Business woman Aimee Connolly has spoken out about the “one experience” she felt like she wasn’t taken seriously in her career. 

The makeup artist founded her own brand of cosmetics called Sculpted by Aimee and has even opened up a store on Dublin’s Grafton Street. 

Speaking to Newstalk’s new Life and Leadership podcast, Ms Connolly said as a young woman in business she was almost always treated with respect by those she worked with. 

“I would say overall my experience was really positive,” she said. 

“I think it’s down to a few things like me never second guessing myself because it’s been my area of knowledge. 

“So, I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, of course I know what I’m doing’ - even if I don’t. 

“Secondly, it’s predominantly run by women, so you rarely have that situation where you might feel inferior. 

“Obviously we all have a bit of imposter syndromes at different times but at the very beginning, my first manufacturer, I always say, was the one experience that if I was ever to linger on was the one where I wasn’t treated with immense respect. 

“I think they kind of saw me as this young 22-year-old with not much of a clue - and they weren’t wrong - but I also knew what I was doing at the same time. 

“I just felt I wasn’t getting the same level of professionalism or work ethic as other clients and I was paying a premium price for the product.” 

She gave them an ultimatum and said if they did not change their attitude she would find another manufacturer. 

“It was a bit like, ‘Little girl, you haven’t really a clue.' 

“The next month I was off to South Korea and we still work with that partner.”

Aimee talks about this and plenty more on Newstalk’s new Life and Leadership podcast - you can listen to the full interview with Bobby Kerr here: