Michelle Fox: ‘It was all up to me to bring in the business, but I put myself out there...'

Covid lockdowns gave one woman the needed ‘time out’ to really think about what she wanted from her professional life – and that was to leave her solid career of almost two decades and launch her own business.

Michelle Fox, originally from Tipperary and now living in West Cork with her family, worked in corporate pensions for 18 years, and while she enjoyed it, she always had a niggling feeling that there was something else for her – she just didn’t know what.

“I always had a passion and an eye for interiors, but it didn’t really register with me for a long time that that’s what was meant for me,” said the mum-of-three.

But after completing an online interiors course during lockdown, she made the radical decision to launch her own business, and so Michelle Fox Interiors was born.

That was two and a half years ago, and she hasn’t looked back and recently celebrated winning the Creative Professional award at the Network West Cork Businesswoman of the Year awards.

“Interiors was always a hobby of mine. I did up our house in Macroom, and the house we’re living in now near Coppeen and I’d have done rooms for family and friends. Then there came a point when I realised it was now or never so I took that leap into the unknown and it’s worked out brilliantly,” she said.

Naturally, she did experience some trepidation – who wouldn’t when you’re used to a monthly pay cheque?

“It was all up to me to bring in the business, which was a big change but I really made a huge effort to put myself out there and meet builders, architects, etc, and it all paid off, and I started to get a really good flow of work, and it’s grown organically from there.”

Around six months after launching, she went along to Network Ireland West Cork and said it has been a great support, along with other organisations such as the Local Enterprise Boards.

“At Network West Cork, it’s great to meet other like-minded women, winning the award was the icing on the cake and going on to the national competition in September is amazing!”

Her advice to anyone else who feels a pull in another career direction is to stop talking about it, and to take time to think about it properly.

“It’s also worth talking to a career coach, which I did, which is a great way to see the bigger picture,” said Michelle.

Married to Jerry, they’re parents to Sean (14), Kate (12) and Zoe (10), and Michelle said it was important that her business was flexible to work with the needs of her family.

“The kids can see how much I love my work now and say they’ve seen a change in me.

“I like that they know that you can do whatever you want to, if you have the passion for it. They can see that things are working out and I’m glad to be setting that example. Jerry has been a huge support too and saw the potential in me long before I did myself,” said Michelle.

She currently works mainly in Munster on residential and commercial projects, covering anything from one-off consultations to entire house projects, and everything in between.

She agrees that people are getting more interiors-savvy from things like Instagram, but says it’s important to have a house that reflects your individual personality and needs, and that they aren’t all carbon copies of each other.

“You have to have a house that works for you. It’s easy to feel a bit overwhelmed with all the choice out there and that’s when you might be inclined to copy something you’ve seen online, but that won’t represent your personality or your style.”

An achievable interiors project to undertake over the summer months would be to paint a room, she suggests.

“It’s relatively inexpensive and can have a dramatic effect,” she said, and suggests looking in our wardrobes to see what colours we’re drawn to, to help when choosing the shade.

She has absolutely no regrets about setting up on her own – in fact, she sometimes wishes she had done it earlier.

“But I think you are where you’re supposed to be. I know I am,” she said.