Q 1. Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Ans. Rejuva Stem Cell Clinic was built to help the people in Palm Beach and Martin Counties rebuild osteoarthritic and degenerative joints and heal soft tissue injuries and tears and is the first of it’s kind in the country as far as we can tell. We do one thing and one thing only so we can focus on being the absolute best at it. Our clinic in Jupiter is the flagship and the first of 12 planned. We are building a hospitality and service based clinic that is 100% patient centric. Our providers will have ample time to spend with patients and be sure they are able to give top notch care on each and every visit. One of our primary goals is to give patients a much more effective therapy for these conditions over drugs and surgery, and a whole lot safer.
Q 2. Kindly give us a brief description about yourself.
Ans. I have been in healthcare my entire adult life. I started as a respiratory therapist and used that get my doctorate in Chiropractic Medicine. I practiced in Charleston SC for 13 years and that led me into franchising. I helped to build the worlds largest chiropractic franchise and my work there created an opportunity for me to help launch a stem cell supply company where I was in charge of physician development and education for the southeast. My experience with those doctors and seeing the results they were getting with patients, got me excited about having a clinic again. Nothing feeds me more than helping patients get back to doing what is important to them and being able to enjoy that activity whether it’s golf or tennis or running or something as simple as being able to garden or play with their kids or grandkids. For some it’s being able to work and that is important too. There has never been an innovation in medicine that is this well studied and documented for its efficacy and safety. It’s incredibly exciting times.
Q 3. How did the idea for your business come about?
Ans. I enjoyed franchising and enjoy helping doctors become better businessmen and clinicians but I get the most satisfaction from helping patients get better. There is a void in healthcare when it comes to stem cell therapy. More and more clinics are beginning to add stem cell therapy to list of services they perform but no one has done a stem cell clinic as a stand-alone concept. What that does for the business side is keep costs and liability to a minimum so we can provide the care at around half the cost of other stem cell providers. It also allows us to avoid the high volume rapid pace that so many clinics and doctors have to utilize.
Q 4. What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Ans.
1. Find something you love doing and do that really well. If you love what you are doing it wont feel like work very often.
2. Laser beam focus. Stay completely focused on your plan and be very judicious as to evolutions in that plan. Everyone wants to give you advice and it’s important that you stick to your values and what is important to you. If you end up with something different than you started out to build then you may just not like what you have and then you have a job.
3. Keep the main thing the main thing. Know what your primary purpose is and answer questions based on whether or not it furthers your primary objective.
Q 5. What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans.
1. Thirst for Knowledge. Warren buffet says read, read, read and I take that advice seriously. Know more about your product/service than anyone. Know more about the competitors than anyone. It’s important for entrepreneurs to know that you don’t have to be highly intelligent in order to have a lot of knowledge abut your product or service.
2. Great hiring skills. Hire team members you enjoy and who possess a great attitude and aptitude and then delegate anything that they can do at least 80% as well as you can.
3. Tireless work ethic. This is actually the easiest one if you are following the advice of doing something you are passionate about because if you do, you won’t even realize how hard you are working.
Q 6. How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans. During the launch phase of a business I average 12-14 hours a day. The goal in an entrepreneurial endeavor is to work your way out of a job.
Q 7. To what do you most attribute your success?
Ans. My fathers work ethic. Luckily I got that from him and I believe my kids got it from me as well. I have told them from early on that if you don’t like the job you are in, just outwork everyone else and soon you will have a new and better job.
Q 8. How do you go about marketing your business?
Ans. I believe in a multifaceted approach to marketing. Passive and active. There are subsets to those as well but passive marketing is anything you can throw money at and get the message out to lots of people at once. If your message is good, then that’s when you have success there. Always track your marketing dollars and if it isn’t getting you a 3-1 return, then do something different. Active marketing has the advantage of being less expensive and usually is the driver of the business in the early days. Relationship marketing is networking with people that know people who need your product or service and is typically the most successful marketing available to any entrepreneur. There is a skill set that is needed in relationship marketing and it can be learned by just about anyone.
Q 9. Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it?
Ans. There’s an old saying that banks will gladly hand you an umbrella when its sunshiny out, but the minute it starts raining they keep their umbrellas hidden from you. All that means is if you have money they are happy to loan you some more but if you are broke, good luck. I am fortunate at this stage in life to be able to self fund this launch but that hasn’t always been the case. Also, because of the appeal of the business model, I have had several offers to invest however I have only taken 1 investor as a favor to him who is a great friend and let’s face it, success is more fun when you have people that you love going there with you.
Q 10. What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans. Two things. By keeping the ‘Main thing’ the ‘main thing’ and by creating a culture of trust and loyalty in your organization. When people believe in your vision and purpose and they trust you, they will become your army. Violate their trust and you lose their loyalty and you suddenly have clock watchers working for you.
Q 11. Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Ans. We will have 12 cllinics 100% focused on keeping people off of dangerous medicine and operating tables.
Q 12. Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Ans. Companies like Chik-fil-A who have created an excellent culture and service attitude in an industry that is often known for poor service and attitudes.
Q 13. How important have good employees been to your success?
Ans. I don’t have employees and never have. I have team members and they are the most important part of any business. It is critical to train and develop your team members to be able to do the job you need them to do and do it better than your competitors because they have the tools and even more importantly they care.
Q 14. What motivates you?
Ans. Being a great example for my kids and my team members. If you help enough other people get what they want then you will always get what you want.
Q 15. What are your ideals?
Ans. Giving people more than they expect.
Q 16. How do you generate new ideas?
Ans. I once heard John Cougar Mellancamp interviewed and they asked him, “What is your process in song writing?”. His reply “I’ve never written a song in my life. They just present to me and I have to write them down to get them out of my brain.” I think people have gifts and one of mine is recognizing opportunity.
Q 17. How do you define success?
Ans. Happiness and contribution. IF you are making the community you serve better and it makes you happy then you are successful.
Q 18. How do you build a successful customer base?
Ans. By sharing the message and living and breathing your message. I get people to adk me what I do so that I can tell them what I do and let my passion for it excite them.
Q 19. What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Ans. Working on my own terms.
Q 20. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Ans. There was a point where I was going through a tough time personally and financially and was very close to shutting my doors when a friend stopped in and asked why the long face. I told him I am going to have to close my doors and he asked how much I needed. He turned and left for about 20 minutes and came back with a stack of cash as a loan. Instead of using that money to pay my bills I created an ad and used it to run a full page ad in the newspaper and I blew the doors off the place. That was very satisfying. All of my friends called me the comeback kid and all I could think of is that I don’t ever want that title again.
Q 21. What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Ans. Entrepreneurs have an insatiable desire to build or create something of their own.
Q 22. What kind of culture exists in your organization?
Ans. Fun and funny. I am a clown at heart and patients love that as much as the team. It just makes for a better day at work and a better life. I treat people well and in return they treat me well. Golden Rule.
Q 23. In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Ans. Fun
Q 24. If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Ans. I would have been a better student in college. I didn’t have a good run in my first attempt but I recovered well and rebounded.
Q 25. How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Ans. It’s given me the freedom to do things with my kids that I don’t think I would have been able to do if I was in a job. Like take whole summers off and play and travel with them.
Q 26. What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Ans. Ha! I used to have a sign on my desk that read, “ Failure is not an option, it’s just a nagging possibility that helps me stay focused” . So there you have it ‘Failure’ is my greatest fear and I manage it by staying focused.
Q 27. How did you decide on the location for your business?
Ans. Demographics and desirability as a place to live. I have always taught doctors to open where you want to live and you can overcome the demographics.
Q 28. Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Ans. Hard work and focus work for me.
Q 29. Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Ans. My friends. Without question, their success motivates me because I want to be able to do the things they like to do. It’s just more fun with friends.
Q 30. What book has inspired you the most?
Ans. “Celestine Prophecy” It’s about lessons and how important it is to recognize the lessons God, is challenging you to learn.
Q 31. What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
Ans. Not balancing my work and family life at times. You can’t punish your family with absence because you are chasing your passion. What good is success if you can’t be with your family.
Q 32. How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
Ans. You train to avoid big mistakes but ultimately mistakes will be made. It’s important to keep small mistakes small and notlet them become big mistakes through repetition.
Q 33. What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Ans. Me and my kids are water babies. We love skiing, fishing, diving and just being on, in or around the water.
Q 34. What makes you happy?
Ans. Playing with my friends and family.
For more information visit us our website here http://www.rejuvastemcellclinic.com
