“I was an average kid going to school. I won’t say I came from a tough background, but my Mom suffered from schizophrenia, so my confidence was low, but under the circumstances, I applied myself as best I could. After school, I got a job with Federal Express in Dublin, working the night shift from 10:30 pm to 06:30 am. The office was a Porto cabin the size of a tool shed with three chain smokers (me being the one non-smoker!). In 1991, I went on holiday to the states and fell in love with it. In America, it felt like I had a lead coat I could take off. There, nobody knew me for who I was but for who I was going to be. Despite my parent’s warnings not to leave my ‘great job’ at FedEx, I decided to emigrate to America. Ironically, in 1992/93, FedEx pulled out of Ireland, so I would have been laid off anyway.
I had saved a lot of money and moved to Los Angeles. My first job was working in a call centre, and one of the accounts they had was 20th Century Fox. Fox was getting ready to pull that account from the call centre because they felt nobody was showing initiative except this ‘Irish guy with the funny accent’. So they said if the account were kept with me, they would keep the business there.
Three years on, the job was going nowhere, and I was making very little money. I had planned to leave when Fox offered me a job, and I thought, ‘Finally! I’m getting a break!’. Eventually, I was made Director of Distribution and managed a $6 million-a-year budget. I didn’t have a college degree, but the division president, Mike Dunne, a second-generation Irish/American, signed off on me getting that position because of my work experience. Working for a large corporate company in America is cloak and dagger, smoke and mirror stuff, and I quickly realised that to make money in the states, you had to run your own business.
One particular day I was meeting with a guy called Andy – little did I know then that this guy was to become my business partner. We took a huge gamble when we started our business, and it could have gone either way. Had it not worked out, it was game over. I would have had to return to Birr with my tail between my legs.
We are in business for 20 years now and have been through many ups and downs. The recession of 2008 took its toll, but we survived by changing our business model, and today we distribute everything from Bugaboo strollers to chocolate. Success has been plentiful, but it has come at a price. I’ve had many sleepless nights and anxiety attacks, but I suppose the worst was being kidnapped at gunpoint in 2000.
During this time, I also met the love of my life, Lisette, and we have two lovely boys. We got married in 2010 in Birr, and we try to come home every year. Family is very important to me. There is a great sense of satisfaction in my heart that there is recognition on a positive level in my hometown of Birr that one of their own has done well. If a guy like me can do it, most people can do it. We had our class reunion last year, and it was brilliant, and it wasn’t about ‘look at me, look at me’ but a chance to catch up with everyone. We had a reunion of 140 people from various walks of life, and all had different stories to tell. Unfortunately, we lost a couple of classmates through ill health and some through suicide, but if my story can contribute to any young person going forward in life, then I’m pleased with that. The biggest motivator for me when I come back to Birr and talk to the young people is encouraging them to see that you can make it happen regardless of where you’re coming from. It’s all there for the taking if you have self-belief, are willing to take constructive criticism and give it your best every day. I have had some pretty inspirational figures in my life from Birr too. My Dad Brendan has been one, and Stephen Grant is another. I aspire to be like them in both work and home life”.
Jim Heffernan, originally from Birr, owns Imagine Fulfillment Services LLC and lives in Los Angeles.