Supermum Jane and hubby juggling act of running business

Juggling and running a business may not immediately spring to mind as two activities that go hand in hand, but for food producer Jane Cassidy they are as closely linked as strawberries and cream or bacon and cabbage. As well as completing the many tasks involved in running a business with her husband Kieran, Jane also acts as mother to their three children, Brian (17), Laura (15) and Deirdre (11). Even the business of running a business, she has discovered, is a delicate juggling act. It"s all about finding a balance between getting a high quality product on the market, keeping costs down and making sure that there is a decent margin at the end of the year. So far, the Cassidys have got the balance right although they are well aware there is no room for complacency. Jane arrived in the business world via nursing and farming and she and her husband are clearly relishing the challenge of turning a small family concern into an efficient, tightly-run enterprise. They set up Kilbeg Dairy Delights four years ago and even in these recessionary times they have plans to expand. Already employing three people, they intend to take on a fourth shortly as they go in search of a bigger turnover and a path into the future. As the name suggests, their firm is based in Kilbeg, Carlanstown, and produces a variety of dairy-based products, some of them award-winning, including specialised German cheese, buttermilk, cream and a range of yogurts. They mainly supply products to the catering sector and through distributors. As a recognition of their efforts, the Cassidys were delighted to be nominated as one of the 12 finalists for the 2009 All-Ireland JFC Innovation Awards for Rural Business. FOr them, it was another little indication that they were going in the right direction. In these economically challenging times, when pessimists are having a field day, Jane says that it is important for businesspeople to keep an optimistic mindset, to believe in the product they produce and, above all, maintain a tight rein on costs. 'For any business to be successful, you have to have a very close look at the figures, constantly; not just every six months, every three months but weekly. You look at everything; you look at the cost of light switches, absolutely everything,' she emphasises. The Cassidys are of the opinion that there is almost nothing that can"t be achieved through a clear vision, some know-how, the proper research and the willingness to work long, long hours. Jane also feels it is important to take on challenges and be prepared to step outside the comfort zone. They have followed their convictions with the type of action that has helped to ensure Kilbeg Dairy Delights are looking to move up to another level. Up until last year, the Cassidys, who are aged in their 40s, were busy running a dairy farm with a herd of 120 cows as well as trying to get their business off the ground. They have since moved away from all that. They sold their cows and now they are focused on expanding the business. They aim to double their turnover in the next year or so and push on from there. With Jane"s love of food added to Kieran"s interest in business - combined with a shared realisation that dairy farming just wasn"t producing the income they sought - they pushed on. They attended courses, did their research and took the plunge. The business had stared out as an alternative farm enterprise with Jane making cheesecake, buttermilk and cream from her own kitchen. Partly driven by Jane"s passion for food, the Cassidys moved on to producing Quark, a creamy, low-fat, specialised German-type soft cheese used in the catering sector. They took a huge step into the unknown last year when they sold their herd of Friesians and rented out some of their land. They transformed an old brick outhouse on their farm into a Department of Agriculture-standard dairy producing factory. This allowed them to expand their range of products. 'We knew we had to do something ourselves to make sure our business was viable. We could see that functional foods were the way to go; the cheesecakes were a luxury item. You"ll buy ingredients every day but you"ll buy a luxury item once a week and this is the way we said we had to go. 'I know the recession is very tough but knocking ourselves is not productive. You have to keep your eye on the end goal and don"t knock yourself. But without a good product you have no business, so obviously getting the product right and the way the customer wanted it was top of our list.' They discovered it was more cost efficient, in both time and money, to buy the milk they needed from a nearby dairy rather than keeping their own herd, an arrangement that is working well. Looking at what their customers want and providing that kind of product is a care part of their enterprise. Jane says that she and Kieran are fortunate to have the backing of various agencies such as Leader, Enterprise Board, Teagasc, Inter-Trade Ireland who have given them grants and advice to help them along the way. Recently they were in receipt of a grant of €65,000 from the Meath Partnership. Such support allied to their own 'considerable' investment has helped to set up the business and keep it on a steady course. She also points to the importance of the support received from their immediate families, parents, grandparents particularly in terms of helping to look after their children while there was business matters to be attended to. The credit crunch, Jane admits, is 'a real, real problem' yet if cutbacks are made here, savings there, it should be possible to reduce the number of times needed to darken the doors of the banks. While they have attended courses, the Cassidys have had to learn a lot as they go along - from taxation to technology. It"s not easy running a business, Jane says, but if you have the right skills, an iron will and an ability to juggle, those insurmountable problems can suddenly seem not so difficult after all. Do you have a positive story to tell arising out of the current recession? If so, email jimmy@meathchronicle.ie or telephone (046) 907 9619 and tell us about it.