Margaret Actively Supports Entrepreneurship, Particularly Among Younger and Women Entrepreneurs
Margaret’s story could inspire your to achieve your lifelong ambitions.
Margaret Valette O’ Connor was born and raised in the small rural town of Nenagh, Co. Tipperary in the Republic of Ireland. Her Mother, Ann, owned and operated a ‘Bed & Breakfast’ Guesthouse. Her Father, Fred, was the Manager of a local convenience store. Life growing up was modest and basic. Both Margaret’s Parents had a strong work ethic and worked long hours. In her early teens, Margaret would often be found helping her Mother in the B&B around school hours. It was there, perhaps, that Margaret developed her tireless work ethic and gained her first insight into the hospitality business.
After leaving school, Margaret completed a Secretarial Skills course and went on to work in Customer Service, Marketing and Administration roles for, among others, Irish airline Aer Lingus, Guinness (now Diageo), and the Irish electricity utility company, ESB. Margaret’s career path at the time was set – ‘a safe, steady job with the promise of a pension when you retired’. But shortly after getting married to then husband John and moving to Dublin, everything changed. A phone call came from Margaret’s Mother-in-law to say that the family bakery – Quigleys – back home in Nenagh was struggling and in financial difficulty. The young, newly married couple had to re-evaluate their plans fast.
After much consideration, Margaret and John decided to quit their “safe” jobs in Dublin, return to Nenagh and see if the bakery could be saved. The year was 1988. Margaret took on duties in Front of House, Marketing, Recruitment, Customer Service, and PR. John was responsible for Production, Distribution, and Financials. The bakery building itself was tired and in need of a lot of investment. “It was cobwebs and brickwork..,” Margaret recalls. The work was tough, the hours long and gruelling but the young couple were hungry and worked well as a team. Slowly, the bakery’s debt was paid off, the couple’s decision to return to Nenagh was vindicated and perhaps most importantly, the path was cleared for Quigleys to grow.
As well as running the business, Margaret went on to have four children. Stories abound of Margaret delivering bread crates whilst heavily pregnant and working on staff rosters from the hospital maternity bed, having given birth a few hours earlier.
“There’s no such thing as work/life balance. There is only life and everything pours and mixes into that pot. You just have to get up and get on with it.”
Quigleys now proudly has 18 Cafe’s around Ireland – including the original bakery in Nenagh – all supported by its own “Bakery + Kitchens” 25,000 sq.ft Production Facility located in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. The Company employs over 190 staff many of whom have been with Quigleys for over 20 years. With Margaret at the helm, employees and customers alike maintain their sense of the ‘Quigleys family’ and Quigleys continues to occupy a very special place in Irish consumers hearts despite considerable competition from local and international competitors.
Margaret actively supports Entrepreneurship, particularly among younger entrepreneurs and women entrepreneurs since it is often these two groups that face the biggest hurdles to success. But she also recognises the reality that with all of us enjoying longer lifespans and meaningful jobs becoming more scarce, we all need to get a little more entrepreneurial in our thinking and approach to life. Margaret hopes to begin a conversation around that.
Would you like to benefit from Margaret Valette O’Connor’s experience and unique skills?
To benefit from Margaret’s insights and experience in business, the challenges that women continue to face in business or to inspire and show what can be achieved with the correct, positive mindset, email: margaret@margaretvalette.com
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