention on the development of the child with less time and anxiety spent on paperwork.

Ann McGee of MIAS Pharma in Fingal.

Fingal, Dublin

Ann McGee, founder/CEO, MIAS Pharma Ltd

In 2006, Ann set up her own company, McGee Pharma International (MPI), offering consultancy services to the pharmaceutical sector. The company grew into a multi-award-winning pharmaceutical business. Ann founded MIAS Pharma Ltd in 2017 to enable pharma and biopharma companies to manufacture and import products into the EU.

Meath

Lorraine Murphy, founder, Lorraine Murphy Coaching and Training

After working abroad, Lorraine had a specific interest in designing educational and supportive programmes for asylum seekers and refugees coming into the country. She identified common trends in female clients and helped women set up their own businesses. She now provides coaching and training for executives, business owners and senior management in high potential companies wishing to scale and grow.