As Visa's She's Next Grant Programme opens for applications, we caught up with Alison McGrath, one of last year's winners.

Ireland is home to so many incredible women-owned businesses, and one programme that is platforming these inspiring entrepreneurs is Visa's She's Next Grant Programme.

The programme offers these entrepreneurs the opportunity to take their business to the next level through some incredible prizes. This year, grants of up to €50,000 are available. Additionally, the programme will provide some incredible coaching, networking opportunities and one-to-one mentoring.

You can apply to the programme right here. We recently caught up with one of last year's winners, Alison McGrath, the owner of My First Steps who shared how the She's Next programme took her business to the next level.

Tell us a little bit about your business. What inspired you to start it?

My business is My First Steps. We are children’s shoes specialists based in two stores here in the west of Ireland. We have one in Ennis and one in Galway. Ennis we opened in 2022, and Galway we opened last year in 2023.

I was always taught that feet are your foundation and to look after them - you only get one pair and they have to last a lifetime! I have two little girls myself and when I became a mum I started on that journey of taking them to get their first shoes. I’d say the experience was really disappointing – the lack of choice, the archaic nature, it just didn’t flow very well. I couldn’t get the advice or information that I was asking for. And so I decided, really quite quickly, that this was going to be my mission and focus to become a household name associated with children’s shoes and to deliver an unrivalled choice of shoes with really educated professional people who could help. And the environment wouldn’t be shared with adult shoes – it would be solely built for children. 

Who are your customers?

We service from the very very first shoe, up to school shoes, up to about age 12 we would say. Unfortunately, that’s when they get a bit too cool for us! 

How did Visa's She's Next grant programme help take your business to the next level?

The whole experience was amazing. It was actually a previous winner who I met in a networking group and she said in passing that I should definitely apply. And so I did, but not for one second do you obviously think that you’re going to win! And when the call came in to say that I had won, I was blown away.

Through the programme, you meet such an amazing supportive community. Everyone wants you to succeed so that part was fantastic, and then the money itself was a huge injection. My business had only been going two years, so to have any money that’s not already allocated is massive. And for me, it was a real catalyst to be able to digitise my business. It helped us get online so we now have an online offering as well. That was the main thing we used it for. And that grew our reach and our community. It really helped us reach a much larger audience. So if you live somewhere that doesn’t have access to that service, an independent shoe shop, then we can help you virtually. It’s really broadened our horizons.

What are your plans for the future of your business?

Our mission is to become Ireland’s household name associated with children’s shoes. At the moment, we’re just two locations and online, but we're looking at all avenues, whether we do more in the online space, or more physically, or even pop-up shops.

What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve ever received?

Your network is your net worth. Even if it’s a local business and a local community, get involved as much as possible with any networking group. And then on a bigger scale, look out for industry-specific opportunities. I’ve been to conferences where I wasn’t even a grain of sand on this beach walked by giants. But go, and listen to what they’re talking about and where their focus is and see if you can just take something back. You can learn so much from other people. Like I said, it was through a networking event that I found out about Visa's She’s Next Grant Programme. I might not have discovered it if it hadn’t been for putting myself out there. 

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Naivety is a great thing. Go two feet in and keep researching. You cannot ever stop researching and looking for help to be successful long term.

You can find more information as well as the application details for Visa's She's Next Grant Programme here. The closing date for entries is 30th October 2024.

1 x €50,000 and 4 X €10,000 grants available. Open to women-owned businesses in ROI. T&C apply*.