Today we’d like to introduce you to Chariese McCoy.
Hi Chariese, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
My journey came to me as a question. At the age of 15, I was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, Osteosarcoma of my right arm. After receiving chemo treatments, surgeries, and being very ill, I was asked a question. And the question was what are you going to do with yourself after going through all of this? My immediate response was I am going to be a nurse. After being healed I completed my GED and became pregnant at the age of 17. I then participated in a program to obtain a certification as a Certified Nursing Assistant.
I worked as a nursing assistant for over 27 yrs and in between tried to go to school to become a registered nurse, by this time I had a second child and it became very difficult for me to focus on my studies and raise two sons at the same time as a single mom. I continued to work in the medical field as a nursing assistant and went on to obtain training in the field of Hospice and Palliative care for over 10 of the 27 years.
I felt that was where I needed to be because of my life journey with a terminal illness, I knew I needed to take care of others who just needed to see a smiling face to assure them that everything would be fine. After 10 years I decided to branch out and start my own private home care agency. I did so by taking a leap of faith and hoping things would turn out fine. I worked so hard to build a brand for myself and allow my gifts to be shared with others. I had my third child and continue to live out the mission of helping others who needed care, and help with the quality of life.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
No! I have learned that being a business owner is a very hard assignment. I went in knowing just the basics and obtaining information from others that really did not know themselves. My first struggle was to understand finances. I did not know it would take money and good credit to get the business to grow. I heard the saying “It takes money to make money” I really believe that is true. Even with that, I did not give up, I continued to push. Next, creating a good strong team.
I am very picky of who I allow to be apart of the team. My area of helping others requires a special kind of person, and in this field of work if you show up it’s a guaranteed paycheck and that is not what I m looking for in a team member, so obtaining great caregivers is very hard to find. I will say I have learned to be accountable of the things I have done wrong and I am to this day trying to make them right so that the company can continue to grow.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We are a private home care agency. We specialize in helping our clients with everyday living activities, such as bathing, grooming, medication reminders, errands, light meal preparation, sitter services, respite care. We service senior citizens, disable clients, Vets, and Hospice clients. We also provide services through the elderly waiver program which is CCSP and SOURCE
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Yes! Find you a mentor. This can not be done alone. You will need someone who is willing to help you and also keep you accountable.
Pricing:
- $21
- $22
- $23
- $24
- $25
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.yourchoicepahomecare.com
- Instagram: http://www.yourchoicepahomecare.com
- Facebook: m.me/yourchoicePAH
