So, welcome to the Networking Spark podcast. My name is Jess, and on the podcast today, I've got a very special guest, Grainne Dunne. Grainne. Huge welcome, and thank you so much for joining the podcast today. Gronia is a. An absolute powerhouse. Everyone that knows her just says, how on earth does she manage? She's got two very small children, and yet she is managing and growing the most amazing business. Since Grainne joined Spark, she has begun sort of working for many of us in Spark, and she's a VA, but really, her niche is social media. She's an absolute wizard. Is it? So, I'm really excited to have you on the podcast today, Grainne. Thank you so much for joining. I'd love to ask you about your experience so far of networking.

Hi. Lovely to be here. Yes. So, I mean, I, I knew networking was something that was good for VAs. So when I sort of decided to become a virtual assistant, I was working initially for an agency and then went solo. And when I went solo, you know, everyone says, oh, networking, networking, networking. So I was actually pleasantly surprised to find that I could do networking like Spark, that I could actually do in the evenings because I did think that it was all breakfast meetings and lunch meetings, and that time that I don't have children is really where I need to be working and not networking. So I was sort of worried initially that it wouldn't be something I'd be able to do. So I was very, very pleased when I first came along.

There's so many networking meetings that are kind of like in the morning, which for many of us can be when we're trying to get to school. I know, I don't think your children are that old yet, but also, you know, it depends on how you work. But for me personally, my brain is on fire in the morning, so I want to just be really proactive in the morning, and then it just makes sense to do networking when you feel like you can relax and just ease in, and you've done everything, you know, or as much as you can do for the day. So. Yeah. So you've joined Spark. Tell us when you joined, when you came to your first meeting and what it was like.

Yeah, so it was literally my second month of being in business, really. It was at the end of February. I came along to a speed networking event, and you know, I'm naturally a people person, so I suppose coming along to something like that wasn't too daunting for me, to be honest. But I loved it. I loved the vibe, I loved the sort of chaos of the speed networking and how many people I met in that time was just brilliant. And from that first meeting, I met someone who I just wanted to give a little bit of gentle guidance to, and then that person ended up being, you know, my second full-time client, and that was sort of just from that very first meeting. So I thought, yeah, I've got to join this, you know, if I'm going to get a, get a client from my very first meeting that I've ever gone to, I'm going to have to sign up and become a member. And since then, obviously I've gained more and more clients through Spark and also just been able to really build up my reputation locally. So it's enabled me to have a bit of a platform for some sort of speaking opportunities, and I've obviously been referred through Spark members to people that are known Spark members. So it's kind of helped me to grow my network in the local area, which has really, really helped me to kind of establish myself in the area, which has been great.

Yeah, and I can 100% say that you've definitely got a really good reputation. When I've mentioned you on LinkedIn, people that have perhaps not met you before have said, oh yes, I've heard about Grainne, she's apparently she's absolutely brilliant. So you've very, very quickly established, established yourself as the go-to person for social media and as a VA. So, and that's all down to you. I know networking has helped, but of course, you've got to back that up with the work that you produce. So, you started off coming to a speed networking event. Now, a lot of people don't like networking, and often, it's because they might have had a bit of an awkward or a bit of a strange experience. And some people love speed networking because it allows you to get around the room and speak to everyone without those the awkward moments of perhaps having to walk up to a group of people that you don't know. So that's the joy of speed networking. But other people find they don't so much like speed networking. They prefer the more relaxed events, which is good because we provide a variety of different events that spark to keep it fresh and have lots to choose to. But you said you don't find networking a problem, so what sort of advice would you give to somebody that does find networking a little bit awkward?

No, I think what's really good about Spark, particularly, and I have tried a few since joining, is that even if it's not speed networking, you Actually make sure that we do speak to each other because I've been to events where you just end up getting cornered by someone and talking to them and you're both a bit awkward and you end up spending sort of 25 minutes talking to someone that you've got absolutely no sort of, you know, interest in working with and they've got no interest in working with you and you kind of feel stuck because you feel rude saying, okay, so thanks for the lovely chat but I actually am here to meet clients. You'll make connections that are going to be worthwhile. So, without someone intervening, it can be really difficult. And as daunting as speed networking might be, it isn't speed dating. You're not going to have to snog them at the end of the night, you know, you don't need to worry that much. You know, it's just a quick conversation with someone, and actually, it means that you are going to speak to everyone and out of that room, there'll be someone that you actually do want to speak to. And I think when you're not speed networking, it's actually more daunting because you're just on your own there. You're floating around this room with people, and you've either got to approach someone and actually be really gregarious and make the conversation or wait for someone to approach you, or you end up just speaking to someone that you don't really need to speak to. So speed networking I think is actually the perfect entry level networking because it gets your confidence up as well and everyone can talk about their business just for a couple of minutes, you don't need to, you know, go into a big speech. And the way that it's run, it's not announcing to the room, it's just one-on-one, it's just a private little conversation. You're all happy; you're all laughing. It's a funny light-hearted atmosphere, you know, no one's recording what you're saying and making sure that you've not slipped up, you know, and then if you've met someone there that you've got a bit of a, an affinity with when there's the time then for the open networking portion of the same very same evening, you can then pick back up with them, make sure you've got their card, speak to them later and sort of finish that conversation. And you know, the ones that aren't as worthwhile, you know, just g on through them and you don't know, you don't know who you're speaking to, because you might think that they're nothing to do with you, but down the line, when they're looking for someone or their friend is, or their brother is, or their mum is, you know, you don't know who they're going to be connected to. So I actually think speed networking is the best if you're scared because it throws you in a little bit of the deep end, but it's not, you're not up on a stage, you know, it's still one-on-one.

Yeah, I agree. And you know, and you know by the end of it that you've spoken to every single person and you, as you say, you've got someone there just asking you to move on to the next person so you don't have that awkward kind of like, oh, sorry, it's been nice talking to you, but I've got to move on. Although that said, everyone that comes to a networking meeting knows why you're there, so it's, it is fine for you to say, great to meet you, I'm going to move around the room now for sure. But what we talk about is creating a spark snapshot, and I think you just do that naturally, to be honest, Grania, because you just show up as you are, no filter, you are who you are, and people can choose to like you or not like you, but really, you know, from experience, everyone likes you because you just show up and you, you are just you, and that's great. And you have a laugh as well, which is important. But with the spark snapshot, it's, you know, you're there, you know, thinking beforehand of how you can put yourself across. Like, how do I explain in two minutes what I do and how I can help you? And that is the main sort of word I think is really or expression, really to remember when you're networking is how can I help you? Not I do this, and I do that, and I'm qualified in this, and I'm qualified in that. But how can I help you? When you show interest in the person that you're talking to, you're going to make them feel wanted and like you're there for a reason that you want to get to know them. And I think that's really important too.

And I suppose to me that comes naturally because I'm social media marketing, I'm always thinking about showing my clients and how my clients can show what they can do for their end user client rather than I sell bikes. It's how about this way of getting to work, you know, so I'm Always thinking like that. Anyway, so for me, giving myself as a, you know, what I'm going to help your business do or help you do, it just comes naturally to me because that's what my brain is. Is programmed to do with social media 100%.

And I think for the person listening to you or me or whatever, they're gonna. They're always gonna resonate with the word you rather than I. So, for instance, if in my sentence I'm saying I do this and I do that rather than you, how does that relate to you? Where do you see, you know, what's your point of view? You know, that really just lands so much nicer and it gets people emotionally involved in the conversation and that creates connection and therefore then they will remember you more. So, which is, you know, the idea of networking really, to get. Get people to know who you are and what you do, but done in the right way that connects with people. So since you joined, so you came in as a, you know, can we call you a new mum? You've got very little, you know, tiny.

I mean, my little boy is three now and my little girl was three months old when I came to my first event. So, yeah, you know, they're still little.

Since you're tiny, absolutely. But I think people wonder, how do you manage the work life balance? Because we can see how hard you work and how busy you are and how many people you help. I mean, you're getting people millions of views on Instagram posts. We've seen you help people go viral, which has been fantastic. How do you find the time and what are your tips for finding that work life balance?

I suppose I'm naturally a bit of a people pleaser in a way. I like to help, so it comes naturally as part of my personality to want to be supportive and help. And I suppose that makes it slightly easier because my parenting role comes quite easily to me because I'm a. I'm a motherling, mothering, sort of nurturing kind of person. So, you know, making sure their needs are met is quite their second nature to me. And then the same with, with work. I want to give my all to everyone. I want to help, I want to see them succeed. So that kind of part of me is, you know, it's ingrained deep in me, but I do in terms.

Ingrained? Yeah, that spelt like grain. Sorry, carry on.

I suppose I. I'm up early because I've got children and I'm then doing work early because my husband doesn't work till 9. So you know, in terms of the practicalities, I'm fitting things around either their preschool and their childcare arrangements. But that's great as well because that means that I can always be around to pick them up and drop them to school. So it works really well for that. But also it does help that my husband works from home. He works quite flexibly. Having a wonderful mother in law helps as well. But you know, I just sort of make it work. And sometimes that means I am working late at night and sometimes that means I am doing stuff at the weekends, but I just find time for it all. And I think because I'm enjoying what I'm doing and I'm, I'm getting real satisfaction from what I'm doing and helping. I love helping people, you know, that's who I am. I love organizing and fixing things. And you know, it's sometimes it's known to be a bad trait because you kind of pick find broken people. But luckily my husband wasn't broken so I managed to get a good one. But you know, you do sort of. I'm a natural fixer, so it kind of, it's something that I enjoy doing. So I don't sit there of an evening on my laptop doing work and think, oh, I hate this. I can't believe I'm still working. I think, oh, we're going to get this, you know, we're going to get this force set up for one of my clients we're doing at the moment and I'm helping them to build it and it's exciting. I don't feel like I'm just doing a task for them. I feel like I'm a really valued member of the team and it makes it feel like I've got, you know, 20 businesses rather than just my business. So I, I love working for their business as much as I love working for my own. Because seeing them grow and seeing how, you know, things are getting better for them is just amazing. And it's, I suppose because I've got that attitude to the work that I take on, it doesn't feel like it's work. It feels like it's my babies, all of them, all of my clients work. So, you know, and my own, all my babies.

Does that mean I'm your baby because you work for Spark? I love that.

I'm like Spark's, you know, biggest advocate and I would wax lyrical to anyone who'd listen about Spark. So, you know, I, I care about its growth and how it, how it succeeds. You know, I want it to and I, you know, I sit on my own time and I'm thinking about all the businesses that I work for. You know, if I'm scrolling through my social media I'm thinking, oh this would be a good trendy audio for this client. And you know, this works well for this one and that's a good idea for them. And you know, as I go around my life I'm thinking about my clients. So it's, you know, I'm sort of taking them all with me wherever I go.

So you are, you are a fantastic team member. Can say that from personal experience. You're a team member for all of your clients and you've got a great team around you. At home you're talking about your husband and your mum in law. You're blatantly very good at building relationships. But do you give yourself enough attention?

I think I do. To be honest, my husband would definitely say that I find a lot of time for myself and I think it's, it's funny because they all do.

Yeah, they all say that.

Oh God, she's so busy. But I have time to get my nails done. I have time to get my, you know, my hair done. I do find time for myself, you know, and I'm coming along to the Yogi tribe retreat on Sunday, you know, I do make time for myself and I think, I suppose sometimes I'm not totally switching off, you know, sometimes I might be doing something nice to myself and also doing a bit of work. But that said, you know, I've had, I went to Ibiza with the girls this year, I'm going to Krakow with the girls this year. You know, I'm, I'm making time. I, I wouldn't worry about my, you know, my time because I think I'm somehow carving it in and I think I'm a planner so planning it in advance means I can do that. You know, saying to my husband on the, you know, X date, I'm doing this, then, you know, we can organize it, we can get help, we can get, you know, the mother in law in to help if we need to. So because I'm a pre planner, it helps with carving out the me time, I think.

Yeah, that makes sense. And I wouldn't expect anything less from an organized va. Just wonderful to hear that you're as organized with your own life as you are with everybody else's planning. So amazing. And I think the other good aspect about it is that you've really started to build up your own business and therefore you're able to go on these trips and to treat yourself to this and that, which is the joy of being able to, you know, to do that and say, well, I've earned that. You know, the work hard, play hard attitude as well. It's like, you know, you work, you work for these things and you totally deserve them 100%. Tell us a little bit about your projects that you're building at the moment, because you've come into Spark as a va, but very quickly we've seen you progress and you're growing to all sorts of things at the moment. So let's dive into those at the moment.

Yeah. You know, when I started, all I wanted to do was make enough money that I didn't have to go back to my old job. You know, I started with low ambitions really for where I'm at now. And it was, it was just lucky, I suppose it was something I was passionate about anyway, because I've always loved social media. I, you know, I was on social media as soon as it came out because I'm that generation that, you know, I was 17 when Facebook came out. I was, I don't know, 20 or something when Instagram came out and when I was in my 20s and I built up a personal Instagram account, you know, before even being a creator was a thing to over 20,000 followers. I've still got that account. It's got about 10,000 followers on it. But I don't know what they're waiting for me to do because I don't really use it anymore. They're just sort of following my life. But I, you know, I've always been into it. So because I've kind of always been into it, it was a natural progression to kind of do it more and do it more. And when that was initially it was just one offering that I was going to offer, but because it was my passion, I think it became more than that and it became really my main offering. And now that I've reached a point sort of this summer where I was absolutely full to capacity of clients, one to one clients, where I'm fully managing their whole social media platforms, I started sort of offering a group course. So I've just run my first in person group course. It's. Well, I've run two out of three of the sessions. The third one's coming up soon and it's been absolutely fantastic. It's. It's called Content Creation Bootcamp and I'm going to run it maybe three or four times a year, but it's a really big chunky course and it's, you do need to dedicate some time to it. So it's, it's for people that want to manage their own social media themselves but you know, don't really know what they're doing but want to do it themselves and have the impetus to actually really go for it. Because there's loads of courses online, there's loads of watch this for two hours and I'll teach you how to go viral. But it's not realistic. And on my content creation bootcamp I'm really giving them everything, you know, from caption writing to how to use AI to help them to using canva, to storytelling with, you know, with their, with their captions, to how to create reels, how to create carousels, how to do LinkedIn. You know, it's everything and it's big and chunky but it's for those particular people. And I've also.

Then it's not just recorded. It's not just recorded, is it? They've got you there. So yeah, if they're not sure about something, they can be asking you want help as well.

Yeah, it's really, really in person and it's really, you know, I'm helping them specifically with their business. So it's a real, a really nurturing kind of program and through the course of that three months I'm there for them. So you know that we have little check ins, we see what's going on. I'm in a WhatsApp group with everyone that's in that. It's a small group so it's a really sort of specialist kind of thing for people who really want to invest time into it because people do a course and then they never do anything with it. So this is for people that are a bit more serious and then for the people that sort of want to dip their toe into it but maybe don't have the money to invest or they just want to learn sort of a bit more steadily. I'm just this week. So it will be launched by the time this is live launching my subscription service called Socials. Done. It's a play on the word of my surname which is done D U N N E And that is for business owners to meet you wherever you are. So from the smallest business owner right up to someone who has a team and it's for social media support and training and ideas and on the basic level entry plan they'll get access to a Facebook group where we can answer troubleshooting questions. How am I connecting my Facebook to my instagram what's this? What's the problem here? Should I do a carousel or a reel? All sorts of real, you know, live questions that will be answered by myself and someone who's in my team. Also, they'll get a workshop run every month where they can live interactive, ask me the questions, I'll lead a sort of topic and then everyone will be very much, much involved in that. And they'll also get a content ideas newsletter every single week. So that's my basic entry level plan. And as you work through the plans, on the top level plan, you get access to one hour of VA support every month as well. So it's to meet you wherever you're at.

That's great. And you're also giving that membership to some of our Spark members as well. You're going to be working with a lot of Spark members on a monthly basis. As in, all of our star and platinum members have access to this monthly workshop, which is great because at Spark, we're all about growth and one thing that we do well, we do a lot, lot of things well. We have these monthly training sessions, but now we're adding this to the mix as well because all, all business owners need to focus on marketing. And so therefore, by bringing you in to offer these, these sessions for Spark members helps them to grow their business, any business, to get your clients the forefront, at the forefront needs to be marketing. Right. Do you agree?

Absolutely. And you know, social media is free marketing and I'm all for you paying someone to totally do it yourself, if you can afford that and if you don't have the resource to do it yourself. But if you've got someone in your team who perhaps does your admin, but they're doing a bit on social media, but they don't really know what they're doing, then this is perfect for them because this is going to give them the guidance and the tools and the support that they need. And likewise, if you're running a solo business and you're just starting out and you haven't got a clue what you're doing on social media, this is for you. You know, it's going to meet you wherever you're at in your journey and I think, I think it's fantastic. I think it's going to offer a lot of value and I think it's going to be a really lovely collaborative space and I think it really is, you know, it can be easy to create content for your, for your social media. And I really want to empower business owners of all sizes to have that access to it, because I do do full management and I have a team now that are helping me to offer that to more and more people. And for some people, that's what they need. You know, they're not going to ever be able to do it themselves and they don't want to do it themselves and it is more affordable for them to just outsource it. And I'm not throwing those people away at all. But I want to be able to support more businesses and anyone who's in any kind of growth stage, be it from a seed to, you know, just the tiny sprouting, or be it that they're really, really growing bigger and bigger, whatever that stage of growth looks like, I'm going to have a way that we can support them. So that's kind of my plan with it.

Excellent. I love this. I love the fact that you've gone from just, just like one or two clients when you joined us to now, you know, being able to help anybody with social media, no matter whether they are just starting a business, if they've got a very small budget, they're just starting, you can help them. If they're sort of getting going and they really want to grow themselves, you can help them. If they're a company that's well established and they've got plenty of income and they don't like social media or they don't have time for it, you and your team can help them. So tell us about this. So, first of all, you know the name of your business? Social. Sorry? Yeah, Social's done for you. What I loved about that is that you popped into the Spark. I think it was either a Spark members meeting or it was on our WhatsApp group and kind of brainstormed with the other members of the group to, you know, to come up with the best name. So I love that. That's another kind of aspect. We like a big business family that support each other.

Right. Honestly, the sort of support that I've had from the Spark members is just completely invaluable because what I've got access to by having this group of entrepreneurs and business owners is just a soundboard for ideas. So I've gone and said, what do you need the most help with? Is it tech support? Is it ideas? Or is it that you just, you know, don't want to do it? You know, people have said, time. I can't make time, unfortunately, but I can give you time by you giving it all to me and me doing it for you. Um, but you know, so I've gone to them with so many things and, you know, when I created my, my bootcamp that I run in person, I did that with the support of the members. You know, we, we actually took over one of the SPARK members meetings, the one of the ones that not everyone listening will know our Spark members meeting is. But Jess runs a meeting where we sort of do a troubleshoot. So anyone who's got a problem in their business, we can all kind of come together and try and help them out. So we took over one of those meetings and we said, right, how is Grania going to get from working with clients one to one to working with clients one to many, and what's that process going to look like? And we kind of, between us, everyone in the room just figured out what was missing and found that that was one of the things that was missing. So, you know, the support not just from, you know, referring their friends to me or the physical work that's come through the members, but it's just helped me grow the business and understand my direction and, and also just keep me accountable to thinking about my business as a business, rather than just the, the initial thought process of, oh, I just need to make £700amonth so that I'm covering the same costs and childcare. If I'd have gone back to my day job that I was in, you know, when I have my little boy, you know, that was all I wanted from the offset. And now I'm like, I want more and more and more and I want to help everybody. And I feel like I'm really getting there now that, you know, I kind of nearly can help everybody.

I remember that meeting really well where you were saying, you know, you've been working one to one with people and it's absolutely brilliant because your customers have experienced such growth in their businesses. But you were at a point where you were like, can't take anyone else on, it's brilliant, but I've got no more room. And then, so that, then there was that transition from working one to one to one too many. And then this is where you get to scale. And this is not only that, but you're able to help more and more people. And not just that, you've got to be leading a team. So tell us where you see your business in a few years time or even one year's time.

I mean, it's actually incredible to even think, because I didn't think I'd be here in sort of 10 months, 11 months. I really didn't so, you know, the sky is the limit. I mean, I've just taken on some team members now and I've got sort of two that have just started and I've got a couple more in sort of wings waiting. So, you know, I'm growing a small team that I'm going to try to not micromanage but I, you know, it is difficult when it's. Your business has been very much about you. And I think that's the beauty as well of having the subscription service is that I'm still going to be able to be very much front and forefront of it because the, the workshops will be something I will always run and I might need some support to help with the Facebook group and things like that, but you know, I will always run that. But I think I imagine myself, I suppose, having a team that are working on lots of different clients. I have a successful subscription service that is full and I have to have lots of permanent members of the team running it with me and that maybe instead of it being a once a month workshop, I have to run it four times a month because I can only have so many people in each one that I have to, you know, shuffle around and you have to book your slot and hope you get on, you know, but it's, it's really, you know, it's skyrocketed and I'm really just grateful and thankful that it, that it has because I'm really enjoying it. You know, I'm so pleased with how it's grown and how much I'm able to work with lots of different businesses and, and help all these different businesses at different stages and I'm just really excited to be able to do that more and more. And yeah, God, who knows where I'll be in a year's time. You know, really the sky's the limit.

Excited for you and celebrating with you as well, which is something we love to do, celebrate each other. But yeah, you've got so much to be proud of and so much to celebrate. And I do believe that with you at the forefront as the leader of your business, then your team will also be hugely successful and positive as well. Because I think when you're leading a team, first of all it's important to build those relationships up with your team members and to then to train and guide them to have the same success as you have with your clients in social media so that they can follow on and they've always got you to ask as well. So that's great. And I think in a moment I'D like to ask you about what you're. The tips are for people that struggle with social media, but let's leave that for. Towards the end of the podcast, I'd like to, first of all, talk more about you, because right now, in this moment, you're in a place where you are scaling your business, you're doing incredibly well, you've got. You've built a really amazing reputation in such a short amount of time, and you've just got a brilliant name for you. But I'd like to go back back into your journey as to, like, how was this amazing woman, Grania, created? What have you been through in your life that's created you to be the person that you are today, which is a leader, a strong, confident girl, a mum, you know, what was the old Granya like? What's. What's happened to make you this strong?

Yeah, I mean, I was. I was brought up by. My mom, was sort of a single parent since my dad passed away when I was seven. So I was brought up by a really, really strong, independent woman. And she, you know, she was fierce. Like, she worked really, really hard. She worked in the city while we were young and was traveling around the world and was really, really busy. And we had my mom and we had my nanny, who was not my grandma, she was my grandma's best friend and was like my Mary Poppins nanny. So we were kind of brought up, me and my sister, by my mum and my nanny in the main, really. And my mum was such a. What?

Yeah, I was gonna say sorry, because there's a time delay, isn't there, when we were recording a little bit. But I was gonna say, what, What. What was it? If you don't mind me asking, what was it like losing your dad at such a young age? Did that have an effect on you?

Yeah. Do you know, I think it's funny because for me, I remember lots and lots about my dad. I remember who he was as a person and how he was as a dad. And I remember him being ill. I remember him. His funeral. I don't remember being told he died. That must have been painful. And I've somehow blocked that out entirely. But it affected me and my sister in very different ways. And I think it's made me feel like life is short. And I think from a young age I really understood that. And I really understood that life is for living. And my mum was such an optimistic person. And I say was because she sadly passed away as well when I was 28. So I went, you know, From God. You know, she was the absolute, the best thing in the world and to lose her, it was very sudden and shocking when I was 28, but she was the most positive person and she kind of. She said, you know, this is just the circle of life, darling. You know, people live and people die and we've just got to carry on. And she was very pragmatic and I think she brought me up in that same way and it made me understand that, you know, as awful as it is, and as much as it was hard to console myself when she died on that, you know, death is a part of life and it kind of. I think it made us quite strong and I think it made my mum and me's relationship really strong and I really respected all her values and I. I was not a tear away. You know, when I was a teenager, I just wanted my mum to. To be happy and I didn't want to upset her. You know, like, I don't think I was a goodie two shoes, but I was never. I didn't really push the boundaries because she didn't really give any boundaries. She was very chilled out. She used to say we could do whatever we wanted, go wherever we wanted, see whoever we wanted, as long as we told her. And so we never. I never had anything to lie about because if I said to her, we're going to the park, Mum, we're going to be drinking a bottle of vodka that, you know, someone's going to bought us in the corner shop. And I'm with my friend Lily and here's her number, I'll be back at 10:00. She'd say, hey, darling, do you want.

Me to come pick up from the park? You know, I'm so panicked.

She had these really, like, cool cucumber rules. I'd go, yeah, pick me up. Yeah, and she'd pick me and my friends up. She'd take my friends home. My friends would be saying, can you just drop me around the corner? Because I don't want, you know, I've told my mum that I'm here and, you know, they didn't want to be seen being chopped off by someone's mum. But because I didn't ever have to lie to her, it kind of made me, you know, I'm very open. She made me a real open book and I think that's helped me in life and it's made me. I talk about my feelings, I talk about my sorrow, I talk about my grief and it's helped me to get by because, you Know, when, when then my mum did die, which was honestly horrendous. You know, I was. I was 28 and I was due to get married the next year. She died in September 2019. And then obviously covert hit in, you know, the start of 2020. And honestly, in that time, it felt like the bottom had fallen out of my world. It felt like my mum had been holding the world up and she had died and therefore nothing was happening. My wedding wasn't happening anymore, the honeymoon wasn't happening anymore. We weren't going to have this big party we'd been planning for two years. And it really did feel horrendous in that time. But I went straight to counseling. I, you know, took hold of it. I dealt with as much as I could, dealt with my feelings, spoke about my feelings, drank some of my feelings, but tried not to drink too much of my feelings, celebrated with my friends as much as I could and went out and, you know, we. In the depths of my grief, I was booking winter chalets in Cock Darjean and, you know, fine bottles of champagne and saying to my friends, just come with me and drink with me. And we're celebrating her life, so don't, don't question me. And I think they all thought I was losing the plot. But, you know, I've always talked, and I think talking is probably the best skill that we have because it's enabled me to get through everything that I've. I've gone through at my age.

Oh, yeah, that is so true. It's communication and, and speaking rather than bottling it up. It's when we bottle things up and we bury them that then we create this kind of pain and it can often come out in our bodies in the form of illness. Whereas if you just, you know, you deal with it there at the time and you speak about it as much as you can. You know, losing someone's never got, you know, you're never just going to, like, ease the pain, whatever you do, but if you bury it and you. That really isn't dealing with it, is it? But I think your mom sounds like an incredible woman, and I think, you know, parenting is not easy, is it? You know, nobody as it, you know, has. Knows there aren't specific rules and we all have to find our own way. But I've always seen that the kids that do rebel, the ones that go out and go crazy and get really drunk or run away, they're. They tend to be the ones where their parents are super strict and have got all these rules and boundaries around them. And so the minute they can break free, they go totally wild. So the fact that your mum had this lovely relationship with your mum where you knew she was always there, you had this trust and this confidence in her. And I think there's an element there of leading by example as well. You saw her working hard and doing really well and you knew that she was always there for you, but you had the freedom to find your own way as well. It's just a shiny thing.

She never pushed me to do anything. She, you know, when it came to sort of applying for uni, I went to the Brit school and studying fine art. So I've kind of got that creative side of me anyway. But also the Brit school is, you know, brings your personality out even more. But, you know, I, I was always actually really academic and I was quite book smart at school, but I wanted to do art. And she was like, go for it. You know, she didn't say to me, oh, you know, you should do an English degree, you know. And when I then went to start applying for unis, I got into unis to do fine art degrees. And then I decided to take a gap year and go and be a Club 1830 rep in Kavos. And, you know, she stopped me, she said, yeah, you know, you're meant to be going to uni. She just said, you go, girl. You know, you live your life. And when I came back, I was like, I don't. I'm liking earning money. I don't want to go to uni. And to be honest, I'm really glad I didn't because it was actually the best decision I made because had I gone to uni and done a fine art degree, I don't know what I'd be doing, but I don't think it would be fine art. And I don't think it would have served me the purpose apart from giving me a big load of debt just for me personally. But I then started working and, you know, enjoyed that. But, you know, she never sort of said to me, you've got to do this and you've got to do academic things. And she's. She always let me just be whoever I wanted to be and encouraged me to be whoever I wanted to be. And it really, you know, it really has shown because I am my own person, I've always been my own person. I've never felt like I needed to pretend to be someone else in a different room or, you know, I've never felt that pressure. And I think something she did with the Parenting. She did it really right because I am confident. But only like I said, you know, we were talking at the start is if you don't like me, you don't like me. And that's fine because not everybody's going to get on with everybody and not everyone's going to go, oh, I really, you know, gravitate towards that person and love that person and I'm just going to always just be exactly who I am and, you know, hope for the best. And it's the same with jobs, you know, if they don't want you as their employee, then you don't want to work for them. You know, you, It's. You don't want to work with people that aren't your people and you don't want to have friendships with people that aren't your people. You don't want to please everyone and be someone you're not just to try and hope that, you know, they might look like you when probably you wouldn't really like them. If you're being your authentic self.

Yeah. What do you think she'd be saying to you right now? I just feel like she should be so proud of you.

Yeah, I mean, she. Honestly, I know she would. And, you know, it was hard having children without her. I really, you know, I've. I haven't got any. My dad had siblings, but we were never close with any of them and he wasn't close with any of them, so he kind of burnt those bridges for us. And my mum was an only child, so I, you know, I feel my sister's older than me, but it did make me feel very alone in the world and I still do to an extent. And I'm glad now that I've got my own children, because as much as at 3 and 1, they're not exactly, you know, giving me much support and guidance. My husband is my husband and I'm very, very lucky to have him. And he's very wonderful and supportive and his family are wonderful, but they're still not my family. So I do still feel like very on my own in the world in many ways, as, you know, and people say, oh, you know, we, we're all hippie, but it's not. If it's not your mom, it's not. They're not really good enough. And I think she would just be so proud. She always said to me, you've got to have your own business. You know, she knew that I was a sort of leader and organized enough, and she always used to sort of say to me, oh, you should do something on your own. And I know she'd be so proud, and I know she'd be so proud of how I'm as a mother, because my children are absolutely brilliant. You know, I know they're only babies, but so far they're just, they're amazing. They sleep, they eat.

What I've seen of them, they're amazing.

Gorgeous and lovely and kind and smart and brilliant. And she would just be looking at us and going, my God, like, you've nailed this, Grania, you know, and I. And she was, she was, you know, one who would say that, you know, she was such a proud mom and she wasn't mumsy at all. She wasn't, you know, my mother in law was very motherly and she. God, my husband didn't even know how to turn the light switch off when we moved in together, you know, she did everything for him. And my mum was never that to us. We were brought up very independent. But she would have still given you every penny in her pocket, you know, she was so. It was like a funny type of nurturing, you know, she. Like when she died, the day she died, I was crying, it was very quick. Just to give you a quick synopsis, but we didn't know she was ill. We had no indication she was ill. She was losing weight, but she was trying to lose weight because I was getting married and she wanted to lose weight. She was always about a size 16 and, you know, she wanted to lose a few pounds. So she told me she was ill, she had a flu. And I was like, oh, you know, have you been to the doctor? She said, yeah, they've given me an antibiotic and they're sending me for a check chest X ray. She was only 64 and that was on the Tuesday she told me that. And on the Friday she rang me and she said, I can't breathe, I need an ambulance. And I left work instantly, rang the ambulance on the way, rushed around to her house and she then told me that she had passed out that morning hours before. She rang me and she woke up and she didn't know what time it was. She was covered in the cup of tea that she'd had in her hand and she was really struggling to breathe. And we called the ambulance, the ambulance came, we went to the hospital and he wasn't worried. He said, I don't think you're having a heart attack, your ECG is fine, but you know they'll give you that chest X ray if we go in, so let's Go in. And they quite quickly found that her white blood cell count was low, but they didn't know why. And you know, often that does mean cancer, but we didn't know what it was fighting or whatever. Over the weekend they kept her in, they did tests and more tests and Monday morning I went in and they said, my mum said, look, I need you and your sister here, the doctor wants to speak to us together. And I knew in that moment that it wasn't good. But I waited for my sister to come and the doctor came into the room and he said, look, it's lymphoma. I don't know where we are at on a scale from here to here, but we're over here, you know, it's bad. And he said, look, it can be treatable but you know, we need to do more tests and see how far it's gone and what stage room. And I obviously started crying and my mom just rolled her eyes at me and said, stop crying darling, it doesn't do anybody any good. And I said, well, I am scared, Mom. And she said, well, I'm not scared. And I was like, okay, you know, and the day's gone on and I'm trying to get her to eat and I'm saying, right, come on, you know, we've got to do something and try to sort of g you up a bit. And bless her, she let me sort of feed her something and they took her down then to get a sort of bone marrow biopsy and I went, took my sister to her flat, got her some stuff and she was going to stay with me. I went to my mother in law's, cried to her for a few hours and then picked my sister up, went back and when we got back she was really, really tired, she'd had a really long day and you know, she said to me, you know, darling, I'm not afraid of dying. You know, this is life, people live and people die. And I said, well, you know, I don't want you to die, Mum, stop talking like this. You know, it's horrible but you know, she was like, oh, running her eyes at me and you know, just sort of laughing it off really and just saying, you know, everyone's got their time. And I was like, well, can you just, you know, stop it. And anyway, we left, we went home and 11 o'clock that night on the Monday after going in on the Friday, they rang and said, you need to come. And she died before we got there. We got there in 15 minutes and she'd already done It. As we were going through the corridor and it was beyond shocking. It was. It was like. It would be like you dying tomorrow. You know, it was like one minute she was just there telling me she had a flu, the next minute she was dead. And friends and family were just like, what are you talking about? When I, you know, I'm ringing friends that have seen her the week before, and one of her friends said to me, no, no, I was just with her on Wednesday. And I said, yeah, I know, and she's dead, you know, she is, you know, and it was. It was so shocking. It was so that the world just swept beneath me. And they said in the end it was metastatic carcinoma. It was everywhere. She was absolutely riddled with cancer and we just didn't know. And I think, you know, in a way, in that moment, it felt, you know, horrendous, and it still feels horrendous a lot of the time. But she's taught me everything I know and everything I am as a person. And I think what she's made me is pragmatic about life and death and is, you know, she had stuff hung up on her door to go on a holiday that she'd not been on holiday in 15 years, and she'd finally got the money to book a holiday with her friend. She had her little. Her little dress for the airport and a little blazer she bought. All of her miniatures were in her bag for the holiday. And she didn't even get to go on the holiday. She died before she could even go. And I just sort of live my life even more so now. Spend money, you know, don't just save for the rainy day that will never come because you don't know. And, yes, you know, God, I don't want, you know, all the. All the financial advisors to tell me, you know, yes, save to a point and, you know, try and be a bit sensible when you can, but also just live your life because, you know, she had all this pension money saved. She had, you know, she'd been squirreling away as much as she could, but for nothing. She didn't even get to live that life. And, you know, tomorrow is not promised to anybody. So I think, you know, when you sort of talk about building a legacy for yourself and, you know, what you want to leave behind. What she left behind is what I want to leave behind, which is to be your absolute best self and just love your life and be around people and make people smile. You know, she'd go into the petrol station and make People stay, you know, people. She was the sort of person that would walk into the library and say drugs, you know, people smile everywhere she went and, you know, that's what I want to be. I want to be, you know, the ray of sunshine that she was in everyone's life and keep her legacy alive by being as good as she is. And I want my little girl to be, you know, the next ray of sunshine. And I think, you know, you have one life so that's why we're just going for it. Going for the growth, going for the business and you know, just, just living our best lives.

I think everyone that knows you Grainne, definitely describe you as a ray of sunshine and full of life. You've got this energy about you and this positivity about you and just nothing holds you back. And you, and, and I just love that about you. And I think a lot of people do because you haven't got these kind of walls up, you know, or this falseness of like when people meet you, they meet the real grania and 100% reliable as well. Just love that you're up in the mornings and I know if I, because I'm up super early, you're always there, you know, you always return my text. I'm like, wow, that's great. But God, I mean, here's to your mum, right, because what an incredible woman and I think you are replicating that 100%. And your daughter is as well. You've got the most well behaved baby I've ever met in my life. I mean she's crawling now and. Well, she was last time I met her. She's now walking now, right?

She is, yeah. She's a powerhouse in herself and she's gonna be. She's just like my mum. She looks a lot like my mum. She's got the red hair that my mum had and she is just going to be so confident. She's. She says so much already. She's only just turned one and she's got such vocabulary and the confidence and the sass when she's taking toys off of her three year old brother is, you know, phenomenal. So I'm going to keep that going. It's a generational thing. Excellent. I absolutely love it.

Oh, how nice. You've really tugged at my heart today. And you know, and it is a lesson for all of us, what you've been saying is that live your life right right now. We never know what's around the corner, and so many of us that so, you know, it's been so long kind of holding back or worrying or not taking action because we're worried about what people might think of us. And like with any kind of business owner the key is to like take those steps and take that action and just do it because who knows, you know, what is going to happen tomorrow. We don't, and we don't get anywhere unless we take that action. But for you as well, just living life with, you know, with this beautiful smile on your face and this happiness, you know, you lead by example. And no wonder your children are sort of strong, confident little people already because they've got, they're following you and you, you know, and kids pick up on how you feel, don't they? So yeah, just wonderful.

Life's too short to be pretending to be someone that you're not, you know, and it's the same in business, just, you know, be you and if people like you, great. And if it fails, it fails. You know, I've just got to where I've got to by just being me this last 10 months and I'm smashing it, to be honest, you know, and all I've done is just do it, you know, so it's just, just do it. Don't you really?

Yeah.

Go. God, yeah.

Yeah. 100. You are definitely smashing it and I love it. Absolutely celebrating you every day. So brilliant. So we're going to wind up with a few tips for people that are trying to get their head around social media. So would you like to just give a few roundup tips for someone that wants to put themselves across in the best way possible on social media? Not quite sure what to post or how often to post, what are your kind of top tips?

So you know, remembering that social media is social and it's about you, even if you're running a business that, you know, it's a sort of not a service, not a service based business, you know, you're selling products on social media. People do still want to see the face behind the business. Especially if you've got a story. You know, you might have a high street shop selling gifts, but you might have set that up because you know your, your story behind why you did that was that, you know, there was a family member that had a gift shop and you know, you always loved it and you know there's always going to be a story, there's always going to be a reason. People don't just set up business, businesses for nothing. And sharing that with people makes you more relatable and it can be scary and it can be Daunting to start that process of sharing your story. And I think a good tip for going sort of into stories and showing your face, which can be really daunting for people, is to do it with a friend or someone else in business, get them to record you and just have a bit of a conversation. You know, start by doing that. Start by getting someone to actually record you rather than you doing it yourself. Because sometimes doing it yourself, you feel like you're just talking to a screen and you don't know what to say. And you're. We sell gifts, you know, we don't want that. You know, you want someone to ask you, so what made you set up the shop? You know, and then you can answer, and then you can flip that bit and just do the answer, you know, so that's a top tip, is to get someone on board to actually ask you a question in person and get someone to film you rather than just doing yourself. And that will give you the confidence once you realize that it's not that scary to put your face out there.

Yeah. And story creates connection. And through marketing, you want people to feel connected to you. And as you know, whether you're listening or watching this podcast, you've just heard Gania's story. And I'm sure by Granule just opening up and sharing something that is essentially hugely, you know, painful. And many people might not be able to do that by. But by her opening up, she shared a story and who knows, you know, that who's going to be listening? That resonates with that, but certainly connects with you because you've been totally open and shared all of the, you know, all of the pain that you've been through, but also all of the joy that, you know, just remembering your mum and how she was so it's pain and joy and that tugs on the heartstrings and just allows people to know who you are, what you're about. And, you know, and like, for those people that are kind of a little bit scared about marketing, I've come across a lot of people myself that will just spend, like such a long time saying, I don't know what to post or I'm scared it might not be right, might not be perfect. What do you think about that? About post? Should they just post anyway?

Well, the tip is definitely to join my new subscription service because I will be able to help them with lovely ideas every single week so they'll never have to worry again. But definitely, you know, embrace imperfection. You're just a person, you know, Unless you literally are Nike or Adidas. You know, maybe Nike and Adidas need to be a bit more polished because people expect it from them. But I don't worry so much because even if Night came on, you know, if the CEO of Night came onto the stories and started talking to everyone we captivated, you know, we want personal connection. People do buy people. You know, it's the, the old adage, but it's really true. And you know, we lost that a bit when, when purchasing went into the Internet and we're. Now we've got social media. We're trying to get that back again. And you know, you do buy because of the personal story and you'll find that you do it all the time. You just probably don't realise that you do it all the time. But, you know, just, just put it out there. Don't worry so much about spelling little spelling mistakes and oh, I've. I've really ruined this one because I've done this and I've done that. Just, just get it out there. You know, if you're your authentic self and you're not trying to be someone else, then you can't lose, you know, share your. Why share who you are? Share who you're helping. Share a story about someone that you've helped. You don't need to mention them. It doesn't need to be a testimonial. It can just be I shared X type of person, do X, you know, and just start just being normal. You know, just forget that you're selling this and just sort of just start being yourself a bit more on social media. You know, that's the best way to start doing it and look at what other people are doing, you know, and engage with them and think. Actually, they're just telling me about, you know, people. I follow a lady who, she makes ceramics and she makes them in memory of her friend who died. And, you know, it's such a touching story. I'm like, she's got a mailing list with a weak list with thousands of people to buy a mug from. This person myself, probably with a kit. We all want hers because of her story, my stories, while she's doing her job and just chats to people. It's ridiculous. And we're all following and I'm so captivated and I'm replying to her and I am so bought in to this whole story. You know, she's talking about how she's speeding up her processes and what she's got going on since the camera. You'd Be so surprised how interested people are in it.

Yeah. Personal brand is. Is so important, isn't it? It's huge, and it's so important. And I'd say if you don't have personal brand going, then get it going. Get in touch with Grainne and get some support. So, how do people reach out to you, Grainne? We're going to have all the, all the notes and links in the show notes of the podcast. But if somebody wants to reach out to you right now, what would they do?

So being that my name is, you know, not that exciting, we'll have to spell it.

But people say, I. I want to know about your lovely va Grain, Brian.

Or say Granny, which is really just ridiculous. You know, I'm not called Granny. Like, that's a bit too far. But it's G R A I N N E. It's Grainne, it's Irish, and I'm grainnedunne.co.uk that's the website, and that's where you can sign up to socials. Done. The subscription service. I'm Grainne Dunne on LinkedIn. And I'm Grainne DunneVA on Instagram. And I'm Grainne Dunne Virtual Assistant on Facebook. But we'll, we'll share all the links. But yeah, reach out however you like.

And just once again, that's G R A I N N E Grainne, not grain or grainy Grognia like Sonia is how I remembered it. G R A I N N E and then Dunne D U N N E. Dunne. You've been a superstar. Thank you so much for coming onto the podcast today and I'll see you very soon. Thank you.

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