Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rico Andrews. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Rico thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?
Seeing my parents work hard is what impacted me the most in my life and career. It made it clear to me that hard work separates you from the pack. Balancing careers and a family is no easy task, but discipline and hard work makes everything manageable and the rewards are well worth it! I can’t think of a time that my parents called in sick for work. I’m sure they probably did at some point, but it wasn’t a common thing. I’ve been working since I was 13 and I think that had a huge impact on the way that I see work. My family and I represent our brand and that brand is extremely important to me. My wife and I instill this into our children. We never put a monetary value on the things that we do or the lifestyle that we live, but we accredit everything that have and are able to do to hard work.
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 back background and context?
After college I went into the logistics and supply chain management field. The hours were long, but the work was rewarding. After a few years, I noticed that although my wife was working just as hard as I was she didn’t seem as burned out as I sometimes felt. She’s a pediatric nurse practitioner and routinely had stories of the families that she had helped and the smiles that she had put on the faces of children. I wanted to feel like that after work! After the death of my grandmother I started hearing more and more about in-home senior care. After researching this industry for a couple of years while continuously hearing that 10,000 people turn 65 every day in the United States, I knew I had to get into the senior care industry. Eventually, this led me to purchasing territories in Memphis, TN and becoming a franchisee with Always Best Care in 2014. For over 10 years, we’ve provided opportunities for seniors to “age in place” in their homes in a safe way with a reliable staff of professional caregivers. We have grown to one become one of the leading home care providers in the Memphis and have provided employment and a source of pride for hundreds of caring people in the communities that we serve! Our work is an important part of the continuum of care for seniors in Memphis and the surrounding areas.
Can you talk to us about your experience with buying businesses?
In 2023, I purchases a non emergency medical transportation (NEMT) company. After successfully operating a home care company for a decade, I saw a growing need in a complimentary business. Although we don’t transport any of our home care clients, we transport thousands of others across the state of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. In under a year, my team and I have doubled the size of the operation and are still growing. The acquisition process was extremely detailed, but not overly complex. I make it a priority to keep good books and records and that came in handy when it was time to speak with my bankers about putting a deal together. I was given a list of all of the information that was needed on my end and had to deliver it to my bankers and attorneys. I let the experts take it from there so that I could take a step back and watch the process to make sure that everyone on my team was working on my behalf and at their best. That and doing my due diligence was the hard part.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Honesty. One of my mentors early in my career advised me to never over promise and under deliver. I’ve always made that a priority and preached that to my staff. I’d much rather over deliver on our services.
Contact Info:
- Website: www. abcmemphis.com
- Instagram: @abcmemphistn
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abcmemphis
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rico-andrews-mba-10835627/
