2012 Irish Small Biz 50 Nominees, A-C
Name: Ramona Bracken
Age: 34
Place of birth: Limerick
Business: Bracken Enterprises LLC
First established: December 2007, started trading Sept. 08
Employees: 5
Website: www.brackencleaningnyc.com
Where you live: Yonkers, New York
First job: Housekeeper/Babysitter
What it taught me: It taught me very early on, that to make even a small amount of pocket money I had to work hard. I was 14 years old doing this job, not long after I began I was handed a dust mask and a wire brush and my job that day was to scrub down a cast iron fireplace. I am almost positive that I earned less than 20 Irish Punts at the time for my day’s work!
Family: My parents are Austin & Bernadette Bracken from Castletown, Fortal, Birr, Co. Offaly. I am the oldest of 6 children, I have 3 sisters Nikola, Aimee & Sarah and 2 brothers, Jason & Steven. I was lucky enough to have been raised in a home with my parents and grandparents. They were Ned & Dolly King (both deceased RIP). It is fair to say no-one has had more impact on my life than they did, they have been my heroes and role models throughout my life!
Best advice anyone ever gave you: I have received much advice but ones that really spring to mind are from firstly my grandfather: “Love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe and Do what you do well” and finally from my dear friend Marie Wrafter in Canada “Just Keep Going.” I cannot tell you the amount of times when really struggling over the past few years that this advice helped me out, no matter how stressed I’d be I’d just say to myself just keep going Ramona, and it got me through.
Best advice you could give someone starting out: Don’t get too caught up in the facade of owning your own business, be prepared for the challenges and sacrifices that you will HAVE to make to succeed! Have plenty of patience as it won’t happen overnight, and even though its hard sometimes to stay focused and believe in yourself, nothing good comes easy!
The most important thing for a business success is: Customer Service and Satisfaction has got to be number 1, and though they say it’s impossible to keep everyone happy you have to overcome the impossible and make that happen as unhappy customers equals no business! Being consistent and Reliable with your work, and make sure each day when heading for home that you are confident that both you and your team have turned out your best work!
Back in late 2007, a lady from Woodlawn was looking for someone to take over some Clients that she did cleaning for as she was giving it up. I was working as a Nurses Aide in Manhattan and had some free days so I took it over, I had 5 Clients all in the Woodlawn/ Yonkers area. I didn’t have a car, and was going from job to job in taxi’s carrying a Bloomingdales bag over my shoulder with cleaning products and a vacuum under my arm! All the Clients were all more or less once a month so it was easy to fit it in with my regular job, I never thought it would be anything more than a nixer but without even trying it grew and grew. So in December an old friend of mine contacted the Companies Corporation and Bracken Enterprises was formed. We didn’t start officially trading until the following September. I never thought it would be any more than a local residential cleaning service, but then thanks to two local ladies, Catherine Flood and the late Christine Moyles I got my first opportunity to bid for my first commercial job. It was for the offices of the prestigious Architect Howard L.Zimmerman, he knew we were a new start up but he gave us a chance to prove ourselves, and I will be forever grateful for that, and almost 3 years in we continue to work with Howard and grow as his office does! Since that time though we have struggled and stressed along the way Bracken Enterprises was on a slow but steady incline, the direction of the business changed as our Clients did, in 2010 we started doing post construction our first job being none other than “The Plaza Hotel” since then we have worked with Designers, Architects and General Contractors making Post Construction work our speciality! In 2011 we made our most radical changes to date, not only were we servicing all our residential Clients at this time varying between 15-20, we continued to progress with our Commercial Work and started doing retail and with this came our first maintenance contract being responsible for HVAC, Pest Control, Lighting & Glass and any other general maintenance needing to be done at the property. If anyone had told me 3.5 years ago we would be where we are today, I would never have believed it, the reputation of Bracken Enterprises has grown as has its business, and my expectations for this company were never higher than they are now, to me this is only the beginning, I intend to drive this business forward to the best of my ability. Since branching into the different areas I see the opportunities out there, and Contacts mean everything. You have to turn out good work, get known get your company known as people will only refer you if they know they can trust you to do the right thing! Trust and approval is also hard earned, that is one frustrating thing in this business, Cleaning is not counted as a respected profession so many think of us as “just the cleaners” and we are often considered uneducated just because this is the career we are in! I can honestly say though I have always worked hard and almost always had more than one job, since starting this company I have never worked harder! So to those of you who have said “is this all you do?” I say yes and I am so very proud of it! Even though we are “just cleaning” – there is a right way and a wrong way to do everything, and I have seen how far getting up close and personal with a few u-bends has gotten me! In 2011, Bracken Enterprises became a member of the Irish Business Organization and I became a member of the NAPW (National Association of Professional Women).
Name: Elaine Brennan
Place of birth: Co.Clare
Business: Yeats Clinical
First established: 2011
Employees: 30
Website: www.yeatsclinical.com
Where you live: New York
First job: Elan Pharma (Athlone)
What it taught me: That I enjoyed seeking my education put to practical use in delivering healthcare products to patients
Family: Mom Teresa Brennan, Dad Sean Brennan, Son Cian O’Brien, 2 sisters Rena Whelan (husband Andrew Whelan) & Annmarie O’Mahony (husband Kieran O’Mahony), 1 brother Enda Brennan and 2 nieces (Mai and Rosa Whelan), 2 nephews (Sean Whelan and Michael O’Mahony)
Best advice anyone ever gave you: If someone is offering you something – take it (Nana Brennan).
Best advice you could give someone starting out: If someone tenured/successful is offering you advice – take it!
The most important thing for a business success is: The people.
Socrates Healthcare is doing business in the U.S. as Yeats Clinical. We are a successful player in the Irish market and are launching our U.S.- certified product here in the U.S. We have many MDs using the product and are about to go mass market. It is a great time to be in IT healthcare here in the U.S. and we have big expectations for the success of Yeats.
Name: Niamh Bushnell
Place of birth: Cork
Business: MarketSprint
First established: March 2006
Employees No fulltime employees (bar me)
Website: www.marketsprint.com
Where you live: Jersey City, New Jersey
First job: Frame Technology, Dublin
What it taught me: That positioning technology correctly to a target audience is fascinating and challenging.
Family: One Son, Seamus, almost 3 years old.
Best advice anyone ever gave you: “Think properly but not too much.”
Best advice you could give someone starting out: Take it slowly, step by step, everything takes time and perseverance.
The most important thing for a business success is: To be ahead of the market, but not so far ahead that you alienate clients and potential clients.
Niamh Bushnell is the CEO of MarketSprint, a boutique tech consulting company based in NYC. MarketSprint offers strategy, networks and capital advisory services to international companies entering the U.S. market. Niamh has been in the technology business for over 20 years. She was VP of Software at Enterprise Ireland New York from 1998 to 2004 and VP of Relationship Management at Irish payments company, Orbiscom, prior to its acquisition by MasterCard International. She successfully co-founded her first start-up Pan Research in Dublin in 1996 and has been leading her own consulting practice since 2006. Niamh is an investor and mentor at Entrepreneurs Roundtable, an NYC based tech accelerator. She is also a mentor for Dublin based Propeller Venture Fund and Arizona State University’s Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative. Niamh has received a variety of awards and recognition for her work with Irish technology companies and is delighted to be included in the Irish Echo’s Small Business 50. In 2012, Niamh co-launches USACCEL, a new accelerator program for international companies entering the U.S. market. Her first product also goes live in Q1 2012, a platform of resources called TechResources.US sponsored by Enterprise Ireland.
Name: Seamus Byrne
Age: 47
Place of birth: Waterford
Business: Byrne Design LLC (Architecture & Interiors)
First established: January 1st, 2003
Employees: 5
Website: www.byrne-design.com
Where you live: Chicago, IL
First job: Swim Teacher
What it taught me: Kids are more intuitive than grown-ups.
Family: Wife, daughter, and anxious mess of a dog.
Best advice anyone ever gave you: Buckle up.
Best advice you could give someone starting out: Prepare for good times in bad, and vice versa.
The most important thing for a business success is: Belief in your product or service
Byrne Design LLC is a full-service architectural practice providing the highest quality architectural and interior design services to our clients, and specializing in the design of highly detailed environments. Our clients benefit from our commitment to excellence, our insistence on attention to detail, and our depth of experience in providing specialist expertise to complex challenges. Byrne Design’s tight-knit team structure assures highly focused implementation for our projects, and has invariably resulted in repeat assignments from our clients. Byrne Design’s driving forces are creativity and excellence, both sharply focused on implementing appropriate design solutions with attention to detail, budget and time-frame. Byrne Design’s studio is located on the Magnificent Mile in downtown Chicago and the firm serves clients nationwide, with projects completed in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas and Washington DC. Client markets served: Corporate Entertainment Hospitality Retail Current Clients/Projects: American Girl Place Emerging Solutions LEGOLAND Discovery Center Northern Trust Prasino Restaurants Reynolds/Pactiv.
Name: Edward J. Caan
Age: 71
Place of birth: New York City
Name of business: Riviera Imports
First established: 2004
Employees: 9
Website: www.rivieraimports.com
Where you live: Boca Raton, Florida
First job: A.S. Asch Market Research
What it taught me: Humility. Standing in hotel lobby’s asking busy consumers to stop and answer questions. Traveling around the country with a $6.00 per diem allowance.
Family: Wife, 2 sons and 5 grandchildren
Best advice anyone ever gave you: Follow your first instinct
Best advice you could give someone starting out: Be honest to yourself.
The most important thing for a business success is: Keep your word. Once you gain someone’s trust, do not disappoint them
Riviera Imports is a Wine, Spirit and Beer importer. We currently import products from Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico and Spain. Additionally, we handle wines and spirits for the U.S. Our products are sold in 35 U..S markets as well as China, The Czech Republic, Canada, Mexico and the UK.
Name: Patrick Coleman
Place of birth: Dublin
Business: Food Ireland
First established: 1998
Employees: 20+
Website: FoodIrelandWholesale.com
Where you live: New York
First job: Westmeath Co-op, Mullingar
What it taught me: How to make butter.
Family: Married with two children
Best advice anyone ever gave you: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Best advice you could give someone starting out: Trust your instincts and your gut feeling. Don’t over analyze or you will achieve nothing and if you take on new business make sure you have a plan on how to deliver.
The most important thing for a business success is: Stay focused on your core business.
Name: Elizabeth “Lily” Corcoran 
Age: 55
Place of birth: Tullamore, Co. Offaly
Business: Wedding and Event Planning
Website: www.unforgettablemomentsllc.com
First established: 2004
Employees: 3 in New York, 2 in Puerto Rico and 3 in Ireland
Where you live: New York
First job: Medical
What it taught me: To respect peoples’ wishes through happy times of being cured and being there through the tough times of death for the family
Family: Mother: Patricia Corcoran who lives with me 2 sons : Michael Gaafar, 31, and Robert Gaafar 29
Best advice anyone ever gave you: God gives you as much as you can hold on your shoulders. Going through life and business I have learned that there is no perfect roadway to the top. There are many boulders , rocks and road blocks along the way. You just have to figure out how to get past them and be successful at it. Never rely on others to get you by. Do it yourself
Best advice you could give someone starting out: Don’t expect to hit the top right at the start. You have to start at the bottom and build yourself and your companies reputation in order to reach the top. you will stumble a few times . The best way to learn is by the mistakes you yourself makes along the way
The most important thing for a business success is: Confidence and Trust in yourself. Have your mind set at what you want to do and go for it. again those road blocks will be there but with patience and perseverance you will figure out a way around them
I started this company because my own wedding was Murphy’s Law. If it could go wrong it did. I left the medical field after 27 years and decided I didn’t want this to happen to any other bride. I have had a full two page spread in Newsday written about me and destination weddings which I do a lot of. I was recognized by ABC (American Bridal Consultants) and given the title of registered Consultant immediately. I am the planner for the Ritz Carlton in Puerto Rico. I love doing this because with so much unhappiness in the world I am with a couple who have a dream and after months of planning that dream I see it come to a reality. For just a few short hours on the wedding or event day there is true happiness in the world. I love that feeling