To be a small business owner in Ireland you really need to have passion for your products or services.
It's that real labour of love that will get you through the tough days.
As part of our Boost My Business initiative, Fiona Alston spoke to one small business owner who is so passionate about her work she continues to do it despite the fact it’s detrimental to her health.
Trish O’Neill is owner of Trish's Honey Products.
She’s a third generation bee-keeper who first found her love for bees while spending time with her grandparents during the summer holidays. It’s from them she learned her trade.
"From there it developed into me getting my own bees when I settled down," says O'Neill, who keeps her bees at her one-acre property at Dunhill, Co. Waterford.
"I discovered the benefits of using bees wax and honey, that’s how I got started."
"I will never go large in bee-keeping to produce honey. I just produce enough to supply my skincare range," she says.
"I'm always aware of the environment and how the bees are struggling and it's really to assist them in their struggle - this year hasn't been a great year for them with the rain and the wind."
Trish keeps around ten hives, each containing between 30,000 to 40,000 bees, which is a lot of workers to keep under control.
She says she’ll never expand on that - her reasoning is palatable.
"The more I’ve kept bees and the more I've gotten stung and the more I’ve developed allergies," she explains.
"Now I'm at the stage where I've been asked to carry an EpiPen. If I get stung on the face or the neck, I have to use it just in case, but if the stings are on my hands and feet, they swell up, but I'm fine."
"That's why I have to limit the amount of bees that I keep," she continues.
"This time of year you have to inspect them weekly so there's always a chance of getting stung. Even though you have the whole gear on, and gloves, you are still going to get stung at some stage."
O'Neil is self-taught in skincare, another skill she credits to her grandmother.
"My grandmother was always into that area, it's something I probably inherited from her."
Her organic skincare range grew out of her own need to find something she could use on her own skin, as she suffers herself with allergies.
"I did my research at farmer's markets to see was there a market for what I was producing. That developed over the years to what it is now, it was thriving until Covid hit," says Trish.
With her target market the tourist area, she had just got her products into Shannon Airport, The Cliffs of Moher and Bunratty Castle Gift shop before it all stopped, but a few attractions are calling for supplies.
"I'm lucky enough now with the reopening. Some of my outlets like Hook Lighthouse, Johnstown Castle and the Arboretum in Leighlinbridge, they are all opening and doing very well with people holidaying at home," she says.
Trish's Honey Products is currently developing two new products, with 'Irish’ in mind, aiming to collar the export and the tourist markets.
Her products carry the Guaranteed Irish symbol, she finds that this has made a difference to her getting her products to stand out, as her customers are looking to support Irish business.
