Savvy Women Podcasts

In this episode, Coach Ciara Conlon discusses the recipe for high performing business, knowing your capabilities and setting a successful habit.

In this podcast, Jacky Fox discusses the necessity of cybersecurity, why you should start thinking about your data and what you can you do to secure your families, your homes, and businesses.

Lorraine joins Susan for a conversation about Digital Business Ireland, her e-commerce representative body providing insights, research and networking opportunities that help Irish businesses be the best that they can be.

With over twenty years' experience in senior executive roles and on boards of public and private sector organisations, Brid Horan joins us as co-chair of Balance for Better Business. After taking some time away from work to start a family, Brid took advantage of the opportunities she was presented with and worked her way to executive roles in businesses such as ESB. Having retired from full-time work, she now aims to create gender balance in the world of business by setting targets for the inclusivity of women in Irish companies.

As an Irish immigrant, living in New Zealand, Fiona always found herself having one foot at home and one in her new country. As Mary McAleese explains,"The immigrant's heart beats to the heart of two quite different drums". Such was the case for Fiona until she grounded herself in Christchurch by starting a family and having her daughter, Cara.

Michelle Laux, director of examination development at CFA, planned on becoming a bank manager before she re-routed her career after finishing university. Entering a world of finance, working towards getting her CFA designation meant that Michelle would be on the same footing as those she worked with. The CFA program gives a strong understanding of advanced investment analysis and real-world portfolio management skills.

Amy Todd, the co-founder of Ox Box, had a typical childhood growing up in South Korea. It was characterized by enormous academic pressure and exam-focused learning. She wanted to do something different for those who wanted to teach their children English at an early age, connect with her native country and used Instagram to sit in the playrooms of millions.

"J'aime Nowak began her career as a realtor" in Arizona in 1995. She discovered an Irish guy called Brian Buffini, who was at an embryonic stage of building a real estate coaching and mentoring business. She believed in his systems and in using them as a manager, she reversed a six-figure deficit, achieved consistent profitability and created a culture to facilitate harmonious growth within 16 months.J'aime, is now Director of Corporate Development at Buffini Company, a senior member of the most successful small business real estate coaching business in all of America, talks us through how she arrived at the decision to take the biggest and smallest steps in her professional life.

My guest on this podcast is Joan Mulloy, a professional solo sailor. The life of a professional solo sailor is difficult to imagine for us "landlubbers": Joan shares her time between gruelling training, and finding sponsors for her races. Even though Joan sails "solo", she says "we" all the time, as she has needed to surround herself with a wonderful team to manage her campaigns. When she's not battling rough seas, she is writing proposals, just like any business would.

Amanda Newman, The Career Mum, talks about coping with redundancy, leaving with your head held high, and how her professionalism landed her a new prestigious job.

Irene started at Colégio Ricci twenty years ago as an English teacher. Today, she oversees the day-to-day activities of the whole school (2000 students) and makes sure everything runs smoothly. Not only that, but as the head of a religious school, she also inspires students to live out the values of the school's role models.

"Courage is the ability to acknowledge the failure but not let it paralyse you." My guest on this podcast is Margaret Molloy, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Head of Business Development of Siegel+Gale, New York Office.When I ask what she's most proud of, she says that it's the teams she built.

My guest on this podcast is Oonagh O'Hagan, the Owner and Managing Director at Meagher's Pharmacy Group. Today, Meaghers has eight pharmacies in Dublin and Co. Dublin, and it all started with the historical Meagher's pharmacy in Baggot Street.

"Good governance is invisible, but you can feel a spring in the step of an organisation that is well governed." My guest on this podcast is Bonnie Anley. She was appointed Chair of Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners in Derry in 2014. The port reported pre-tax profits of more than £2m in late 2017, and it indirectly supports 1,000 jobs and 20,000 farms. With so much experience under her belt, Bonnie has a refreshingly practical view of "women on boards": this can be a tired theme, but not so with Bonnie, who provides amazing insights into what it takes to become a valuable board member.

Roseann Kelly, Chief Executive of Women In Business Northern Ireland, talks about the importance of women business networks, making a network association sustainable, and international expansion.

The minute you start to build a business, you're out of your comfort zone. Fight your instinct to go back to it. My guest on this podcast is Maeve Kneafsey. She is the co-founder of CloudKPI, a company that provides startups with easy to read metrics for finance, marketing and sales. This gives startups an edge when they need to gather very precise data to give to potentially interested investors. She and her co-founder Brenda Jordan were recently selected to take part in the prestigious Women's Startup Lab in California.

Having that wider picture where you have a view of where you should be going gives you resilience. My guest on this podcast is Aisling Curtis, commercial director at Microsoft Ireland. Her mission is to help Microsoft's client businesses gain competitive advantage using technology. Aisling takes us on a fascinating journey of discovery - into the near future. Her insights into the digital transformation make for thought-provoking listening: if you are running a traditional business, it's going to be completely transformed or disrupted in the next few years. Do you have a plan?

The glass being half-full is real, and the glass being half-empty is also real: what matters is your perspective. My guest on this podcast is Charlene Mercieca, who created and runs the Soap Café shop and beauty salon in Sliema, Malta. Charlene started her business because she was passionate about organic cosmetics that would help her own skin conditions. She trained as a herbalist and found that all-natural soaps were a great way of incorporating fresh organic herbs into her care routine, because soap preserves herbs longer. One thing led to another, and Soap Café now sells lotions, sunblock, make-up and loose-leaf tea, all organic, all handmade in Charlene's shop. Her commitment to "cosmetics with a conscience" is awe-inspiring.

A manager has two jobs: take the heat out of situations and nip things in the bud. My guest on this podcast is Caroline McEnery, the founder and Managing Director of The HR Suite, an HR consultancy service. Caroline developped The HR Suite because she was hearing time and time again from business owners that HR was one of the biggest, thorniest challenges to the growth of their business. She recently published her book, The Art of Asking the Right Questions - A People Manager's Toolkit, as a guide to address the everyday situations that can make or break a team.

You should never sit still and never be complacent about your business. Go out and look under the bonnet, work shifts, so that you know what's going on on the ground. My guest on this podcast is Peaches Kemp, who revolutionised the Dublin food scene with her sister Domini. Passion permeates every last detail of their businesses: from the artfully presented, ultra-fresh, highest quality food, to the interview process (does this person share your standards?) and continuing to work shifts after 17 years in business... to perhaps opening a small café in retirement?

"Very successful people are in the moment. They honour themselves and the world enough not to project an ego out." My guest on this podcast is Mary Ann Pierce, CEO and Founder of MAP Digital. Mary Ann has been in a fast-evolving business for the last 20 years. And when I say "fast-evolving"... Her company brings the internet to conferences. Over the last 20 years she has seen everything from the birth of the internet right down to social media bursting onto the stage. She has has to keep her business model cutting edge and constantly reinvent her offering. How did she do that?

When you say 'I'm giving up, that's it, I'm out of here, see you later.' But no, no no no no, you have to come back! Imagine finding your passion in something that is not just difficult, but incredibly difficult. Imagine that what you love doing the most is something that requires tremendous effort, discipline and sacrifice. And still, the only thing that matters to you is that you love doing it, period. Ashleigh reminds us that enjoying the process isn't optional when you go after your dreams: it doesn't have to be a long hard slog, even when it's hard.

I felt very lucky that I was born when I was born because I ended up being able to experience this incredible revolution. My guest on this podcast is Barbara Messing, CMO of TripAdvisor, the indispensable resource on all things travel. Barbara has a refreshing and uplifting take on personal ambition and makes it very clear that it's crucial to remember that ambition goes together with having fun and being a superb team member.

Many women who attend our programme say to us 'I was really nervous, I felt almost embarrassed admitting that I have a political ambition'. Niamh gives us fascinating insights into politics at national and local level. While many of us see politics as divisive and confrontational, Niamh lifts the lid on what immense opportunities are available to women - even and especially for those who don't want to see their picture on a poster!

18 months from now, where will we be? And most importantly, how will it feel? At 23, fresh out of college, Julia created EazyCity to help foreing students find their feet in Cork and in Ireland. Twelve years later, EazyCity has expanded to Dublin, London, and now the US with a successful franchise model. Julia talks to us about seizing opportunities, how to manage fast growth and doing things on your own terms, while creating a company where people are excited to come to work.

I know where I want to get to, I don't always know how I'm going to get there, but I know what the end goal looks like. You don't have to have all the answers: you need to adapt as you go along. Siobhan says she feels self-doubt "every hour of every day", and still, I have seen her do incredible things. She organises events that sweep a whole city off its feet, and on the day of the event, she can be found cool, calm and collected, chatting to participants and making sure everybody is happy - she is not rushing around the place in a last-minute panic.

Many of us feel like our schedules are bursting at the seams and everybody wants a piece of us. Just keeping on top of things can feel like a challenge at times, never mind tackling the ambitious "someday" projects that will catapult us to success. So how do you manage your energy to make sure you have enough to do all you want to do without running on empty? How do you replenish that energy to avoid burnout?

"Selling" can mean many things: it can mean that you exchange a service or a product for money, but it can also mean that you show another person how they stand to benefit if they agree to what you are offering. We have many negative associations with selling and salespeople, but I think there is a better way to sell: a better way that's also more effective.

Thirty years ago Margaret Griffin opened her garden centre in Dripsey, Co. Cork. She started with a green field "out in the sticks" and today her garden centre is Ireland's #1. This is the story of how she did it. How do you start a business with no money, in a rural area, and turn it into a thriving enterprise, creating 36 jobs in the process? Margaret has some time-tested wisdom to share on the topic!

People often tell me that they would be terrified to have to go on stage and deliver a speech or presentation. I've had lots of practice of doing this: I started at an early age as captain of the debating team in secondary school. I can totally empathise with those who feel those nerves: I still experience them myself all the time. I'm sorry to hear, though, that they are so scared they are robbing themselves of wonderful opportunities.

I recently met Deirdre McGlone, the manager and one of the owners of Harvey's Point. I was blown away by her kindness, her warmth, and the extremely high level of excellence that she and her husband Mark maintain so consistently at the hotel. Harvey's Point has been chosen as TripAdvisor's "Best hotel in Ireland" three years in a row, the hotel is also among the top ten in Europe and the top 25 in the world. So I asked Deirdre to share the secrets of their success.

"Why should we choose you?", "Why should we buy from you?": if you are aware that many professional interactions have these questions at heart, then you can work on giving an honest, authentic and irresistible answer!

In this podcast I talk about what to do when things seem to be slow in your business: for many industries, the summer is a quieter time, when people are on holiday and everything seems to be on hold. But for a small business owner, a dry spell can mean a lot of stress and worry. So how do you prepare for a business lull, and how can you either avoid it or harness it?

This eighth episode is about fearlessness and the difficult but exciting path to success. My special guest is Joanna Murphy, COO of ConnectIreland. Joanna has extraordinary energy and my only regret is that I couldn't record a video of this interview. She has a very original life path, having started and sold businesses before becoming an "intrapreneur".

My special guest is Carmel O'Keeffe, founder and CEO of Dress for Success Cork. Carmel is an extraordinary role model: the empathy and kindness she brings to her latest venture at Dress for Success, coupled with her immense talent at motivating people, have brought about some extraordinary results.

How to think strategically and brainstorm ideas to make more money. You would like some breathing room in your budget, but you don't have a lot of spare time in which to work on the side. So let's get started with a strategic framework: in this episode I share with you how I think about making money. It's a repeatable process that will save you a lot of time.

Being positive and having a can-do attitude is my brand. Was I always like that? The answer, of course, is no - but I learned to be. Looking for a way around obstacles is a skill that you can learn and practice. If you have trouble switching off the negative voice in your head, what you need is a change in perspective.

This episode is about seeking out roles models and mentors. You'll hear about how I like to get inspiration from people who are "ten thousand steps ahead of me" and how that has helped me grow as a person and business owner. Role models are people you might never meet, while mentors might mentor you without them even being aware of it. How is that possible?

Discover opportunities where you thought there were none. If you've chosen a goal that is ambitious enough, you will find yourself leaving your comfort zone. Which means you will find yourself in uncharted (to you) territory. Your best solution in that case is to reach out to somebody who can help you.

In this episode I discuss strategies that will help you stave off overwhelm and be immensely more productive. They are not just "productivity tips", although such tips are useful. The strategies I share here, from the seemingly strange (hugging a book, putting an apple on the floor), to the more classic, will give you laser focus and will make sure you smell the roses along the way, too.

Being true to yourself is a wonderful compass and it will help you stop comparing yourself to others negatively (when you say "Oh it's alright for THEM to do this, but I could never do it because..."). It will also help you focus on what you can do right now - what is within your own sphere of influence.