GMIT’s Mayo Business Innovation Hub (iHub), through the EMPOWER Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme, will host its annual Spirit of Entrepreneurship event online this year. The webinar will feature established businesswomen who will share their successful start-up experiences on www.spiriteventwest.com on Tuesday 8 September 2020 from 10am to 1pm.

Speakers include Galway native Lorraine Heskin, founder of Gourmet Food Parlour (2006); Mary McKenna, Donegal-based technology entrepreneur and angel investor who founded the online Learning Pool community; and Niamh McKenna, another Donegal native, and co-founder of ChangeX. Three EMPOWER participants Niamh Ryle (Homecheck.ie), Asumpta Gallagher (Best-Practice.ie) and Marina Murphy (Babyboss with the Twosie) will also pitch for a prize fund at this session.

A panel discussion will follow on the subject of Digital Marketing and Influencers. Social influencers taking part include Sinead Carroll from Galway, founder of Mini Media who set up the Irish Blogger Agency; Charlene Flanagan from Mayo, founder of Ella and Jo Cosmetics; and Limerick native Aoife McNamara, Irish designer and fashion influencer. Susan Hayes Culleton, “The Positive Economist”, will host the discussion.

Maria Staunton, EMPOWER Coordinator and GMIT iHub Mayo Manager, says: “This is the first year our annual Sprit of Entrepreneurship event is being held online. The challenges of Covid-19 are something we are all facing and speakers will give us an insight on how these times have affected their businesses. Challenges are part of any start up – how we navigate them will determine how we succeed in business.

“In the evening (8 Sept) we are having a online event (invite only) to celebrate completion of GMIT’s first EMPOWER programme. Noeline Blackwell, a human rights lawyer and CEO of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre is a guest speaker. Noeline will discuss how women speaking truth to power makes society better for all. She will also touch on some of the challenges and advances in women’s equality, and where women’s voices are heard in that journey. The evening event will also feature Clare Desbonnet, a recipient of two Network Ireland Highly Commended Businesswoman of the Year Awards in 2019 in the STEM and Employee categories. Clare’s work with Multi-National Corporations, and her successful navigation of difficult change management processes will be of great interest. We look forward to many women and men joining us across the West and North West for this event. To book, log onto www.spiriteventwest.com

About the speakers:
Lorraine Heskin’s Gourmet Food Parlour up to the end of 2019 employed over 300 people across its chain of restaurants and catering and events businesses. Lorraine’s talk will look at the challenges of Covid-19 on the hospitality industry. Lorraine was recently a runner up in the Entrepreneur of The Year category at the Image Women in Business Awards 2019.

Mary McKenna grew her Learning Pool online community (Derry) company to 100 people and 1 million online users and then sold it six years ago so that she could return to working with earlier stage startups and scale ups. Learning Pool was a bootstrapped business from the get-go which made for an interesting and sometimes terrifying entrepreneurial journey. These days Mary works extensively with first time and female entrepreneurs. She has invested as a business angel in eight early stage tech startups to date, four have female founding teams.

Niamh McKenna co-founded ChangeX, a community engagement platform, to make it easy for people to lead impactful projects in their neighbourhoods. The ChangeX team works with social innovators in Ireland and the U.S. to find and open-source proven solutions to environmental, economic and social issues. ChangeX partners with corporations and foundations to support communities with the necessary funding.

Digital Marketing and Influencers speakers:
Galway native Sinead Carroll took a leap of faith in late 2015 and set up her own business, Mini Media, a digital marketing company. Nine months later, she created the Irish Blogger Agency, a dedicated agency for digital influencer marketing, with clear synergies to her marketing business. Sinead hasn’t looked back since. Her agency formed a partnership with Swedish company Mikz Alliance in early 2018 to help develop a new online platform for the business, which made it easier to connect the right influencers with interested brands. She has 692 influencers on the platform, with a global reach of 7.1 million consumers. The plan for the platform is to go global, helping the right Irish influencers connect with brands across the world.

Charlene Flanagan, founder of Ella and Jo Cosmetics, initially started a Facebook page in 2012 which saw a growth of 25,000 followers in the first 3 years. Snapchat was introduced in 2015 which saw an overall viewership of 30,000. In 2017 the growth of Instagram for business began and Charlene has since grown her profile to over 43,000 followers.

Aoife McNamara, Irish Designer and Fashion Influencer, launched her own fashion label through Instagram at the age of 24. Working with some high-profile celebrities Instagram is more than just a pastime for Aoife – it’s a vital tool.

For further information about this event, please contact Maria Staunton, GMIT iHub Mayo 094-9043198 or email ihubmayo@gmit.ie

Issued by Regina Daly, GMIT Communications & Press Officer, GMIT, Dublin Road, Galway.
Tel 091-742826/087 9618355 (m) regina.daly@gmit.ie   www.gmit.ie/news

Galway-Mayo IT, IT Sligo and Letterkenny IT working together to become a TU for the West and North-West of Ireland

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With a Master’s degree in Financial management, Olga moved to Ireland 15 years ago and worked at different jobs until she had children and realised she needed to be at home with them. ‘I knew I wanted to be there for them when they were small and the only solution was to work for myself. That’s when I set-up my first business (Photography Business) which became very successful and gave me valuable experience and skills that were helpful in setting up and running my eyewear company’.

Our eyewear is designed in Ireland and custom made by a carefully selected eyewear manufacturer according to our specifications and it is checked by an independent quality control company. It is CE marked, conforming with health, safety, and environmental protection standards for products sold within the European Economic Area.

Fairy specs are dedicated to girls who dream of fairy wings, and magic dust; providing them with glasses that accentuate their features instead of overpowering them. Glasses so soft and delicate you barely notice them on. Glasses that give confidence with every look in the mirror.

We are currently selling online. We are looking at partnering up with stockists in Ireland, UK, EU, Canada, US and Australia and further down the line outsourcing our Business 2 Business (B2B) sales to independent eyewear distributors worldwide. At the same time we want to continue to sell directly to customers who don’t have any stockists near them.

The EMPOWER Programme has done wonders in terms of pushing me out of my comfort zone. The motivation I’ve gained from it has been amazing. I’ve been in business for 6 years but still learnt many new practical skills during this program that are going to help me on my journey. The selection of speakers and mentors was fantastic and it’s been a privilege to learn from some of the best experts in their fields. I enjoyed it so much I never missed a session and was always looking forward to what we were going to learn next. And last but not least thanks to this great program I now have a network of amazing people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.

Website https://fairyspecs.com/

https://www.facebook.com/fairyspecs/

https://www.instagram.com/fairyspecs/

https://twitter.com/fairy_specs

(+353) 892128893

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Nancy O Reilly set up Herbal Earth Skincare in Tooreen Co Mayo in 2018. Herbal Earth Skincare is a range of skincare products that are 100% natural, versatile and highly effective, formulated for sensitive skin. Nancy obtained a Diploma in Organic Skincare Formulation back in 2018.

Her range addresses the frustration women with sensitve skin have in find high quality, high efficacy products that genuinely will not irritate already sensitised skin.  Her motto is: ‘Natural. Gentle. Honest.’

Products include: Unwind Deep Cleansing Oil, Multi-fruit Elixir (spray), Sunrise Antioxidant Serum, Sunset Rejuvenating Serum, and Go-To Mask.

The brand is targeted at women aged between 35-55 who have sensitive skin and are into wellness and natural products.

Nancy says that the EMPOWER Programme ‘ helped me to define my customer better and provided good moral support from all the women on the same journey.’

She is waiting to hear if her Sunrise Antioxidant Serum has been shortlisted in 2 Europe wide beauty and skincare competions.

The future plans for Herbal Earth Skincare are to continue to learn and work on exporting to the UK and Chinese Market.

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Michelle Malone founded the Health Hub in Swinford in April 2019. Michelle has spent a lifetime involved in health and fitness from playing sport to working in fitness which inspired her to work in this industry.

Michelle was part of the Westmeath Intermediate All Ireland Winning team in 2011. She has numerous qualifications including a Diploma in Personal Training & Nutrition, 200 Hour Yoga Alliance Teacher, 3 International Group Fitness Qualifications, Pre and Post Natal Coach and various other teaching qualifications in the fitness field including boxercise, step aerobics and circuit training to name a few.

The Health Hub is a fully equipped Gym and Fitness Class Studio including personal training and fitness classes. The main target market is 25-40 year old women and also a Programme aimed at teen fitness something needed in todays age.

The future plans of the company are to continue to grow and provide a fantastic service to the Swinford area and reach a wider audience that are not always included in health and fitness like the older adult, exercise for mental health programmes and kids fitness programmes that are ran on a continuous basis and not just one off blocks throughout the year. The plan is also to reach out to schools to help encourage health and wellbeing from an early age and facilitate wellbeing weeks to include classes and talks to kids and teens.

When asked how the EMPOWER Programme helped with the process of starting a company, Michelle responded:

The EMPOWER Programme helped give me the support I needed to take the steps necessary, it was a platform to connect with others and seek the advice that you would not have otherwise realized was available to you. It has opened doors to people who can and want to help you and at it’s basic level it was a place to ask questions that starting out you needed answered but for me has always been a support long after finishing the programme.

Goal Setting

I use a SMART plan when goal setting:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Actionable
• Realistic
• Timely

I don’t over complicate things, I set goals that are important to me and then I work out an action plan towards achieving them. Keep it simple.

Micelle recently just won the Best Coach in Ireland at the Irish Fitness Industry Awards

Facebook: Health Hub

Instagram: Health Hub

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Louise always had a passion to help women realise their potential, to promote healthy and vibrant living. While all of us would like to have more time,energy and motivation to keep our bodies in check we often just don’t and we are too bamboozled by the information out there.

The FAB PROJECT is created to bring more awareness to our sisters, our daughters, mothers, to all females, that you can build a strong, functioning body, boosting your health and confidence. Its for females looking for a healthy life. You do not need your self esteem to be driven by magazines, insta likes and plastic surgery. You have your own unique and personal journey in this lifetime, so why try to be like anyone else. This perfect “celebrity” portrait will put more and more pressure on young girls and women to be like an ideal doll. Lets change that thinking. Lets not put pressure on our girls. Lets build a vision. 

Depending on where your fitness journey is starting from, Louise will tailor your FAB Program to suit your needs. It takes a consistent program that is adaptable to your lifestyle needs. One which meets the demands of your personal journey, the one you’ve been on so far, and the one that’s going to take you in the direction of your goals.

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The EMPOWER Programme helped Louise to think bigger and achieve more –

Empower really helped me to focus on the vision I want to create, with expert speakers, business advice and a very empowering group of women, led by Maria, who motivated and inspired me to another level. I think I would be stuck if I didnt have the opportunities I had with Empower and I really appreciate the opportunity to grow with confidence.

The Program includes:

• Weekly Workout plan with videos
• Suitable for improving athletic performance
• Home based workout you can do anywhere
• Gym based workout for the gym bunnies
• Tailored nutrition plan based on your personal figure and goals
• Weekly accountability and tracking system
• Access to the Facebook Group with the head coach to ask any questions and support other member

The Muscle Clinic

Results Ireland,

Liosban Industrial Estate,

Galway, Ireland

+353 87 9307 555

louiseloughlin@gmail.com

Wishing Louise the very best of luck

This project is co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Social Fund as part of the Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning 2014-2020.

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Lou Brennan had an early love for fashion and had the privilege of graduating as the first ever MA student in Fashion and Textiles at NCAD, in Dublin, over 20 years ago. Having worked in numerous studios around the world from London, Dublin, where she was the textile manager for John Rocha, to New York and Lyon in France, she established her own studio in London in 1999, after acquiring Zandra Rhodes own print table

Whilst working as a freelance designer Lou was also a visiting lecturer at various colleges, namely the London College of Fashion and the University of Brighton. Lou has sold her designs to well known names such as Donna Karan, Alberta Ferretti, Giorgio Armani and Dolce Gabbana to name a few, as well as seeing her work on the pages of Vogue and many other international titles.

​

As well as winning many awards, such as for ‘Innovative Fabrics, with the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), Lou has also produced fabrics for both Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan that are now in the V&A archives.

Since returning to Ireland, Lou has continued to diversify and as well as printed textiles, she creates hand embroidered pieces for clients and from time to time runs workshops covering many textile disciplines. ‘Although everything is designed in Ireland, the digitally printed scarves are made in Italy. I hand finish the small scarves and pocket shares here as I hand roll them myself and also make limited edition embroidered scarves, again all by hand from my studio in Mayo’. They are luxury items with a relatively high price point. Lou targets designer boutiques, museums, department stores such as liberty’s in London. The scarf market is growing year on year especially on luxury shopping sites such as Matches.com and Net a Porter for example. In the Irish Times recently, the beauty editor wote ‘ I like the idea of dressing up ponytails also with grosgrain ribbons (try WM Trimmings in Capel Street) or a silk scarf for a dressier look (I’m obsessed with Lou Brennan’s exquisite Irish scarves at the moment).

‘The EMPOWER Programme has been of huge benefit to both me and my business. I’ve grown in confidence and knowledge nad have a great group of friends now from the group that are a fantastic support. The programme was very robost and thorough and I loved the element of bringing in past participants to tell us their stories and progression. They were always so inspiring and the honesty too of the struggles was helpful as it kept it real and showed that you just have to plough on through the inevitable obstacles. Hearing of their individual successes was so inspiring’.

The future plans for Lou Brennan Designs is to grow a small support team. ‘ I will keep designing and selling and doing exhibitions. I would love to do some in the UK, France and New York also’.

I would also love to create a fashion house in West of Ireland

Website: Lou Brennan Design

Facebook: Lou Brennan Design

Twitter: Lou Brennan Design

Lou we love your designs. Keep up the wonderful work. Looking forward to seeing more.

This project is co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Social Fund as part of the Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning 2014-2020.

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Owner Cepta Mahon said, ‘​I love cooking and creating delicious food and my passion is to share my skills and knowledge with others to help them to cook and eat real food too. What and how we eat is so important to our well-being. Cookalicious is so much more than just a cookery class, it is about getting people together eating, laughing and learning – it is a cookery experience. ​ ’’

Each Cookalicious experience is shaped around what the client is looking for, so whether this is how to create an Indian feast, or how to host an elegant dinner party or how to create quick and nutritious family food or simple summer entertaining ideas, Cookalicious  promise to have a menu to suit everyone.

If booking a class for your friends or colleagues, Cookalicious will arrive at your home or workplace and turn your kitchen into a ‘Pop-Up Cookery School’. Cepta will carry out a cookery demonstration creating a beautiful selection of dishes for you and your group.

“You get to see real food, cooked from scratch and of course eat everything that has been cooked. You even get a beautiful Cookalicious Recipe Pack for you to recreate the dishes at home. Add to that the promise that the whole experience is delivered in a fabulously fun, sociable and engaging way’. 

Having designed and delivered numerous classes and courses for Galway Community College, Connacht Rugby, Deafhear, Early School Leavers Programmes and Supper Clubs for family and friends, Cepta is more than tuned into the appetite and need for cookery experiences in the Galway region.

When asked about the target market Cepta replied ‘So far it has been mostly women aged between 30 & 50. In the future I am keen to target new moms, young couples and groups of friends in their 30s and 40s. I’d love to do classes for teenagers and pre-college students too’

When asking Cepta how the EMPOWER Programme helped her business ‘Empower has helped me to shape my idea into a business that has the potential to earn money. It has helped me and is continuing to help me to look at things differently, to adapt & tweak and change things and to simplify. The continuing support of the programme has given me the confidence to bring my idea to life. Words cannot describe the importance of the encouragement, the support and the mentoring we are given. Empower has given me a tribe of like-minded peers to lean on and bounce off. It has helped me to realise that Cookalicious can be a business that can earn money and is scalable.

Website: Cookalicious / Facebook: Cookalicious / Linkedin: Cepta Mahon

Cepta Mahon- wishing you all the best with your new venture

This project is co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Social Fund as part of the Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning 2014-2020.

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Catherine Macklin had worked for many years running Heavenly Foods in Athlone.  She spotted an opportunity to redevelop and rebrand the business. Working in food was an area Catherine didn’t image back when she qualified as an Accountant in 2008 and Tax a Consultant back in 2012. Heavenly Bia was set up in 2018 and has been successfully growing under the guidance of Catherine since.

Heavenly Bia supply natural delicious Irish produce directly to your door. Their chicken and beef is all traceable back to its Irish source with nothing added to it but pure goodness, they also have a wide range of fish and shellfish caught by the finest fisherman in the great seas and oceans around us. Every product is individually quick frozen to lock in the freshness and preserve the nutrition. On obtaining the box of food you can then freeze and use when you need. No more having to go to the butchers every evening. They pride themselves on the fact that they want to deliver a service where families do not have to have concern for those unwanted chemicals that find their way onto our plates to often unknowingly.  They also supply desserts which again you can leave frozen until you need or even take out one piece at a time for those moments that we need a little sweetness!

They are now supplying in Westmeath, Galway, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, Donegal, Carlow, Wicklow, Offaly, Kilkenny, Waterford, Tipperary to name a few

Our target market is mainly working families and busy professionals who are time poor and need to come home from work and prepare a wholesome dinner knowing that they have a wide choice of chicken, beef, pork or fish in the freezer ready to be cooked.  A common customer feedback comment is “I love being able to plan the weeks dinners ahead knowing I have the main component in my freezer and there is never any waste as it stays frozen for 12 months at least and I can cook straight from frozen”.  We have had customers from as far as Texas, US where a lady ordered online and had the box of food delivered to her son in College in Dublin as a gift!!

Catherine says ‘The EMPOWER Programme helped me as running a business is a tough and lonely journey. Some days you have issues regarding administration, HR, logistics etc. I looked forward to our meetings with my fellow peers where I could discuss the issues I had and then we would all brain storm to help come up with answers to the problems. It also enabled me to get the frustrations out and to see that I was not going through these things on my own.  I also enjoyed some of the guest speakers as they showed us that yes there are tough days but you can get through them. I am looking forward to giving this advice back to more start-ups and I was delighted to come back as a guest speaker to EMPOWER Growth group this year. That hopefully enabled them to get the benefit of some of my experience in business

In the future I want to start selling wholesale to Shops and Restaurants and concentrate on growing our online sales alongside expanding our team on the road.

Contact: www.heavenlybia.com

catherine@heavenlybia.com / info@heavenlybia.com

09064 88733

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Best Practice was founded to address and support the many challenges within General Practice and to allow Healthcare Professionals to do what they do best which is to provide excellent patient care.  They help GPs to work smarter not harder while ensuring that they are maximising on income and that their staff are fully trained in their respective roles.

Best Practice also offer Practice Staff and GP Management training programmes which can be delivered in a number of ways.  Training can be carried out in-house and tailored to each Practices individual needs or it can be done by dialling in remotely.  There are a number of external workshops which are run across a number of centres across the Country.  Plans are now in place to provide an online training platform to provide training to Practice Staff to cover all areas from working in Reception to Managing a successful Practice.  This will hopefully be launched in early 2020.

Best Practice is aimed at all types and sizes of Practice from single handed GPs to large group Practices.  Asumpta and her team work directly with GP’s, GP Trainees, Practice Managers, Practice admin Staff and Primary Care Managers.

Asumpta is looking to build a full consultancy business in the future that will supply services to General Practice initially and expand to other areas within the Healthcare Sector.  When asked how the EMPOWER Programme benefitted Asumpta she said ‘it gave me increased confidence, new tools to work with and a network of ladies, many of whom continue to be an amazing support to me and my business’.

Website: Best Practice

Linkedin: Asumpta Gallagher

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‘I realised my art career had arrived at a fork in the road when it was costing me more than it was making.   Commissions were still coming in but they were not generating enough money to cover exhibition and show costs, never mind take a wage. Even though I was happy in my creative zone it was not a business.  I had to make a decision, either I continued to run at a loss, give it all up or find something else in order to obtain financial freedom.

At the time the insights into my career were taking place, I had hit a very low point.  I lost confidence in my abilities and myself; it had been a very, very difficult year.  The loss of my beloved father and my two wonderful dogs all within months of each other was a tremendous blow.  Following that,  an unsuccessful event in Dublin had not only drained me physically but mentally too.  I was ready to throw it all away and not keep going; yet my heart kept telling me you are too passionate about this to stop!

I had to take a step back, assess what I was doing and seriously contemplate the way forward.   I had toyed with the idea of owing my own business but as a artist, I had no idea how to run a proper business?  It would require changing my mind-set!! Could I do that?

Had I already started down that path without realising?  The last couple of years had seen me producing a range of blank greeting cards that my customers loved, they were buying them giving them to friends and framing them as mini artworks.  People loved the artworks but could not always afford an original piece, I needed to come up with a solution to a problem for my customer base. However, I was not really sure how to go about this at the time.

Then purely by chance, a friend sent me an email which changed the course of my artistic life….

The email was for a European Funded programme called EmpowerHer, Just what I needed as I and no knowledge of how to be a businessperson, after all I was an artist.  I was in serious need of a guidance. EmpowerHer was specifically targeted at female entrepreneurs in my region to address specific challenges that hindered females. Lack of confidence and structure was my personal challenge and this course opened the doors to my business establishment and growth.

The EmpowerHer course covered business problems, solutions, opportunities, customer relationships and revenue streams, all key to running a business; this is unfortunately not taught in Art College.  The programme boosted confidence and leadership skills, and trust me for someone who would rather talk to the animals this was an essential change for me. Through EmpowerHer’s wonderful facilitator Maria Staunton lifelong friendships formed with other female entrepreneurs and mentors. Doors and opportunities opened up and all I had to do was take the next step.

I am proud to be an EmpowerHer graduate; the programme gave me the foundation and structure I needed to create my business Rachel Dubber Design Limited.  Since it’s launch in March 2019 the business has gone from strength to strength.

I am grateful that I got the chance to participate in the programme. I am also very grateful to my family, friends and the people I met along the way who supported me through the tough times.  They helped me realise the potential and gave me back my confidence’.

Rachel received an honour’s degree in Fine Art GMIT Cluain Mhuire and has worked with animals for over twenty years, proving her ability to create authentic designs. Based in her hometown of Galway, Dubber primarily works in oils and graphite’s when creating her art. Her new venture into gift ware is produced using personal artwork and carefully sourced suppliers to create her unique products. Her aprons are now in eighteen local retailers and are also available to purchase online.

Rachel is well on her way to establishing a reputable brand in the West of Ireland. She looks forward to branching out into more retailers across the rest of Ireland by 2020.

Developing new artwork for products and expanding on the established ones keeps Rachel on her toes. Once she has established a strong foothold, her goal is to expand the brand overseas into foreign markets.

When asked how GMIT’s Empower Programme influenced her business, Dubber responded:

“It allowed me to grow as a businesswoman with a clear plan and purpose. Participating in the Empower Programme gave me the confidence and courage to pursue my idea and step out of my comfort zone.  Empower provides the support of a great network of ladies, allowing me to bounce ideas off them and let off steam when challenges arose.  The most beneficial outcome of this programme was not just the business information; it was the extremely mentorship, the solidarity, and friendships of likeminded ladies who are sharing the journey, peaks and troughs of being a Female Entrepreneur.“

 We wish Rachel the very best with her future endeavors and look forward to seeing the new merchandise!

 This project is co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Social Fund as part of the Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning 2014-2020.

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