Going Into Business

So D1 has passed the two year point of employment at our public hospital, and is going forward with plans to start her own Dietetics practice. I'm proud she's lasted as long as she has, and am still in wonder that my brother Dr. Barry has been able to. The docs and many of the nurses there are top drawer -- but the bureaucracy is as pathologic as any of the rare diseases they treat. Despite having better financial years than they have in a long while, the staffing is short, and D1 has been asked to do the work of three. It's been a tremendous learning experience, though. Last week she asked me to go with her to check out potential office space. We met with her friend Eli, the husband of a fellow dietitian who does health care consulting. I liked him right away. He's from Canada, and attended medical school to placate his parents, but when it came time to do a residency, he escaped to the world of health care consulting. He's helping D2 get started, and not charging, because he thinks his fiance and D1 might well end up in business together. The space is an examining room in the office of a concierge family doctor in Coral Gables. We were going to meet for a half hour -- and the meeting stretched to an hour and a half. We had many Miami people in common, and all of us bonded immediately. The doc will refer D1 some of his patients, and that much more than makes up for the larger than market square foot price he's asking for the space. I think D1 will fit right in -- the two will be complementary. D1 is putting in, and has put in, a tremendous amount of preparation work, even as she's kept her full time job. She's written patient materials, and forms, and has spread sheets done by her friends who do them for multi million dollar companies. She's negotiating to hire a web marketing team -- apparently these days, you get your clients that way, instead of the old fashioned word of mouth my partner Paul and I used 21 years ago. I reminded her that the majority of small businesses fail in the first few years, and she ought to count that as a possibility. She won't hear of it -- she has big plans for her fledgling company -- branding, tie ins with healthy food, tie ins with corporate training, etc... She has, fortunately, an angel investor, and the guy already loaned seed money, and is now getting ready to provide the second round of funding. When it comes to venture capital, the terms are usually best when you're dealing with the Bank of Dad. So now things are running at full speed. After she signs her lease (the doc had originally wanted only month to month, but after meeting D1 is willing to go to a full year), she'll have our fine handyman, Nestor, do the small construction the space needs -- removing a medical sink, and replacing some floor tiles. She'll paint, and get some modest office furniture, and then have a soft opening, and a real one after the year turns. She figures post holidays is a great time for people to want to try to get healthier. I'm already immensely proud of D1 for the person she is -- a loving and loyal daughter and friend and dog mommy. She is always charitable, and is the connector -- puts people together, and they do better than they did before. Everyone I know at her job always sings her praises. And now she's focusing that all into her own career... So Wifey and I look forward to helping her, as she asks us. When my partner and I started, 21 years ago, we pledged to do whatever it takes to succeed. We were so blessed. I see the same in D1, and wish her the same, but maybe with a bit less alcohol...