My Business Life: Rosemary Kearney, The Care Advocate

Rosemary Kearney, founder of The Care Advocate, shares her life and business lessons.

When Rosemary Daynes Kearney founded The Care Advocate, she wasn’t just starting a business, she was answering a personal calling. Drawing on her background in the community and voluntary sector and her own experience as a family carer, Rosemary set out to make care a visible and valued part of working life.

Her purpose-led consultancy helps organisations recognise and support employees with caring responsibilities, showing that when businesses value care, everyone benefits.

Her work has already earned national and international recognition, including a Stevie Award (international) and the Network Ireland Solo Businesswoman of the Year Award (Wicklow). In this interview, she shares how she turned redundancy into opportunity, what drives her mission and why creating care-powered workplaces makes good business sense.

Tell us about your background and the journey to where you are today?

I became a businesswoman in July 2019 when I opened my first business. I had worked in the community and voluntary sector for over 15 years, 10 of those in the same organisation, before being made redundant. At the time, we had three kids and my eldest was struggling with his health. I remember thinking, how do I explain to an employer what I need in my life? I can do the jobs, but my life circumstances sometimes impact that.

Because I had been made redundant, I could access the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance. The flexibility of self-employment really appealed. People I knew who were self-employed kept saying, just go for it, you will be well able. I had always done the data protection work in my job, and GDPR had just passed into operation. I did a Start Your Own Business course and set up a GDPR and data protection consultancy. It was a head decision, I knew there would be work, I could charge a decent rate, and I could establish a business.

My background has always been with family carers, six years as a project worker and four as a regional coordinator, and I am a family carer myself. During a goal-setting seminar in 2020, I wrote down “PhD” as my trophy, but I thought it was unattainable, maybe something I would do when I retired. However, just a few weeks later I saw a fully funded PhD on online support groups for family carers. I applied and to my surprise, I got it.

During the research process, I interviewed family carers and this made me more aware of my own caring identity. As well as studying, I was still running my business full-time. I realised the head work was not enough, I needed the heart work too. I asked myself how do I build a financially successful business that is rooted in purpose? I worked with a branding expert to bring the parts of myself together, and that is where The Care Advocate was born, a purpose led consultancy making care prioritised, valued and visible, with a particular focus on supporting family carers to remain in the workplace.

Why are you doing this, what need are you meeting, and what is your USP?

Care is like an iceberg in society. It is always there, looking small on the surface and we do not think about it until it affects us. But its impacts extend everywhere. One of the main areas is women leaving the workplace because of care responsibilities.

My USP is showing the business value of supporting family carers. Turnover, absenteeism, burnout, loss of engagement, these are what you see. The cause you may not be considering is care. I help organisations identify, recognise and implement supports so they become care powered workplaces.

How did you fund and start the business, and what are your growth plans?

Self-funded. I sold my car to put money in the bank, took an €8,000 business loan for cash flow, and had the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance for two years. The pandemic hit soon after and my income dropped. I was down to about €200 in the bank when I secured my first big client. For the past five years I have led data governance for HSE digital projects such as the HSE App. That sustained the business and gave me space to develop The Care Advocate.

Carers are a global issue, about 2.3 billion people care worldwide, and roughly 70% of family care is provided by women. I am talking about care for loved ones with additional health needs, not parenting or domestic care. I want international scope for my flagship Caring Workplace Programme, available to organisations worldwide.

The first step is to raise awareness, then guide them through my 3-step model, Identification, Recognition and Implementation to embed supports. This might seem like a narrow focus but it has broad impacts. When you support family carers, you create a better workplace for everyone, productivity, loyalty and a positive culture all follow.

Who or what has helped you most, any mentors or inspirations?

The Local Enterprise Office (LEO) through mentorship and Trading Online Vouchers. Network Ireland has been huge for community, learning and confidence. I won Solo Businesswoman of the Year, Wicklow, in 2023 and was shortlisted again this year for The Care Advocate.

I also did the LEO Owner Management Development Programme with Blaise Brosnan. That had the biggest impact on my mindset. His approach helped me think like a business owner and focus on incremental gains. “What can I do 5% better?” is a question I ask myself regularly.

What is the greatest piece of business advice you have received?

Two from Blaise. First, write down what you want to pay yourself, annual, monthly, hourly, and keep it visible. Let it niggle at you and pull you forward. For women especially, it is permission to think bigger and make yourself big. Second, you can choose to do or not do, but it is never neutral. There is always a cost. That mindset stops complacency and keeps you moving.

What marks the difference between success and failure in your experience?

Fully committing. Early on I had one foot in and one foot out because I did not fully believe I was a businesswoman. Winning Solo Businesswoman of the Year, Wicklow, gave me external validation and flipped the switch. I went all in. From there, I’ve been led by curiosity and excitement. If it does not work, that is not personal failure, it is circumstances. But I will know I fully committed.

How did you navigate the pandemic, and what did you learn?

The first six months were incredibly tough, personally my husband got sick and professionally work dried up. I leaned into Network Ireland and my contacts, showing up for others, doing and attending webinars, and subcontracting with busier peers. Networking has been my strongest ally, my business comes from reputation and relationships.

How has digital transformation influenced your scaling, and do Irish firms use technology to its potential?

My business is person-based. Technology is a tool that will help me scale, training delivery, working directly with organisations, international reach. But in the AI narrative we have lost a key truth, people buy from people. Tech should handle efficiency, people handle relationships. Put technology back in its box as a tool and keep the human core of business front and centre.

If you had to do it all over again, what would you change?

I would not change the journey, it is the alchemy that brought me here. Maybe I would be less hard on myself and worry less, but that is human with kids and a mortgage. In the early days I felt like I was role playing businesswoman. Over time the role fell away and I became it. That is learning and growth.

Who inspires you in business today?

The real journeys, not the glossy versions. I was inspired hearing the WaterWipes story, how a company nearly went to the wall and then turned it around. I love research that turns into business creativity, students turning personal experiences into solutions, like Zoe O’Sullivan who won the James Dyson award for her invention.

Creativity born from lived experience resonates with me because that is where my business comes from too.

What business books would you recommend?

You Are the Limiting Factor by Blaise Brosnan.
Pricing Genius: Getting Paid Properly for Ideas and Advice in the Era of AI by Alistair Drybrook.

I read the second in one sitting. It offers a clear methodology for value based pricing, capturing the value of your work, not just your hours. I worked with him to build a simple, transparent pricing model for The Care Advocate.

What tools or technologies keep you on track?

Microsoft Teams and Zoom with clients. Lots of pen and paper for tracking ideas and journaling. Two whiteboards for plans, quotes and visual thinking. A cross professional supervisor monthly for reflective practice. Mentors. People are my biggest resource, technology plays a supporting role.

What social platforms do you prefer, and why?

LinkedIn, it is professional, thought provoking and great for networking and promotion. I am also setting up a Substack. I love long form writing and building deeper, more personal relationships. I am mindful of the ethics around AI training on creative work, Substack feels like a better home for the why behind what I do.

Finally, what advice would you give your 21 year old self?

The life you think you are going to live may not be the life you live, but it is a great life. Trust your decisions along the way.

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