My Career: ‘I am a firm believer in learning from experience’

Name: Phoebe Holland

Age: 36

Lives: Cork

Job title: Managing Director of Rugs.ie

Salary bracket: €60,000+

Education background: I studied Business & Law in UCD

Hobbies: Reading, exercising, cooking, eating out with friends, walks in nature.

Describe your job in five words: Rewarding, challenging, everchanging, fulfilling, interesting.

Describe yourself in five words: Friendly, driven, dedicated, personable, considerate.

Personality needed for this kind of work? People-orientated, enthusiastic, and determined.

How long are you doing this job? Almost 10 years.

How did you get this job? Rugs.ie is my family business started by my parents 30 years ago. It was never my intention to run the family business but I am so proud to get the opportunity to do so.

I studied Business & Law with a view to becoming a barrister but quickly realised, this was not the career for me.

I left university with an interest in pursuing a career in business or marketing, but unsure of what I wanted to do. I immediately secured a role in advertising as a TV buyer for a media agency.

I then travelled to Australia where I worked in various jobs. While there, I interviewed for a role in Google and travelled home to work as an advertising sales executive.

At Google, I worked with lots of SMEs in developing their Google Ads accounts. It was so interesting and gave me insights into what was needed to create and maintain a successful e-commerce business.

Meanwhile, our family business began to struggle. I returned home to help launch an e-commerce site for Rugs.ie and never looked back. Within two years, my parents took the decision to retire and trusted me to become the managing director.

Do you need particular qualifications or experience?

I am a firm believer in learning from experience. While you need business acumen to be able to successfully run any business, I don’t think any qualification will prepare you for what’s ahead. So much of what I know, I learned in previous roles, from my parents or from my own mistakes. My parents gave me room to test ideas and created space for me to leave my own stamp on the business.

Describe a day at work: Every day is really varied, I could be doing anything from developing new products to business development.

My role incorporates many different part of the business and that’s what I love most about it. My duties include product design and development, liaising with interior designers and architects, working on large scale projects for hotels and apartment buildings, financial planning, and everything in between.

When you work in an SMB you can see the effects of your work and each change you make directly. That’s what makes it so enjoyable.

How many hours do you work a week?

This depends a lot on the time of year, but I try not to work more than 45 hours a week.

What do you wear to work?

I love a power suit and a loafer!

Is your industry male or female-dominated?

Male.

Does this affect you in any particular way?

Initially, I found it to be intimidating. There are many meetings where I was the only woman in the room, especially during sourcing trips. However, now, I recognise the power in it. Our customers are predominantly female and most decision-makers within our industry are male so I see it as my competitive advantage.

Is your job stressful? How? Rate it on a scale of 1-10:

In any business, there are lots of highs and lows. The role can be stressful at times, but I absolutely love what I do so think it’s worth it. 5/10.

Do you work with others or on your own?

I’m lucky enough to have an exceptional team around me! They work incredibly hard and are a bright, passionate group who I feel privileged to have work with me. We have grown from a team of three to 17.

When do you plan to retire or give up working?

I haven’t given this much thought as of yet. I have lots of plans to grow Rugs.ie so won’t be retiring any time soon!

Best bits:

Getting feedback from customers on how much they love their rugs, especially when they have had them for many years!

Producing ethically made sustainable rugs designed in-house in Ireland. Celebrating our wins with my dad and stepmum - they are retired but are still my biggest cheerleaders!

Worst bits:

Being a sole director means the final decision always sits with you. You need to learn to own your mistakes and it can be lonely at times. However, the team around me are amazing and there is something to learn in every mistake.

Advice to those who want your job?

Trust your instinct and test your ideas!