Bernadette Rigney
Introducing the owner of Fability
Fability, owned by Bernadette Rigney, an award-winning Entrepreneur who loves to share her passion for business, marketing and entrepreneurship. She founded Fability in 2014 and has pioneered initiatives which gained international exposure, worked on global projects to share disability awareness through Media platforms and achieved remarkable results in breaking barriers.
We caught up with Bernadette to find out more about her & asked her a few questions, this is what she had to say:
- As a female, what has been a barrier in your career and how did you overcome it?
Perception... not of how others see me but how I see myself. I remember many years ago when I started in Government, I walked to the lifts on my first day, in this massive building and people were just walking past so fast, I must have pressed the lift three times and they shoved past, I kept missing my turn. Instead of feeling pity for myself and blaming my disability, the next morning I woke up 30 minutes earlier, dressed up, contoured and flipped my hair, thinking “I am going to handle this new powerful career path.” I walked in and pressed the lift, all the shoving and craziness around. The lift doors opened, I politely said, ‘oh, this is me” people moved back and I walked in. I applied the same throughout my career, when tasks were handed out, I'd say “oh, I'll do that” and let my work ethic handle the rest.
In life, feel the fear and do it anyway.
-
What inspires you to get up everyday and do what you do?
I love working with people and building brands, helping with sourcing tenders or putting networks in touch with each other. Seeing everyone succeed and financially free is the ultimate goal. I get to collaborate with incredible individuals on a daily basis. Each year just gets better and better.
-
What advice would you give to other women who are entering a career in corporate or as an entrepreneur?
As a new business owner, when you leave corporate, you feel on top of the world. Starting a new business, being flexible, calling the shots and working with people you pick... by the sixth month you realise there's no IT, HR or support team, there’s only you. As a small business owner, these things can make or break you. By my second year, I opted to go back into a job which I intended on doing but I loved running Fability so much, so I saw it as a bridging gap and a career is “paid training”. I took note of how things are successfully run from payroll to consultants. I even attended the Executive Coaching program. After leaving and getting back into my entrepreneurial space, I just took off, focused on the boring revenue side and less on the excitement that brought in no income.
The first two years are fun but the toughest, do what you feel is right for the business. Whether it’s getting an investor, partner or a bridge job.
- What would you like to accomplish in the next two to five years?
I would LOVE to have a Yacht :-)
Over and above the “serious” consulting work I do to build an inclusive society from recruiting to training, I’d love to build the Fability accessible clothing range and a cosmetic range. I am launching fragrances soon, it’s a familiar space, I worked in this sector in the early 2000s and if I take away my disability, this is the space I more than likely would be in.
-
Where do you believe great ideas come from?
If you are passionate about what you do, ideas flourish constantly.
-
Describe yourself using three words.
Humorous / Dynamic / Exciting
Contact Info
Whatsapp: 063 621 2184
Email: info@thesooq.co.za
Shop Fability products on our website: https://www.thesooq.co.za/collections/fability
