National Women's Enterprise Day at Dunboyne Castle
Written by Laura McDermott, CEO of Colectivo.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of joining the panel at National Women's Enterprise Day in Meath, held in the beautiful surroundings of Dunboyne Castle Hotel.
It was a milestone year in more ways than one. National Women's Enterprise Day, run by the Local Enterprise Offices, turned 20 this year, with 16 events taking place across the country on the same day. And for the first time, Meath hosted its own standalone event, a sign of how strong and engaged the county's network of women in business has become.
A day built around connection
The programme brought together themes like leadership, wellbeing, sustainability, resilience and personal growth. That mix set the tone for the whole day. It treated business growth and personal growth as two sides of the same story.
Award-winning broadcaster Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh was our MC, and broadcaster and wellness advocate Clare McKenna gave the keynote.
I then joined Clare and Amy Bracken, genealogist, historian and founder of Global Irish Genealogy, on a panel discussion facilitated by Bláthnaid. The panel felt less “panelly” and more like a chat between friends and a warm group of ambitious women in the audience. Topics like our entrepreneurial journeys, work-life balance, professional confidence and future goals all came up, with many of those questions arising from the room itself.
Our work comes from very different worlds: heritage and genealogy; broadcasting; wellness and sustainability, but what became clear is that many of the challenges and aspirations are common across women who seek to do something different in their space.
Sustainability belongs in every growth story
When I set up Colectivo four years ago, I wanted to show that sustainability isn't a bolt-on for big corporates. It's a way of building a business that lasts. Many of the women founders I meet already think that way. They care about their communities, their suppliers and the legacy they're building, even if they wouldn't always call it "sustainability".
The message I wanted to share on the panel was that you don't need a big team or a big budget to start. There are tools and frameworks - like those for example from B Corp™ - as well as grants and supports from Local Enterprise Offices, that can help along the way.
As a Green Service Provider to clients of the Local Enterprise Offices, we see first-hand how programmes like LEO Green for Business help small businesses take their first practical steps, from understanding their footprint to finding savings and new opportunities.
Go raibh maith agaibh (Thank you)
A huge thank you to the team at the Local Enterprise Office Meath for inviting me to be part of this milestone year, and to Bláthnaid, Clare and Amy for such a warm and thoughtful day. Thank you too to the Women in Business and Tech Network and Network Ireland Meath, whose energy and support for one another made Meath's first standalone National Women's Enterprise Day possible. And to everyone who came along, said hello and shared their story - it really was such a lovely, warm atmosphere.
If you're a woman in business thinking about where sustainability fits in your growth plans, we'd love to hear from you. Connect with us on LinkedIn.
