Mum creates Illawarra business Rock N Rollers making $1m in a year

She is a single mum of three, who has gone through her own personal hardships, but wanted to bring joy to other people’s lives.

A single mum, who had struggled financially, said she made $1 million from a “life changing” idea helping people with a disability.

Kylie Jones created Rock N Rollers in 2022 to provide disability support services, with a focus on attending live music events and weekly social gatherings.

Having worked in the sector for a number of years, she noticed the focus was on smaller social gatherings such as bowling or going for a coffee but she wanted to go “big”.

“I was a Big Day Out attendee every single year and loved the feel of live events and thought it was a great connection for people and no one should miss out,” she said.

“People should be able to feel that energy and feel part of the movement and (it) should be accessible to everyone, and I noticed over the years that it wasn’t.”

Kylie has gone from a struggling single mum to successful business owner. Picture: Supplied

She launched her business Rock N Rollers in the Illawarra region, just outside Sydney, a year ago but has seen such success that she wants to take it national.

The 50-year-old said one of the biggest barriers was finding insurance to make it possible for people with a disability to attend events.

“It was basic stuff like being able to walk off a bike track into the sand or being able to go to a live event and being able to be mosh if they chose it,” she explained.

The mum-of-three found a company to create a bespoke insurance package for her and the business has grown from social gatherings held several times a week to large events at major venues like seeing bands Guns N’ Roses, Offspring and the Killers, alongside local acts.

“We want our people to not rely on us for interaction and friendships and for day-to-day help and eventually the dream is they will leave us and be more independent in life,” she added.

Clients with Jimmy from The Vans. Picture: Supplied

Clients attending Cinderella. Picture: Supplied

The best thing has been seeing the “impact” on her clients whose social lives have opened up.

“One client lives in a group client and he had been in one for four years or more and they hadn’t seen him smile,” she noted.

“He never stops smiling and now has a girlfriend he wants to marry. He is a happy man, he sinks balls like a pool shark but at first couldn’t keep a ball on the table.”

A client enjoying the beach. Picture: Supplied

The staff Christmas party. Picture: Supplied

Another client was taken to the beach for the first time in 35 years and one man went to the cricket – his first social outing in four years.

“I am extremely grateful, my background is obviously in disability, but I was also a single mum. I raised my three boys on my own for a long time and at one stage I was wondering how I was going to feed them,” she said.

“We went through bad stages through no fault of our own as I had to try and pay rent, I had boys that were very active — to now, financially, this has changed my life. But more so on a personal level I am so grateful – I’ve met the most amazing people that we have supported.”

Rock N Rollers now employs 37 people and has 63 clients, and also hosts a date night which includes drag bingo, trivia and a DJ disco to end, with the last event scoring 40 matches.