Pictured: Pat Kane, the owner of reuzi
Pat Kane is a Brazilian sustainability activist who promotes minimal waste living, and the owner of reuzi, a minimal waste store in Foxrock, Dublin. She has completed a Business Sustainability Management course from the University of Cambridge.
Q. What was your first job?
Funnily enough, my first job was Chief People Officer at the Junior Enterprise at my Business School. But don’t be fooled by the fancy job title, it was a voluntary role and I learned a ton. After that I went to work for my uncle Celio; he owned an innovative retail software business and I was an assistant on their sales team.
Q. What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date?
My family, that’s for sure! Professionally, I have spent approximately two decades working for multinational businesses across a few different countries and I have a lot to be proud of if I do say so myself. But I must admit, nothing beats taking the leap of faith and launching a business of your own. It’s a massive privilege to be able to re-invent yourself and focus on something you truly love.
Q. In three words or less, how do you define success?
Connecting, inspiring, innovating.
Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Ask for help and learn to delegate. In life, you can do anything but not everything, mainly when you work for yourself. Accept all the help you can get.
Q. How do you motivate yourself and your staff?
Real-life stories and feedback from customers and social media followers who were able to make one small change after learning about reuzi or shopping with us.
It’s great to see that the work we put in is helping people to live more sustainably.
Q. How do you relax?
There’s nothing like a few days with my husband and our boys. We go for walks, we play, we bake. My husband and I are avid runners and we find meditation very helpful too. I enjoy yoga classes from time to time and I love art – in any shape or form.
Q. What’s your motto?
Say yes, figure out later. I am a ‘doer’ by nature and I will rarely turn an opportunity down.
There’s no secret. You got to put in the work. The rest will follow.
Q. What are your aspirations for the future of the business?
We have enjoyed great success to date and I truly hope that our work is positively impacting the lives of people out there. However, this year it’s all about scalability. In a world where eCommerce is rapidly growing, I am conscious that retail stores will only go so far – and that’s okay. My aim for the future is to increase the reach of our educational talks and workshops at businesses, schools and community groups. I want sustainability to become mainstream, after all, our planet is everybody’s business. I am also focusing on the eco-strategy side of the business, working with businesses on how to green up their practices and processes.
