After launching her business My Palm Co from her home in Cork, entrepreneur and hair stylist Audrey Cashman has international sales in her sights.
We talk to rural women entrepreneurs from across Ireland who recently took part in the ACORNS 9 programme.
Acorns recently celebrated a decade of support for female entrepreneurship in rural Ireland. 57 women entrepreneurs who completed the recent programme saw their turnover increase by more than 40%.
“The other women gave the extra push I needed”
Women in rural Ireland with new businesses or at least with well-developed ideas are being invited to join next phase of the programme, ACORNS 10.
The ACORNS programme is designed to support early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland through a peer learning approach. Thanks to the support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and the voluntary contribution of time by Lead Entrepreneurs, there is no charge for those selected to participate.
Only early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland, and who have had no sales before the end of June 2021, are eligible to apply.
ACORNS 10 will run from October 2024 to April 2025 and will include six monthly round table sessions, a workshop on understanding financials, a briefing by various development agencies and an end-of-cycle celebration.
My Palm Co
Hair stylist Audrey Cashman launched My Palm Co, a luxury hair tool and kit company, from her home in Cork City in April 2024.
Audrey was inspired to set up the online retailer after noticing that stylists typically operate with a collection of leading products from many individual brands. With My Palm Co, the Londoner has developed a series of best-in-class hair products under a single brand name, including combs, hair brushes, section clips, and hair scrunchies.
“The idea first came to me in 2018 but it wasn’t until after the Covid-19 pandemic that I felt I had the capacity to work on it,” says Audrey.
Product development has been underpinned by Audrey’s experiences as the owner of Upstyle Junkie, a personal styling and training service for hairdressers. “I simplify styling hair for hairdressers. I want them to understand how hair works and how products can help them achieve the desired effect,” says Audrey, adding that My Palm Co is launching two new products this summer followed by another one in the autumn.
She continues: “Ultimately, we hope to stock our products with high street retailers and also to sell internationally, whether that’s the UK or elsewhere. That’s our goal.”
Audrey admits to feeling shocked when she was accepted into the ACORNS programme, but says her participation came at the perfect time for the development of the business.
“The opportunity to join ACORNS arose at a time when everything was just coming together – from manufacturing to the website launch and more. The peer-to-peer support and the support of my lead entrepreneur got me through all that. It would have been quite a daunting thing to do by yourself. The other women gave the extra push I needed,” she says.
What is ACORNS?
ACORNS, which stands for Accelerating the Creation Of Rural Nascent Start-ups, is in its 10th year. It is funded through the Rural Innovation and Development Fund by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). ACORNS was a runner up in the 2018 European Enterprise Promotion Awards, Investing in Entrepreneurial Skills. The programme was developed by Fitzsimons Consulting.
Eligibility Criteria for participation on ACORNS
To be considered for ACORNS, applicants must:
- Have set up a new business which has generated sales no earlier than the end of June 2021 or be actively planning a new venture and have made good progress towards getting the new venture off the ground. Indicators of actively planning a business would include organising the start-up team, sourcing equipment / facilities, money saved for the start-up, writing the business plan, etc.
- They must own or part-own the business and be living in a rural area, that is in an area outside the administrative city boundaries of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.
- If selected, applicants must be available to attend the launch Forum and first round table session on October 21 and 22, 2024.
- They must expect to become an employer within three years.
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