E299 That Great Business Show - She Got Into Tesco...Then One Rogue Zero Nearly Blew It Up | Erica Sheehan, Homespun

E299 That Great Business Show - She Got Into Tesco...Then One Rogue Zero Nearly Blew It Up | Erica Sheehan, Homespun

She Got Into Tesco... Then One Rogue Zero Nearly Blew It Up | Erica Sheehan, Homespun Real business. Real lessons. Listen to us — or learn the hard way. Everybody loves a success story. Few sees the panic behind it. This week on That Great Business Show, Erica Sheehan returns three years after her first appearance to reveal what really happened behind Homespun's growth. The headlines look great: • Tesco listings • SuperValu success • Amazon UK sales • New product launches • Growing retail footprint The reality? • Five years searching for the right manufacturer • A supplier pulling out after months of development work • A coconut oil shortage threatening production (Monaghan seems to be a good source of coconut oil!) • Thousands of online orders arriving overnight after one influencer mention • A Tesco launch nearly derailed because of a single rogue digit in a barcode This is entrepreneurship without the Instagram filter. Erica also reveals how a chance encounter in Avoca led her to the manufacturer who finally cracked the code, why Amazon is far harder to sell on than most people imagine, and the advice she received from the late, great Ray Coyle of Tayto. Sponsored by De Facto® the world's best all-natural shaving oil — shaving foam cans are sent to landfill. It's the law. De Facto is 100% recyclable. DeFactoShave.com. HIRE IN A HEARTBEAT Erica's picks: • Katie McNally (Craig Oven) — content creator who helps bring the Homespun brand to life online. • Ian Dobby — veteran food industry advisor and mentor whose experience has helped Erica navigate growth and avoid costly mistakes. Find all episodes at www.ThatGreatBusinessShow.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

E298 That Great Business Show - They accidentally built a sauce empire - Garret FitzGerald & Sofie Rooney, Chimac

They built a fried chicken restaurant. Then accidentally built a sauce empire. Most couples argue about whose turn it is to empty the dishwasher. Sofie Rooney and Garrett FitzGerald argue about chicken. And somehow that turned into Chimac — one of Ireland's most talked-about restaurant brands and now a fast-growing food business stocked in Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Selfridges, Whole Foods and beyond. On this episode: * How a trip to South Korea changed their lives * Why Sophie got scurvy from eating too much fried chicken (true!) * The restaurant that nearly broke them * The US distributor disaster that left them stranded * How they went from packing sauce bottles in their sitting room to exporting internationally * Why food businesses are brutally difficult * Why they still think it's worth it * And yes, Garrett also explains why Ireland should become a global ham superpower. This is business at its messiest, tastiest and most entertaining. Their 'hire in a heartbeat'? Sophie went for Fiona Fitzpatrick, founder of Brand Growth Heroes and former Nestlé, Gü and Japoni executive. Sophie describes her as one of the most insightful consumer-brand strategists she has encountered and would hire her to help Chimac scale internationally. Garrett chose William Exner, a former Chimac team member from Brazil. Garrett highlighted his intelligence, work ethic, adaptability and positive attitude, describing him as someone he would hire again immediately.  Brought to you by De Facto Shaving Oil. The world's best shaving oil. Not a beard oil. A shaving oil. DeFactoShave.com Our Gentleman’s (and ladies’) Agreement is simple: we do the work, you hit subscribe. Fair exchange. Find all episodes at www.ThatGreatBusinessShow.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

E297 That Great Business Show - She gave her company to the staff - Joan McCoy, White Ink Architects

She GAVE AWAY her company. To the staff. No Silicon Valley gimmick. No kumbaya management retreat. No hippy dippy stuff. Just hardnosed business. Just one brutally practical question: “Michael Smurfit regarded equity as blood… so why would you ever sell ? Conall Ó Móráin sits down with Joan McCoy of White Ink Architects — one of the leading voices in employee ownership across Ireland and the UK — to explain why businesses owned by staff often outperform traditionally-owned firms. And then comes the jaw-dropper. In Ireland? It is often CHEAPER to sell your business to a foreign buyer than to your own employees. Madness. This episode covers: • Why employee-owned firms often grow faster • Why staff suddenly start acting like owners • Why Ireland is behind the UK and Canada • Why ordinary workers getting wealth matters • Why architects are suddenly talking like economists • Why the Tánaiste may finally be waking up to this issue Plus: • Wolfgang Digital • John Lewis • ARUP • Housing chaos • Social housing economics • And the most Irish Department of Finance problem imaginable Joan's 'hire in a heartbeat', Michael Keaveney, Director of Land and Acquisition at Grainger plc. She described him as someone with a very direct style who can “cut through the noise and really get to the crux of the matter”, particularly around housing viability, social housing economics, and having “the right conversations” about the real scale of the housing crisis.  This is one of those episodes that quietly changes how you think about business. Brought to you by De Facto Shaving Oil. The world’s best shaving oil. Not beard oil. Shaving oil. DeFactoShave.com #EmployeeOwnership #IrishBusiness #SMEs #SuccessionPlanning #Architecture #Leadership #BusinessIreland #WolfgangDigital #JohnLewis #ARUP #HousingCrisis #Entrepreneurship #ThatGreatBusinessShow Find all episodes at www.ThatGreatBusinessShow.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

E296 That Great Business Show - How to Get 10–15 HOURS of Your Week Back (Without Hiring Anyone) - Barry Cryan

E296 That Great Business Show How to get a month a year of your time back. And it's free. The Two Barrys: One Built the System. One Was Drowning — Until It Worked. What if you could get a THIRD of your working week back? Not by hiring. Not by working longer. Not by burning out (more). But by stopping bad decisions. ON this episode, two Barrys walk into the studio — and one walks out with his life back. Barry Cryan built a system to eliminate “micro-decisions” — the tiny interruptions that kill momentum, drain energy, and keep founders trapped in their business. Barry Flanagan was running THREE businesses — Lock 13 pub, Kildare Brewing Company, and Pro Culture Kombucha — and hit the wall. 60-hour weeks. No clarity. No headspace. Now? Structure. Systems. Staff aligned. Time back. (And he's no longer manning the chip fryer on a Friday evening). This is not theory. This is before-and-after business. Expect: • Why “busy all day” is actually business failure • The hidden tax of micro-decisions • How founders become the bottleneck (and don’t realise it) • Why 2.5 hours a week can buy back 10–40 hours • The moment a business owner realises… they don’t actually have a business And yes — we ask the uncomfortable question: If you’re working IN the business… do you even own one? This episode is brought to you by De Facto Shaving Oil. No waste. No cans. No landfill. Just the best shave you’ll ever have. DeFactoShave.com Our Gentleman’s (and ladies’) Agreement is simple: We do the work. You hit subscribe. Fair exchange. CHAPTERS 00:00 The question that changes everything 01:30 What “systems” actually mean 05:30 From burnout to 5x productivity 10:00 The Instagram ad that changed everything 15:30 Why founders are the bottleneck 20:00 The solopreneur reality (and opportunity) 25:00 Delegation vs control 30:00 The cost of NOT changing 34:00 Hire in a Heartbeat Find all episodes at www.ThatGreatBusinessShow.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

E295 That Great Business Show - Rihanna’s Knickers to Clinical Waste, a €27 Billion Opportunity - Lisa O'Riordan

Rihanna’s knickers. That’s where this episode starts. From there, Conall Ó Móráin meets Lisa O’Riordan live at the RDS Finding Common Ground Festival to unpack one of the biggest unseen business opportunities in the world: Waste. Her company is tackling single-use PPE — used in the tens of millions across healthcare and industry — and turning it into a circular, compostable solution. But this is not a feel-good story. It’s a hard-edged business reality: Margins matter Procurement blocks change And “cheap” is still king Supported by De Facto Shaving Oil The shaving oil that goes on your face — not into landfill. DeFactoShave.com Subscribe and stay ahead of real business. SHARE Find all episodes at www.ThatGreatBusinessShow.com ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.