Self-awareness is an attribute that strong business leaders must have. You need to be able to define your strengths and weaknesses, be able to capitalize on those strengths and find ways to erase or mitigate your weaknesses if you want to succeed.
The majority of BrightStar Care franchisees come to the brand and open a home health care agency without having a medical background. The BrightStar Care model is built to alleviate that shortcoming by virtue of the fact that every owner has a Director of Nursing, who is a registered nurse, to oversee client management.
BrightStar Care also invests significantly in training and support to help franchise owners get accustomed and up to speed on the home health care industry, matters related to compliance and regulatory issues and best practices when it comes to operating a home health care agency.
Still, it’s up to the individual business owner to have the self-awareness to be able to identify where they can shine as an entrepreneur and where they need support.
Getting over the Hump of Trying to Do it All
Many small business owners fall in the trap of trying to do everything themselves. The truth of the matter is that you may excel at people and general business management, but there are numerous administrative tasks involved in operating a business like a home health care agency that will likely fall outside of your realm of expertise.
When you dedicate too much of your time to this type of work, your business begins to suffer on an operational level. Things start to fall through the cracks because you’re spread too thin, resulting in poor client services and a lackluster reputation.
2018 Franchisee of the Year Demonstrates Merits of Hiring for Skills Gap
Ignacio Cespedes, owner of BrightStar Care of Roseville/South Placer County, near Sacramento, Calif., had worked in the medical device industry prior to becoming a franchisee. However, as a marketing executive, his skill set was more aligned with having the vision for his agency and bringing in and fostering the talent to help him achieve it.
Specifically, he recognized his lack of sales expertise. While the ability to engage with people and health care organizations one-on-one appealed to Ignacio, he was self-aware enough not to fall into the trap of thinking he could be the sole salesperson for his home health care agency. A salesperson was one of the key hires he made as a franchise owner and one of many examples of how he’s been able to make business management decisions that have improved operations.