Bringing Happiness to Home Healthcare

Growing up on the island of St. Kitts, Dahlia drew inspiration for how she wanted to shape her life from her parents. Her father was a businessman and built houses. He would come home from work and lay fresh blueprints out on the table for her to see, and she was inspired by what her father could create independently with his own hands. She knew from then that she wanted to be like her father and own her own business.

When Dahlia was very young, her mother passed away. This early experience left a strong impression, leading Dahlia to pursue nursing to care for others in the same way that she saw her mother being cared for and supported.  She was especially drawn to care for the elderly and those with few financial resources.

Her father and her mother represented what she most wanted from life: to find her way as a business owner and care for others. When Dahlia moved to America, she worked as a nurse in her local emergency department. She could always tell the difference between those that had family that cared for them and those that didn’t. For those that had no support, she always took the extra step to try and make them laugh or smile. She knew that kindness was a big part of the healing process. She also saw that not all patients could get the care they needed due to their financial situations. She knew that she wanted to change that and create an environment where her patients could feel loved and cared for no matter their situation. “When I see people come in with no family members, I try to take extra care of them. I know that to make them laugh or smile can ease pain and make them feel cared for.”

A BLUEPRINT FOR A BUSINESS

In 2019 Dahlia decided to start a home healthcare agency. It was something she had wanted for 10 years, but with working as a nurse and raising a family she knew she couldn’t handle all three. In 2019 her kids were old enough that she could shift to focusing on her job as a nurse and building up her business, but she always had a goal of transitioning to her business full time one day. Her home healthcare agency offers everything from bathing, grocery shopping, house cleaning, medication, meal preparation – anything the patient can’t do for themselves. “I love my patients and I love talking to them and caring for them. I love lifting their spirits and making a difference in their lives.” Since she also knows that not every family can afford to pay the same prices, she works with families to make her services affordable so that she never has to turn her care away no matter the financial situation.

Dahlia had a goal of having five clients, and she did not have a hard time finding clients in her network. She loved her job as a nurse, and she had built strong relationships wherever she worked. She always got calls about her old patients saying how she had made a difference in their lives. She was just starting to build a successful client base when the pandemic hit. In 2020, less than a year after starting, Dahlia’s business took a hard hit. Clients who signed up to be under her care suddenly dropped out. They didn’t want strangers in their homes with the uncertainty of a new disease. Family members were also staying home and were more able to care for their loved ones. Dahlia didn’t know if her business would survive, and she was unable to generate revenue. “It is hard to be a Black entrepreneur. There aren’t many of us, and there aren’t as many resources available to us. I had to learn to persevere.”

STEPPING OUT OF HER COMFORT ZONE

Dahlia turned to Ascendus and took out a $10,000 loan thanks to funding made possible by the Grow with Google fund. She knew she had to expand her reach and couldn’t rely only on her network for clients anymore. She used the loan towards online and print advertisements, marketing, working credit, and payroll. She had two dedicated employees, and she wanted to be able to provide them the salaries they deserved with or without clients. Dahlia kept pushing, and although she didn’t reach her goal of five clients in 2020, by 2021 she did. Dahlia credits the success of gaining clients through her online advertisements. “My experience with Ascendus was great. My loan consultant and everyone I interacted with was excellent. I would recommend their services to anyone.”

Today, Dahlia has plans of expanding her home healthcare agency and gaining 8 additional clients. She has still been getting leads from online advertisements, and she has been able to hire more staff. More importantly, due to the success of her business Dahlia will be able to transition out of frontline nursing before the end of the year.

To learn more about Dahlia, visit http://www.dahliashomehealthcare.com/