We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anna Gouker a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Anna, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
It all started in 2019 with a series of conversations I had with one of my dearest and oldest friends, Rachel.
I was talking with her about the never-ending struggle to find and maintain good caregivers. I have a genetic condition that causes general muscle weakness throughout the body, which means I’ve relied on technology – like my super sophisticated motorized wheelchair – and caregivers my entire life. I was 33 at the time and going through a major turnover in my caregiving staff. On top of that, my dad had just passed away very suddenly, making me feel exceptionally raw and vulnerable.
Everything seemed to hit me all at once. I started thinking more and more about the amount of time I’ve spent throughout my life on interviewing, onboarding, training, and scheduling caregivers. Understandably, they inevitably move on to their next opportunity or phase of life, but each person leaves a gap in my caregiver schedule, a gap that often takes me a long time to fill.
Beyond my own experiences, I know so many people with disabilities – talented and vibrant individuals – who have been forced to move into a nursing home simply because they were unable to find a sufficient number of caregivers to remain living in their own home. When this happens, it is a tragedy and a huge loss for the community.
I know one woman who was a trained Social Worker. She loved her job and living in her own apartment. In 2018, she was informed by her managed-care agency that she needed to move into a nursing home. The decision was made because they could not find enough people to fill the direct care shifts she depended on for assistance with meals, getting in and out of bed, and getting to the bathroom. This is just one example. Across the country, adults who live with disabilities and depend on caregivers fear this exact type of scenario happening to them and it does all the time
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
When I was in college, I had no idea what I wanted to do for my career. I majored in Psychology, mainly because it was the first college course I took where I didn’t fall asleep during class. Before graduation, I was fortunate to hear about the University of Wisconsin-Madison Rehabilitation Psychology Master’s degree program. My college friend said it was the best program in the country for that field. The only thing I understood about the field in the beginning was that it focused on counseling people with disabilities, addressing ambivalence, and assisting clients in their career decision-making journey. I was already considering a move to Madison at the time. So, I did my research and jumped right in. I applied for the program and that was it.
Three years later, I graduated. I’ve spent most of my career in Social Services assisting people with disabilities in job development. While I do some professional motivational speaking and executive coaching, my main focus right now is making as much impact as possible with The Rage Fund.
The Rage Fund is a nonprofit organization that’s on a mission to identify, promote, and implement solutions to foster a more inclusive and diversely-able world. We aim to address persistent problems faced by people with disabilities. One of our initiatives is RAGE4CARE, a public awareness campaign to shine a light on the importance of caregivers.
We also plan to develop an online platform called RAGE4INFO. After we launch, this will be a hub where people can access clear and concise information. We are passionate about developing a site where people can learn how to become a caregiver in their area. We want to eliminate barriers for professionals interested in becoming part of the care economy. The other exciting part of RAGE4INFO is that we will offer streamlined information for people with disabilities who want to educate themselves on what public services are available in different states.
We want to make RAGE a positive lifeforce for change!
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Understand the strengths and limitations of the team. Each team member comes with both!
Make sure every person on the team knows the responsibilities of their own role as well as the responsibilities of each of the other members on the team. I believe it’s important for managers to communicate how each person is uniquely suited for their role. This allows everyone to have an appreciation for their own gifts as well as the gifts of others.
It’s easier to achieve this with a smaller team. Therefore, my secondary advice is to keep the team as small as possible for as long as possible.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
To make sure I’m up on current events as well as news in tech and business, I’m a regular listener to many podcasts (Pivot, the All In podcast, among others). As I’ve gotten older, optimizing my health has become a front and center priority. Huberman Lab is a podcast that, I believe, is a must for everyone. Andrew Huberman is a Stanford-based neuroscientist who does an enormous public service by sharing his wealth of knowledge on how the brain works. In a recent episode, he did a deep dive with legendary music producer, Rick Rubin, on the creative process. I highly recommend it.
But when I think about what and who in the media have been most influential to me, hands down it’s anything with Oprah Winfrey. I’ve been consuming Oprah’s media content my entire life. She has been a consistent voice telling me that my existence in this world is no accident, that it matters, and that I’m here for a purpose. She built a business – and reached billionaire status – by being her authentic self and, in the process, she’s showed us how we can all live our best life.
Growing up, I was fortunate that both of my parents encouraged me to cultivate my gifts and share them with the world. Just like it is for all people, the relationship I have with myself has evolved over time. In my early 20s, I was convinced if I accumulated one degree after another, eventually, employers would be lining up to hire me. That was not my experience.
Rehabilitation Psychology is unique at UW-Madison in that students are required to work for at least one year in the field before entering the PhD program. This forced me to really put myself out there after I got my Master’s. I spent about a year and a half applying and interviewing for jobs before I landed my first position. It was a very challenging time. It made me doubt myself and what I had to offer. But, ultimately it was an important experience for me to go through. I realized I couldn’t hide behind a degree or diploma. That’s not what would make people believe in me – I needed to believe in me first.
At that point, I decided I needed to find my own path. Figuring out how I am uniquely suited to best serve people has always been my goal. This journey has involved a lot of trial and error. In the last five years, I ran for local public office – did not win – started a podcast, met a tremendous amount of amazing people, wrote a book, and founded a nonprofit organization. There have been many ups and downs. Luckily I’ve never been afraid of failure. And I’m sure I will continue to land on my face now and again. It’s inevitable when you’re trying to do big things and live authentically.
Thankfully I can turn on an Oprah podcast or video anytime I need her.
Contact Info:
- Website: jointherage.org
- Instagram: @annagouker
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/annagouker
- Twitter: @annagouker
- Youtube: Anna Gouker
- Other: www.annagouker.com