Woman launches her first business at 46 after recently graduating from SETU

A woman has shown that it’s never too late to start after launching her first business at forty-six.

Caroline Middleton is the brains behind Variety Tee, a new business that aims to provide quality clothing products at affordable prices.

Who doesn’t love the sound of that? It is a brand perfect for all ages and caters to men, women, kids and the LGBTIQA+ community.

It all started when Caroline moved back home to the lovely area of Gowran, Kilkenny. After working in sales and marketing for an online health company in Dublin for over twenty years, it was time for a transformation.

“The city had changed during Covid and I started to feel isolated not being able to see my family and friends,” said Caroline.

However, it was not only a change in her location but also for her career after just recently graduating from South East Technological University completing a science of digital marketing with analytics.

This was perfect timing, as it went hand in hand with the development of her new business.

Caroline embarked on this journey with her first stop by completing the ‘start your own business’ course with the Local Enterprise Office in Kilkenny.

She soon found her niche and was focused majorly on sustainability, making sure all her products were recycled.

She achieves this by using plastic-free packaging and working with a circular economy supplier in order for each of her products to be recycled correctly and avoid landfills.

The business even offers a feature that allows you to send back worn-out products for store credit in return.

“We’ll take it and remake it,” said Caroline. “Emphasising sustainability to the consumer in this eco-conscious landscape is important to me.”

A second goal of Caroline’s was to make this site a personal shopping experience. She achieved this by adding a feature that allows you to design your very own pieces.

“I wanted to allow people to have that brand experience so that they can create designs that give them joy, evoke happiness, and have fun,” said Caroline.

This feature is a great idea for personalised gifts, especially with Christmas just around the corner.

Going forward, Caroline aims to focus on the local region and wants to cultivate a loyal customer base.

“I would like to aim to create an emotional connection with customers that aligns with their tastes, lifestyles and special occasions.”

Caroline also expressed how she would eventually love to give back to the community by creating jobs for locals in her area.