Q 1. Please give our readers an introduction to your business. Include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Ans: Memorial Medical Center has been Southern New Mexico’s first choice in healthcare since 1950. Today, Memorial Medical Center, along with Memorial Physician Practices, of Las Cruces, New, Mexico, offers an extensive line of healthcare services provided by a team of highly quality physicians and surgeons.
Dr. Frank Felts is a board certified, highly experienced bariatric surgeon who leads the team at Memorial Medical Center. At Memorial Weight Loss Center, we offer the patient an option of bariatric surgeries which include the lap band, gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy, all done as minimally invasive laparoscopic surgical procedures.
At Memorial Weight Loss Center we provide a home town atmosphere while incorporating the latest techniques and advanced technologies to ensure our patient’s medical needs are met. Our Staff is fully trained in bariatric medicine, sensitivity and the unique needs of our weight loss surgery patients. We offer our patients a lifetime of support through our Wellness Center headed by Paul Magarelli, MD, PhD, FACOG.
Q 2. Provide a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Ans: Dr. Felts is a Board Certified Surgeon. He has over 10 years of experience in Bariatric Surgery and established the first Comprehensive Bariatric Center in Las Cruces. After a brief elective leave of absence to pursue a dream of sailing from Annapolis to the British Virgin Islands, Dr. Felts is excited to return to Las Cruces to develop the same high quality, comprehensive program at Memorial Medical Center. He, his wife Karla, and their Golden Retriever rescue, Howlyard, enjoy all of the outdoor activities of New Mexico, as well as the culture and arts of this beautiful state. He earned his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University, His medical degree from Texas A&M College of Medicine, and completed his General Surgery Residency at Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas. Dr. Felts is Board Certified by The American Board of Surgery, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a Fellow of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.
Karla Felts, RN is the Bariatric Program Director. She has worked in this field for over 11 years. She helped the processes and assisted in building the first bariatric lap-band out-patient surgery center in Texas. That Center became the model for many more bariatric lap-band out-patient surgery centers nationally.
Today Karen works with the Clinical team at Dr. Felts’ office to set up processes to streamline the patient’s experience while moving toward their desired surgery. She and her assistant, Dar Kopp, both work with the hospital to train hospital staff and ensure the latest equipment and processes are in place to assist patients in having a safe surgery. We pride ourselves in making sure our patients and their family members have a comfortable stay and experience at Memorial Medical Center. They forward to working with all of their patients as they move forward in their weight loss and wellness journey.
Q 3. How did the idea for your business come about?
Ans: I was inspired to move to New Mexico due to the lack of patient access for bariatric surgery and his love for the culture and geography of New Mexico.
Q 4. What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Ans: Finder passion and pursue it.
Have a plan but always be ready to flex and change.
Failures can often precede success.
Q 5. What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: Perseverance.
Planning.
Flexibility.
Q 6. How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans: 10 Hours.
Q 7. To what do you most attribute your success?
Ans: Grace of God.
Hard Work.
Listening to my customers (patients).
Q 8. How do you go about marketing your business?
Ans: Internet, Internet, Internet!
Q 9. How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Ans: Parent Company.
Q 10. What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans: Long-term success is a balance between diligence and hard work, and avoiding exhaustion and burn out.
Q 11. Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Ans: Bariatric referral center of the Southwest
Q 12. Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Ans: MDNet Solutions!
Q 13. How important have good employees been to your success?
Ans: Good employees are critical to a successful business. On a day-to-day basis, employees are the face of your business and can make or break your success.
Q 14. How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Ans: This is an impossible question to answer in a few words. However, these decisions must always be based upon your passion and ‘gut feeling’. That being said, a business must be profitable to succeed. When there is no stead movement toward increased profitability, despite plan modifications and improvements; serious consideration must be given to abandoning the plan.
Q 15. What motivates you?
Ans: Personally – doing better; professionally – watching patient success.
Q 16. What are your ideals?
Ans: Finding a perfect balance of work, family and relaxation.
Q 17. How do you generate new ideas?
Ans: Ideas are the products of the need for improvement.
Q 18. How do you define success?
Ans: Success must be defined within the context. For a terminally-ill cancer patient, success is surviving the next hour. For a Fortune 500 Company, it is measured in EBITDA.
Q 19. How do you build a successful customer base?
Ans: Building a successful customer base starts with knowing your products, your target group and your environment.
Q 20. What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Ans: Independence.
Q 21. What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Ans: Having a business model that others follow.
Q 22. What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Ans: Independence and inability to accept risk.
Q 23. What kind of culture exists in your organization?
Ans: Business culture must include the concepts of mutual respect and trust. It also requires that each individual be willing to perform at their best. Example is the best means to establish this.
Q 24. In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
Ans: I limited my success due to the fear of failure and underestimating my skills.
Q 25. If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Ans: If I started my career again I would make every effort to attend the US Naval Academy and serve as a flight surgeon.
Q 26. How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Ans: Breaking the traditional family mold has been very disruptive.
Q 27. What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Ans: Failure – perseverance.
Q 28. How did you decide on the location for your business?
Ans: Business location is a balance between personal desire and regional demand.
Q 29. Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: There is no secret formula but every recipe begins with hard work and perseverance.
Q 30. If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
Ans: Any of the great explorers of our world.
Q 31. What book has inspired you the most? (OR what is your favorite book?)
Ans: “The Making of a Surgeon” by William Nolen.
Q 32. What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
Ans: Trusting someone who was unworthy of trust.
Q 33. How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
Ans: Attention to detail.
Q 34. What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Ans: Outdoors – hiking, camping, flying and sailing.
Q 35. What makes you happy?
Ans: Karla.
Q 36. What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: Hours of Personal Time.
Comapany Detail :
Compay Name : Memorial Weight Loss Center of New Mexico
Adress : 2100 S. Triviz Suite G, Las Cruces, NM 88001
Phone : 575-556-1849
