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The Sunday Times 01-03-09
 Brother's Martin and Michael Mooney had barely got going as cabinet-makers when a fire swept through their workshop in the late 1989. Although the workshop was just a 60sq ft shed beside their parent's cottage in Co. Meath, it contained all their tools and equipment. After the fire, it didn’t even have a roof, “We lost almost everything but you can’t dwell on these things; you just get on with it,” said Martin 46.
The pair were helped in this by their father, James who gave them IR£600(€761) to put the roof back on, added Michael, 44. “It was probably all the money he had at the time.”
These days, the Mooney’s are busy putting the finishing touches to a new 6,000-sq-ft showroom next to the old building, which is now a spray shop. They employ nine people in their kitchen and bedroom fitting business.
Much of their success is down to the influence of their father, a farm labourer, says Michael. “He never mad big money but he worked hard and did the best he could. We learnt that from him.”
Neither brother was keen on school. Martin left at 14 and worked on farms for about a year before becoming an apprentice to Louis Taffee, a local cabinet-maker. A year later, Michael, who was just 15, joined him. After seven years, Martin moved to America, where he gained wider experience in carpentry.
“In Ireland at the time, you could not move around or change jobs,” he said. “The US was the land of opportunity. You could be who you wanted to be.”
Michael stayed with Taaffe for 10 years, working on everything from private homes to bars and hotels. “We even furnished a hotel in Brussels for the Ryan hotel Group,” he said. By then, he was the foreman of six staff.
In 1989, Martin returned home and they set up shop together. “We decided that with the experience we had we didn’t need to work for anyone else,” he said. They registered Mooney’s Furniture as a business in 1990. “It was difficult; there weren’t enough hours in the day,” said Martin, adding that Patricia his wife, had just had a baby at the time.
Money was tight, so they borrowed a few hundred pound from the local credit union as required, though it was rarely more than about IR500 (€635). “We have been busy from the start,” said Michael. “After about a year, we took on a young lad and then another.”
As the business grew, they expanded the workshop every three to four years and added staff as needed. “In the beginning I was selling and making kitchens but my head was all over the place,” said Martin. Now Michael handles sales, design and the workshop, while Martin is on site with staff and contractors.
Their wives – Michael’s is called Donna – run the office and help out in the showroom. “We don’t intend to get any bigger,” said Martin. “We don’t want to lose the personal touch.”
The brothers are now taking orders from the children of their original customers, says Michael. “Our aim from day one was to use the best materials and make top-class kitchens and bedrooms. I think that has stood to us,” said Michael. “We’ve never tried to be the cheapest, because we have learnt that the bitterness of low quality remains long after the sweetness of low prices.”
The average spending on a Mooney’s kitchen is €25,000 to €40,000 but some clients have splashed out €80,000 for a state-of-the art room with appliances by the likes of Neff and Aga.
“The best thing that has happened for us in business is the changed attitudes to kitchens. They are the hub of the house now,” Michael said. “People want to show them off.”
That held true in the Mooney’s’ homes too. Until recently, customers would be taken to either house to see what a working Mooney kitchen looked like. “Some times Donna or Tricia would get just five minutes notice over the phone that we were coming around,” he said.
The brothers have never got involved with big housing projects but they are well aware that they will have to modify their strategy to stay busy. To that end, they are taking part in the first interiors exhibition for years.. It is at the Marriott in Ashbourne, Co. Meath, form March 20-22.
“We stopped doing shows in the late 1990s because our order books were so full we had no time to follow up,” said Martin. “Shows are costly but they can generate a lot of work. Things have slowed down severely since Christmas but we are not worried. It means we have time to do up the showroom.”
The Mooney’s are also updating their website and brochures. The flurry of activity is due to the influence of a business coach they hired 18 months ago.
“He gave us the first session for free and we got a good bit out of that so we signed up for a year,” said Martin. “It’s like having a football coach. It’s hard work but you can get a lot out of it if you put in the effort.”
The coach helped them to systemise operations and commit their procedures to paper. “If a new employee has a question now, they can look at the book,” he said. “Before then, it was not a business as such.”
Martin says budding entrepreneurs should be prepared to forego long lie-ins. “We used to do 16 hour days six days a week starting at 6am or 7am. We still start early now.”
He recommends having a written contract before beginning a job – even a small one. “Don’t just go ahead,” he warned. “Agree a price and then put it in writing.”
Michael advises being upfront about charges. “Make sure there are no shocks at the end of doing the job,” he said. “Let them know straight away if there will be any extra costs.”
Don’t try to move too fast, either, they say. “Start off small and gradually build up you business,” said Martin. “Don’t look for the big loans and try to move the earth. Too many companies depend on the banks.”Michael agreed: “Don’t listen to the banks, go with your gut feeling.”
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