Best bit about running your own business as a woman? You get to design your own life 

Siobhán Howe speaks to the female owners of some Irish businesses that have been set up in the last five years to hear their stories — the challenges, the sacrifices, the determination, and at the core the love of what they do that drives them to continue.

Clockwise from left: Hannah Barnett-Byrne of Kinsale's Wild + Tame; Edel Lyons of Rag Revolution; Orla & Anna Snook O'Carroll, and canine distillery assistant, Valentia Island Vermouth

Edel Lyons, CEO and founder, Rag Revolution

In a beautifully restored cottage on the border of Waterford and Tipp is an entrepreneur who looked for the job she wanted, couldn’t find it and instead created it. Edel Lyons describes how she recently found a notebook with her vision clearly stated — "I want to sell sustainable clothes online".