By Business & Finance 
Pictured: Ronan Farrell, Managing Director JV Hutton Insurance Brokers
Ronan Farrell, Managing Director, JV Hutton Insurance Brokers
Ronan Farrell is the Managing Director of JV Hutton Insurance Brokers – the Dublin based company providing independent advice for over 25 years. Ronan and his team specialise in Commercial, Contractor and Professional Indemnity Insurance.
What was your first job?
My first job was driving a forklift in Sheriff Street, Dublin 1, for the construction manufacturing company Gypsum Industries. I really enjoyed my time there but driving heavy lifting diesel forklifts in an enclosed warehouse all day wasn’t great for the lungs!
What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date?
In life in general I am lucky to have a beautiful wife and 4 children, keeping them all happy is a full-time job in itself!
From a business perspective: Managing to leave a well-paid corporate job, acquire my own business, and plough my own furrow was a major success for me. It wasn’t easy to give up the trappings of the corporate world, but I would highly recommend anyone considering it to at least give it a bash, you will only have regrets if you don’t try it.
In three words or less, how do you define success?
Being happy.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
That’s a tricky one as I have had a few great mentors over the years. Learning to delegate early on was key for me: Knowing that nobody is going to do it the same as you, and to accept how they do it and provide coaching.
This approach has served me well both in the corporate and now in my SME business, because if you do not, you cannot spend time working on the “big” things.
How do you motivate yourself and your staff?
We all have targets that we are working towards in the business and I am lucky to have a great team around me that get a kick out of achieving these. I also provide as much flexibility as possible in the workplace as I am a firm believer that we work to live and not live to work.
How do you relax?
For 30 years it was training and playing hurling but, as age is catching up, I only play the odd Junior B game now! I now play golf in Portmarnock Links which is a great club with all-year golf very close to home.
What’s your motto?
Ní neart go cur le chéile – there is strength in numbers. That is my Raheny GAA club’s motto, and I have always lived by it. Nobody can do everything by themselves and to succeed you need to surround yourself with great people.
What are your aspirations for the future of the business?
I acquired the business in January 2018 and we have grown organically by almost 600% since then, which is a fantastic testament to the team in JV Hutton. We are looking to continue that trajectory on an organic basis with some strap on acquisitions when the right opportunities present themselves.
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