RTE star Siobhan Lam has shared the honest truth about starting her own business and why she keeps going.
The lifestyle guru is the proud owner of one of Ireland‘s leading interior stores, April & The Bear – but it wasn’t all plane sailing when it came to launching the company.
Siobhan, who is now a judge on RTE‘s popular series Home Of The Year, first got the idea to start her own business back in 2014.
The interior designer told The Irish Sun: “I started April & The Bear when I bought my first home with my husband and we were renovating.
“We were looking for unique, different homeware and furniture and we couldn’t find anything. So there was a real gap in the market.”
The TV star built the modern homeware brand from the ground up, starting off at her own kitchen table.
At first, Siobhan sold her products online, before expanding to pop-up shops and then onto her own store in Rathmines, Dublin.
Although the entrepreneur may have made it all look relatively easy, Siobhan has admitted there were “so many tears” shed along the way.
The business owner said: “One of the hardest things for me personally and for a lot of other female entrepreneurs is that you work on your own.
“So when you are having a bad day or you are spiralling, you are on your own, so of course you are going to be crying your eyeballs out.”
The TV star is a doting mum to two girls and has always stated that it is “extremely important” that she lead by example.
Siobhan wants her own girls to understand that she is not just their mum, but a business owner.
The mum-of-two explained “They need to know that there is this other part of me that goes away, that works, where I have a team of people working for me and that it is completely separate to them.”
The lifestyle lover explained that being a hands-on mum is “fantastic”.
However, she emphasised: “I just think it’s important for young women to realise that women don’t just exist in that home space, and our lives don’t just revolve around our little people who we love.”
‘STICK TO YOUR GUNS’
Siobhan explained that the “best way” she will teach her kids to go out and “conquer the business world” is by doing it herself.
She added: “Yes you can be a mother and yes you can have your own family, but also yes you can have your own business too.”
“Young women and young girls need to see that you can do both. Of course it’s tough and yes it’s a struggle, but you can do it.
“Just stick to your guns and have belief that your idea is fantastic.”
You can catch Siobhan in action on Home of The Year tonight at 8.30pm on RTE One.