MONERE Development Services was founded in 2011 by Monica Murphy. Monica left a permanent, pensionable job to strike out alone with nothing but a vision and a drive to see her dream come true.

After starting out at her kitchen table, this year she is celebrating 14 years in business. She now employs eight people and has recently moved to a bigger office space at Unit 5 Carrigeen, Cappoquin, Co Waterford. With a client list that now includes names like Deloitte, KPMG, Taxback, Aldi, Sisk, The Central Bank and The Office of Government Procurement MONERE is now busier than ever.

With this team of eight people, MONERE continues to provide customised training and development solutions for companies and delivers training courses to multiple industries in construction, engineering, hospitality, healthcare, education, finance, retail and more.

Company Founder, Monica Murphy shares a few thoughts as she reflects on “10 Lessons Learned in 10 Years of Business”.

2) Having the idea to start a business is one thing, but actually DOING the thing makes the difference. Many people dream of starting their own business, but actually DOING it is a much smaller percentage of people. You must be willing to put the hours in and make the necessary sacrifices.

3) The ability to PIVOT is critical. After three years in the business, MONERE started hiring people and they moved from a home office to an actual building. This is one of many pivots the company has made over the past 10 years. Don’t allow yourself to be stagnant!

4) It takes PEOPLE to run a business, unless you are a sole trader – and even then you can get overwhelmed with the amount of paperwork etc. Trusting people to do what you can’t is a risk – and it’s costly but it will prevent burnout and help you to grow. That brings us to #5, which is:

5) GROWTH comes from taking risks, trusting people, being able to pivot and move the
company forward even when you are afraid!

6) Running a business takes RESILIENCE. In March 2020 the key stakeholders of MONERE met to determine if they should close the business, wait it out, or take their training courses online. They made the decision to stay open, and in the past 12 months over 500 virtual training courses have been delivered, and they are still running 100% virtually, have added 40 new clients and are preparing to move into a bigger office space.

7) PLANNING, READING & THINKING TIME is always a key component of business. Looking ahead at trends, making decisions about business growth, and deciding what risks to take to grow the business.

8) It takes SELF-AWARENESS to be a business owner, to set limits, to know where you end and the business begins, and to be willing to let go of certain areas of this company that you have created from the ground up!

9) When businesses grow, the CEO/owner has to make the choice to STEP BACK and see if others can move the business forward, even if it does not look exactly how you might
do it! Once again, growth and success are risky!

10) Business owners will do better if they learn receive and give GOOD ADVICE. Networking is key, staying connected to other small businesses and people who are willing to learn from each other.