Green tea, family roots, and raising a business alongside real life with Rebecca Duffy
Not every episode of What Are We Drinking? comes with alcohol on the table, and honestly, this one wouldn’t have made sense if it did.
Rebecca Duffy walked in with green tea. Not because she doesn’t enjoy a drink, but because green tea holds memory, comfort, and grounding for her. It’s the drink she associates with celebrations as a child, sitting in Chinese restaurants with her mum, moments that felt special, safe, and full of quiet connection. That alone tells you a lot about Rebecca before she even opens her mouth.
This conversation was deeply human, deeply honest, and one of those episodes that sits with you long after the microphones turn off.
Caring Care was built for family first
Caring Care was born out of motherhood.
Rebecca didn’t sugarcoat it. She started her business because she became a mum and realised she wanted more for her daughter than she had been given. More opportunity. More security. More example. She wanted to be a role model, not just a provider. Before Caring Care, she tried other things. Essential oils. A streetwear brand. Different ideas that didn’t quite land. But disability support work did. It filled her cup. It made sense. It aligned with who she already was.
Caring Care officially launched in 2020 and is co-owned with her husband, Brenton. It’s a family-run organisation in the truest sense, not just in structure but in philosophy. Their vision centres on people with disability living full, independent, purpose-led lives, and their mission is grounded in care that mirrors how you would treat your own family. Caring Care actually embeds this question into their progress notes: Is the care you delivered today the care you would want for someone you love? Every shift. Every worker. Every participant. That’s culture by design.
Regional reality and building locally
Caring Care operates on the Mid North Coast, and Rebecca is intentional about staying local. Regional work is different. Workforce challenges are real. Where city providers might receive hundreds of applications, Rebecca might receive two viable candidates if she’s lucky. Instead of chasing scale for the sake of it, she’s focused on mastery. Building slowly. Building properly. Understanding the unique challenges of regional staffing, community connection, and service delivery before expanding. One of the biggest shifts for her has been embracing personal brand. Something she openly admits she resisted for a long time. She didn’t see the ROI. She didn’t think it mattered.
It turns out it matters a lot.
By putting herself forward, showing her values, and being visible as a leader, people started applying not just for a job, but because they resonated with her. Staff referrals followed. Good people brought other good people with them. Culture started recruiting on her behalf. People don’t just want a job anymore. They want alignment.
Growth, leadership, and learning the hard way
Like many founders in this sector, Rebecca came from frontline support work. She was excellent at care. What she wasn’t prepared for was the weight of running a business. Finance. Compliance. Fair Work. Structure. Leadership. Growth. None of that comes automatically just because you’re good at supporting people. Rebecca speaks candidly about how much she’s had to learn, how uncomfortable that growth has been, and how often she’s had to sit in not knowing while still showing up as the leader. This isn’t a polished founder story. It’s a real one.
Parenting without pretending it’s easy
Rebecca is refreshingly honest about motherhood. She loves her children deeply, but she doesn’t romanticise the role. Parenting is hard. Regulation is hard. Playing Barbies isn’t her favourite thing. And choosing work sometimes feels easier than managing emotional meltdowns at home. What she does do is reflect. Repair. Model accountability. When she loses her cool, she comes back and owns it in front of her kids. She names emotions. She teaches regulation instead of suppression.
Her children are growing up watching adults work, disagree, repair, lead, and evolve. That’s intentional.
Autism, identity, and learning together
One of the most powerful parts of this episode was Rebecca sharing her family’s recent autism diagnoses. Her daughter was diagnosed first. Through that process, her husband Brenton realised he, too, is autistic. Suddenly, years of experiences, challenges, and internal struggles made sense. Brenton is highly intelligent, analytical, and deeply thoughtful. He thrives on structure, routine, and predictability, and struggles with sensory overload, particularly noise and unexpected change. What once looked like quirks are now recognised as needs.
Rebecca speaks openly about learning alongside him, about not always knowing how to support him, and about being honest when she doesn’t have the answers. That level of transparency inside a marriage is rare, and it’s powerful. Their daughter benefits from this understanding too. Brenton’s ability to slow down, listen, and truly see her has become a strength in their parenting dynamic. This isn’t about labels. It’s about making space for difference.
Language matters, and stories change culture
The conversation also moved into language, history, and why words matter. Rebecca didn’t shy away from confronting the origins of outdated terminology or the harm language can carry when left unexamined. Education, representation, and visibility matter. Not through pity, but through truth. Rebecca is passionate about normalising these conversations, not just as a provider, but as a mother, partner, and human navigating the world alongside people she loves.
The heart of this episode
Rebecca Duffy is building Caring Care slowly, intentionally, and with heart. She’s raising children while running a business. She’s learning in real time. She’s not pretending to have it all figured out, and that’s exactly why her story matters.
WATCH THE FULL EPISODE
✨ You can watch my full conversation with Rebecca Duffy here:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6Gdo7qdV11laF2A9MY88cE?si=04e526a59ea74a20
If you’ve ever had to rebuild yourself, or if you’re in the middle of it now, this episode will feel like someone turning a light on beside you.
