New year, new you, new career? How to make your dream a reality
Jackie Dillon and Leigh Cummins sisters Jackie Dillon and Leigh Cummins, Covid played a part in the creation of their soap business, OPA!
The days of having a job for life are very firmly in the past. According to The University of Queensland, the average person, during their 45-year working life span, can see anything from 3 to 7 career changes. Reasons for job switches can be varied; better opportunities elsewhere, increased pay grade, redundancy, improving work-life balance, even boredom.
For Cork sisters Jackie Dillon and Leigh Cummins, Covid played a part in the creation of their soap business, OPA! ( www.opafoamingsoap.ie) Both fly as cabin crew with Aer Lingus and during lockdown, an innocent conversation about their annual trip to the States and the gifts they used to bring home, particularly a foaming soap, sparked an idea. Jackie expands on how they also realised they may have hit on a way to make the downturn work in their favour.
“We wondered if we could make the soap ourselves. We had loads of free time and we were both looking for something to occupy us but also boost our income. At that time, we were unaware how long the lockdown was going to last or even if our jobs were at risk.”
They embarked on a start your own business course through LEO ( www.localenterprise.ie) which they found to be extremely helpful. It was full steam ahead from there. “We ordered in some sample bottles and started playing with recipes. In February 2021 we took the plunge and ordered in our first lot of raw materials and OPA! (Greek for Joy!) went on sale in April. We started doing weekend pop up shops in the Marina market and it just grew from there.” If Jackie makes it sound easy, she is quick to highlight the many challenges involved in self-employment.
“It takes a while to turn a profit and there aren’t enough hours in the day. But we are really enjoying it and it’s an absolute joy to see people loving and believing in your product.” Her sister and business partner Leigh is not afraid to rope in work colleagues and friends when necessary. “I have a super friend network that help with all the drops and collections so I can give more time to OPA! Any spare hour I have is spent in Jackie’s house with OPA! commitments. And I often rope in my youngest, Róisín, to help.” What are her thoughts when it comes to work-life balance? “Let’s just say it’s absolutely a juggling act and it takes a village! But it’s worth it and I absolutely love what we do. I love both my jobs!”
Ceramicist Ciara O’Keefe always wanted to be a fashion designer. “That was the dream when I entered art college. To be the next Vivienne Westwood. However, in college I fell in love with clay, and ceramics took over my dream. But it wouldn’t become my career for another twenty years.”
Last September O’Keeffe launched a solo exhibition of her work in Abbeyleix library, Co. Laois. These days her pieces make their way to customers in America, Norway, Germany, France, Romania, Scotland and Australia.
For those considering a career change, this is her advice. “Don’t over think it or you’ll never do it. Do it for the right reasons - only you know what they are. Life is short and you deserve to be happy.” She draws on an artistic community for further support and inspiration. “I have a great network of likeminded creative friends who come from backgrounds in Finance, Education, Archaeology, Engineering etc.
They are only a phone call away. On the bad days when we ask ourselves why did we leave a pensionable well paid permanent career, we all have the same answer - money can’t buy what we have now, this little bit of happiness.” (www.ciaraokeeffeceramics.com)
Writer Karen O’Connor describes herself as “a bit of a jack of all trades.” When she depicts her early working background she says, “I went from electronics to administration, to childcare etcetera over the last few decades. Couple that with being a Mam to three girls and it has been a busy and varied life.”
An avid reader since childhood, it wasn’t until she was in her thirties that O’Connor actively began to write, with, she says, “the goal of getting my work out there. I began to write every day. I did a course, and I found likeminded people. I only began picking up small pieces of writing work after I began telling people I was a writer. I taught myself a lot and began to get a few small pieces published. I then decided to tackle a novel.”
That novel was to become Meeting Mae which O’Connor published earlier on this year. She says the writing process “has been a huge learning curve but one that has been worth every second of the wait. To become a writer, I had to think and act like a writer.”
She believes the best way to change career is to re-identify yourself and feels there is a need to reframe the word failure.
“Failure should never be seen as the end, it’s just part of the learning process. My advice to anyone who wants to take a new direction in life is to make the change. Go for it in small increments. Take an evening class, join a group or immerse yourself in online research. Start from there and let the idea build and grow as your time invested builds and grows. Find other people who are doing the thing you want to do and spend time with them regularly. If you can find a mentor, then even better. Keep your eye on what’s happening in that sector. The big one for me was the book deal and that took a good few years to happen but the other thing I must stress is don’t give up! Persistence pays off.”
Mum of two Nikita Weldon owns Wild Beauty, Ireland’s first premier luxury mobile makeup salon. (@wild_belief_luxurymakeupstudio) After Covid, Weldon found herself contemplating alternative ways in which she could realise her goal of an alternative makeup studio.
“I was in Dún Laoghaire and I saw a silver trailer and airstream. I fell in love with the vintage beauty of it.” Eighteen months later, Weldon’s hand-drawn vision on a piece of paper became a reality. “I found a manufacturing company and we got her completely custom built in Poland.” Wild Belief – named for her daughters Fay and Fia – was born.
The first to admit there are days when she gets things wrong, Weldon believes life is for living and learning. “Nothing changes if nothing changes. If we don't try, we never know. I had that fear for years until I had my two girls, they gave me the confidence I needed.”
On the difficult days, a session in the gym sets her straight. “I’m giving 100% to my family and 100% to my business, so I know if I do have a difficult day, I can push through anything. A day off is always good to reset the body.” “I'm so grateful for this journey and I want to dedicate it to my younger self. I would be kicking and screaming with excitement about doing what I'm doing now.”
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