Welcome back to another episode of Care to CEO, the show where caregivers and everyday people get the inside scoop on building confident, sustainable care businesses. In today’s episode, host Crystal Smith — a care business owner who’s seen it all — is here to dig into the often overlooked, “unsexy” essentials that keep your business alive: finding the right team, setting up effective systems, and keeping your own sanity intact.
Crystal shares her candid journey, from the early days of hiring just to fill shifts (and the chaos that followed), to learning why empathy, flexibility, and communication matter more than credentials when building a staff that truly cares. She talks openly about the hard lessons she learned trying to do it all herself, how she finally mastered delegation, and the digital tools and systems that now let her step away from the business without missing a beat.
Whether you’re just starting out or feeling overwhelmed by the demands of your growing care business, this episode is packed with actionable advice, practical tools, and real talk about what it takes to survive — and thrive — in the care industry. If you’re ready to build a business that won’t fall apart when life gets messy, you won’t want to miss Crystal’s insights on staffing, systems, and the heart of successful care leadership.
Timestamps:
00:00 Screening for Values Beyond Resumes
06:55 Empathy in Action
08:45 "Collaborative Problem-Solving and Integrity"
13:26 Transition to Britco System
15:48 "Systems Restore CEO's Peace"
19:06 Empowering Staff Through Teamwork
24:33 "Set Up Access Care Early"
28:04 "Care Business Survival & Mentorship"
28:58 Gratitude and Farewell
Quotes, Hooks, & Timestamps:
The Hidden Costs of Bad Caregiving Hires: "But caregiving isn't just about credentials. It's most certainly about character. You know, and I had to learn that the hard way. Many times I've had staff show up late, fall asleep on the job, and even be, you know, disrespectful when you. When you have to approach them about these things, even when they're the ones in the wrong. So I definitely learned the hard way that bad hires really Cost more in the long run than just feeling shifts."
— Crystal Smith [00:02:36 → 00:03:07]
Beyond the Resume: "this business is definitely more than just what's on your resume or, or what kind of credentials you have."
— Crystal Smith [00:03:46 → 00:03:52]
Empathy That Drives Action: "So you need people who don't just care, but they care enough to act, you know, when they see that an individual needs something."
— Crystal Smith [00:07:04 → 00:07:12]
The Importance of Empathy in the Workplace: "So I need people who, because they care for the actual individuals, they're not going to get mad and upset and, you know, and say, I quit."
— Crystal Smith [00:08:02 → 00:08:11]
The Power of Empathy in Hiring: "So I once hired someone who really didn't have any experience. But in her interview, she almost had me in tears because she told me about how she was raising a child with autism, and she knew firsthand how much it was important to advocate for this individual, especially being that it was her child."
— Crystal Smith [00:09:29 → 00:09:49]
From Chaos to Organization: "So at first I was doing things like piecing together Google sheets and handwritten notes and group text and it was pretty chaotic. I mean, we got through it, but it was pretty chaotic. I missed a lot of deadlines, I forgot birthdays, I almost lost contracts due to this. I've been chewed out by caseworkers for not responding in a timely manner. And, you know, I just had to really start searching for better systems because it's key."
— Crystal Smith [00:11:41 → 00:12:18]
Empowering Your Team to Grow: "My staff knows that they could come to me if they wanted to do this. If you wanted to be an agency owner or if you wanted to be an independent provider, which is just where you're kind of licensed, but you can take care of a certain amount of hours. You can provide services for a certain amount of hours per week, they know they can come to me for that. They know that I'd say, hey, okay, let's do it. Because I've done it, you know, I've helped some of my staff members get their agencies, so I have no issue with that."
— Crystal Smith [00:19:06 → 00:19:57]
How to Choose the Right System for Your Practice: "I still like Access Care very much. That is the system we are currently using. And I would say Access Care because you can, there's so much you can do right inside of that and have access to documentation, reports and attendance and all sorts of other things. And so I think that that is one that's very user friendly and easy to start."
— Crystal Smith [00:24:48 → 00:25:17]
Care to CEO - Podcast Show Website - https://caretoceo.com/
Crystal Smith - https://www.crystalsmithandco.com/
TopHealth - https://tophealth.care/
Информация по комментариям в разработке