Overcoming Challenges: The Entrepreneurial Path of Janet Elkin Navigating Hiring Challenges in Healthcare Staffing

[00:00:00] I will always be grateful to it because it gave me, since it was direct hire recruiting, gave me a great thing of like work ethic, how you had to talk to a candidate, you're changing their life.

[00:00:10] You need to ask the next question, but it was just, it was, it was weird. It was just a switch off. They would come in the morning for morning meetings and say, and the owner would say,

[00:00:22] I only slept three hours last night. What about you guys? It was like, I only slept two. And I thought again, another thing I filed away, maybe not the way I'd want to be about.

[00:00:33] All right. I want to talk to you for a moment about retaining and developing your workforce is hard. Recruiting is hard. Retaining top employees is hard. Then you've got onboarding, payroll, benefits, time in labor management.

[00:00:46] You need to take care of your workforce and you can only do this successfully if you commit to transforming your employee experience. This is where I solve comes in. They empower you to be successful.

[00:00:58] We've seen it with a number of companies that we've worked with, and this is why we partner with them here at work defined. We trust them and you should too. Check them out at I solved hcm.com. This is our executive interview podcast.

[00:01:22] And so what we do is we get people that are in the C suite and we talk to them, interview them and kind of find out not only what they're doing currently,

[00:01:30] but what they've kind of their journey, how they got there because Ryan and I are kind of curious beings about how people get to a place.

[00:01:38] And it's never what you think. I think we grew up with this idea. You go to Exeter, Princeton, Harvard, you know, blah, blah, blah.

[00:01:45] None of that. I mean, we haven't had that happen. I'm sure that does happen, but we haven't had that happen so far in the show.

[00:01:51] So Janet, would you do us a favor? First of all, introduce yourself and tell us about a little bit about your job, your current position.

[00:02:00] So I'm Janet Elkin. I'm CEO of I am an enterprises, which is comprised of three different divisions and two different companies that I bought were in healthcare staffing. We place physicians nurse practitioners dentists.

[00:02:15] And now allied health professionals as well like physical occupational speech therapy. So we run the gamut. And all the people that scare me. All the people that scare me. I saw the look you gave her when you said dentist, I saw the look.

[00:02:35] Which one did you start and which ones did you acquire? Just out of curiosity. Well, I acquired the two companies. One that's anesthesia. Oh yeah.

[00:02:46] That's very big right now and here and a's and then the one that does icon medical network, which does physicians and nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

[00:02:56] And then we started on our own many ventures, which is allied health professionals something that I did for many, many years and thought there's not enough going on. I'm just going to start another division. Totally. Yeah, yeah. Too much for John.

[00:03:10] So, I got that right if I did the timeline you started with nurses nursing staffing. Yeah, which is huge in and of itself. You could have stopped there. And it's huge through and enough stories to tell at many cocktail parties for the rest of my life.

[00:03:31] Did you do traveling nurses traveling local store when I start I had had other careers before this but we had a lot of people that were doing that.

[00:03:38] And I had had a lot of careers before this but when I started staffing, I would drive to supermarket at 10 o'clock at night to meet a nurses ex mother-in-law to give her the check for the nurse.

[00:03:49] Because sometimes our nurses are wonderful people but they're not always the best at managing their money. So 100% 100% a lot of stories there. A lot of stories there. So, Ryan, when you want to go backwards. You got any questions about where we are currently.

[00:04:04] Let's rewind a bit and go back in time. And I'm sure you grew up thinking you wanted to run staffing and hire nurses and find nurses for a living. Where did this journey start and kind of maybe walk us through the beginning.

[00:04:22] And a lot of people that watch the show and that listen to the show, they're on their own journey.

[00:04:28] So they may not be in staffing. They may be in staffing, but they're on their own journey to to rise somewhere, whether it's in their own in their own firm that they're beginning or in a corporate somewhere out there in the big world.

[00:04:45] So give us a little insight to what got you motivated to get started was always something you knew you wanted to do.

[00:04:54] It wasn't healthcare it was just I wanted to do something extraordinary I grew up in the Bronx in a very middle class background with strong work ethic from my parents and it's interesting because when I was a teenager I did magic for kids birthday parties and one of the folks that I got to know really well was David Copperfield.

[00:05:14] He was just a nice little boy from New Jersey just just random. As I always say, he became like a multi billionaire and I went into staffing. The road less traveled. My mother always told me you could have gone anywhere but you chose Temple University.

[00:05:33] 100% staffing among among the same age. I got to get back to the birthdays and the balloons that no point worry or we in a clown uniform correct. No, oh God. No, no, but I was in. And tight. Yeah, but I was 15 so okay.

[00:05:53] But that was there's rules to get sent now. So how do you get the rabbit out of the hat? That's what I want to know. I mean like becoming CEO and acquiring companies totally cool. No, just never reveal. They don't reveal.

[00:06:10] Right, because here's the thing. There's only like seven principles in magic. Once you know how a trick is done. Yeah, it's no big deal really right? It's not so but they don't tell right that they this is one of the hell you two tells you two tells.

[00:06:26] Yeah, but they they they're not they're found upon my husband and I have been married now for many years and we were dating. He said, will you at what point will you tell me how the tricks and I'm like, we get married if you dated forever.

[00:06:40] Then we got married. And he's like not long enough five years, 10 years, 18 years. He's still waiting, but it's really better not to know. And you want to take a little magic about 100% 100%

[00:06:52] Did you what did you want to be when I look at that 15 year old is a great example. What did you want to be when you're 15? What was the bit? I wanted to be a psychologist, which is interesting because that is actually now part of my job.

[00:07:08] Managing people managing candidates. That's all psychology. Good God. Any particular flavor of psychology like family or this or that child psychology, I think, and then and then what happened was it was funny.

[00:07:25] I went to college, I had worked, you know, temp work you do over the summer right at one of brothers and I was like business. This is cool. Okay. And so kind of morphed into that took a couple of communication classes and ended up going that route.

[00:07:42] But but I will say the psychology degree did serve me well. 100%. Oh my God. 100% Yeah. That's a degree that always carries forth. I think so. Yeah. Oh yeah. That's a degree you always use.

[00:07:56] That's that's like everybody always, you know, people that say have a philosophy degree or an art degree. Those are the most interesting people and they stand. I feel like they go much further in life. Yeah.

[00:08:09] And most people that I know that have a business degree or an engineering degree. Opportunity right. Yeah. You should be. Yeah. I mean, it's just, again, the humanities give me a person that's had a humanities degree anytime.

[00:08:28] Because you can teach them all the other stuff that you can teach them to be curious and understand right. Things like that. So, I agree. What was the so first of all, where'd you go school? Syracuse University.

[00:08:41] Oh, the orange one. Not doing so great right now, but yeah, no, no, no, but one of the best communications programs in the country.

[00:08:50] I was in I had a dual degree. I was in new house school communications and the psychology arts and sciences. So it was a lot of fun. Oh my goodness. A lot of the, a lot of the people that go to ESPN come from Syracuse.

[00:09:02] It's they that's where that's where they pluck a lot of the talent from. So good for you. Great, great, great school. I actually went into advertising it for many years after that.

[00:09:12] Oh, God bless you do tell because I have a little bit of that background myself. So what was the first gig after college post college?

[00:09:20] Well, for two months, because this is a long time ago when it was really hard for a woman when you got out of college, it was like, secretary. I'm like, no, I'm not going to. I have this degree. I graduated with honors seriously.

[00:09:33] I'm going to do anything wrong with that. And so I worked while I was looking for something for two months as a receptionist at this ad agency and the man who owned it was like the worst person ever. He screamed at people all day long.

[00:09:45] It's only did and I said one day if I ever can be in a position I'm not going to sit there and yet it doesn't give you respect, you know, no.

[00:09:53] And then I worked for very advertising a large firm in New York and the funny thing is most of my career and advertising was emotion for your advertising. So it was a lot of fun. Oh my goodness, that's fun. But did you client services or creative services?

[00:10:06] Oh no, client services. I'm not very creative. So with the company degree, some of the common people can do copywriting. They can do that piece of creative right but but but yeah, not straight creative.

[00:10:22] So you work for gray. That's fantastic. Did you did you what did you did you go on to another ad agency after that? No, then I went to Paramount Pictures.

[00:10:30] I actually went to personnel that like never happens anymore. And that was fun. You'd be sitting in your office and you get it. I think there's going to be a screening in 10 minutes. That's fantastic. What was the role? What was the role in Paramount?

[00:10:44] I was managing the West Coast for Paramount. Like, I was a liaison between the people that booked the movies, the exhibitors and like TV and radio stations and try to convince people that this next movie was going to be the Friday the 13th part 15 was the best

[00:11:02] Best movie ever.

[00:11:04] I can't wait to tell you that movie. This is the best movie ever. Well, it sales on some level and you gotta be able to take a product regardless of what the product is and be able to shine it up a bit and get people excited about it.

[00:11:19] Yeah, I think so. Sounds like a candidate. Sounds yeah sounds like you're selling nurses already. You just didn't know. Yeah, yeah. Eerily. When did you move on into the world of staffing? What kind of drove you here?

[00:11:35] Well, so it was kind of like this right so I then owned a company doing jewelry fundraisers at hospitals and what was cool and then I lost it because I went through a horrible divorce are they ever good and

[00:11:49] what was cool about that was that you go into these hospitals and you get to see you gave percentages back to like women's auxiliary what he did for them.

[00:11:58] And I fell in love with health care and I was like, you know what Friday the 13th part whatever is fun or actually worked on some great films but I want to do something where I feel like even if it's really indirect, I'm helping people.

[00:12:10] I mean, why not right the end of the day and so I've been in healthcare so after that went through the divorce and started over in I heard that I was good talking to people so I became a recruiter for switch up but it was good doing direct hire

[00:12:25] recruiting and and more from there. So you work with the paramount real quick. When you were pitching people did you build a network yeah. So you were building so when you built that other business, you had a good network of people you can pull from.

[00:12:41] Yeah, okay. That tracks for me. Recruiter third party staffing right and I have a kind of an ongoing debate about third party staffing and recruiting make kind of the best recruiters that the way that they trained way to drop you off.

[00:12:57] Deep in the pool and say go, survivor don't swim or don't or waitresses in a restaurant. I mean I've hired people in the industry when you relate to people do you do you listen to care about them. You know, can you be human and have a conversation.

[00:13:13] Tell us a little bit about the the the boiler room that you're in the first recruiting place that you're in. Tell us a little bit about it. I mean, we love stories.

[00:13:22] The switch up. Yeah, I work for five years. No, no, I will always be grateful to it because it gave me since it was direct hire recruiting gave me a great thing of like work ethic.

[00:13:32] How you had to talk to a candidate you're changing their life you need to ask the next question, but it was just it was it was weird. Yeah, it was just a switch off.

[00:13:42] They would come in the morning from morning meetings and say, and the owner would say, I only slept three hours last night what about you guys it was like, I only slept to and I thought, again, a little thing I filed away, maybe not the way I want to be a boss.

[00:13:57] Like yelling, not not motivating not really. Exactly. The only way to be an entrepreneur is to sleep one hour a night. That's how it is and then be up on the treadmill. I mean, I work with like a crazy person, but you know, that's a choice.

[00:14:18] Yeah, that's a choice. The divorce was where in that timeline after you had the one company.

[00:14:24] The divorce was after when I owned that company doing the fundraisers and lost everything. I mean, I say everything like the kids my daughters got to know the constables by name because they were always coming looking for money.

[00:14:39] No really because it was, you know, bad drug addict husband. You know those kind of fun things so. Oh yeah. But you got out of it.

[00:14:51] Yeah, so Janet, this is this is interesting for me because motivation during these conversations I always tend to focus on the motivational piece of it. How did you drag yourself to get up and move forward?

[00:15:05] I'm always really interested to learn that so when you're in this situation and your daughters are seeing all this what drove you to then move forward you lost your business right. What drove you then to move forward to start the next thing?

[00:15:20] I had two children to support preteen and I had no child support. I had nothing. I had less than nothing. And I wasn't going to give up like I could have declared bankruptcy and I said no, I didn't think it was right to do that.

[00:15:32] I'm going to find a way to on there for get the first day I like all of a sudden got a credit card in my name began. Oh my God. That kind of thing that just propels you I think along the way.

[00:15:46] Yeah, I can I can see that. I mean again, mother of invention right so you're in a situation where it's you, the kids and nobody else. I mean yeah you've got extended family and stuff like that but basically.

[00:16:00] Not in Texas they're all in New York so but I was getting an abusive situation so if nothing else I was going to do it for my daughters. How'd you get to Texas by the way.

[00:16:11] Well, my ex husband which sounds weird we were married at the time because why would I have followed him otherwise. Yeah, he for his job and then my daughters were 1113 separated so I just I couldn't leave them I couldn't have him move that points too hard.

[00:16:29] Ish where in Dallas are you. Well, back then I was north availability J. Like Preston Campbell. Yeah. Richardson schools so the great school district. Did my kids. I had a low bar as long as I like didn't end up in jail. They're both in Dallas so.

[00:16:51] Both your daughters are CEOs. Yeah, we have a family of CEOs.

[00:16:57] What are they doing what's the what's the bit what are their one of them is CEO of get this a veterinary staffing company that we started when I was writing at a non compete it's huge industry and then she took it and ran with it.

[00:17:13] And so they're doing great and the other one is just did a startup for something called known well medical clinics that are primary care with an emphasis on obesity. Because that's really what her. Oh yeah.

[00:17:27] Wow, that is great. Well, first of all, we could talk about that forever but when did you so you had to write out a non compete tell us a little bit about that deal because we've had.

[00:17:39] We've had other executives tell us both positive stories and negative stories about writing on compete so tell us about your.

[00:17:48] Your particular journey well my family look I don't have great feelings but now competes but if I signed something then you know I would want someone to do the same thing like the other way around.

[00:17:58] So I was at a company third several mental several mental health care for 13 years and we got bought and the next day it was like, oh wow it's really different like I knew different but these people are all over me so.

[00:18:12] So we left my executive team and I had a year couldn't do really anything in human health care. That's how we started the vet business and that's how I started also a healthcare IT business because we weren't doing that and it's funny you know I went from 600 employees to there were four of us.

[00:18:29] So we would just sometimes randomly call each other during the day. It's like back to the basics. Back to the basics. Exactly. No window, you know all of a sudden I hear we're vacuuming the building why there's a storm out there why can't see it so it's okay.

[00:18:48] Yeah, I mean it's humbling on some level but at the same time that's actually you kind of remember the reason that you started something and then you kind of get some of that fluff that was there in the middle.

[00:19:02] You've kind of like you have less appetite to have that.

[00:19:06] I know you're so right because I remember placing a cook in a hospital can still want to keep it related to what I love right and I was in Chicago where we placed her and got to take my picture with her and she was so happy to have this job and I was like, you know what.

[00:19:21] This is what grateful looks like it's something that everyone needs to remember. Yeah, yeah success can sometimes get you a buffer in between that and the stuff that why you started a company so I could see the four people. Actually all are y'all still together.

[00:19:39] We're not because it's a company went to next they ended up getting rid of us one by one. But we're, but we're still we're still in contact they've been good right. I'm pragmatic about it just just just pick it. Yeah, that's what my own companies so it's okay.

[00:19:57] Yes. So let's let's go there so now you've got your own firm at this point. How do we how do we take all the lessons you've learned from previous roles and bring that into your own because on your own is very different.

[00:20:13] You don't have that support structure so maybe share a little bit about that journey. All right, I want to talk to you for a moment about retaining and developing your workforce is hard recruiting is hard retaining top employees is hard.

[00:20:27] Then you've got onboarding payroll benefits time and labor management. You need to take care of your workforce and you can only do this successfully if you commit to transforming your employee experience. This is where I saw comes in they empower you to be successful.

[00:20:44] We've seen it with a number of companies that we've worked with. And this is why we partner with them here at work to find we trust them and you should too check them out at I solved hcm.com.

[00:20:56] Yeah, it was really something I mean I remember the day like I had never I have been involved in mergers and acquisitions before but never where it was just me right.

[00:21:05] And the day that the money flowed and went to the company that I was buying the first one it was like, that's one of the greatest days of my life. I was like, oh my God, it really it actually happened.

[00:21:16] You know, I was because I think, and not just women I think anybody but I think also for women of a certain generation it's a little bit of like, I can't really do this.

[00:21:25] Trust me when I had no one that would give me a loan even with personally guaranteeing it you learn about that kind of thing, but it worked out.

[00:21:32] And I like to think that I took the lessons that I learned and what really I thought mattered and had to treat people. And now could do that without anyone saying to me, no, there's just a number on a spreadsheet that never really worked for me.

[00:21:48] No, no, what's the so we got the no screaming and no trying to outwork the other people by not sleeping, etc. What are the rules either explicit or implicit? What other rules do you have about leadership in close.

[00:22:06] You know, I always say that in staffing it's really important and health care it's really important. I think it's important.

[00:22:11] We still laugh years ago when I was with another company that that undercut cover boss show would never really work for me because even when I had 600 employees I have about 100 now.

[00:22:23] You have to get to know people when I would go to visit people back when we had offices were fully remote now.

[00:22:28] It, you know, don't just sit with the manager because that person in payroll, they may be the ones who really knows what's going on and it should matter and I've tried to subscribe to that theory. It, I think I'm with you there, Jen. I think it does matter.

[00:22:44] And I yeah, so thank you for doing that because I've been part of organizations where they don't do that. You are number and you are number I had a serial number now given there's 400,000 employees.

[00:22:58] I get what I care from a small company into a big company they acquired us and I went from being Ryan to having a serial number and I absolutely hated it.

[00:23:11] It was that was the first day of my like that was it I was done and I never wanted to go back from there but undercover boss. I don't know about you guys, but as much as I know it's malarkey. I'll use the bite and malarkey term.

[00:23:25] I still watch it. I still watch it. Well, it's compelling isn't it but it is not the way it should be to some of the.

[00:23:34] That's why I do the first interview when we're interviewing people because and they're always and it makes me feel that they're like, I never even talked to my CEO. I don't know how I think it shouldn't matter what the strategy is.

[00:23:48] We live in a world right where companies are going belly up constantly. It should make a difference I think it absolutely should and it shows them that you care enough to be there and care after this is quality.

[00:24:02] I mean, this is quality assurance on steroids because you're going to do an interview with them. It could be the last interview so you can let everyone get through it but by getting there quicker and just saying listen, I care enough that I want us to talk.

[00:24:17] You can ask me anything. Okay. Why do you think people don't care? It's interesting you have 100 people at your firm right across your companies. That's a lot of people to be in charge of and you're still doing that first contact that first interview.

[00:24:36] Why do you think I could see myself as an employee or potential employee coming in not feeling worthy enough to sit in front of the CEO for an interview for a role that would not report to that CEO? Why are people afraid of that?

[00:24:53] I mean, but it's a question of why is someone worthy? Like I remember where I came from. Okay. I'm fortunate. I've had great mentors. I've had a lot of good things happen even with the lousy things that happen.

[00:25:06] I have a lot more experience in a lot of these people but I don't know it just well come not Mother Teresa, but it matters to me. I'm not but it matters to me. You know what I mean?

[00:25:19] Like when I think back to any mistakes I've made and as I always tell people probably made a few today. I don't know about yet. But seriously, when I see people who are now VP CEOs that I mentor in the past, there's nothing cooler than that. Right. Right.

[00:25:36] I don't think it's that the CEOs don't care. I think they do care because they know it's a game of talent. I think they just don't prioritize it in the way that Janet's talking about. And they get caught up and it's easy.

[00:25:48] I mean, I have a wonderful strong executive team who I love. Right. Some of us knew each other before some of us didn't.

[00:25:55] But I think we all, I know we all feel the same way you can get so caught up in what you're doing that you don't see right in front of you. That's the whole thing about KPIs. What are they really showing though? That's right.

[00:26:08] No, I think again it's quality. It's communications. It's letting people know that they have a voice seeing them. They have understanding how it drives you drives company. I think it's brilliant.

[00:26:22] Actually, I think it's a great way of thinking about talent because it's like, okay, listen, you're going to go through a series of interviews and it may or may not work out. However, I'm going to give you time and I love it. I love it. I love it.

[00:26:39] Janet, you mentioned mentors. I'm very curious how did you pick your mentors? What made a mentor a mentor to you? I'd like to say it was carefully thought out. It didn't work that way. I was at Bob's shop house.

[00:26:58] I mean, it's just people that, like I had someone who, I didn't report to him but I worked with him when I was in Paramount Pictures, who just was like, I watched him, I listened to him and he took an interest in me, you know, a 23-year-old kid.

[00:27:15] And then later in life, a woman when I first went to Supplemental who was my boss and one of the things I was amazed with in the beginning is that she could have taken credit for our division that we were in. She would always give credit to me.

[00:27:30] Always. She could have just taken it. I wouldn't have said anything even if it was something I did, right? Because it's not about you taking the credit. It's always going to work out. But think about what this could do for someone else.

[00:27:42] Believe it or not, I have one other mentor and he's in his 80s now. Living St. Cosburg and he just believes in me and that's how I rose to the CEO at my first company. He believed that I could do it and had always been there for me.

[00:28:01] So, I was lucky. Again, not Mother Teresa. Got it. She's Mother Teresa. However, yeah. I'm going to be my mother for you now. Yeah, yeah. Then later. But the thing is, is you sound what I love about both moral and ethical. Like there's a right and a wrong.

[00:28:22] And so many people play in the gray. Again, to the thing about non-competes, I signed this document. I'm going to honor it. I could have gone bankrupt. Probably should have gone bankrupt. But refused.

[00:28:34] But refused to do it because, you know, there's a lot of people who are not going to go to the bank. You know, there's an, I guess it's that ethics and morality that seems to be an underpinning. Where, where did that if I have that right?

[00:28:46] And again, not Mother Teresa. I get it. If I have that right, where'd you get that? But my dad, I mean, my mom's pretty great too.

[00:28:55] But my dad was the kind like if you, if the bank gives you too much money, which happened to me once, you give it back. You know, you do the right. I grew up watching someone who was honest to a fault. And I think it makes a difference.

[00:29:11] And now in patient care, look, there's a reason why the women on my executive team all wear this necklace that I got them. It's a mission. We came up with the mission statement. It was like everybody has mission statements. You can't ruin them. Okay. Ever.

[00:29:24] So we got in a room where like what matters? What really matters? So it's do good, do well, save lives. And if that really matters, I mean, I'm in patient care for God's sake. Then, then even when it hurts sometimes still just do the right thing. You know,

[00:29:41] and I'm assuming as you're putting people into these opportunities that mission comes through in those people. Oh yeah. Has to. Well, it has to or we don't hire them like it's funny because when you're placing like physicians in particular, I mean, you know, we let them go.

[00:29:59] You know, we let clients know that that's why we have a clinical team. We have a chief clinical officer, Joanne and then our doctor, Joe Sturtivant, who's our chief medical officer. They work in tandem. There's no reason.

[00:30:11] I mean, look, people are going to have medical malpractice things if they practice long enough. But there's enough things that that person shouldn't be representing us or the facility. It never gets to the client.

[00:30:22] And you know it's hard when you hire recruiters in the beginning, they're like, but he only really has one felony. I'm like, would you want to know? No, no. Okay. He only he only be mother. I get it. Okay. He only hit him twice with the bat.

[00:30:39] No, it's not bad. Yeah. Yeah. I think well, the thing is, is this is a I mean, health care, a lot of people look at healthcare as I look at doctors and they think everything's perfect. Like there is a perfection to medical science. And there's not.

[00:30:57] There's there's a there's a lot of factors that contribute to success. Some of that gets sideways. Yeah. And I mean, I'm an example of that. I had pneumonia and 15 got it all worked out was in the hospital for two weeks.

[00:31:13] And then they released me with the wrong antibiotics. Oh, it was just a it was a cleric layer. And I mean, I know exactly what happened. The, the, the gal that we had a great nurse, she was getting everything signed off, getting me released.

[00:31:28] And she was also getting bombarded by other patients and she just crisscrossed the antibiotics. You could have died. I mean, oh, no, I almost did. I was back in the hospital two weeks later and they had to crack me open and go, I had both my lungs collapsed.

[00:31:46] So yeah, oh my God. 15. No, no, in 2015, right? I know I didn't know what you know. Oh God. I remember. Okay. 2015. I remember. I didn't realize. So 2015 this happens and after I was back in two weeks and everything fever.

[00:32:08] Dehydrated everything because it just came back with a vengeance. So sure. Yeah. So, but Janet, I had the best healthcare service that one could ever have because they knew I could sue. Right.

[00:32:23] And, and I told him, I mean, they kept coming by hospital administrators, different people coming by. And like I had people running in and out of my, my suite. I had like the Taj Mahal suite in this hospital.

[00:32:38] And I told them, I told them very early on, listen, I just wanted done. I'm not going to sue. Give me something. I'll sign it. I don't care. I don't need money. I just need my lungs. Yeah, I need to be healthy. Oh my God.

[00:32:53] I'll take the lungs back. Thank you very much. They canceled. They can't, I'll give them credit on it. Well, it is what it is. They canceled all bills. Like anything associated with my name didn't even go to the insurance. There was just nothing. You were right.

[00:33:08] That's a good one. Wow. So, but the thing is you're placing these people and mistakes get made. And yeah, well, people are human. Yes. We're human. I didn't blame the nurse for that thing. It's just like, Hey, listen, I could have made that mistake. And what else?

[00:33:25] And the nurse honestly might have, I'm not to excuse it because it's terrible. And I'm sorry that happened. She could have been in her 60th hour of working. Seriously use temps because no one should be working that many hours.

[00:33:39] If I'm working too much, I'm not going to kill someone. So yeah, good point. Right. We can do 12 podcasts in a day. Yeah. I mean, we know what my friends look, I might screw up the next question, Janet and not say a word, but I can edit.

[00:33:57] That's a high probability. It is a high problem. There you go. That's, you know, it's, it's, I say I love not, I love the pressure, right? Of having your own thing. Right. I've always been drawn to that. And if I, I mean, I've always been there.

[00:34:16] I always say it rather figure out how to pay a mortgage than do a research report as well. But what I would never want is to make a decision at that moment. I'm pretty decisive on a lot of things, but a decision at that

[00:34:31] moment that can kill William. Oh yeah. Although I might make that decision. My cardiothoracic surgeon was so genius when he came in, I had this long beard, long hair and he said, Hey, you're going to

[00:34:49] have to shave this area or the OR people are going to do it because I gotta be able to put a mask on you and something other. I'm like, okay, all right. Has zero bed manner at all. I mean, like literally very, very factual just like, here's

[00:35:05] the deal. I'm going to go into the side. That doesn't work. I'm just going to crack you open one way or another. We're going to get that stuff out of your lungs. Now here's the deal. I'm not going to wake you up and ask you about it.

[00:35:16] I'm just telling you, I'm just sitting there in the bed going, I just want it gone dude. We're good. Whatever we got to do. Just you got to be confident, right? Oh, yeah. I don't think you can be a cardiothoracic surgeon and not be confident.

[00:35:33] That's just not the gig. You've got to be. Yeah, super, super decisive. Janet is where we go off script and we forgot that we were talking to you about your journey. I did have a question because I want to know the hardest

[00:35:48] position to fill right now because it's fascinating to me all of healthcare and everything that you're doing with what's the hardest one to fill? It's high but I'll say Gio. Really? It is like there's not that many of them. Think about people getting more procedures, right?

[00:36:06] People that put things off. That is really hard and then there's, I don't know if you know what a CRNA is, but it's a certified registered nurse anesthetist. It's like an anesthesia. They're a nurse. Oh my God. I've got a friend that's one. Actually she's an Arlington.

[00:36:23] She's been a doctor for a long time. I got a friend that's one. Actually she's an Arlington and she's a travel, like a rural. Yeah, she goes around. They knew them or they can't do the surgery. That's right. Right.

[00:36:38] And they've got to know just as much, I mean, they're an anesthetist. Yeah. So basically they've got to know everything just like a doctor. 100%. Very little difference other than the schooling and some of the other stuff. But they've got to know it. Know it, know it.

[00:36:53] I believe the health, the insurance on that position is high. What they have to carry, I think is really high from not mistaking. We have to carry. Yes. Oh, you have to carry. Oh yeah. We have to carry. Think about that. You've got to carry that. Ooh. Yeah.

[00:37:13] That's a big note. Okay. Okay. Okay. Easiest position to fill? Ish. Really? And what we do is nothing that I would say is a slam dunk in healthcare. Okay. It just isn't. I mean, it's insane. A lot of people that are working their tails off from

[00:37:31] home because we're fully remote something I never thought you asked me five years ago. I would say, no, no need the energy of an office. Yeah. But it works. It works for you to go to an office. You know, it's funny.

[00:37:43] I was on a plane recently and this old guy left. I'm not that much older than I am, but in front of me, these people today, they don't want to work. And I'm thinking they don't want to work for you. Okay. We don't want to be young people.

[00:37:58] I think that's the title. Yeah. Jenna, we get to a point in every show. Like, you know, we're going to have to go to the gym. Yeah. I mean, I'm not going to go to the gym. I mean, I'm not going to go to the gym.

[00:38:11] I'm not going to go to the gym. I'm not going to go to the gym. I'm not going to go to the gym. I'm not going to be in every show like that could be the title. That's why they don't want to work for you.

[00:38:23] He's already marked it. He's already marked it on the date. So we can remember it. Yeah. There we go. So, Jenna, I've got a question about, I like to kind of get into the mind sometimes of the people that we speak with. We do them to learn. Right?

[00:38:38] Yeah. I think that a lot of people are going to be interested in this. I think that's what we're going to do. I think that we're going to be interested in it. Tell older Janet, as she is beginning to embark on this career. Don't reveal the magic trick.

[00:38:51] That's true. I think that. I want you, older Janet, to remember. To take what you do really seriously, but just don't take yourself so seriously. I love that. Take what you do seriously. That's genius. That also might be the. That's a good runner up. Who's got the title?

[00:39:16] We've got t-shirts. What else can we get out of this? I mean, the kids call it merch. Come on. Right. Yeah. With the program. Who thrives around you, Janet type of person or personality or whatever. Describe the people that thrive around you. I think. People that are excited.

[00:39:41] Every day. I mean, not every day because you're going to have, you know, you're in staffing having more people saying no than yes, but basically get up the next day and be like, like my theme for this year,

[00:39:50] which I came up with like nothing great is make it count. You know, make your time count, make the day count. And the people that are like, yeah, I'm going to do it again. I had a tough week or tough month or maybe a tough quarter,

[00:40:02] but I can make it happen. And that are really nice to other people. And I know that sounds right, but I mean, even within the organization, like I've worked with people that I, you know, they're a nightmare to the finance people or the credentialing people, whatever.

[00:40:17] And they're great to their candidates. Everything comes home to roost. So if you're well meaning and you, and you care about what you do. And cause this isn't a nine to five job. I mean, we are saving lives, right? Indirectly. Then it should,

[00:40:32] it should matter go on vacation, but I think that's the best way to do it. I mean, I think that's the best way to do it. I mean, I think that should have fun, but my best people and the ones who do well with me are the ones

[00:40:44] that they also know that. I would do whatever they ask me to do it. That's how you have to be. And I think people respect you more if they know that you would. I'm lucky. I have great people. Janet, this has been,

[00:40:58] oh, go get you to have another question. Do you, do you experience people or do you bring people through? The reason I'm asking this question, I'm trying to figure out the training regiment. And is this a Janet driven training regiment?

[00:41:13] Or is it people come from different places and are already at kind of a place they already know the job. Now I've just got to get them to understand the culture and eat those and all that other stuff. So what type of people. I guess career wise,

[00:41:27] are you getting folks right out of college? What kind of teaching in the game? I love to have people that are like another company. I had a group of lead recruiters and they were just at a school. They were hungry and they could get promoted from there.

[00:41:40] Well, then you fast forward through the pandemic. And we had to be remote even if I hadn't wanted to be remote. And you don't, and we didn't have a training department we do now, which makes me really happy. So in the beginning,

[00:41:51] we were hiring just people with experience. Right. Now we've been able to morph and hire some people that don't, but they're the right personality type. And that's really important to me because you don't know, you could have someone with 15 years of experience

[00:42:06] and that could be worse because they only know their way. That's right. That's exactly right. That happens in sales too. I mean, I'm talking about right. It's the same type of thing. You get to a certain point and you're kind of rigid in your sales game

[00:42:21] and it can work or in a lot of cases, I'll see it happen. They're really, really great in the enterprise sale. And they'll come to a startup and they'll still think in the kind of enterprise mindset. It just doesn't work.

[00:42:35] It breaks every almost every time I've seen it play out. Not the same. Although I will just tell you that I did find coming from bigger companies. And then when I bought the first company, I was employee number 10.

[00:42:46] My email doesn't even have to have my last name back then. Okay. Right. And there was Henry who's like, and actually Simpson who was the founder, who's the president past and future of this company, young woman. She's amazing. She, you know, I'd say to her,

[00:43:00] we did how much this week? $20,000 what, you know, but, but I was glad I came from a bigger company because what it taught me was sometimes think a little bigger than where you're at, be where you're at,

[00:43:13] but also be looking beyond to where you think you can be. And so that served me well. But to your point, yes, you have to be able to understand like where you're at currently. Genius. Well, I think Ryan was about to close this out and rightfully so.

[00:43:28] This has been amazing. Janet, thank you so much for carving out time for us, the audience to know that your time is. Well, thank you. It's all, it's all you.