This much I know: Margaret Nelson

Radio is a people business.

You have to love people if you want to succeed in it.

I know from the minute I meet someone whether or not they can sell. You’ve either got it or you don’t. You can’t teach anyone how to be a great salesperson.

Life has taught me to take control of my own destiny, in as much as that is possible, and not to take people or things for granted.

My most useful skill is being a good communicator. That, and being able to motivate other people once I believe in them.

The high point of my career so far was being appointed chief executive of FM104 three years ago.

There’s only so much I can achieve each week on my own. So the success of my job and our station relies a lot on me being able to lead the young, energetic, talented bunch of people who work at FM104.

The most useful advice I ever got was from my dear father — dreaming and doing are two different things.

Baltimore in west Cork has a very special place in my heart. During the summer I try to spend every weekend down there with my family. My husband Joe and the kids — Jonathan is 13 and Isobelle is 9 — are all big into sailing. I’m not a huge sailor myself though, I’m happier in control, handling something with a motor on it.

My ideal weekend is leaving work in Dublin on a Friday and driving down to Baltimore until Sunday. It is a unique place with a wonderful community spirit. There’s a battered old TV down there that we never really watch, instead we spend our time out walking and enjoying the natural beauty of the area. And I do a lot of cooking down there. I’m always looking out for new recipes.

My very first job was soldering components in Inland Motors in Ennis, where I grew up, while I was still in school. It made me vow to get a good Leaving Cert so I could give myself choices for the future.

When I left school there wasn’t a huge amount of money around for university fees so I did a secretarial course. My first media job was in a publication attached to The Examiner, actually. But I wasn’t cut out for working in print, I’m too impatient. I preferred the immediacy of radio, once I tried it.

When I started my career, my motto was to polish anything that didn’t move and salute anything that did. I looked outside my own job and made sure I got myself known to management.

I am blessed with high energy and am pretty good at keeping fit. In winter, I work out in the gym and in summer I cycle from 6-7am. Then I hit the shower and get ready for work. I couldn’t possibly cycle to work, it plays havoc with the hair.

My worst habit is losing things.

We are weekly Mass goers. I have a strong faith, although I do question things, of course.

I have been known to have a weakness for shoes. My Louboutin boots are real treasures.

Having children was a lifelong ambition for me. It has made me hugely aware of my own mortality and of wanting to be here for them.

I was honoured to be asked onto the board of directors of the Irish Hospice Foundation. The request came at an opportune time for me. Two friends had just become ill, and another friend’s father was in need of hospice care.

I find it heartening to see the amount of people who are touched by the hospice’s work and how generous people are with their donations. It always seems to me that those who can least afford to give are the most generous of all.

* Margaret Nelson is the chief executive of FM104 and is on the board of directors of the Irish Hospice Foundation, which is holding Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning on September 15, to raise funds for hospice care. Call 01-6727720 or see hospice-foundation.ie for more.