Women in Business winners

Marian Kennedy, Post Partum Relief (PPR) Healthcare Ltd; Geraldine Jones (Mediskin) and Audrey McDonnell, Sola Energy Solutions, are the category winners in this year's Network Ireland North Tipperary Women in Business awards. The winners were announced at a gala dinner at the Thatched Cottage in Ballycommon earlier this month. The winner from each category will represent Tipperary at the National Awards, which take place in Galway on September 14th.  

 

Marian Kennedy, founder of PPR Healthcare Ltd, was the winner of the Emerging Business category.
PPR Healthcare is a company that is developing products for new mothers that will help heal, cool and soothe the sensitive areas of a women after she gives birth. Following on from her own experience giving birth to her daughter Emily in 2015, Marian found it difficult to source products that aided in her recovery; this resulted in her making her own remedies at home.
While Marian played around with the idea of setting up her own business, it wasn’t until the opportunity arose to apply for the Local Enterprise Irish Business Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) competition in December 2016 that she finally put pen to paper and started working on actually creating a business. That year she was awarded the runner-up prize for Best New Idea.
“For me, being a runner-up felt like I had won it all,” she said. “It was personal validation that I actually had something”.
This year PPR has hired two research and development companies to help with the creation of their products. The company is thrilled that all of its products will be created and manufactured here in Ireland.
Marian is from Clonmel and has been a member of the Network North Tipperary, Network Ireland branch since January 2018. Whilst there is a business network in the south of Ireland, it is not affiliated with Network Ireland so Marian travels to the events held at the Network North Tipperary branch.
“There is a real sense of comradery with the women in this group,” she said. “Everyone wants to help and support one another. It's inspiring and encouraging to be in that kind of network”.
Marian's background is working in various accounts departments of large multinational companies in Clonmel. PPR Healthcare Ltd is based at the QUESTUM Acceleration Centre, Ballingarrane Science & Technology Park, Clonmel Co. Tipperary.
It’s not easy starting a busy but “I’m extremely grateful to have such a good support network at home,” Marian said. “My husband and my family are always so helpful and encouraging; I know that whatever I do, they are 100% behind me.”
This year the business and Marian have gone from strength to strength, with PPR Healthcare Ltd having just been accepted onto the Building Cluster and Networks in Innovation Enterprise and Research (BUCANIER) Project, which is a new €2.9 million EU-funded scheme to support small businesses in Ireland and Wales.
Also, in March this year Marian was the first winner of the pitch competition in the Fuelling Ambition Roadshow, which was held in Co Waterford in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland, Facebook, the Entrepreneurs Academy and the Local Enterprise Office, winning a prize worth €4,000.
Marian said the North Tipperary Women in Business awards ceremony in Ballycommon on June 9th was so enjoyable and a credit to Network President Aileen Delaney and all members of the committee, whose hard work was evident from the events of the night.
“I am so happy to have been awarded the 'Best New Emerging' business in the Network North Tipp branch and I look forward to representing Tipperary in this category at the national finals in Galway this September,” Marian said. “This award means so much to me; it means that I have taken the time to step back and evaluate my business and it has been independently viewed and backed that, yes, we are on the right path.”
PPR Healthcare will be launching their first range of products, called 'Anewmum', towards the end of this year, with further products going to clinical trials next year. While she knows there are some challenging and exciting times ahead, Marian said her ner company will embrace them because they know that what they are developing is going to make the lives of new mothers better.

 

Geraldine Jones, who owns the award-winning Nenagh-based Mediskin skincare, laser and wellbeing clinic, won the SME under 10 employee category.
Geraldine (née Byrne) is a 31-year old skincare expert from Conakenny. In school, from as young as the age of 12, she always knew what she wanted to do: Making people feel good about themselves was her passion.
Completing her Leaving Cert when she was 16, Geraldine went on to follow her dreams of studying holistic and skincare therapies at Pembroke College.  She graduated with Beauty Therapy and Skincare diplomas from CIDESCO, CIBTAC, and ITEC, and then went on to graduate from Waterford CTI with ITEC and CIBTAC diplomas in Aromatherapy, Diet and Nutrition and Indian Head massage.
Geraldine later held many roles in Ireland and travelled to Australia to further her training. On returning to Ireland, she held a position with the prestigious Midlands Park Hotel. After 11 years in the industry, working closely with clients, Geraldine opened the now award-winning clinic Mediskin, which has a focus on cosmeceutical treatments.
Cosmeceuticals are cosmetic products with bioactive ingredients that have medical or drug-like benefits. Men and women alike are looking for innovative new ways to treat skin concerns and fight the signs of aging.
Mediskin has grown from strength to strength in three short years. Geraldine believes her team of highly-trained, passionate skincare experts are to thank for that.
Geraldine wanted to create an environment where the team come to work and enjoy their roles. She offers flexible hours to her staff as well as facilitating days off and holidays. She also invests heavily in training and upskilling her staff so that they are offering the highest quality treatments to their clients.
Mediskin offers personalised consultations and genuine care. Clients come to feel listened to for worrying skin issues or to improve their skin. Mediskin offers a unique skincare service, expertise and trust.
Clients travel from across the country; some ex-pats living in Abu Dhabi and Dubai even travel every six to eight weeks back to Ireland and have their treatments at Mediskin - a testament to the quality of services at this Nenagh-based clinic. Many of Mediskin's treatments are not available in other clinics and many techniques are unique to Geraldine and her team.
After three years in business and through her daily work with clients, Geraldine saw a gap in the market for a new specialised product range. 'Skin Formulas' was born.
Skin Formulas has been created to care for and treat the skincare concerns of its target market, a brand created by the customer for the customer, based on their actual needs and wants.
Through her work with Mediskin, Geraldine felt she and her team were not getting the product range, training or support they wanted from some of their distributors. They therefore launched 'The Joneses' earlier this year to act as a distribution and training company to showcase Skin Formulas and other great skincare brands in Ireland, giving Geraldine control of her brand at every touch point. The Joneses endeavours to create an online community, an inclusive brand - It's easy to ‘Keep Up With The Joneses’ when we are all part of the same squad. The Joneses offers a mentorship programme where Geraldine and her team aim to help independent salons grow and thrive.
Geraldine has a list of awards to her name including Business Woman of the year with Network North Tipperary in 2015 and 2016. She won the overall County Enterprise Awards in Tipperary in 2017 and has been a finalist in Ireland's Best Young Entrepreneur awards.
Championing female entrepreneurs is also a passion for Geraldine and she is Vice President of the Tipperary branch of Network Ireland this year, as well as having graduated from three years' participation in a female-led programme for women in business in rural Ireland, Acorns.

Audrey McDonnell - winner of the Employee category.

OFFICE Manager with Sola Energy Solutions, Toomevara native Audrey is responsible for daily office administration, accounts and customer care. She oversees all aspects of current works and liaises with fellow Sola co-workers in regard to scheduling of works.
Established by Paul O'Brien in 2008, Sola is a Templemore-based supplier and installer of a wide range of renewable energy systems and upgrade measures to the new build and retrofit market, such as air-to-water heat pumps, ventilation systems, solar panels, airtightness measures, insulation works and multi-fuel stoves. Sola specialises in providing turnkey solutions to customers right through from the design stage to project completion.
Audrey joined the Sola Team of three staff in June 2015. The Templemore company now employs seven full-time and three part-time staff.
Audrey's main role was to bring her knowledge and experience in sales and purchasing to increase sales, Sola's market base, and ensure that each project is managed cost-effectively and competitively-priced, reassuring the homeowner of value and service. This approach ensures that customers have a highly efficient home, saving them both money and time.
Customer service is a paramount element of business with Sola. Their knowledge and advice is clear and concise, and their highly trained and established team of staff can give all homeowners after-sales support and peace of mind.
Through hard work, the Sola team fine-tuned their services and, working with Tipperary Energy Agency and the SEAI, and new build projects established the company as one of the main contractors in the renewable market. Sola are experts in their field and benefit from extended warranties and recognition for their works by manufactures such as Mitsubishi, Joule and Aereco.
Audrey's role is to ensure that the Sola team, their subcontractors and homeowners, are kept in unison through each aspect of the works. This is the approach to all works undertaken - new build and retrofit. Sola aims to develop services and product ranges that are to the forefront of renewable energy technology and addressing of homeowner requirements.
Sola's portfolio of works gives homeowners, new and old, confidence in their work capabilities and ethic. Sola piloted the Superhomes Scheme in 2015 and completed seven of 11 houses. The company continues to work in conjunction with TEA, the Better Energy Communities and SEAI in completing up to 40 homes per year, helping to change people's perception as to what energy efficiency can be achieved in homes.
During her time at Sola, Audrey has been given the opportunity to be learn from people such as Blaise Brosna in the financial aspects, and the Lean Programme with Allyson Gray (mentor), in conjunction with LEO, to help fine-tune the Sola work practices. With the belief of her boss Paul, she has been enabled to undertake challenges and develop confidence and new skillsets, in areas of Health & Safety, HR and finances.
Along with her day job in Sola, Audrey is kept busy raising two young boys - Dan (9) and Milo (5). She also finds time to enjoy swimming , horse-riding, coaching the local Loughmore /Castleiney GAA, and treading the boards with Castleiney Drama Group.
Contact Sola at design@sola.ie / (0504) 58750.

 

Pictured at the North Tipperary Women in Business awards ceremony are (from left) Network Ireland President Roseann Heavey, Audrey McDonnell (Sola Energy Solutions, Templemore) - Employee Category Winner, North Tipp President Aileen Delaney, Geraldine Jones (Mediskin, Nenagh) - SME Under 10 Employees Category Winner and Marian Kennedy (PPR Healthcare, Clonmel) - Emerging Business Category Winner.