We recently connected with Deb Hughes and have shared our conversation below.

Deb, appreciate you joining us today. We believe kindness is contagious and so we’d love for you to share with us and our audience about the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Relative to my business, I believe the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me was nothing less of a miracle. The business was about to be bankrupt because a 3rd party completely ripped me off, and literally all the money was going to them, not having any monies to pay rent, payroll, etc. They were NOT billing correctly, and we were NOT getting any income at all. A friend stated she knew someone who was a biller and might be able to help. I reached out to this biller – who heard the background of how bad off the business was – and she stated she would come in and see what she could do to recover as much money as she could without charging us. Within the very first payment recovered was $100 shy of $10,000. This was HOPE. This small token of generosity allowed the company to continue moving forward, slowly, but still moving forward to remain open and provide services for these children.

This was extremely meaningful because it wasn’t about me, it was about these children. They need these services, and if I had to close the doors, there would be no place for them to go due to very long waiting lists in this area. So for Laura, the biller, to come in and find monies so I could continue pushing forward, allowed these children to continue receiving services that are necessary to have a better quality of life. This selfless act will forever impact my heart because each day I see these children walk through the door – I know it is because of Laura that this is possible.

No words will ever accurately describe the gratitude I have for Laura helping us make it to where the doors could remain open. PRICELESS!

Deb, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Buford Kids’ SPOT was created to provide an amazing environment for children to receive speech and occupational therapy (soon to include physical). This company was created because as a parent of a medically complex child and everything it takes to provide him with the best therapists, providers, etc – I knew I wanted to make a difference in the community so other families could find the best caring and genuine therapists to have in their journey. This life is very difficult, and to find the best is even more difficult; so I created an environment that consists of those that have pure passion and desire to help these children be the best they can be.

We set ourselves apart from other pediatric outpatient clinics by providing information on varies insurance options, waivers, grants, and other great providers within the community and surrounding areas. As a parent that is living the same struggles day in and day out as many of the parents; I am able to help them where they are, where they are able to get more resources, and provide that emotional support with understanding. We are not just a “run of the mill” place not caring about outside of our office. I am able to help with almost every aspect vs. just the st/ot therapies.

What I am most proud of is staying the course. Owning a business while raising my own medically fragile child is very time consuming and difficult in so many aspects; but just waking up each day remembering “my why” is what keeps me moving and learning how to get better. To be able to provide the path to resources parents have never heard of is incredibly rewarding in itself. Every resource, every dollar saved, every second of help – gives these families a better quality of life all around. When they have questions, they know I will help them find the right person/resource that won’t just leave them out to dry. Staying the course and not giving up on the hard days is what I am most proud of! I have to for each and every family.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

As I previously mentioned, my business was 1 day from filing bankruptcy – literally. I had no money coming in, I had my business credit card completely maxed out, I had drained every saving/checking account I personally owned – there was NO MONEY. I had rent, payroll, and overhead expenses that I literally had zero money for.

Had it not been for Laura coming in at that last second of the last day – my doors would have closed forever. She gave her time generously to find and recoup monies that were never billed out, billed out incorrectly, or just should never have been billed because services should have never been rendered due to no prior authorizations; yet the 3rd party vendor was telling us we were allowed to provide these services. Laura was able to find that the 3rd party vendor incorrectly enrolled us, gave us bogus information about what we were allowed to do relative to providing the services, and how they were completely taking every cent for them vs. trying to get us monies.

Needless to say, Laura is my permanent biller and business is growing vs. dying.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I honestly believe the best thing that helped build our reputation is building that rapport with the families, daycares, and pediatricians. The word of mouth is the best advertising and because I hire genuine, caring, great therapists – families are telling their friends and pediatricians about services they are receiving; therefore, the rapport within the entire community has been crucial.

We put the needs of these children first, and it is proven by the word of mouth recommendations we are receiving. We have pediatricians that tell me that we are the first clinic they refer out to because they know we will make sure the child will be in great hands and will not be left behind.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.BufordKidsSpot.com