How many identities do you have?

Single Mother

I have a beautiful 5 year old called Callie. She’s born in Australia and her Dad is Australian but I can see her cheeky sense of Irish humour coming through, and she’s always up for a laugh. She’s such great company for me since my marriage separation (2019) she makes me smile every day, and get’s me through the really tough days when I just look at her little face, as all my worries then disappear! She’s smart and funny and I just adore her.

Fun loving and fiercely independent

I don’t tend to take myself very seriously so you will usually find me laughing loudly at a business event or with my friends. I smile all the time and I am a very optimisic person. I pick up on peoples energy very quickly so I gravitate towards those with amazing positive, uplifting energy.

I’m fiercely independent as I moved out of home when I was 18 and I have lived overseas for 17 years of my life! So I love meeting new people and finding out all about them and their background as it’s so interesting!

Marketing Guru

I’ve worked in marketing for nearly 20 years now. I started back when online marketing and digital marketing didn’t even exist!

I love to learn and have thrown myself into the digital marketing space over the past 8 years so I have upskilled so that I can be the best Marketing Strategist, Digital Marketer and Marketing Coach.

I’m really creative and love working with interesting brands that inspire me!

Tell us a bit about your story and how you’ve got to where you are now professionally?

I worked for 15+ years in corporate marketing and also did a brief stint in an advertising agency. I have worked for global brands Coca-Cola, Nestle, BP and Cadbury. When I moved to Perth in 2009, I couldn’t get a marketing role as apparently I didn’t have any WA experience so I jumped into sales roles for 4 years and learnt so much about personalities and account management.

I had a baby when I was 40 (what was I thinking!) and when I returned to work after a years maternity leave I was made redundant. So I had also been running a side hussle of a personal training business since 2010, so I built that up and then the opportunity came up for me to run a marketing consultancy business and boutique digital marketing agency, and so Vivacity Marketing my business was born in July 2017.

I love working with small to medium sized business owners helping them grow their business and attract the right kind of customers.

And I do a little happy dance each and every time a client reaches their goals as it makes me so happy.

I started the marketing coaching part of my business in 2018 where I offer a 4 week online course for start ups called Marketing School. I love to teach it must be the personal trainer in me. I closed my PT business after 8 years then in 2018 as it was too much juggling a young baby and two businesses. And marketing is my passion!

As a female, what has been your greatest challenge in your career/business?

100% it has to be Mom guilt. I experience it every day, and I try to explain to my daughter that I need to work on my business so that we can do fun things together afterwards. And she tells me she will take over from me one day so that’s good to know there is a succession path! I’m also catholic so if you pair Mom guilt with catholic guilt it’s a recipe for disaster! But I am getting better at managing both, and realise that my daughter will admire what her mother has built when she grows up. I want to be a great role model for my daughter so that she knows she can do anything she wants in life.

What has been the hardest personal challenge you have faced in life thus far?

I’d say it has to be my marriage separation which happened in 2019. None of my Irish family live in Australia so it’s been really challenging dealing with a marriage break up so far away from home. And then finding my identity as a single mother and business owner, and trying to juggle all the responsibilities that come with that.

But thankfully my best friend from Ireland, Fionnuala, whom I have been friends with since I was 6 lives in Perth and has also been through a marriage separation so she has been my rock over the past year supporting me emotionally.

How have you grown as a person, mentally, emotionally and spiritually since that challenge?

I’ve become quite spiritual in my 40’s so I work with a Mindset coach, a Reiki energy healer and a marriage break up counsellor, so between all of them, I have an amazing support crew and I have a really positive outlook on my life and my future. I don’t sweat the small stuff anymore, and I know that I am being guided to bigger and better things so I completely trust my journey and know that I am on the right path. And I have become an even stronger person mentally and I make sure to find me time in each and every week to recalibrate.

How do you plan to leave your mark in the world?

I believe as a small business owner we have two responsibilities. The first is to create employment. And the second is to give back to those less fortunate than us. I am a big advocate of supporting charities with my business. For the first 3 years in business I was an Ambassador for Opportunity International, who provide microfinance loans to women living in poverty so that they can start a business.

And this year I have started supporting The Underground Collaborative, who help those at risk of being homeless, or homeless, find permanent housing and employment.

So the mark I want to leave in the world is to know that I have helped create employment and give back to amazing causes like these with my business profits.

Generosity is a core value of my business and in life so I think that's a great way to be remembered.

Vanessa Geraghty

SINGLE MOTHER | FUN LOVING & FIERCELY INDEPENDENT | MARKETING GURU