Cork Solo Businesswoman of the Year: I was the most self-critical person

MARKETING and mindset coach Virginia Foley sometimes feels frustrated at this time of year at the lack of for parents during the school summer holidays.

The creator of Up She Rises – a female empowerment community centred around helping women to gain the confidence and self-belief they need to succeed and grow – would love to see a national programme developed to expose kids to things like art, design, fashion, cooking, life skills, etc, over the coming weeks.

“It would provide employment and get the kids interested in things they might not otherwise be exposed to,” said the mum-of-two from Fair Hill.

She acknowledges there has never been a more important time to model to our children what balance looks like, but added: “It is certainly not easy. I try to remind myself that these years are precious and it’s just a season. It makes me really value the business model I use – to have the flexibility to be off when they are off for the most part.”

Virginia won the Solo Businesswoman of the Year at the recent Network Cork Awards, and said it was actually a similar sense of frustration that brought her to what she’s doing now.

“You know the phrase ‘Women are expected to work like they don’t have children, and raise children as if they don’t work?’ Well, by child number two, I felt there had to be a better way for me to use my skills and also strike the balance at home.

That got me really curious around what was possible to do in the hours that my kids were in school. So I literally set about creating a business that would allow me to not let my skills go to waste but also do really fulfilling work that makes a difference.

“I know that makes it sound so easy! It has taken me years of trying things and testing and tweaking, but it has paid off. A very patient husband also helped!,” she said.

Virginia’s background is in marketing, PR and events – but she brings something unique in her approach.

“When I first became self-employed as a PR and marketing consultant, I realised that, while I was helping women with their marketing, most of them were actually struggling behind the scenes of their business with things like fear, lack of confidence, imposter syndrome, low self-worth, etc. These were the very things I was struggling with myself.

“So it encouraged me to move my business in a different direction and I began sharing what worked for me with others to help them overcome the same problems. What followed was a deep dive into how the mind works and how we can literally change our belief system. I became obsessed with this and now I have developed my own methods that really work. So that’s how I got here! God knows where I’m going next!”

Her business, Up She Rises, started as more of a movement around the theme of female empowerment and helping other women get out of their own way.

“It has now evolved into a blend of coaching and consultancy, with a focus on marketing strategy and mindset. Through social media, educational events and online coaching and programmes, I encourage women to think bigger about their business growth and personal expansion. I lean on my own unique range of skills and experiences to find the gaps in my client’s business and the blindspots and limiting beliefs of the individual.”

She also enjoys the consultancy side as she its to getting bored easily.

“So, having new events to plan or PR campaigns to run keeps it exciting. I think the ‘extra’ comes from my own strategic vision and creativity. This used to be a burden to be honest. I always had a creative thirst I couldn’t quench and it made me think I was just weird! But now I know it’s one of my biggest talents.”

And as if she wasn’t busy enough, she also has a podcast called Growing Forward.

What motivates her?

“Proof that what I am doing is paying off. I am also motivated to not just tell my kids my dreams, but to SHOW them. I want them to know that whatever you dream up is absolutely possible once you believe it can happen. So that keeps me motivated along the way, through the many ups and downs.”

Network Cork has, she said, been a along the way.

“Having a ive network that allows you to be yourself but to still learn from others is essential. In many ways, the network has helped stretch me a bit further too and open opportunities for me. There was a time when I didn’t think I was worthy of being in rooms like those and now I’m completely at home there. It’s wonderful to be around people who are rooting for you and helping you grow.”

And wining Solo Businesswoman of the Year was a special moment.

“I was so pleasantly surprised at how good it felt. I didn’t realise how much it would mean to me. I got an influx of messages from women who had worked with me over the years or who had been part of the Up She Rises circle and their reactions almost topped my own. So it felt like all my work over the years was acknowledged and celebrated, but not in a boastful or egotistical way.

It made me feel like I am making a real difference to people, and that means the world to me and made the win all the sweeter. Also, seeing how proud my family and parents were, that was very special.

Right now, it’s full steam ahead.

“I’m knee deep at the moment in planning a launch event for a UK brand and a Cork business. It involves a well-known TV personality who will be hosting it. But I can’t breathe a word just yet.

She’s also been working on her book for about 18 months now, designed to help set women free from the life-limiting beliefs they’ve inherited, which draws on her own personal story.

“It has taken many turns, but I can’t even explain how much I have learned about myself writing it and I’m so excited to get it into people’s hands because I know it will activate change in people. But I grossly under estimated how long the process takes.”

Her best advice to someone thinking of launching their own business?

“Clarity. Get really clear on what problem you are solving first. Then build everything around that. Also, don’t wait until things are perfect. Put something out there and tweak it as you go.

“Also, stop putting pressure on yourself to know everything. You will only learn things as you go. So be OK with that and shift into that learning-as-you-go mode,” she said.

She quotes George Bernard Shaw: “Life isn’t about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself.”

“Life is too short to worry about what others might think of you. But the irony is, a few years ago, before I got deep into personal development work (on myself and with others), I was the most self-critical person you could meet and took things way too seriously and got stressed out over the smallest things. I was also putting way too much pressure on myself. 

Now I’m the polar opposite. The more I learned to relax, the better everything got.

Follow her on Instagram @upsherises.ie; and see www.upsherises.ie

Next week, we continue our series of interviews with the winners of the Network Ireland Cork Businesswoman of the Year Awards.