Today we’d like to introduce you to Sue McCarron.
Hi Sue, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
McCarron Home Care began spontaneously out of personal experience and a shared dream. My daughter-in-law, Feliciana, came to live with me after her husband (my son) got deployed. She had a lot of great experience working as a caregiver and found work quickly here in town, but she felt the agencies she worked for were subpar. She had a desire to do things better. One night at dinner we were having leisurely conversation over wine, and she asked if I’d ever thought about going into business for myself. I said, yes, actually, I’ve thought about it many times because I know I have everything it takes to run a business, including three business degrees and coursework toward a PhD in public administration. Unfortunately, I have no real tangible, marketable skills to open my own business.
She said, funny, because she has tangible, marketable skills but has no idea how to run a business. From that point on we worked furiously to make McCarron Home Care happen. That conversation started in September of 2023, and by January of 2024, we were seeing our first clients! We are now working towards turning our shared dream into a strong vision.
My business partner and I come from complementary caregiving backgrounds, and together we recognized a gap in the industry. Some background about both of us: In 2015 (I was 50), I moved in with my 86-year-old father and was his sole caretaker until he passed at the age of 93. I had no idea there were services you could call on to help you care for your elderly parents, so I learned everything I needed to know on the job, so to speak. At the end of his life, he was prescribed Hospice, and it opened up a whole new world to me. Nurses came in to measure his vitals and administer his meds; techs came in to give him a bath and do PT with him. I was blown away that all this help was available, and I didn’t even know it. Then, shortly after he passed, I moved to Houston to be close to two of my sons, who live here.
On the other side of the US, Feliciana, was a professional caretaker in Washington state, and when her husband (my third son) was deployed, to keep busy, she picked up the administrative and supervisory work for her agency. She gained so much experience in a few short years because she had a lot of extra time on her hands and a strong willingness to learn and work. When she found out her husband was being transferred to Texas and was going to be deployed again, I asked her to come live with me.
What makes my daughter-in-law (and 50% partner) extraordinary is that she emigrated from Kenya by herself as a teenager to go to college on a cross-country track scholarship. She has been in the US for about 7 or 8 years now, has mastered English, our customs and culture, and has now become a successful business owner! As a caregiver she is compassionate, intuitive, and very empathetic. As a business partner she is shrewd, pragmatic, and industrious. This is the perfect partner combination, in my opinion.
Feliciana wanted to build an agency that was different from so many she worked for. Too often, care is treated as a transaction instead of a relationship. We wanted to build something different—a home care company rooted in compassion, human connection, and community. During our vision and mission meetings we did a core values exercise and came up with our immutable laws: “Be a good person, Do the work, Listen and love, and Improve society.” We guarantee that we will find the right caregiver for each client, and we work especially hard at this right-fit process, what we call the McCarron Method.
Our first clients came from a post on our Facebook neighborhood group that we were starting a business and would offer a 25% discount to anyone in our neighborhood willing to be our first clients. I also joined the West Houston Chamber of Commerce and started networking. From that point on, we got a few more clients from word of mouth, until we had a slow trickle of steady, new clients. Finding caregivers has been the biggest challenge, so we recruited my youngest son, Joe, to help with hiring. He has been our HR manager for two years now, and is an integral part of our business.
At the end of 2025, we were honored to be presented with the Best Senior Care of West Houston Award from the West Houston Chamber of Commerce. We offer over 2000 hours of care per month to our clients and have over 15 full-time caregivers. Our revenue is approaching seven figures, and we have strong plans to keep a family-oriented, local feel to our agency. We are very proud of the fact that we are not a chain and not a franchise. We are very hands-on owners, and we are vested in the health of our clients and the well-being of our caregivers. Joe often says, “We take care of our caregivers, our caregivers take care of our patients, and our patients take care of us.” This model is important to us because each part of the triangle is as integral as the others. We as an agency are a strong team, and I believe that strength shows to our clients.
Where we are today is the result of listening—to our clients, our caregivers, and our community—and constantly refining how we do the work. At its core, McCarron Home Care exists to make life easier for the families we are connected with. We’re proud of what we’ve built, but even more proud of the relationships behind it!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Goodness knows it has not been a smooth road!
Many times over the past two years, we wondered if we were going to be able to pay ourselves. Personal debt has mounted and we have lived rather austerely, as most new entrepreneurs do. One of our clients is a retired CEO for a very successful four-generation family business, and he always says to us, “Take care of the business, and the business will take care of you.” Feliciana and I took that to heart, and we make sure to look after our business as if it were a precious child. It gets our care, nourishment, and resources before we give them to ourselves. So no matter what, we always know the caregivers will always get paid, the bills will always be paid, and the business will continue to operate debt-free.
One of our greatest learning experiences has been upholding our guarantee to find the right caregiver for each client. When we think we have found the right caregiver, perfect for all the right reasons – great experience, skilled, licensed, fantastic references – the client may feel a personality clash. Sometimes it can take a very long time to find the right match, and that’s discouraging for all of us, especially the caregivers who are unmatched. It hurts to see their talents not appreciated.
One of the biggest challenges is working with new Americans who are skilled, experienced, and have the heart for the job, but they are not savvy in American customs and culture, so their patients find them off-putting. This is the challenge that breaks my heart the most. Sometimes clients have the impression that because immigrants, who are generally natural caregivers, speak with a heavy accent and don’t make easy, fluid conversation, they are not able to fulfill their duties as a caregiver. For instance, it is not uncommon for a family to fire a caregiver because he or she doesn’t know how to use a toaster or how to make a tuna fish sandwich, even though that caregiver is always on time, never misses a shift, and has exemplary caregiving skills.
Because of this challenge I have started Global Pathways Institute for Caregiver Readiness, a nonprofit geared toward helping new Americans (legal immigrants and refugees) obtain their CNA license (Certified Nurse Aide), and helping them become acculturated to American customs, culture, norms, and family life. My hope is that by gaining some experience with American families, these new American caregivers will have greater success in their careers.
Another great challenge we have faced in our business is the loss of clients through death. It is hard not to get attached to a patient and their family members. We spend so much time with them, know their habits, listen to their stories, and become a part of their daily lives. They are quite literally the reason we go to work each day. When one passes, it leaves a hole. There are times when our patients’ conditions improve and they no longer need our services. That kind of loss is joyful, and we feel a certain pride that we had a hand in their improvement. But the death of patients – friends – is something I was not quite prepared for, even though I knew it was inevitable.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have an unconventional and diverse background across many different industries after working in private business, non-profits, higher education, hospitality, and healthcare for over 40 years. I have experience in teaching, fundraising, business administration, sales, and entrepreneurship. The reason for this breadth of experience is because I was recruited many times over by businesses that wanted to improve their processes, profit margin, and team building.
I am highly organized and systematic in my approach to business. When others see where efficiencies need to be improved and where teams are missing synergies, I see how to improve them. I am much like my father, who was a general in the Air Force. He used to tell me that what made him successful was recognizing that he had all the ingredients for a cake in front of him and then following the recipe to make the cake. Not everyone can see the finished cake when they’re only looking at eggs and flour.
Over the past 40 years I have earned a BSBA, MM, MPA, and have completed two years’ PhD coursework in Public Administration. My focus has always been on motivating people. As a seasoned manager and director, I believe in building consensus, empowering those around me, and creating a positive atmosphere wherever I go!
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My SCORE mentor, Mr. Richard Stanley, is my biggest reason for success!
I started an unsuccessful business in 2013 that did not last more than a year and a half. I was one of the regretful 30% that failed within the first two years. Because of that I knew I wanted a mentor to guide me through the process. I reached out to SCORE immediately after receiving our business license and was paired with Richard, a successful businessman who had experience in the healthcare industry. I purposed in my heart to do everything he said to do, when he said to do it! It has been the very best decision of my business life!
Richard helped me through creating my logo, building my website, marketing, business development, partner contract, verbiage for scripts and a whole lot more, all completely free! His advice and leadership have been invaluable!
My family has also been absolutely integral to our success! I have three sons, all now here in Houston, and they are all involved in the business. From hands-on caregiving to resource sharing to advising, we truly are a family business!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mccarronhomecare.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/mccarronhomecarehtx
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/mccarronhomecare
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/mccarron-home-care
