Jeff Bevis, Co-founder and CEO at FirstLight Home Care addresses challenges that face every business whether they are large or small.

Jeff Bevis, Co-founder and CEO at FirstLight Home Care, talks about challenges facing businesses like FirstLight Home Care today.  Starting a business is a big achievement for many entrepreneurs, but maintaining one is the larger challenge. There are many standard challenges that face every business whether they are large or small. It is not easy running a company, especially in a fast-paced, ever-changing business world. Technology advances, new hiring strategies, and now, political changes coming with the new administration, all add to the existing business challenges that entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives have to deal with.

Maximizing profits, minimizing expenses and finding talented staff to keep things moving seem to be top challenges for both SMBs and large corporations. We have been interviewing companies from around the world to discover what challenges they are facing in their businesses. We also asked each company to share business advice they would give to a younger version of themselves.

What does your company do?

We’re a non-medical home care provider network serving more than 6,100 clients weekly in more than 33 states. Our caregivers provide assistance to many seniors, new mothers, veterans, adults with disabilities — anybody, really, who needs just a little help. We run errands, go shopping, help with bathing and dressing, a little light cleaning, laundry and other tasks that help our clients remain independent. We also offer respite care that gives family members and other loved ones who are primary caregivers a break from the demands of their own caregiving. No matter what the situation, our caregivers strive to give our clients peace of mind and the quality of life they deserve.

What is your role? What do you enjoy most about your role?

As Co-Founder and CEO, I’m responsible for leading our company, overseeing the systems and support for our network and maintaining a culture of care that improves lives and serves others every day, in every market, with every family. Caregiving is a calling. Making someone’s life better, helping them maintain independence, is more than enjoyable; it’s fulfilling. I also get a lot of satisfaction helping our team members realize their dreams of operating their own business. We’ve been listed for each of our first 3 years of eligibility on the INC 5000 list of the fastest-growing privately-held companies in the U.S. as one example of our success.

What are the biggest challenges in your business right now?

As more and more baby boomers retire and life expectancy increases, the demand for our services is growing. By 2050, the U.S. Census Bureau projects the number of Americans age 65 and older will more than double to 83.7 million. According to AARP, nine out of 10 seniors want to age in place instead of living in an assisted living facility or nursing home. Hiring, training, and retaining qualified, compassionate employees is vital to managing that growth. We encourage our entire team at every level to reduce burnout and turnover through flexible scheduling and other programs that enable employees to achieve a healthy work-life balance.

If you could go back in time, what business advice would you give to a younger version of yourself?

Great question. My business advice would be to pursue your dreams even faster, and, if you think you have a better idea or a better way to approach a product or a service, to not second-guess yourself. Go for it! Although my personal experiences as a family caregiver were varied over nearly 40 years and four different caring scenarios, the unique approach of FirstLight Home Care continued to resonate within me for years before founding our services with my son, Devin, and creating our FirstLight Home Care “way” in early 2010.

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