Almost 100 people came through the doors of Media Box this week to lend their support and good wishes to Joanne Sweeney-Burke and her team on their 3rd Birthday. With the first guests arriving at 9.30am and the last guests leaving at 7.00pm, it was a day of celebration and optimism for the future.
Despite being a young business Media Box has seen its client-base, brand reputation and now its Director grow beyond the North West in just three short years.
“I am a person that has a vision. From a very young age I’ve always focused on what I could do and not what I couldn’t do. That sense of self-belief is earned and I have to work hard at it, but part of my success is my deliberate strategy to surround myself with positive people. I am an optimist. I like to find solutions as opposed to constantly talking about problems. And I generally connect better with positive people and as far as Media Box is concerned, it is like my second family.
“The people who work with us, do business with us and are associated with us in any way, do so because I think they also enjoy the positive attitude that we possess in everything that we do. In fact that has been commented on to me by many people who come through our doors,” says Joanne.
Joanne publicly thanked all her customers who supported Media Box and continue to do so, her loyal team whom she says are like her children and of course all business associates who ensure Media Box can deliver on its core products and services.
Also attending the Media Box Birthday Party was former Apprentice candidate Louise O’Hara from Mayo. Louise and Joanne shared a room during the process and they told guests that it was the daily routine of saying the rosary along with other candidates Yinka and Sandra that actually helped them sleep at night.
“Many people don’t believe us, but each night we said the rosary, led by Joanne, to help us get strength for the next day. The pressure was so intense it really is impossible to describe it. We average about five hours sleep a night, are thrown into tasks that in real life would be worked on for months and we pitch some of the country’s biggest brands with only minutes to prepare. The show takes its toll on you physically and emotionally and so we sought comfort in praying together,” says Louise.
Joanne’s performance in The Apprentice is now gaining momentum as she is in the top six to win a €200,000 package to go into business with Bill Cullen. Despite being asked that million-dollar question “have you won” Joanne is remaining tight-lipped.
Despite the national media tipping her as the favourite to win, Joanne just says,
“I take one week at a time. You never know when your time is up.”
Joanne also paid tribute to the support given to her by her family over the past three years. “
Without the support of my husband Tom, who was seriously ill during the early years of Media Box, and my children Sophie and Bobby, parents, brothers and sisters and extended family I couldn’t have kept going. Two Christmas’s in a row Tom was gravely ill in hospital and in fact at one stage we didn’t know whether he would make it through. I’ve also had a baby and ran for local election during the first year of the business while also managing some major projects – the Special Olympics Ulster Games to name just one.
“So I’ve had to work extremely hard to keep going personally but also professionally. But anyone who knows me knows that the bigger the challenge the harder I will work. I guess that’s why The Apprentice suits me!”
Media Box is now looking to expand the brand outside the North West and that is part of the strategy for the business in 2012.
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