We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lakesha Hairston, MSN BSN RN a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Lakesha, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
As I have been in healthcare for a few decades, it has become my life and education has been a huge component of my continued growth. I believe it is important to perform with high regard. Reflecting on my upbringing, education was not hugely promoted or encouraged and due to such, each milestone in my life has been of my choice with decisions to empower myself. It became evident to me that there are so many individuals who are lost due to the lack of understanding, lack of resources or even the inability to empower themselves. Therefore, and because I value education, it became the backstory behind my business mission, “To empower our students through education and training, leading them to awaken their purpose.”
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?
I am a master’s prepared registered nurse. My introduction to healthcare began as a home care assistant when I was 16 years old. At that age, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I was just sailing as a sailboat does until I one day realized I actually enjoyed healthcare. I enjoyed spending time with my clients and found the impact I had on their lives was gratifying. I was really enjoying healthcare, so I enrolled in a community college in my hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana. I earned an associate degree as a medical assistant then onward to nursing school. I became a registered nurse in 2008. Calculating that, I have now been a registered nurse for over 14 years. As I embraced the profession, I was learning and experiencing a lot. I set goals for myself ensuring to not become complacent. I sought out higher education, earning a bachelor’s in 2012 and then a master’s in nursing in 2013. I was soaking it all in while growing personally and professionally, but let me tell you, I have lived, witnessed, and experienced the good, bad, and ugly sides of nursing. I reached a point where I allowed the politics of healthcare to become one of my stressors. I was burning out. I was losing my love and passion for nursing and the healthcare profession. While knowing I had options, I was afraid of even the thought of having to switch gears. With what little bit of passion and love I had remaining, I pivoted. I decided to serve my talents as a virtuous leader and educator on a silver platter in my own way and on my own terms. I jumped all in, headfirst. I began doing the work needed to reach my goal. By August 2020, I became the proud founding owner of Choezen Careers and Healthcare Training (CCHT), offering short-term entry-level healthcare education and training. Just as a heads up, I love using the plural possessive pronouns when appropriate as I speak of the business because me and CCHT are in this together as a team. So, with that, our current programs and trainings include Nurse Aide, Phlebotomy Technician, IV Certification, Basic Life Support (BLS) CPR, Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), BLS and ACLS Instructor training, and a few nursing skill-practice options. The problem we are solving for clients/students is providing an alternative to lengthy educational training. Our programs can be completed in as short as 4 – 10 weeks allowing for the eligibility for either state or national certifications and job readiness.
What do you think sets you apart from others?
What sets me apart from others is my personal and professional journey of gained experiences. They are unique and are of my own. I’m able to provide an adaptive learning environment and not only that, but also do my best to instill positivity. I hold my students accountable while encouraging and motivating them to hold themselves accountable as well. And speaking of which, I wrote my first book late spring this year, “ACCOUNTABILITY: IT’S A WAY OF LIFE! Discover A New Beginning With Self-Ownership” which provides clarity in the concept of accountability. I have actually gifted a couple of my students with the book. I want each of my students to win. In finalizing the question of what sets me apart from others, being in tune with myself and never forgetting I was once where my students are. Therefore, at CCHT we create a welcoming, personable, and relatable training environment.
What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential clients to know about you, your brand and your work?
What am I most proud of? Oh goodness, I am proud of so many things both personally and professionally. Gosh, I’ll just share a few. I am proud that I had the perseverance to withstand and overcome the challenges and obstacles I faced on my journey to building CCHT. I am proud to be a small business owner who is positively impacting the lives of so many people using an educational platform. I am proud of the support and encouragement I receive from both of my grown sons, Jenaqua and Adrien. And finally, I am proud that I will be able to leave a legacy for my two GBabies (grandbabies), Jenaqi and Evie.
Now, what I would want students and clients to know is that I pour my heart into the business and my vision for Choezen Careers and Healthcare Training is to be an integral contributor to the community. I want my students to win. I want them to find their way by utilizing our education and training platform as their chosen anchor. Bottom line, I want us all to be the best version of ourselves.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Well, first off, when a person decides to go from just having an idea or concept to becoming a business owner or entrepreneur, there are a lot of unknown moving parts. Being a business owner/entrepreneur is not for the faint at heart and regardless of the type of business, a high degree of resiliency is a must. So, with that being said, my business is service-oriented. Starting out was not too bad until I realized COVID was not going away. I needed clinical contracts. Doors were literally closed. I needed a location. Doors were literally closed. It took approximately 5 – 6 months to receive my first clinical contract and to find a suitable location. With my location, I had several issues with getting my suite inspection ready. Particularly, it was the fire inspection that I had trouble passing due to fire exit signs not luminating. In addition to that, my laptop crashed and I lost almost everything. I literally spent almost two weeks, from sunup to sundown redeveloping documents. I was literally sick to my stomach. For a period of almost six months, things just were not in my favor……at all. I felt like giving up. I asked myself on several occasions, “Why am I even doing this? Is this stress worth the heartache?” I had to come to a complete halt and remind myself that my “why” was my purpose. Gosh, even thinking back to that period kind of sickens me but it has made me more resilient than ever. I’m still learning as a business owner but my “why” keeps me going.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
As my business, Choezen Careers and Healthcare Training is a service-oriented business, student enrollments coupled with program satisfaction are a huge part of the success of the school. The best source of new clients/students has been social media, word of mouth, and google. With that, there are variables that include interest or demand, the affordability and convenience of the programs being offered. Because I have identified key variables, I am making certain to utilize data from analytic reports, inquiries, student’s post program completion surveys, and the insight and services of business experts to help with planning and developing required business growth and sustainability strategies.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://choezencareerstraining.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/choezencareerstraining/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/choezentraining/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/choezen-careers-and-healthcare-training/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/choezen-careers-and-healthcare-training-san-antonio
Image Credits
Carynn Gonzales of Cargo Photography and William Hairston Jr. of Black Visionz Media