International Women’s Day was marked by Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Go Succeed Team with a special event aimed at celebrating female entrepreneurs who have transformed their past experiences into thriving businesses.
Around 80 women from across the district attended the Empower Her: Transforming Experiences into Enterprises event in the Everglades Hotel on Friday 7th March.
During the day, attendees heard from a number of amazing female entrepreneurs who’ve turned adversity into success, as they shared their individual journeys of resilience, innovation, and growth.
MC Emer Maguire, a Strabane native, was an engaging host.
Emer spoke about her own journey from international science commentator through to musical comedy success.
The keynote speaker for the event was the inspirational Patricia Breslin. Speaking passionately about her own experiences, Patricia offered the audience invaluable insights on how to transform their experiences into thriving enterprises.
A single mother of six children, Patricia is also a transformational speaker, counsellor, and the creator of the Who Am I? program, a 12-week journey designed to help individuals rediscover their identity, build resilience, and create a purposeful future.
With a powerful combination of lived experience and professional expertise, Patricia specialises in guiding individuals who have faced domestic violence, trauma, or life transitions toward healing and empowerment.
Having overcome her own challenges, including domestic violence, addiction recovery, trauma, bulimia and her personal transformation, Patricia spoke about how she now dedicates her life to helping others break free from limiting beliefs, reclaim their self-worth, and step into their full potential.
Following this the attendees were able to enjoy a panel discussion with a number of distinguished guests including Roisin Henry, Jenna McCusker and Staci Stewart.
Roisin is the owner of Soundness of Soul, a holistic therapy business dedicated to nurturing women’s well-being in a calm and welcoming environment. She is also a part-time social media manager.
Speaking about her business Roisin told the audience: “Soundness of Soul was born out of my own journey with complementary therapy, which became a lifeline for staying balanced and grounded after my cancer diagnosis in 2022.
Experiencing how these treatments worked alongside conventional medicine inspired me deeply. It’s now my passion to offer others a safe and welcoming space where women can take time for themselves, reconnect, and nurture their emotional and mental wellbeing through reflexology and energy healing.”
Jenna is the owner of fragrance product business ‘House of Scents’. Having gone through a divorce, losing her first business and being left paralysed from the waist down after breaking her back, Jenna decided to turn all her pain into power. She explained: “I am now the founder and the host of the ‘Mental Health and Me’ podcast.
“The concept is to give hope, empowerment and inspiration to those going through their own pain, whilst sharing my own personal stories and the stories of my guests’ struggle.”
Staci, a busy mum of two, spoke about her experience founding Mama Placenta Remedies, which offers a holistic and natural approach in supporting women into their transition of motherhood.
During the panel discussion the three ladies shared how they had turned the negative aspects of their lives into a force to help them develop and expand their businesses. They also took a range of questions from the audiences, resulting in an engaging and inspirational discussion.
On hand throughout the day to offer advice were Carolann Doherty and Rachel Gallagher from Council’s Go Succeed team. They were able to speak to attendees about support which is available for their particular business, be that starting something new, the importance of developing networking skills, or advice on how to expand a growing business.
Reflecting on the success of the event, Danielle McNally, Business Development Manager with Derry City and Strabane District Council said: “The Empower Women event held to mark International Women’s Day was an incredible success.
“It was amazing to have so many like-minded and passionate woman all under one roof and there was such real buzz and energy in the room as the ladies shared their aspirations and ideas with each other.
“Thank you to everyone who came along and took part in this event, your stories will have inspired many in attendance.
“In particular I’d like to thank our MC, keynote and panel speakers, you gave incredibly powerful testimonies of your own particular journeys, and I know there was something for each of us to take away and use in our own jobs and businesses to help us achieve even more success.”
Go Succeed (www.go-succeed.com) is funded by the UK Government and delivered by Northern Ireland’s 11 councils.
The service supports entrepreneurs, new starts and existing businesses with easy-to-access advice and support including mentoring, master classes, peer networks, access to grant funding and a business plan, at every stage of their growth journey.
For further information on the support programmes available to set up and grow your business through Derry City and Strabane District Council visit: derrystrabane.com/business
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