That Great Business Show

E296 That Great Business ShowHow to get a month a year of your time back. And it's free.The Two Barrys: One Built the System. One Was Drowning — Until It Worked.What if you could get a THIRD of your working week back?Not by hiring. Not by working longer. Not by burning out (more). But by stopping bad decisions.ON this episode, two Barrys walk into the studio — and one walks out with his life back.Barry Cryan built a system to eliminate “micro-decisions” — the tiny interruptions that kill momentum, drain energy, and keep founders trapped in their business.Barry Flanagan was running THREE businesses — Lock 13 pub, Kildare Brewing Company, and Pro Culture Kombucha — and hit the wall.60-hour weeks. No clarity. No headspace.Now? Structure. Systems. Staff aligned. Time back. (And he's no longer manning the chip fryer on a Friday evening).This is not theory. This is before-and-after business.Expect: • Why “busy all day” is actually business failure • The hidden tax of micro-decisions • How founders become the bottleneck (and don’t realise it) • Why 2.5 hours a week can buy back 10–40 hours • The moment a business owner realises… they don’t actually have a businessAnd yes — we ask the uncomfortable question: If you’re working IN the business… do you even own one?This episode is brought to you by De Facto Shaving Oil. No waste. No cans. No landfill. Just the best shave you’ll ever have. DeFactoShave.comOur Gentleman’s (and ladies’) Agreement is simple:We do the work. You hit subscribe. Fair exchange.CHAPTERS00:00 The question that changes everything 01:30 What “systems” actually mean 05:30 From burnout to 5x productivity 10:00 The Instagram ad that changed everything 15:30 Why founders are the bottleneck 20:00 The solopreneur reality (and opportunity) 25:00 Delegation vs control 30:00 The cost of NOT changing 34:00 Hire in a Heartbeat

€50 MILLION.MULTIPLE ACQUISITIONS.ONE PLAN TO BUILD IRELAND’S FIRST LUXURY EMPIRE.This is not a startup story. This is a land grab. Ashley McDonnell — back on That Great Business Show and one of the tribe since Episode 181 — is building Vyko Group to buy, scale and globalise Irish fashion, beauty and luxury brands. She’s not launching a brand. She’s building a portfolio to compete with the biggest players in the world.From working on Europe’s biggest IPO at Paco Rabanne owners Puig (how she got to work there is one of the best stories...)… to scanning 500 Irish brands… to lining up her first acquisitions — this is one of the most ambitious Irish business plays in years.And we’ve been following it from the start.In this episode:Why Ireland has never built a luxury group. Tony O'Reilly did try (Waterford Wedgewood), Don Carroll (Carroll's cigarettes) did try. As the Americans say, 'Third time is a charm'??How Vyko plans to scale Irish brands globallyThe smell of money Why fragrances are the secret weaponThe real power of negotiating as a groupWhat she learned inside LVMH, Dior, Google and Puig - she really has served her timeSponsored by another great brand name, De Facto Shaving OilNo cans. No landfill. Just the best shave you’ll ever have.DeFactoShave.comSubscribe for more real business stories.

ON Episode 293 of That Great Business Show, recorded at the RDS Finding Common Ground Festival, Conall Ó Móráin speaks with Enda Buckley of Carbery Group.This is not a farming story.This is an energy story.A profitability story.A “what are we waiting for?” story.Denmark is moving fast on biomethane — turning farm waste into gas and aiming for self-sufficiency by 2030.Ireland?We have the farms.We have the feedstock.We have the need.But, according to Enda, we do not yet have the push.And that is only the start.In this episode:Why sustainability-focused farmers were about 28% more profitableHow “green poo” could replace imported soyaWhy grass could become a human food ingredientThe parish-level biorefinery model that could transform rural economiesHow biodiversity may become a revenue stream, not a regulationWhy Ireland risks missing a major energy opportunityThis is about turning what we already have into something far more valuable.This is real business.Brought to you, as always, by De Facto Shaving Oil — the world’s finest shaving oil. Not a beard oil. It’s for shaving any and all of your bits.DeFactoShave.com

What keeps a GP practice running?Not just doctors. Not just nurses.It's the same for any business.Cashflow. Systems. People who actually make it all work.On Episode 292 of That Great Business Show, Conall Ó Móráin speaks with Rachel Bothwell, founder of GP Practice Ally — a business now supporting up to 75% of GP practices in Ireland.This is a story about stepping in when everything could have fallen apart — and building something that became essential infrastructure.Find out:How one small Irish company became critical to GP practices nationwideWhat actually breaks inside a GP business (and how to fix it)Why cashflow — not medicine — is often the biggest riskWhat every SME can learn from running a “mission-critical” businessThis is real business — messy, essential, and closer to home than you think.Brought to you by De Facto Shaving Oil. DeFactoShave.com.business ireland, SME ireland, healthcare business, GP practices, entrepreneurship ireland, cashflow, small business growth, operations, scaling business, Irish business podcastTimestamps00:00 Intro — “75% of GPs??” 01:20 How Rachel stepped in 05:10 What actually goes wrong in GP practices 10:40 Cashflow crises nobody talks about 15:30 Scaling to national level 20:10 Lessons for every SME 25:00 Hire in a heartbeat

“WHY IRELAND CAN’T BUILD HOUSES… EVEN WHEN WE HAVE THE MONEY”Episode 291 — David Ward, Founder, Ward PersonnelIreland has the money.Ireland has the demand.Ireland has the plans.So why can’t we build houses?On this episode of That Great Business Show, Conall Ó Móráin goes straight to the front line of Ireland’s construction crisis — with David Ward, founder of Ward Personnel, a €40M+ business supplying workers across Ireland and Europe.Here’s the uncomfortable truth:We don’t have enough brickies, sparks, or chippiesWe’re competing with Europe for workers — and losingIrish builders are now exporting their expertise… just to surviveAnd here’s the kicker:Is this actually a growth story… or proof the system is broken?David explains:Why Ireland cannot hit housing targets (no matter what politicians promise)Why Polish workers are no longer comingThe real reason apprenticeships collapsedWhy Irish construction firms are now following Big Tech across EuropePlus:The chaos of running a 600+ workforce across multiple countriesThe truth about “messers” on siteAnd why “compliance” is the only thing keeping the whole thing from falling apartThis is not theory.This is the reality of building — or not building — Ireland.Brought to you by De Facto Shaving Oil — the world’s best shaving oil. Not a beard oil. It’s for shaving. DeFactoShave.com.

Welcome to Episode 290 of That Great Business Show.This is not a comfortable listen.Ireland — the poster child of global success — is quietly sitting on a knife edge. A handful of multinationals are driving the tax take. One peptide. One state in America. One shock away from a very rude awakening.My guest is Neil McDonnell, CEO of ISME — and he’s not here to play nice.We get into:The dangerous illusion of “paradox of plenty”€340 BILLION sitting idle while SMEs starveWhy government knows the risks — and still does nothingThe tax system that punishes Irish entrepreneurs but rolls out the red carpet for outsidersAnd the simple, practical fixes that could change everything — if anyone had the courageThis is real business.Press the subscribe button.Brought to you by De Facto Shaving Oil — the world’s best shaving oil. Not a beard oil. A shaving oil. Made in Mayo. Sold worldwide. DeFactoShave.com.

Ireland talks a big game on energy.Wind.Net zero.Security of supply.But scratch the surface… and the picture looks a lot less comfortable.On Episode 289 of That Great Business Show, Conall Ó Móráin sits down with Duncan Osborne, CEO of Calor Gas Ireland, to ask a very simple question:Are we actually prepared — or just pretending to be?This is a hard conversation about:Ireland’s reliance on imported energyThe reality behind renewable targetsStorage — or lack of itInfrastructure delaysAnd what happens if supply is disruptedBecause here’s the uncomfortable truth:Ireland is one of the most energy-dependent countries in Europe.And very few people are saying it out loud.This is not theory. This is not policy waffle.This is real-world energy — from someone operating inside the system.Brought to you by De Facto Shaving Oil — the world’s best shaving oil. Not a beard oil. DeFactoShave.com.

Everyone talks about marketing.Nobody talks about the warehouse.And yet the warehouse is where e-commerce businesses either scale… or collapse.You can build the most beautiful website in the world.Spend a fortune on advertising.Drive traffic through Shopify, Amazon, TikTok.But if your warehouse can’t keep up?You’re finished.Orders late.Customers furious.Margins gone.On Episode 288 of That Great Business Show, Conall Ó Móráin talks to Ciaran Crean, co-founder of WaveOMS and co-owner of MicksGarage.com, one of Ireland’s biggest online retailers.Ciaran lives in the engine room of online retail — the messy, chaotic, expensive part that nobody puts on the glossy marketing slides.And the numbers are eye-watering.One company using his system cut warehouse staff from 6 to 2 and saved £8,000 every single month.But the real shock?Many warehouses in 2026 still operate like this:• orders printed on paper • workers walking the floor ticking boxes • labels printed manually • mistakes annoying 2–3% of customersYes. Really.In this episode:• The hidden chaos inside many warehouses • Why most retailers underestimate logistics • How bad warehouse systems destroy margins • The critical role of barcodes in e-commerce • Why efficiency beats marketing in online retail • The one mistake Irish businesses keep makingIf you sell anything online — or plan to — this conversation might save you a fortune.That Great Business Show is proudly supported by De Facto Shaving Oil.Not beard oil.Shaving oil.For shaving any and all of your bits.DeFactoShave.comOur Gentleman’s (and ladies’) Agreement is simple:We do the work.You hit subscribe.Fair exchange.