Cork mother-of-six on life as an entrepreneur

Tracy McCarthy hasn’t been afraid to reinvent herself over the years.

She previously managed a Primark (Penneys) store in London and once ran her own ice cream shop.

Just recently, Tracy launched her own sauna oils which she’s exporting to the UK.

The mother-of-six won Solo Businesswoman of the Year at the recent Network Cork awards and it’s not hard to see why judges thought this agile entrepreneur was a deserving choice.

Tracy, originally from the UK and living in Ireland for the past 33 years, successfully tried her hand at various things over the years until she found her ‘true vocation’ in the wellness space where her mission is to create products that feed our skin and also support overall wellbeing.

She left home when she was 18 and, having worked her way up the ranks, was managing a Primark shop four years later.

Looking for a change, she moved to Ireland when she was 23, settling in West Cork where she launched Clonakilty Home Made Ice Cream as well as a successful gift and balloon shop.

Tracy’s always had a leaning towards creativity, but it took a while for her to discover her holistic side.

It came about when her youngest child was three. Tracy wanted to carve out something for herself and went back to college part-time, and that’s when she found her ‘vocation’.

“I always had a love for reflexology, so I pursued that and I loved it. I was instantly hooked and I went on to study massage, beauty, plus a wide range of therapies,” she said.

Tracy’s always been a grafter and to fund her studies and to get experience, she also worked in spas and a holistic centre.

“Later in this journey, I got the opportunity to teach in a private college in Cork, and while teaching, my love of skin came through, understanding why what we put on it is so important.”

With her trademark ambition to the fore, she went on to establish ‘Head to Toe Therapies’, initially in Clonakilty, and now in Kinsale where she lives.

It was while running her business that she began to blend oils for her clients and her next business ‘Naturally Balanced’ – an extensive range of facial oils, body and lip oils, which she makes in Kinsale – was born in 2023.

It has flourished from the start, despite Tracy and her family having to overcome losing their home in a fire in early 2024.

“Not only did we have the grief of losing our home but also some personal challenges that came at us when we were at our most vulnerable, but we moved forward.

“As Naturally Balanced started to take shape, we started breaking barriers with it by getting business support received from our local enterprise board north and west, and I won my first award at Showcase 2025 from the Design Craft Council of Ireland for best product in the Wellness Category with our maintain body oil,” said Tracy proudly.

Earlier this year, she opened a new wellness centre in Kinsale, where she occupies two treatment rooms herself, and in collaboration with other therapists, offers treatments seven days a week.

And more recently she’s created a nourishing oil people can use after a sauna to replenish their skin.

The oils received such high praise from sauna users that Tracy and her business partner decided to form a business called Naturally Sauna so that other sauna owners and their customers could experience the products, and they are now exporting to the UK.

A very modest Tracy says her modus operandi has always been to just keep moving forward.

“I don’t believe in making mistakes – just making decisions and learning from things if they don’t always work out,” she said matter-of-factly.

But she knows from her own experience that hard work will always pay.

“I knew that nobody was going to just hand me something and that I was the only one who could do make this happen. Having said that, I also know how important it is to try to find a balance and to know when it’s time to stop and recharge, after all, your health is your wealth.”

Tracy said she was lucky as she had some doors open for her, and as a result she likes to give back to the community, including volunteering as a therapist with Arc Cancer Support House. That’s important to her.

“I am a firm believer in supporting our local communities and events. We sponsor the Kinsale annual 5-mile road race as well as other events, including a sailing event at Kinsale yacht club and I am also excited to become a course director for Future Kinsale’s new wellness course in September.”

Tracy joined Network Cork as she was beginning to feel a little isolated working long hours in her treatment rooms.

“It really pushed me out of my comfort zone as I felt like I was losing the ability to mix with my peers. It really gave me courage to grow my network,” she said with appreciation.

Tracy is now at a nice stage of her life. When WoW! called she was wedding dress shopping with her daughter and she’s grateful most of her children live nearby.

“My ambition is to scale my oil production from Kinsale and to continue with further education. I’m also passionate about helping women to realise how important self-care is and how it’s different for everyone. I want to simplify it and show how it doesn’t have to be expensive, but could be something like a swim or a walk on a beach or meeting someone for coffee. It’s about finding what works for you and building your own first-aid box and not about forcing something on someone,” she said.

As if running three businesses wasn’t enough, Tracy has gone back to college – again – to satisfy her thirst for knowledge. She’s in her first year of a four-year herbal medicine qualification.

“I’ve worked in the wellness industry since 2009, but you can never know enough, and I love the confidence that building my knowledge brings, and that’s why I’ll always be upskilling!”