ThunderSolas is company creating accessories and jewellery for men and women in Dublin’s Temple Bar, employing four people on a full- and part-time basis.
What sets your business apart from the competition? The huge variety of products we offer, not only for women but for men also; the quality of the leather, variety of colours and value for money are quite unusual for Ireland; the fact that I have a workshop within the shop space where people can see me working away and a service whereby we can customise items for people.
What is the best piece of business advice you have received? I've heard over the years, "open the doors to your business as soon as you can". I remember when we were setting up the shop and we had newspaper on the windows, we weren't quite ready but we opened the doors despite only having one small table with products on it. We sold some items that day.
A good friend said to me, "don't wait for things to come to you" . I was doing a lot of preparatory courses before I even knew I was going to establish the business. I didn't know what my business was going to be but I was preparing for something nonetheless. As a Christian, I also try to do everything with good heart and to the best of my ability. As it says in Colossians 3:23: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men". What's the biggest mistake you've made in business? The main mistake was probably trying to be too much of a people-pleaser. I was trying to make things to order and to customise everything to suit people. At the end of the day, I have to stick to our own designs. We will do projects for people but it has a different aspect now.
Your major success to date? Taking the leap from selling in Cow's Lane Designer Market to opening the shop. At the market, it was a week-to-week business but I wanted to have a more permanent presence. The feedback from customers has been great as well as the design and concept of the shop itself. Whom do you most admire in business and why? I admire all the other small business people in the Temple Bar area – the early starters and the hard workers who can be seen at their shops from 6am. I also admire Bobby Kerr – he could have sat back on his laurels with his family business but he went out and did his own thing.
Based on your experience in the downturn, are the banks in Ireland open for business to SMEs? There might be room for improvement. They could have been more favourable when we did need them at one stage. We've never really had a cash flow problem so we haven't had to deal with them too much in terms of seeking finance.
What advice would you give to the Government to help stimulate the economy? They need to give something back to taxpayers after all the austerity people have been through, because with more money in their pockets they spend and it stimulates the economy, creating jobs and taking people off social welfare.
They also need to help new business owners with tax breaks for the first two to three years to get established. There is little profit after all the overheads and paying 23 per cent VAT is tough on a new business.
The risk factor also needs to be looked at as not all new ventures work out and there is no safety net after that for the entrepreneur. I think more people would take risks or opportunities if there was something in place to fall back on so that they could get up, dust themselves off and try the next project.
What has been the biggest challenge you've had to face? Establishing our suppliers at the start was a challenge – when you attend trade fairs and meet suppliers, they want you to deal on a large scale and want minimum orders and we only needed small amounts initially. It's a case of building up trust. We now have a good relationship with good suppliers of quality leather.
How do you see the short- term future for your business? I hope to open a second shop in the next year and employ more people – the location is paramount in this regard. We also want to develop the online side of our business which again is a full-time job. You need to have that presence. We have a lot of customers who are tourists and, when they return home, there is an opportunity to make more sales from their friends or family.
What is your business worth and would you sell it? I wouldn't sell it, no. It is my baby, with all the dedication and hard work it has taken to bring it from a table in a market to a shop. That's priceless. It is also worth my sanity – having been unemployed and sitting at home doing nothing. thundersolas.com/
In conversation with Ruth O’Connor
