Going for Growth: Tallaght entrepreneurs complete award-winning programme

TWO Tallaght women completed an award-winning programme for female entrepreneurs called Going for Growth last week.

Now in its 15th cycle, a total of 48 women completed the most recent cycle last week, with Tallaght businesswomen Emma Kennedy, MD of The Echo, and Sharon Keegan of Peachylean among them.

The women were put through their paces on the programme, where they learned about achieving their growth ambitions by growing their sales and creating additional employment.

The course commenced last January, and after some hesitation at the beginning, the entrepreneurs formed strong bonds and quickly got to grips with the programme.

Ms Kennedy said: “We all started off in January a little nervous and unsure of what the experience would be like.

“Our group was made up of businesses that were all at completely different stages and varying sizes, however we all have very similar business struggles.

“Over the course of the six months, we all became very confident that we could be open and speak truthfully to each other.

“It was an amazing space where we could all be honest about our business highs and lows, and the advice and support from our mentor Oonagh O’Hagan and from my peers in the group was invaluable and will stay with me throughout the rest of my career.”

Emma Kennedy from The Echo with Sinead Lonergan, Women in Business Manager, Enterprise Ireland

When asked what the most important things she learned during the course were, Ms Kennedy from The Echo said: “Three things stood out to me most.

“Firstly, that ultimately you are not alone with your business concerns, all female business owners are going through or have gone through the same highs and lows as you!

“Secondly, it was also a great personal journey for me, opening my eyes to what might be a different route for me to take, and to not be afraid to make change.

“Thirdly, that local news has a rightful place in our business community and must survive to tell the story, and with the right people and our loyal diaspora here and abroad continuing to support it, we will prove that local journalism in Dublin, Ireland and around the globe, must, can and will survive the test of time.”

The entrepreneurs all gathered in Dublin last week to receive their certificates, and Ms Kennedy said the experience was both personally and professionally fulfilling.

The Going for Growth Team: Ruth Roberts, Cogs The Brain Shop, Martina O’Donovan, Harper Boutique, Niamh O’Connor, Quigleys Cafes, Niamh Hogan, Holos Skincare, Kylie O’Donoghue, FemFuelz, Oonagh O’Hagan, Group Mentor of Meagher’s Pharmacy, Emma Kennedy, The Echo Newspaper, Georgie Crawford, The Good Glow, Sinead Keary, Sinead Keary the Label and Sharon Keegan, Peachylean

“I felt extremely emotional, to be honest,” she said, when asked how she felt about completing the course.

“It was a wonderful journey of business and personal clarity, and having now befriended the nine other women on our team, it was an emotional end, but also a wonderful beginning of great new friendships and flourishing businesses.

“It was also an unbelievably empowering day, surrounded by all the women who participated – there were five groups in total – receiving the recognition they truly deserve and discovering some of the outstanding businesses that these women are creating and leading to substantial growth.”

Ms Kennedy added that she would like to thank the group’s mentor, Oonagh O’Hagan of Meaghers Pharmacy, and Paula Fitzsimons of Going for Growth for their support during the course.

At the beginning of the cycle, the Going for Growth participants had a turnover of more than €70m, employed over 800 people and almost half of them were exporters.

All set ambitious targets and built on these impressive numbers over the last six months of Going for Growth, which is sponsored by Enterprise Ireland and KPMG.