A NEW LIFE:Ritche Whelan always loved gardening but went into economics until the call of the wild got too strong
HAD RITCHIE Whelan relied on his instinct, he might have landed his desired career a lot earlier than he did. Still, the experience he gained in the intervening years stood him well when the opportunity to pursue his dream eventually came around.
As a part-time gardener during his youth, Whelan harboured a love of the outdoors and all things botanic.
“The expected path in secondary school was to go the shirt and tie route,” he says.
And so, expectations, combined with the fact he suffered from dermatitis in his hands, meant he left the world of gardening behind and began a commerce degree in University College Cork in 2000.
“I had a love of business from my grandmother, who had grown up in a family business which provided goods to churches, so I guess the attraction for commerce was in the blood. The degree was a great experience – I particularly got on with the social side of things!”
Three years in and Whelan was presented with his first serious work opportunity. He had a choice to make.
“I was in my third year, at a fundraising triathlon and dressed up in a banana suit. I met the managing director of Fyffes and we struck it off.
“A few weeks later he called and asked if I was interested in taking a role in heading up a project that involved getting a range of foods onto the markets. He just took a risk on me, and I think he liked my attitude. I thought a lot about leaving college so near completion but, to be honest, it was such a good opportunity, I had to give it a lash.”
Working in Fyffes headquarters in Smithfield, Whelan became part of a team taking a range of products, called ‘Sweet and Simple’, from design stage to the shop floor.
“It was a huge learning curve,” he says. “Business principles I learned have stayed with me since. It was a role that brought many departments within the organisation together, and was quite demanding. We worked 12 or 13 hour days and I stayed there for two and a half years.”
Following his stint with Fyffes, Whelan used his experience to take a role in his native Cork, managing the distribution of a Philips digital recorder product for a local company.
“I was responsible for overseeing the development of the distribution of this product from building turnover to raising awareness. It was very different from Fyffes in that it was a smaller organisation and had less structure.
“Financially, I guess you could say I was successful in those two roles. I was able to buy a house in Cork and Dublin and had a car and so on.”
By 2007, Whelan could see business beginning to wane and so he decided to radically alter his career, before economic circumstances forced his hand.
“The writing was on the wall with businesses not hiring people and many customers watching what they were spending. Throughout this time my hobby had always remained gardening and I still maintained a great love for it.
“So I said to myself plants and grass will always grow, even if the economy might not be growing. I handed in my notice and decided to give the gardening a go full-time.”
With savings helping to tide him over, Whelan began to get work, mainly through word of mouth, and set about working for himself as both a residential and commercial landscaper and gardener. He set up a company, called Green Gardens, and traded the world of business for the world of buds.
“I have yet to advertise the company, mostly the work has come through referrals from people satisfied with the business. My attitude and approach to the business is simple – do a good job and keep the rates reasonable.”
So far, he doesn’t think the recession will impact on his business model and, if anything, it might make people appreciate the gardens and land they have even more. “The recession is working to my advantage at the moment. As a result of the property market, very few people are moving house and are investing in their gardens again.”
Recently, Whelan has taken on two employees to help with the workload. The hours are long, often he works from dawn til dusk and the unpredictability of Irish weather is something he still has to adjust to.
“At the moment we’re working six days a week, starting at 6.45am and working until 8.15pm.
“We need to maximise the work at this time of year because the hours in winter are short. The toughest part of it is the rainy days. In my former life, the weather never played a part in delivering a product or meeting a deadline. I still got paid regardless.
“The other adjustment is being self-employed. I now have to hop out of bed every morning and deliver for myself. There are a lot of risks involved, but so far it has worked out very well and I’m very happy.”
