[Sample] Q&A: An owner on starting a home care agency at 58

Sample article for testing the newsroom layout. The agencies, people and figures below are fictional.

Linda Torres, a fictional owner used here for illustration, spent 30 years in hospital administration before opening Torres Family Care, her home care agency, at 58. We asked her about the first two years.

Why start an agency so late in your career?

I watched too many patients go home with no help. I knew I could fix part of that problem in my own town.

What surprised you most?

How much of the job is hiring. I thought I would spend my time with clients. I spend most of it finding and keeping caregivers.

What would you do differently?

I would have hired an office manager six months sooner. I tried to do the scheduling myself for too long.

How did you find your first clients?

I visited every discharge planner and senior center within 15 miles. Most of my first ten clients came from three of them.

What advice would you give a new owner?

Know your numbers every week, not every quarter. And answer the phone yourself for the first year. You learn what families need.