Never was the title of a chapter more apt than that penned by Athlone entrepreneur, Tanya Cannon, whose life experiences and learnings are crafted in BeLIFE or BeLIEf, a collection of empowering narratives from numerous co-authors laced with a theme of inspiration.
In the chapter, entitled, ‘From Victim to Victor’, Tanya, who is Managing Director of A1 Cleaning and Maintenance Services Ltd, a company she founded in 2007, notes the personal and professional challenges faced en route to becoming a successful entrepreneur.
Presently employing in excess of 50 employees, Tanya will expand her staff numbers to 70 personnel in 2021, as the business continues to make vast strides within the Midlands region.
Approached by the book’s author, Donna Kennedy, to publicly pen her success story as part of a book compilation following a 2016 meeting at an empowerment event, Tanya was initially hesitant, but once she started writing, the words flowed and her chapter is 12 pages in length incorporating 5,000 words.
“I initially met Donna during an empowerment event in Dublin in 2016 during which I addressed those in attendance and received a standing ovation. It was quite a humbling experience and following my talk, Donna approached me with the idea of putting my words in writing for a book.
“The thought stayed with me and in November of last year, I started my composition which was eventually published last month. Although I suffer dyslexia, which has improved in my adult life, it is a great feeling to see my words in print,” Tanya remarked.
The chapter details Tanya’s upbringing and the circumstances which encouraged her to become a rebellious child from the age of seven.
“Unfortunately, I come from a broken home and the instability that entails gave rise to a very rebellious attitude during my formative years. It was difficult to accept that my parents were no longer a couple and I was continuously going absent from the home, telling untruths and not returning home when I should have been.
“From the age of seven to seventeen I just did not have a good attitude towards life,” Tanya commented.
It was the dawning of her late teenage years when Tanya realised that her parents were never to reconcile and with counselling sessions ongoing, she made the decision to “become a better person.”
“I had suffered two traumatic situations in my life at this time and was receiving counselling on an ongoing basis. The sessions were wholly beneficial and it was at this time that I decided to become a better person. To that end I sought out employment and thankfully in 1992 I started working with the Bidvest Noonan cleaning company with whom I was employed until 2007,” Tanya asserted.
Acquiring acute knowledge of the cleaning industry through long hours worked, Tanya made the impressive decision to leave Bidvest Noonan and start her own business in March 2007, a momentous occasion in her life.
“The process to starting my own business appeared to happen organically. Although I was offered better terms of employment from Bidvest Noonan to remain, I had decided that the time was now right to establish A1 Cleaning and Maintenance Services Ltd.
“I recall our first major job as a company being the cleaning of the Town Centre Shopping Centre in the heart of Athlone and in due course, word of mouth filtered within the community and Midlands region and now I employ substantial staff numbers such is the level of business garnered to date.
“I am of the firm belief that our quality of work is exemplary and continues to result in the acquisition of new business and renewal of existing contracts with companies in the region,” Tanya added.
As the business continues to flourish, Tanya is in the throes of research as she aims to launch an A1 Cleaning and Maintenance Services Ltd suite of cleaning products in early 2021, a project which will result in an increase of employee numbers.
“By March of next year, I will hope to employ 70 staff members. As you can imagine, this is a source of much personal satisfaction, making a positive impact on the community in which you are from,” Tanya enthused.
Blessed with a positive outlook on life, Tanya hopes that her success story inspires those who face challenges on an ongoing basis.
“The challenges hurdle can be overcome. Blessed to have a positive outcome to my story, I am an advocate for reaching out to those in need and if my words can inspire then I know that my penned words have achieved their goal,” Tanya concluded.
