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

Desi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

Starting a business is no easy feat. And while I was often advised that starting a successful business would be the hardest thing that I ever did, I had participated on the show Survivor and competed at both Miss USA and Miss America, so I thought to myself….how hard could it be?
Well, it turns out all of those cautionary tales were correct. Starting a business has stretched and challenged me in ways I never could have imagined and continues to force me to learn and grow daily. I have made several expensive mistakes along the way.
In addition, Home Health Care is uniquely challenging because it requires participation in several state-run and federally-run programs, meaning that many of the processes move more slowly than they might in the typical business world. As a person who likes efficiency, getting things done quickly is not always within my control.
If I were to start over again, I would have sought out mentorship much earlier in the process. As with most businesses, there are just so many unexpected potential details, offerings, options, etc. Even worse, there’s just so much that you wouldn’t know that you don’t know without the wisdom of someone more experienced. Also, I wish I had started with more working capital. There were many times when money was tight, and it would have eliminated a lot of stress to have had more cash to work with.

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.

As both a creative AND and entrepreneur, I have my hands in several different baskets. On the creative side, I work as a Television Host and Reality TV personality. However, professionally, I am a Doctor of Physical Therapy. Like many Americans, I started to feel like the healthcare industry was failing those who needed care the most.
I spent years working as a physical therapist for other agencies and became increasingly frustrated with what I saw as a lack of a continuum of care for patients, particularly our vulnerable elderly patients. I was working for Home Health agencies who would discharge patients because insurance reimbursement had become too low, leaving patients to fend for themselves. Often, that led to really sad outcomes for elderly patients who just didn’t have the resources to get better on their own.

So I made the decision to start A Plus Care as a way to bridge the gap for these patients. At A Plus Care, we are a Home Health Agency; however, unlike many of our competitors, we offer an accessible options for our patients after insurance will no longer cover their Home Health services; we also offer Mobile Outpatient Therapy. This means that those patients who don’t have the resources to go to an traditional Outpatient Therapy Clinic can continue to receive the next level of care at home AND have it covered by their insurance! We truly believe we have created a model that allows patients to actually get better in the safety and comfort of their own homes!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

A friend and entrepreneur recommended I read “The E-Myth” about a year and a half ago. As someone who was new to business, I really value the way the author helped me create frameworks around the business. For a business to grow, it has to be scalable and the daily processes have to be repeatable with the least margin of error possible. We have implemented many concepts from the E-Myth that I truly feel have transformed our business for the better over the past year.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

In a healthcare-related industry, attention to detail cannot be underestimated. Because we are delicately balancing insurance requirements and our patients’ health, the details of what we say, do, document, etc. really matter.
Next, we have seen the most growth through client referrals alone so ensuring our patients have a good client experience is also critical, so it is also important to be an effective communicator and to genuinely care about the people we are impacting.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.apluscarela.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apluscarela
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apluscarela/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a-plus-care/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@apluscarela
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/a-plus-care-la-los-angeles-7

Image Credits

Jaxon Photo Group (for my photo headshot)