From Nurse to CEO: How One Single Mom Built Her Dream Home Care Agency. Kara Thompson worked 12 years, long shifts as a registered nurse, providing for her 2 children as a single parent. Between juggling soccer practice pickups and missing school plays due to mandatory overtime, she often found herself wondering if there was a better way. “I’d watch my supervisors make decisions about patient care when they hadn’t touched a patient in years,” Kara recalls, “and I knew in my heart I could do better.” what makes them more qualified to run this show than me?”.
The answer was simple: nothing. The only difference was they had taken the leap into business ownership, while she had stayed in her comfort zone. “I realized my bosses weren’t smarter than me they had just been brave enough to try,” Kara explains, a sense of empowerment in her voice. With her nursing experience and genuine passion for patient care, Kara knew she had the foundation to create something special. She decided to take the leap once she learned that starting a home care agency was easier than she thought she could do. I just needed the right direction and encouragement to make my dream a success”, she explains. “Once I found that, everything fell into place.”
Today Kara runs a successful home care agency with more than 30 staff. More importantly, she’s finally achieved the work-life balance she always craved. “I made it to every one of my daughter’s volleyball games this season,” she beams. We’ve just moved into our dream house something I never imagined would be able to have on a nursing paycheck. Her advice to other healthcare workers considering entrepreneurship? “Stop thinking your supervisors have something you don’t. If you understand patient care and have compassion, you’re already halfway there. The rest is really just finding the right support network to navigate the business of the business. With the right team behind you, anyone can do this.”.
Looking back, Kara’s only regret is not starting sooner. “I wasted years thinking I wasn’t ready or qualified enough,” she admits. The reality is, though, all I needed was somebody to guide me through it. I’m building wealth for my family, and I’m making a real impact in my neighborhood. If you’re considering launching your own agency, don’t procrastinate like I did. The only thing standing between you and success is taking that first step.”. Visit StartAHomeCare.com to see how you can walk as Kara did.