A Co Derry woman who quit her 'stable' job is encouraging young people "not to settle" and to pursue their real passions.
Mum-of-two Doreen Laird, now 50, left her 10-year career in the catering industry to establish a music franchise.
Taking the plunge, Doreen started a Jo Jingles franchise in 2001 after seeing an advert in the local newspaper.
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She told MyDerry : "I was beginning to get itchy feet around that time anyway. I was doing quite well in the job that I had which was developing food products that could be launched in different retailers and around that time we were about to launch a product with Marks and Spencers.
"I was working incredibly late one night and I thought to myself, 'there has to be more to life than this and that's when I began to think that I should begin to do something that I wanted.
"I was heavily pregnant at the time with my first-born son and I was helping to launch all of these products for the retailers and I thought I could do it myself and launch something of my own in an industry that I was interested in."
At the age of 30, ‘unhappy and lost’ Doreen decided that "enough was enough" and she spoke with her husband about leaving her current job and starting a Jo Jingles franchise.
Operating since 1991, Jo Jingles provides 'fun, music and movement classes for babies and pre-schoolers nationwide'.
"He thought I was mad," Doreen laughed. "We were married and a baby was on the way and here I was talking about leaving my job. He told me that we needed to be bringing money into the home and he was unsure about it if I'm being honest."
She continued: "But I always like the idea of working with young children and music had always been something so strong in my life. I grew up in a family that loved music and so I was surrounded by it.
"I went and saw a girl in Belfast who was doing it and she told us what it involved and he sort of looked at me and he was still a little hesitant about it all. He was happy for me to go for it but he was unsure because it was a very risky thing to do at that stage of our lives.
"I just had a feeling that I would be able to make it work," she added. "I eventually decided that I was going to try it and I resigned.
"I went off to England to get started and when I arrived they didn't know where the post had come from in the first place, it was really funny. It was almost as if the post was meant for me, and that's what I believe to this day."
By September 2001, Doreen had begun in her new venture but she admitted that things didn't go to plan straight away, causing "doubt" in her mind that she had made the right choice.
Doreen explained how she would initially look after her new baby throughout the day while getting up "in the middle of the night" to print off pages for her classes.
"It wasn't easy, I can tell you," she continued. "It was hard work but I was in my element because I had finally found something that I enjoyed doing. It no longer felt like work to me because I was doing what I loved.
"However, it wasn't all nice and comfortable. I had a new baby, which didn't sleep at all, and I was trying to juggle that with my new job.
"I remember during the early days, my husband came home one day and he asked me was there many children in the classes and I would tell him not many but we'd keep going.
"It was a scary time and there were times where I was really anxious about the whole idea. I didn't want to show that to my family because it probably would've made them anxious as well.
"But I was a very determined person and I just kept going, I was very hopeful and I just took it week by week after a couple of months, I began to get more and more children involved. The franchise really began to take off and I haven't looked back since.
"I work now predominantly in a lot of schools and they have stuck with me over the last 20 years. It's unbelievable, it has taken off like you would never believe."
Doreen said that while the last two decades had proved to be the "most rewarding" and "challenging" times of her life, she "wouldn't change it".
Jo Jingles Derry/Londonderry will celebrate 21 years in business next year, with hundreds of children taking part in the programme throughout the North West.
"I can't believe it's been 20 years," Doreen added. "It has been all go since the very beginning and there have been stages throughout it that I had to take a step back and realise what else is going on in my life.
"It's brilliant being successful but I was close to burning myself out a couple of times. You need to find a happy balance.
"It is things like that, that I would encourage other people to look out for and not make the same mistakes I did, but that will only come by taking the risk.
"My father always said to me that 'he who hesitates is lost'. That always stuck with me and I've carried it with me throughout my life.
"I love being my own boss and being able to express myself through music. It's an experience that is priceless to me. It's a feeling like no other. It's been a hard journey at time but I wouldn't change it for anything."
You can find out more about Jo Jingles Derry/Londonderry HERE.
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