A young man from Cavan is hoping to inspire others to follow their dreams, after he set up his own health care business as a teenager despite being told repeatedly that he was "too young."
Cian Smith, from Ballinagh, first recognised serious issues in the Irish health care system while working in a local nursing home as part of his Transition Year work experience for secondary school.
"I saw how overworked and underappreciated both carers and nurses were in the system," he told the Irish Mirror.
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Despite this, it was seeing the joy that nurses and staff brought to the lives of residents, through small gestures and simple chats, that led to him saying "this is for me" and sparked a fiery determination to make a difference.
After finishing secondary school, the teenager went on to tackle his level 5 pre-nursing, with the intention of going into the area of general nursing. His first job was with a health care company, which he "absolutely loved."
Following his time there, where he worked in all areas of the company, he decided to make the brave leap, and apply for a management position in another company.
Despite a strong drive, three years experience in various healthcare roles, strong team lead and problem solving skills, he was overlooked in each application for being too young, as he was still a teenager.
He decided to look into setting up his own healthcare company, after six months researching regulations and saving up as much money as he could, he officially registered Cian's Homecare Ltd in April of last year.
At just 19-years-old, Cian put his head down and began to promote the business, which supplies agency healthcare assistants and nurses to different healthcare settings.
However, at first, the plan was to provide private homecare for families. He quickly ran into his first issue, his age.
"When going to people's houses to do out a care plan and care assessment, I introduced myself as the Care Director and people instantly noticed my age, and were immediately put off," he said.
He described the same issue happening for the first four months, until one person decided to take a chance on him, in spite of his age, leading to a massive contract with a supplier of 12 nursing homes in Ireland.
"This really opened the door for us as it meant we had references of having reliable, highly trained staff. All it took was one person to believe in me to give me a chance," he said.
Cian hopes to inspire other young people, who may not have been the best in school or who simply want to carve a path of their own, not to be afraid or put off because they feel they are too young.
"In secondary school I was never an overachiever, never in higher level and I wasn't very academic. I was hands on. Lots of people expected me to just go into a normal role. Nobody believed in my dreams, not friends nor family," he added.
The now 20-year-old, with his business still operating from home, has big dreams, and hopes one day to become a healthcare staff supplier to the HSE.
He believes the big thing for young people is the support of others, something he says you are rarely going to get.
Cian stated that if you are 19, and tell people you are going to open a healthcare company, "most people will laugh."
"At 19, people tell you, you are too young. In your 30s/40s, they say you have a mortgage and kids to prioritise.
"In your 50s/60s, people say you should be retiring and enjoying your life. There is never a perfect time. If you want it, go for it. If it doesn't work out in the end, I can always say I tried and gained so much valuable experience from it," he concluded.
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