AIBF Business Talk

AIBF Business Talk is an original podcast brought to you by the All-Ireland Business Foundation.In each episode we talk to innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders to bring you practical lessons and actionable insights that you can apply to your business and in your daily life.

AIBF Business Talk is a business podcast hosted by All-Ireland Business Foundation, with 100 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

All-Ireland Business Foundation hosts AIBF Business Talk, a business show with 100 episodes published.

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  Episode #248

  Episode 248: Respect, Hard Work & Have Fun: The Principles Behind Marathon Group

  Sep 28, 202638 min

  When Francis Roach and Michael Fitzgerald began talking about setting up a bus company more than 30 years ago, their idea was unusual. They wanted to build one without owning the buses. “We were setting up an Uber for buses. We didn’t know it back then,” Francis recalls. Not everyone was convinced. “We went to several banks who told us we were mad as a bag of cats.” So, they started anyway. “On a shoestring, we started it off in September 1995.” More than three decades later, that idea has become Marathon Group, spanning coach hire, sports travel, major event transport, logistics and safety solutions. In Episode 248 of AIBF Business Talk, Francis joins AIBF Co-CEO Elaine Carroll to reflect on the risks, relationships and people behind that journey. The early Marathon model was simple. Hire buses from operators, find the work and give customers a better overall service. “The first two or three years, we were very poor at maths, but the concept was working.” Then customers started asking for more. Day trips led to sports travel. By 2007, Marathon had secured rugby tickets for the World Cup in France. “We went from hiring buses to hiring planes.”Major events followed. From early concert work at Oxegen and Slane, Marathon developed the experience to manage increasingly complex transport operations. At a recent event at Palmerstown House, the team moved almost 10,000 people from nine different locations in a single day. Yet for the passenger, it should all feel simple. “The key of it all came back to the customer experience.” Behind that experience are the people Francis credits with Marathon’s longevity. His philosophy comes down to three principles: “Respect, hard work and have fun.” Some relationships with operators, suppliers and event personnel now stretch back more than 20 years. “Relationships are what builds your business ultimately.” That culture has helped Marathon Group earn recognition as an AIBF Superteam for 2026. For Francis, the recognition belongs to the people whose work customers rarely see. “This recognition for me is for them, in that the unseen work that goes on.” That same respect extends to customers when things go wrong. Buses can run late. Stops can be missed. Mistakes happen. “When that happens, we put up our hands.” Francis believes those moments can define a relationship just as much as the good ones. “The relationship with the person who’s giving out is as important as the one who’s praising us.” After three decades in business, Francis also sees his own role differently. “My job now in the business is risk management.” Every major event involves judgement. How many buses should Marathon order? How many tickets should it buy? How much should it commit to flights or hotels before knowing exactly what demand will be? “Too many buses, I’m losing money. Too little buses, we’re turning opportunities away.” “Entrepreneurs will always bring it to the line of risk.” But one of Francis’s biggest lessons has been learning to let go. A self-confessed micromanager, growing Marathon meant changing how he led. “I had to change my style.” “The journey for me probably over the last 15 years has been that transformation from micromanaging everything to building systems, empowering people, training people.” Technology has played a part in that change. But Francis remains clear about where investment matters most. “Anytime you train your good staff, it’s an investment. It’s not a cost.” It is a lesson shaped by more than 30 years of changing markets, recessions, major events, calculated risks and relationships that have lasted decades. And if Francis could go back to the young entrepreneur starting Marathon in 1995? His advice would be simple. “It’s going to take a lot longer than you think. Stick with it.” Listen to the full conversation with Francis Roach of Marathon Group on the latest episode of AIBF Business Talk. About the All-Ireland Business Foundation The All-Ireland Business Foundation (AIBF) is Ireland’s national body for recognising and supporting business excellence. We are the accrediting authority behind the Business All-Star marque — Ireland’s Symbol of Trust — awarded through a rigorous audit of reputation, performance and customer trust. Since 2014, we’ve impacted over 5,000 businesses, with 750 currently accredited. For more information please visit www.aibf.ie here.

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  Episode #247

  Episode 247: Letting Go to Grow - Julianna Erkinen on Building Abhaile Solar & Electrical

  Sep 18, 202636 min

  When Julianna Erkinen and her husband Donal decided to start their own business, there was a feeling that the time had come to take the chance. “If you want to do something in life, life is actually very short. And you might as well try it, because what do you have to lose?” In the latest episode of AIBF Business Talk, Elaine Carroll sits down with Julianna Erkinen, Co-Director and Head of Customer Relations a t Abhaile Solar & Electrical, to talk about building a family business, creating a better customer experience and learning to let go as the company grows. Originally from Finland, Julianna moved to Ireland in 2003 with plans to stay for just six months and learn English. More than two decades later, Ireland is home. “I discovered an amazing country and amazing people. I just fell in love with it.” Julianna came from a career in social care leadership, while Donal had more than 30 years of experience as an electrician, including time working in renewable energy. Together, they saw an opportunity to combine two very different strengths. “The combination was there in terms of Donal’s technical abilities and his experience, and then my side… my skills are a lot in customer service.” Coming into the renewable energy industry without a technical background also gave Julianna a different perspective on what customers were experiencing. “Because I had to learn so much about the industry, it’s maybe easier for me sometimes to explain to customers simply what it is and what it’s not.” She quickly recognised how overwhelming the language and technology could become. “What actually matters to the customer… and to communicate that in a way that they understand it.” That focus on people and service has remained central as Abhaile Solar & Electrical has grown. But growth has brought a new challenge. Letting go. “We created this, what I call, our little baby. And then when you start giving it to the world and to other people… that was first quite difficult.” As the workload increased, Julianna realised that trying to manage every part of the business herself was no longer possible. “You can’t do the bookkeeping and the marketing and absolutely everything and the finance side of it, and ordering materials and scheduling… you can’t do it anymore.” The next lesson was learning to trust others. “Bit by bit, trying to delegate and let go of the control. I think letting go of control is probably harder for me than I thought it would be.” Today, Julianna and Donal are deliberately thinking about what the next stage of Abhaile Solar & Electrical should look like. Demand has grown. The team is growing. And rather than chasing growth for its own sake, their focus is on protecting the service and customer experience that helped build the business in the first place. “We will keep growing, but a little bit controllably, hopefully.” And if Julianna could go back to the beginning and give herself one piece of advice? “Don’t worry about absolutely everything so much. Just do it, just one step in front of another.” From moving to Ireland for six months to building a family business here more than two decades later, Julianna’s story is one of taking a chance, finding her own place in a new industry and learning that building a business also means knowing when to let go. Listen to the full conversation with Julianna Erkinen of Abhaile Solar & Electrical on the latest episode of AIBF Business Talk. About the All-Ireland Business Foundation The All-Ireland Business Foundation (AIBF) is Ireland’s national body for recognising and supporting business excellence. We are the accrediting authority behind the Business All-Star marque — Ireland’s Symbol of Trust — awarded through a rigorous audit of reputation, performance and customer trust. Since 2014, we’ve impacted over 5,000 businesses, with 800+ currently accredited. For more information please visit www.aibf.ie here.

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  Episode #246

  Episode 246: Coming Home to the Family Business - Michael Hennelly on Building the Next Chapter

  Sep 14, 202635 min

  Michael Hennelly had opportunities to join the family business years ago. Looking back, he knows he wasn't ready. “I wasn’t mature enough 20-odd years ago to go into the family business. I’ll hold my hand up and say that.” In the latest episode of AIBF Business Talk, Elaine Carroll sits down with Michael Hennelly of Hennelly Finance to talk about building his own career before joining the family business, working alongside his sister Ruth, and bringing his own experience to a business his mother started more than 26 years ago. Hennelly Finance began after Michael’s mother was made redundant. When other companies started approaching her about similar roles, she asked herself a simple question. “If these people are chasing me and they think I’m good enough, why can’t I do this for myself?” She did exactly that. “She started with a blank page… really no clients, just a phone and a paper and away you go.” Michael took a different route. He spent more than 25 years building his own career, including 13 years with New Ireland and later working with Aviva, where he gained exposure to financial advisers across the country. “What it gave me was a really good understanding of what the really good people do well with their clients and what gives a client a high probability of getting a good outcome.” One lesson stayed with him: take ownership. “You take ownership… you don’t pass it on. You make sure it goes from start to finish. After years of watching advisers work directly with their clients, Michael increasingly wanted to do the same. “For 20 years, I was looking at these people saying, ‘I’d love to be doing that. I would love to be sitting in front of clients as well.’” When his mother began stepping away from Hennelly Finance, the time was finally right to join Ruth in the family business. But Michael wasn't coming in to replace what had already been built. “They’ve built some business here. They really have.” Instead, he saw an opportunity to bring more than two decades of his own experience to the foundations already in place. “It’s not taking away from what’s been done here. It’s about adding to it.” More than 26 years after his mother started Hennelly Finance from a blank page, Michael and Ruth are now helping to build its next chapter - holding onto the values that built the business while bringing their own experience to where it goes next. Listen to the full conversation with Michael Hennelly of Hennelly Finance on the latest episode of AIBF Business Talk.

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  Episode #245

  Episode 245: Invest in Yourself First - The Advice Rob Haran Gives Everyone Starting Out

  Sep 8, 202642 min

  When people ask Rob Haran what they should spend their first bit of money on when starting out, his answer isn't equipment, a van, or a website. "There's no point investing in machinery. There's no point investing in a van. There's no point investing in anything if you're good at nothing. So invest in yourself." In the latest episode of AIBF Business Talk, Elaine Carroll sits down with Rob Haran, Managing Director and Founder of the Haran Group , to talk about starting a scaffolding business with nothing but a pickup truck, growing it into a group of specialist businesses, and why the first investment anyone should make is in themselves. Rob's own career is the proof. He began as a scaffolder with a single-cab Ford Ranger, a silage pit for storage, and his father helping him load it by hand. "We literally handballed the scaffolding onto the Ford Ranger, we went off, we put up what we could for the day and we loaded for the next day." He never lost sight of what came next. "What I wanted after the Ford Ranger was a truck, what I wanted after the truck was a forklift... there's always something you need after, if you have ambition." That same principle - build the competence first, and the opportunities follow - is how Rob explains the growth of the wider group. When staff numbers rose and training costs followed, he became a qualified instructor himself before ever opening a training centre to the public. That approach has taken the business a long way from its beginnings. Founded in 2007 with just three employees, Haran Group has expanded beyond scaffolding into machinery, safety training, welding, calibration and temporary works design. By 2024, the Group had invested more than €1 million into the business, with plans for further expansion and growth across the West and Midlands. What started as one scaffolding business had become a wider group of specialist services - each new arm growing from a capability Rob first saw a need for. "I never grew up thinking I was going to own a training centre... I just adapted the idea of in-house training, I utilised my yard, I utilised my equipment." It's also how the welding and calibration side came about - not from a business plan, but from Rob putting in the work to learn a skill he didn't have, with help from someone he'd never met. "Anytime I've reached out to anybody and I've been open and honest in what I want to do, they can see the honesty there... it's always going to be a win-win." For Rob, hiring is no different. Qualifications matter, but attitude is what he looks for first - because attitude is what makes someone willing to invest in themselves in the first place. "You can always get trained... but if you don't have the right attitude, you're not going to go very far." His full advice to anyone starting out, or thinking about what's next, comes back to the same idea. "Start training as something. See if you like the job you're in... once you become a competent person in anything, the doors of opportunity will open up for you." From a Ford Ranger to a group spanning scaffolding, training, welding and calibration, Rob's growth has been built one skill at a time. Listen to the full conversation with Rob Haran of the Haran Group on the latest episode of AIBF Business Talk. About the All-Ireland Business Foundation The All-Ireland Business Foundation (AIBF) is Ireland’s national body for recognising and supporting business excellence. We are the accrediting authority behind the Business All-Star marque — Ireland’s Symbol of Trust — awarded through a rigorous audit of reputation, performance and customer trust. Since 2014, we’ve impacted over 5,000 businesses, with 800+ currently accredited. For more information please visit www.aibf.ie here.

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  Episode #244

  Episode 244: Growth Without Compromise - Why the Customer Always Comes First

  Aug 31, 202630 min

  When you’re an independent business competing against major international players, it can be easy to focus on what they have that you don’t. Bigger budgets. Bigger teams. Bigger reach. For Vicky Kelly of Kelly Hearing Specialists, the answer was not to try to compete on size. It was to focus on what they could do differently. “We knew we could never outspend these big, massive companies. So we very quickly and very early on said to ourselves, we’re never going to be able to do it. So let’s do what we’re good at.” In the latest episode of AIBF Business Talk, Elaine Carroll sits down with Vicky to talk about building Kelly Hearing Specialists alongside her mum, growing an independent family business and why trust and relationships have remained at the heart of everything they do. Vicky and her mum had worked together in the hearing industry for almost ten years when the decision to go out on their own came quickly. “Mum very quickly made a decision…I think it’s now or never.” Within a week, they had the keys to their first premises. Having worked within a large corporate hearing company, they believed there was room for a more personal approach. One where patients were given time, listened to and treated as individuals. One patient experience in particular showed Vicky just how much that could matter. A man returned for his first follow-up after receiving hearing aids and began to cry. Every night, his wife would pat him on the leg before they went to sleep. He had always thought it was simply a pat. Then, for the first time, he heard what she was saying. “She’d always say, ‘Good night, I love you.’ But he always missed that.” It became a defining moment for Vicky. “I remember thinking, that’s what I want to do… Mum makes such a difference to people’s lives.” That personal approach became the foundation of Kelly Hearing Specialists. Rather than trying to match the spending power of larger competitors, Vicky and her mum focused on what they could control. “We’re clinicians and let’s be the best clinicians we can be. And let’s give people the best experience and the best, honest advice.” Three years later, Kelly Hearing Specialists has grown to more than 30 clinic locations. But Vicky is clear that getting bigger cannot mean losing what made the business different. “We’ve always said growth cannot come at the expense of the customer’s experience.” The business has also achieved Business All-Star Accreditation for three consecutive years and has been named Business All-Star All-Ireland Independent Audiologist of the Year 2026–27. For Vicky, that recognition represents something at the centre of their journey. “For us, it’s an external validation of the work that we’ve been doing. It absolutely represents the trust that our patients and our partners have in us.” From one clinic to more than 30 locations, their growth has been significant. But the principle behind it remains simple. Give people time. Listen. Build trust. And never allow growth to come at the expense of care. As Vicky puts it: “If you be yourself, be honest, build trusting relationships with people, there’s nothing that’s going to compete with you.” Listen to the full conversation with Vicky Kelly of Kelly Hearing Specialists on the latest episode of AIBF Business Talk.

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