We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dorian Nixon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dorian, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

To be successful it takes hard work, dedication, the ability to receive constructive criticism and learn from it, the willingness to never stop learning, constant research, surrounding yourself with like minded individuals, and not allowing fear to stand in the way of opportunities and growth.

To be successful you must be humble, you must be faithful and you must be willing to pour into others; just as someone may have poured into you.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Who is Dorian Nixon? I am an Entrepreneur, a Community Educator, an Advocate, an experienced Social Worker that is passionate about helping those in need and connecting the dots to resources within the community. I started my career as a social worker with a local nonprofit organization that assisted individuals diagnosed with an uncurbable neurological disorder. As the Social Worker for this organization, I would receive calls from my families, community organizations, case managers, and healthcare professionals on what this disease was and how to properly care for someone with this disease.

I went to various healthcare facilities and organizations educating about this disease and realized that there was a gap within the community that needed to be filled. Needless to say, I developed the concept and business plan back in 2007; I pitched it and was shot down. Of course, I felt defeated and left it alone until an opportunity presented itself in October of 2014. I pitched the concept and business plan again with a few upgrades and was told YES. From that meeting, a very wise man stated to me “you invest in the who and not the what. When you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life”.

This statement has always stuck with me and is a staple piece of our business. Within 8 years we have 2 locations, Charleston, SC which is our main office, and a satellite office in Columbia, SC. We have expanded much faster than we ever imagined and continuing to grow, adding more services, and checking off our list.

Palmetto Family Homecare is locally owned and operated with a family-oriented approach to in-home care and services; we are a statewide agency that provides skilled non-medical in-home care, skilled nursing services, sitter services (in-home & facility), medication management, case management services and so much more to our families.

We specialize in Neurological Disorder Care (ALS, MS, Parkinson) which sets us apart from others; as we come from an ALS and MS background due to our own personal experiences.

There is no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” as we customize our services and care plans based on the overall needs of our families. We believe in not only taking care of the client but also the entire family as well.

In regards to the services, we provide a variety of services based on the overall need of the client and/or family. We offer companionship/sitter services, Personal Care Assistance, Specialty Disease Care, Facility Sitter Care Services, Rehabilitative and Post Hospitalization Care, Transition Care Services, Medication Management Services and Care Management Services just to name a few.

Even though we are 8 years into our business, I’m still amazed at the fact that what I wrote on paper 15 years ago I’m currently living it and loving it.

Along with my homecare agency, I also have a virtual assistant business that services small businesses, nonprofits or any entrepreneur that made need assistance with the back or front end of their business.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Prior to starting my business, I developed and established great working relationships within the community and within my industry from my previous career. I stand firmly on pouring into others, just as someone poured into me while continuing to foster the relationships that I have.

I was always told myself starting out that I was the best marketer for my business. My business is my baby and when I’m speaking with someone or telling them about the business; you can see the love I have for the business, you can hear my sincerity when I speak about the business and you can feel the compassion that I have for the business.

When meeting new community connections or colleagues, I’ve always believed in just being myself. I never felt that I had to pitch or “sell” the business, because my words and actions always matched.

So to answer the question…being myself and believing in my business has helped build my reputation within my market.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

The culture of our office is what helps maintain the high morale of the business.

I am truly blessed with an amazing team that believes in the mission and vision of our agency. I have an administrative staff of 6 that cover Human Resource duties, Care Coordination with scheduling between our employees and clients, Accounting that covers payroll and billing processes, Nurses that supervise our staff and monitor our clients and Community Liaisons that go in the community with me as well and “agitate the gravel” as I like to say.

When starting this business, I told myself that I will create an environment where my staff enjoys coming to work, a place that is professional, that gets the work done, but can also have a good time. As a Social Worker, I am BIG on communication and push for open and honest communication within our office. Of course the standard, the tone and the expectations are set when joining our team, but I have created an environment to where my staff can voice their interest, concerns and ideas before any final decisions are made. I am not a micromanager as I provide all of the tools needed to perform the task at hand and believe in accountability at the end of the day.

I have a saying in my office “We are one band, with one voice…be clear and give respect.”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.palmettofamilyhomecare.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/palmettofamilyhomecare
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/palmettofamilyhomecare
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorian-jeffcoat-80b82232