Hi everyone, Jenna Sykes here. This week I had the honor of guest hosting Bold Ventures Radio.
We had Darryl Payne as our first guest. Darryl is the founder and President of North Georgia's own Hometown Home Health, a durable medical equipment company. Hometown Home Health provides people with needs for home-bound medical treatment with equipment such as hospital beds, wheelchairs, and home oxygen. With an increase in obesity in America, sleep apnea has become a widespread problem that Darryl's company sees every day. On a broader level, the issues of reimbursement from companies like Medicare and poor leadership in Washington has made being in the health care industry quite challenging. His insights on what needs to change- from consumer confidence to what YOU can do right NOW to help- Darryl and his company, Hometown Home Health, are leaders in surviving the current economic and political climates.
Interview Highlights:
11 Years straight of solid growth and debt-free
New reimbursement guidelines from insurance companies are consistently disheartening
My Favorite Sound Bite:
"Oxygen is one of the largest products that we do- it is certainly one of the greatest expenses on the medical equipment side for Medicare- and it continues to get cut. It’s cut so much now that I’m afraid the consumers are going to be in to experience less favorable results in their home setting. They get home, they have this piece of equipment, it may or may not be working properly, it hasn’t been serviced in six months, and patients end up going to the hospital just for a simple medical equipment issue. They spend one night in the hospital and that basically costs more than a year of good service."
Speed Bio:
Age: 48
Hometown: Decatur, GA
College: Georgia State University
Degree: Respiratory Therapy
Most Admired Business leader: Truett Cathy
Passions/Hobbies: Guitar and gardening
Lemonade stand/Other entrepreneurial endeavor? None other than a landscaping company as a child... and selling fishing worms
Our Second interview this week was with Stuart Dunkin, founder and CEO of Data Profits. Data Profits is a supply chain planning and solution firm for the retail/wholesale market. Their services include replenishment, forecasting of business, analyzing the business environment for customers while helping them understand what products are doing well, what products are not doing well, how much they need to buy, and how much goes on the shelf. What makes Data Profits different is that it provides "unified" forecasting of replenishment and sales. They provide the ONLY market trend indicator out there. This company, lead by Stuart, is redefining the retail industry.
Interview Highlights:
Stuart built his first computer in 1978
His highly competitive football past helped shape his business mentality today
What’s the biggest challenge for your industry: Online communication and time management... and choosing a good place for lunch
Advise for aspiring entrepreneurs: 1. Have an exit strategy 2. Have a good advisory group 3. Be honest with yourself 4. Have fun
My Favorite Sound Bite:
What would you say drives you personally as an entrepreneur: “The checkbook. (Laughs) The real story is, the idea that if I can make money for my customers, that’s a good thing. If I can help my customers be more efficient, more profitable, then they can in turn hire more people. And we’ve seen that with some of our customers already. If they can be more successful, they can put more people on the map, I think that’s a good thing. I think money sometimes has a negative connotation and it really doesn’t need to be. So what drives me is the idea of: Can I help my customers make money?”
Speed Bio:
Hometown: Germantown, Tenn.
College/Grad school: Third generation Auburn grad, Emory Grad school
Degrees: Majored in Football and Women (Mechanical Engineering) and later got a Masters of Divinity and Masters of Business Administration
Use degrees? Yes
Sibling/Only Child: Younger Brother (Tennis Pro) and Older Sister (Entrepreneur)
Mentor/Most Admired Business Leader: His advisory group
Lemonade stand/Other entrepreneurial endeavor: Played in a band and Comedy nightclub magic in college
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