Personal Profile

I have an honors degree in Business and Economics from Trinity College Dublin. I was offered a job with UBS Walburg in London but a little thing called love got in the road and instead I took a year out to work and travel around the world with my boyfriend (now husband). When we returned, I worked in sales and marketing for a clothing design company and then undertook the role of manager in my husband’s family business as it was expanding and growing and I have been working here since.

I learnt to say yes to things and see what happens. I was asked to be the co-chair of the Monaghan Town Team (a voluntary group that brings together business representatives and community groups to foster economic growth and development in Monaghan) a position I share with Emily Treanor and I have really enjoyed that. We plan lots of events such as the annual Street Food festival and the Business Awards and involvement in committees has been such a fun learning experience.

I was nominated to sit on numerous committees such as the Cavan Monaghan Educational Training Board and on boards of management such as Beech Hill School, Monaghan Institute, Youthwork and Youth Reach as well as on the Dundalk Institute Board of Governors and I again I have learnt so much and met so many wonderful people through this involvement. I particularly enjoyed this as coming from a private enterprise background it was very interesting to see how things work from a public sector side.

I believe that constant education and past times outside of work are essential to continue to grow and develop as a person. My father always said no education is wasted education as no matter what we learn, we will use that information in some situation on our lives. I was asked to sit on the Restaurant Association Skillsnet Committee which allows me the opportunity to help explore this and foster learning and growth within other people.

I have always prioritised health and fitness as it so important to be able physically and mentally fit . If you eat well, do some form of exercise and try to get a decent amount of sleep, you will feel better and be in a better place to tackle what life throws at you so I try to follow this as best I can.

Company Profile

Dinkin’s Bakery is a second generation family run business specialising in homemade breads, tasty treats and personalised cakes. We have been in operation over 50 years and have numerous home bakeries and coffee shops outlets throughout Co. Monaghan and Co. Cavan as well as an a la carte restaurant Taste of Tuscany in Monaghan town. We have a workforce of 90 people (85% of which are women) across our operations. We also supply to over 30 wholesale stores such as Supervalus, Maces, Centras, Spars and local independent stores. We have won numerous awards for our products such as Blas nah Eireann, World Bread Awards and Great Taste Awards.

What does #NWED symbolise for you?

A network that empowers and motivates its members and other women in business. It is an opportunity for its members to showcase their businesses and to be supported and uplifted by other members. An opportunity for women to share tips, insights and experience among themselves.

What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve received, that you’d like to pass on to others?  

I have lots!

1)       ‘This too will pass’- this applies to the bad times (thankfully) but also applies to the good times (unfortunately). Life does not stand still and neither does business so we need to be constantly evolving and flexible in our approach and thinking if we are to continuously evolve, grow and most importantly survive.

2)       Know your worth is important. From day one you always need to factor in a cost of your time and talents. You need to be paying yourself a wage and covering all overheads or it is simply not a viable long term option. If you needed to be replaced in your business, you would have to pay someone (probably more than you would pay yourself) and your product or service needs to wash its face.

3)       Get the money in – cash flow is the life blood of any business and set payment terms that work for you. Remember back to know your worth and what you are willing to settle for. If you state 30 days payment, stick to this, 30 days can become 40 days, can become 60 days and for a small business this can be very problematic. State your terms politely but firmly and you will get more respect in the long run.

4)       Trust your gut – every time I have gone against it, the situation or person has gone pear shaped. Even though your head might think that a certain person or offer is great, if your gut tells you otherwise then listen to that. It is always right.

5)       Empower your staff – you don’t have to do everything but you will be let do everything if that’s what you invite on yourself. You employ smart people so trust them to do their job. Yes it might not be strictly be the exact way you would do it, but there is more than one way to achieve the same result.

6)       Surround yourself with positive people – no negative nellies! Positivity breeds positivity and good things just happen. Chronic negativity is draining and can have such a toxic impact on your team and on your life. Things always work out – they might not work out the way that you want or think they should, but you have to believe that that is the right decision for the right period of your life.

What do you think the future holds for your business?

Who knows? Keep our market share and build on that. I have learnt not to be fixated on achieving a particular goal by a set time as life generally has a different idea for yourself and has a way of interrupting and setting you on a different course. Learn to be flexible with opportunities. If something comes up that you didn’t envision, explore it and if it takes you down a different path than you thought, think it out and see what happens. Some of the best opportunities for us have literally just popped up and we have gone with it.

Is there anything else that you’d like to add?

Women are amazing and that needs to be acknowledged and celebrated. A day’s work is done before and after work - be it childcare, family or community commitments. The ability to juggle and make it all work and handle the mental load is unique to women. Sometimes we need to realise that we don’t actually have to do it all. Ask for help. People love to help and often don’t realise that help is needed. If you are extremely competent, people think that you have got this and don’t need any assistance but the reality can be very different so just ask for people to do things if needed.

If you don’t understand something, ask the question. Don’t feel embarrassed if you don’t know. There is no shame in that.

No one cares – people only really care about what affects their lives so just don’t let the worry of what people think hold you back.

Make a decision – not making a decision is also a decisions. No such thing as the right decision – who knows what way things would have worked out otherwise.

It doesn't have to be perfect but it does have to be done. Don’t always wait for everything to be perfect on paper to do something as that will never happen and you won’t achieve as much.

Website address:    www.dinkinsbakery.com                          

Instagram: @dinkinsbakery

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