Starting anew is often framed as exciting, full of possibility, fresh starts and new opportunities. But sometimes, a new beginning comes from a place of loss, difficulty, or change we never asked for.

At the start of this month, we lost Christine, my mum, Lara’s gran, and someone Niall had worked closely alongside for the past five years. It has been a difficult loss for all of us.

Without dwelling too much on grief itself, moments like this do have a way of making you stop and reflect. They make you think about where you have been, what matters most, and what comes next. For me, this month has brought back memories of another time when life changed direction unexpectedly, and when starting again felt less like a choice and more like something I had to learn to do.

Nine years ago, I found myself at one of those crossroads. In 2017, the life plan I had carefully mapped out came to an abrupt end. Before starting McGowan Marketing, I was deeply ingrained in corporate life. I was committed, ambitious, and focused on climbing the ladder. I threw myself into that world because I believed that hard work, loyalty and consistency would naturally lead to the future I had planned. Looking back, one of the biggest lessons from that chapter was learning that loyalty only really works when it is mutual, and that the people and places worth investing in are the ones willing to invest in you too. In the end, that experience also showed me that corporate life was never really going to be where I was meant to stay.

At the same time, my mum had just been made redundant. Instead of staying at home, she came along for the ride. What started as a difficult period for both of us marked the beginning of something new. I started McGowan Marketing, and from the outset, mum was involved day to day as part of that next chapter.

I did not have a clear plan for what I was building, but I knew I needed to keep moving forward. Mum was part of that phase and enjoyed being involved in the day to day, especially when it meant attending events and having a reason to pick up a new “work” outfit. What began as a response to a challenging time developed into something far more substantial. Over time, the team expanded, our clients grew with us, and my understanding of the kind of business I wanted to build became much clearer.

That does not mean it has been easy. Since 2017, we have lived through what many now call a polycrisis, a period where multiple major challenges overlap and compound one another. There was Covid, and I still remember one associate telling me they did not think we would survive that crisis. Then came wars, the cost of living crisis, rising pressure on businesses, and more global uncertainty.