LAEDA: Entrepreneurship is a very challenging path to take with many different possible directions. What made you decide to become an entrepreneur?

Learning never stopped me. I wanted to seek more from formal education to on the job discoveries and knowing enough about things that excite me. I have identified one of the reasons for me and that is to learn about the elderly population. The best reason to start an organization is to make meaning and to create a product or service that will make the world a better place. I believe everyone builds their own project in order to enhance their abilities. I am good at discovering needs and satisfying them to the benefit of those that I work with and myself. I wanted to become an entrepreneur and I realized in order to do that I just had to take the chance and go for it.

LAEDA: Why did you choose your industry?

As a social worker and twenty years of experience working with mental health, homeless veterans, intellectual disability children, adults, juvenile delinquent and the elderly population is my inspiration for choosing the industry that I chose. My goal is to help and improve the lives of individuals in need of help and support.

LAEDA: Tell me about your experience while attending EDTP. What have the major takeaways been from the program? Have you had any “Ah-ha!” moments? How did the program help you?

It was a learning progress, the instructors were really knowledgeable on different topics and they understood the different businesses that were presented in class. As for my “Ah-ha” moment was that I wanted to know everything that I possibly could and for that I kept asking about my business and the New Jersey Industry. For me it was the business plan; I had a business plan that was missing a lot of information. This program helped me build my business plan to the best of my ability and I learned the keys to success to building a homecare registry, which included responsive personal homecare, on the call availability, reliable caregivers and a responsible manageable team. Along with that I also learned the essentials of marketing, location, and license procedure. These were all parts of a business plan and learning all the skills and steps to succeed.

LAEDA: Tell me about your journey on the road to business start-up. What have been some of the challenges, successes, failures, etc.?

I needed to learn how to be patient and not to expect overnight results. It takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice. Many challenges were building good credit, start-up costs, competition, location and financial considerations. One of the major reasons homecare business fell is because of lack of working capital for a startup. Many initial costs included licensing, expenses, administrative work, and expense of staff providing care. This is a business that can be really difficult and full of risk as you work with the elderly, family dynamics, personalities, and unexpected health outcomes. After servicing as a primary caregiver to my father who expired from Alzheimer’s, I promised that I would do whatever I could to help others of premier homecare services tailored to their needs. Studies show that homecare is more effective then treatment received at nursing homes and hospitals. I want my consumers to be left knowing they can receive affordable custom care without leaving their homes. I believe in God and prayer and I thank God for blessing me with a supportive husband and guiding me in the right path.

LAEDA: Could you tell me a little about where your business is today?

Right now I am preparing and planning for the next steps. It is a work in progress and I plan to open in January 2018. All the things that I learned in the Entrepreneurial Development Training Program (EDTP) had opened my eyes to take the appropriate path to get my business up and running.

LAEDA: Do you have any advice for future (or existing) entrepreneurs?

Whether you are a new entrepreneur or have an existing business that EDTP was amazing and you will learn a lot. Ask many questions, don’t think that you know everything, take advice from professionals that have been in the business for years, and don’t be afraid of failure. If you are afraid of public speaking then take a course and or practice in front of family and friends. This is so important because you have to sell your product or service. Do your research and make sure you have a passion to believe in what you want to do if you want to be successful.

Congratulations to Carol Molletta Abdullah for completing EDTP and recommitting to her journey on the path of entrepreneurship. Expertise Home Healthcare LLC offers mobile non-medical homecare providing 24 hours 7 days a week services including hospice care, activities of daily living, personal hygiene, little house keeping, meal preparation, assistance with laundry, companionship and much more. Expertise Home Health LLC will be serving New Jersey. For more information, call 856-872-7515 and or email expertisehomeheathcare@gmail.com

The Entrepreneurial Development Training Program (EDTP) is a free, nine-week business skills training course offered in Camden, NJ in the Winter Spring and Fall each year. Qualified entrepreneurs receive 72+ hours of training from industry professionals, business planning, and one year of technical assistance. Apply online at www.LAEDA.com