#Reboot2020 webinar series helped PR Expert overcome ‘brick wall’
Why did you enrol on the Griffith College and Chambers Ireland #Reboot2020 programme?
On March 12th my entire business more or less collapsed. With the Government announcements, bookings I had for the rest of 2020 were rapidly cancelled or postponed. We were PR experts niching in live events and music festivals. I’ve spent 30 years working in this area and it was like a brick wall suddenly was built and to be honest, I had no idea what to do. I went from owning a growing business to owning one that stopped in its tracks. After a couple of weeks feeling grief for a business I thought I’d lost, a friend sent me details of the Griffith College & Chambers Ireland #Reboot2020 programme. I signed up thinking, well I’ll give it a go, and within the first webinar I was hooked!
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Can you tell us a little bit about the course?
Being given the opportunity to hear from some of Ireland’s leading educationalists in the business sector along with other business owners gave me hope. The hope I felt was that education was a key pathway to getting out of the mire and rebooting my business. Of course, I’d done the “Start Your Own Business” courses but what I now reflect back thinking is that I wasn’t really listening, I was so keen to get the business moving I just didn’t spend time really looking at how to structure and administer a business. The Griffith programme has woken me to so much I wish I’d known years ago. This is no time to look back but to look forward and put in place all the skills and knowledge I now have.
Before you enrolled on the course, what were you doing?
I have run my own business since 2003 and prior to that I was working with major record labels here in Ireland and the UK. The last course I’d done was in Event Management at night to brush up on skills but I was really scared of going back to education at 48 thinking I wasn’t able for it.
How has the course helped you in terms of professional and personal development?
The personal and professional developments I gained from this programme will stay with me forever. I can’t thank Chambers Ireland and Griffith enough for giving business owners such as me the opportunity to be proactive in a time of downright black holes. It’s given me renewed confidence in myself and what we can achieve as a business. It’s helped me reflect on what we’ve done, the incredible results we’ve achieved to date for clients and it’s made me realise I can do anything I want if I plan and put all I’ve learned into place.
What are your plans now that you’ve finished the course?
We are launching new PR101 and Social Media 101 courses for SMEs in September. I can now see my knowledge can be used to encourage other small business owners to take COVID-19 and use as an opportunity. On a personal level…I’m already looking at what courses I can do for Autumn/Winter 2020!
Anything else you would like to share?
Don’t be afraid to get educated no matter how long you have been in business. This programme has given me the tools to get back in the game. Going back to education at any age feels nerve-wracking. I can only say that in my experience this has been the saviour along with mentoring/coaching that will save my businesses. Griffith College has really stood up and helped so many small business owners during these times. Thanks to them and Chambers Ireland for #Rebooting2020 for me and many others.