Fired 3 Times, Then Built CareBuilders: Sheila Jones-Lilley's Comeback Story

[0:00]  Our next guest got laid off three times, then built a business keeping over 150 seniors safe and independent. At 50, she didn't pivot. She actually answered her calling. Sheila, how cool is it to know at 50 you answer your calling when people say that age is nothing but a number that uh you know just wait your time. This right here is just a proof that that it actually that happens. How excited were you at 50 to take on this new uh chapter in your life?

[0:45]  Well, I will say age is more than a number. If I were a different age, I might have done some things differently. But it's very exciting at this point in my life, in my career, to be doing something that I am so passionate about. And it's something that I thought I would wait until retirement to do. But like you said, due to three layoffs, the point came sooner where I was able to do it now.

[1:13]  I'm a big believer that life happens, right? And I'm pretty sure those layoffs you were in the mind thinking like the why me like what do I do now? And um I was just speaking to another leader earlier and it's like a lot of these is just God's plan. We think we have a plan but the plan that God's got for us is so much greater. And obviously here here you are Sheila with this plan that probably never existed but you knew at 11 you wanted to help people right? You always were in this giving space. Um, what does an 11year-old even see that makes her that sure of I want to help people heal?

[1:46]  So, I had a cousin who was born very very prematurely when I was 11. And when I saw her in the hospital in an incubator when they didn't know if she was going to live or not, I I wondered what her life would be like if she did live. And then a whole year later, she was thriving, but she was still very behind in her development. So, she spent some time with our family and I spent days on the floor with her just playing, just what I thought was just playing and challenging her and giving her things out of her reach. And by the time our time together was over, she was walking. And so her mother said to me, "Well, you just did occupational therapy. You should become an occupational therapist." So, I was 12 at that time. So, I started to look into what that meant and where could I get more information about it and that's what I became an occupational therapist all because of that experience I had when I was 11 and then 12.

[2:46]  I love it. I love those moments in our young lives. That's why that's seeds that are planted, right? That was a seed that was planted and you watered it. You watered it. Your family, I'm pretty sure, watered it and and it led you to what I would say was a pretty good career, right? Cuz here you are, you started your own, you know, business. Now, what are some things that people underestimate starting a business a little later?

[3:07]  Um, I think many people estimate the time that it takes because I have never worked so many hours in all my life, but now it's a labor of love. So, I used to work long hours in a previous job and it bothered me and I felt angry about it and I'd be irritated about it. But now I work even longer hours than that. But I feel joy in what I'm doing. I feel much more rewarded in what I'm doing because I'm doing it for the least of these and vulnerable people. And most of all, I'm I'm doing it for my family, my legacy, and for myself.

[3:45]  So that's cool.

[3:48]  Yeah. When you talking about work working them long hours, when you working for yourself, it's completely different. like it it feels a little better because you know when you go work for somebody else like at the end of the day you're just a number but when you doing it for yourself and you know that you're growing as the more that you put in the more your business is growing the more clients you're getting um the more your family you know gets to really rek that benefit as you mentioned that legacy you continue to create but there was also a moment that you were

[4:14]  caring for I think your parents but they were in two different locations is that correct and you were still working

[4:20]  I can imagine that those were some very very hard times. But we could always talk about those hard times. What are some of the things that actually broke open out of you? What what did you realize having to do? I mean, hell of a task, you know, what that looked like for you?

[4:33]  So, I had my husband's uncle in Los Angeles and then I had my mother in Louisiana and both were living alone and both were having health challenges and financial challenges and just life challenges. And my first answer was move them in with us and we can help them out because we were spending a lot of time going back and forth and back and forth to help them.

[4:59]  But my mother in particular wanted to maintain her independence. So that's the first lesson that I learned is that you know seniors who have been independent want to remain as independent as they possibly can and if you can make that happen you should. And in my uncle's case, I realized that he was vulnerable because he fell victim to fraud and scams. And so seniors need some support. They need some boots on the ground. They need someone in their life engaging with them on a regular basis because they they're more vulnerable maybe than they were when they were younger. And they sometimes fall for things that maybe if they had bounced it off of another person, they might not have fallen for. So that's the two things that I learned the most is to provide that support while letting them be as independent as they can.

[5:52]  Is that what led you um dealing with those two um your your brother's cousin, right? Uncle was it?

[5:59]  My husband's uncle.

[6:01]  Husband's uncle. See, I'mma get it right. Husband's uncle and your mom. Is that what led you to kind of get into care building?

[6:07]  They totally were my inspiration. um uncle came in 2019 and he did in fact move in with us and but because we travel and we work, we needed some help with him. So we started hiring people by word of mouth to assist us with him.

[6:24]  My mother refused to move in with us, although we tried. So I started hiring people in Louisiana to help her in her home. And I realized that there were a lot of people like me, people still working, people with busy lives, maybe people tending to their own children, um, who needed help with their seniors that are in their lives. So although there are many companies out there, I knew that the age of pe the population of people over the age of 65 had surpassed the population of people under 35. So, I knew that even though there's other companies out there and there's competition, there's a lot of room for growth and room for improvement. So, I said, I'm going to jump in and be the one.

[7:11]  I love that. And then I want to also shed some light on someone that you introduced me last time that I was able to talk to you. Charmaine, you said plays a big role in, you know, your dayto-day. What makes her that coal builder in this vision?

[7:24]  Yes. That's another lesson that I learned is you absolutely cannot do this by yourself. because you have to run the business side of things, the finance side of things, you have to do the hiring, you have to do the payroll, you have all of these moving parts that have to occur. You have to go out and recruit uh new caregivers, you have to go out and and uh do sales and introduce yourself and get new clients and do the intake. So, there's so many things that you have to do. You can't do them all. So Charmaine has been the perfect compliment to what we're doing here, perfect compliment to me because she she's young enough to know all the technology and do all the social media and learn all the new techniques for things uh artificial intelligence and all of that. but she's she's mature enough to have had some life experiences and be dependable and reliable and know what it takes. So, in these two years that I've been in business now, she has been with me almost since the beginning and she was one of the best decisions that I made in the business. H

[8:36]  how did you find her? Just hiring someone?

[8:38]  Yes. So, I put an ad out on Indeed for an administrative assistant and I got 199 applications. How many did you interview?

[8:48]  So, we narrowed it down to a hundred based on did they even take the test that we put out for them to take? Okay.

[8:56]  And then we narrowed it down to 50 and, you know, continued to funnel it down till we got to the final two.

[9:02]  When it came to the final two, I called in my corporate office to help me decide between the final two. And so that's another thing I want to say is that I Careuilders at Home is a corporation and I am a franchise owner. So it's a franchise like others like

[9:23]  you know the other bigger names that you may know Walmart, McDonald's, you know, other franchises, but it's a smaller corporation. So, I was able to get their human resources support to help me interview the last two candidates and we agreed that Charmaine was a great candidate and she has been.

[9:41]  Hey, real quick. Have you enjoying the podcast? We first want to say thank you and we also just want to give you a little insight of what we're up to at Francis. Some don't even realize that we're working with organizations to help them use AI to create that real human communication experiences. where that's actually supporting your your families, those patients or the entire community. We're actually creating tech that connects. Check it out. Francis.ai.

[10:07]  Wow, look at that. Huh? One out of 199. She was the one. I love that. I love And I love that they um you know, the corporate was willing to help you like even though you're a franchise, like they still stepped in to make sure you made the right decisions as well. And that just speaks volume to that organization to to kind of guide you through this all. So I love that you kind of mentioned that. You mentioned AI. You mentioned that Charmaine is good with AI. Are you guys using AI right now?

[10:33]  Uh Charmaine is using AI.

[10:37]  He's using it to help write some of our emails and help um make some of our um social media post and things like that.

[10:46]  That's so good. I'm I'm I always say you got to find um when you go find someone to be a part of your team, it's like you're dating. You got to go find the right one. And Charmaine seems like you know, y'all had that date and it's like this is great. I can hang out with her all the time and she's really helping you um being really being the backbone it looks like to to to the business. So, shout out to her. And as you mentioned, a young individual that understands what it looks like um how to be mature in a place, work, ethic, all that. Cuz sometime I feel like our young kids, they don't have that work ethic we used to have, Sheila. You know what I mean? They they don't work as hard. You found somebody good.

[11:23]  I found that out in the hiring process of caregivers that

[11:28]  it's difficult, especially the younger ones. Not that the older ones are perfect either always, but it's definitely a different workforce out there now than there may have been some years ago. No, I definitely I I haven't been in the um place where I've had to hire young talent, but I do know when I did I I used to work at a retail and I'm the person, man, call me on on my days off, I'm coming to work. You know, you mean me need to stay? Yeah. Overtime? Yeah. I'm working overtime. Like that was that that man money more money in my pocket. Um you just don't get that nowadays though. Yeah. You know, people trying to work as less as possible. It's like what? I think even co

[12:07]  people have changed quite a bit. Even in these years since co these last five years their workforce has changed because they got used to being at home

[12:16]  and it's difficult for them to now get out there and be on time and and be reliable, be dependable and go the extra mile, which is what we do for our clients. I I only want to hire people that are willing to go the extra mile, do the extra effort to provide impeccable service for the clients that we serve. And our clients deserve that. Every one of them, I see a little bit of my uncle and a little bit of my mom in each client. And so I want for them what I want for my own family members.

[12:50]  Of course. Of course. And and and that's why you're going to do so amazing in this space. I mean, how long have you said it's been that you've now been having your own franchise?

[12:58]  So, July, which we are in now, marks 2 years that we have been in business.

[13:03]  Thank you. Thank you. We're going to have a big celebration on July the 18th as well.

[13:08]  So, bringing all the caregivers in in person for a mandatory uh workshop in celebration of our 2-year anniversary.

[13:18]  That is so cool. Yeah. And you know, that's why you're a great leader. you said, "Hey, I'm bringing everybody in. Show some love. It couldn't have been made possible without the people that are actually doing the work in the front lines." You know, and you recognize that. That's what makes you a great leader. Um, and I'm pretty sure Charmaine's working real hard to make sure it happens as well, while you still out there pushing and hustling and bustling, per se.

[13:38]  Our caregivers are invaluable. They make careuilders at home what it is. They make it work for us. So, we couldn't do this without them. Well, Sheila, no one can ever lay you off again, which is so powerful, right? What does that kind of ownership feel like after years of just instability?

[13:58]  Yeah. So, it feels great. It is a great responsibility because I feel responsible for all of the people that we serve. And when I say people we serve, that's our employees because they are customers as well. So, I feel a a great level of responsibility to them. And I learned that lesson early on in my hir in my early hiring when we were just opening the company and we didn't have clients yet because we had to have caregivers first. So I learned that you have to be very transparent with them and let them know listen we are building. We don't have 40 hours for you yet. Don't put in your notice on your other job just yet. But we are looking for people who are willing to grow with us and grow with the company. So I learned that I had to be transparent about that. And then our other consumers are clients uh customers are our actual clients and their family members. And so we have to be uh very um uh they have to be able to depend on us. We have to be able to provide the services that they need when they need it. We have to be flexible because you know we're on we're talking about senior citizens and things change with them all the time. So

[15:10]  yeah. Do did you feel that you were ever at a job um and just felt it wasn't your calling, but you just stood there just because comfortability?

[15:21]  Yes. Um I my my job in occupational therapy has always I've known that has always been my calling. And so I still do a little bit of occupational therapy because I still want to keep my foot in the door and maintain my license and my skills. So I do a few hours a week working in an outpatient occupational therapy clinic.

[15:40]  That's cool. But I did I was in another job where there were a lot of benefits and the pay was very very good and I was able to work from home but I always felt a little bit like I was out of place like it just wasn't the right thing for me. I'm a very social person so I enjoy a lot of interaction. When you're working from home you don't get that. And they were on the cutting edge of technology. So, I always felt like I was a step behind. My co-workers were 28 years old, 25 years old, just out of grad school. And so, I felt like the grandma, if not the mom of the bunch. So, I felt like I was a little step behind and it just wasn't me. I could do it and I did it for two years, but it just wasn't me. And it led me to where I am right now because of a layoff on that job. So I got it. I my boss felt bad about laying me off. And once I opened Careuilders and shared with her, I said, "You see, everything happens for a reason."

[16:47]  Yeah. I love that you have that mindset because it happens to people, you know, and I actually just happened to my neighbor recently where he had lost his job and I it was cuz someone that he helped put in a position was upset with him, got him fired or whatever. M.

[17:03]  So I said, "Hey man, you know, I know right now you're probably disliking this guy, but one day you're going to thank this guy, you know, and sure enough, a month and a half later, he's thanking this guy because if it wasn't for that guy, you know, to do what he did, he's not in the next opportunity." And and and I love that you just kind of changed that mindset of, hey, it life happens. You know, life be life in I'mma figure it out. But I ask you, what would you say to someone who's in that job they know isn't their calling, but the fear is probably louder than the purpose they have right now?

[17:30]  Right. So, first of all, I wouldn't tell them to hurry up and quit. You know, not if you have financial responsibilities like I did. But I'd say the entire time that you are doing that job, spend time exploring what would be a better option for you, where your interests are, where your strengths and weaknesses are. And I did that. I actually worked with a career coach and she did some aptitude test and some interest test with me. and she knew that I had an MBA in addition to my occupational therapy uh credential. I also earned a masters in business administration and I wasn't utilizing it to to the max that I could. And so she said, "It sounds like you would be a great business owner." So she introduced four different kinds of business to me based on my test scores. And one of them I said, "There's no way that's me." two of them I thought,"Well, that could be me, but that it's something I enjoy as a hobby, but I don't want to do it for a living." The third one I said, "Yeah, I could do that." But when she got to inhome care, I knew that that was a good fit for me because of the experience that I had with my family members and my experience as an occupational therapist. So then I took that and I explored doing it on my own like Sheila's inh home care, you know, just starting from scratch as opposed to going with a franchise. And maybe if I were 36 at the time, I might have said, "Let's start from scratch." But at 56, which is what I was at the time, I'm telling my real age now, I I I said, "Why reinvent the wheel at the point that I am now?" So, I explored several franchises and I I chose CareBuilders at home because it felt like home and interacting with the people made me feel confident that I could do this. So, they were kind of like cheerleaders. You got this. You can do this. And they had a great framework that I could just pick up from where it originated and planted where I am. So, that's how I chose CareBuilders at Home. And here we are two years later doing well. I mean, doing amazing. And if your team is anything like you, that means you have an amazing group of people because you're great. Just talking to you is amazing. I love it. You just be person. I love it.

[19:53]  Um

[19:53]  there there's those that probably are feeling, you know, maybe late to the game, maybe stuck or scared. What's that one truth that maybe helped you keep going when everything felt a little bit heavy, um un unsure? What is that thing that you kept going through?

[20:08]  So, I have to say I have a lot of support. My husband is supportive, my children are supportive, my my, you know, I bounc it off my f my mother and my uncle who we were caring for and I got a lot of encouragement. But the one biggest cheerleader I had was my pastor. I have to say, I went to my pastor and I said, "Uh, Pastor Turner, I'm thinking about starting a business." He said, "Go ahead." And I said, "Well, wait, you're wait a minute. Let me explain. you know, um, but he he saw something in me that he thought no matter what the next words that I was going to tell him were, that I could do it. And he encouraged me and shared his experience as a business owner. And so with the confidence of all those people, I I felt like I could do it, you know.

[21:03]  Did you say your mom also got to witness you start the business?

[21:05]  She did. She was here um for my soft launch when I kind of had a small grand opening for just family and friends and then she was there for my grand opening a few months later. and she's always been encouraging me. And unfortunately, I lost her um in September, but she got to see this get off the ground and get rolling and um and she was happy and proud to see that,

[21:36]  of course. Yeah. Yeah. She got to see her little girl, you know, make something for herself in life. Like, how are you not happy? You know, you you go to rest happy at that point. So, that was cool that she was able to experience that with you. I'm pretty sure that was also for you an experience that you still hold uh dear to your heart. Uh Sheila, this this is such a good conversation and and I'm unfortunately we got to start wrapping it up, but I ask you Sheila, where could people find more information? What is your website? Are you guys on social? I know you said Charmaine is on it, but for people to be able to find where you guys are located and just some of the things you're putting out there, what's the socials in the website?

[22:11]  So, you just look for carebuildershome.com.ie, E, which stands for Inland Empire, which is the location in California where we are. So, my office is actually located in San Bernardino, but we serve the entire Inland Empire. And people who live in Southern California know what I mean when I say Inland Empire. We're about 60 miles inland from Los Angeles. So, again, carebuildershome.comie or Inland Empire. And you'll also find us on Facebook as Carebuilders at Home Inland Empire and on Instagram as well.

[22:49]  I love it. Look at you. You You on it. Got the website going. Got the Facebook. Got the Instagram. Shout out to Charmaine. Is Charmaine somewhere in the back?

[22:56]  Charmaine's in another room being real quiet. So, she did.

[23:01]  She gonna be so proud of you and the work that you did today. You're doing amazing today.

[23:05]  I did one other thing I wanted to share.

[23:08]  Go ahead. The one thing that what terrified me about going into business was going broke and I felt like I I was allergic to loans. I did not want to take out big loans especially as I keep referring to at this point in my life and so there's a method of investing in yourself. So if you have 401k funds or IRA funds that you have invested for your retirement, there's a way to roll those over, divest them from what they are invested in currently and roll them over into your own business. So I encourage people who are interested in business and they they want to go into business, but they don't want to go into debt to look at that option of investing your own retirement funds into your business. and it's called it's a rollover so it's it's tax-free.

[24:03]  So that's something I want people to know about and that definitely was a motivating factor for me.

[24:09]  Yeah, you out here dropping knowledge. We definitely going to have to clip this and make sure we post this on the social. Okay, that was a whole gem that you just dropped right there, Sheila. Well, Sheila, we got to get to the blind question. So the last leader asks, "What's one belief about care leadership or entrepreneurship that you hold tightly now but wouldn't have really understood at all in your 30s?" H so one belief that I have that I have learned is that the population that we serve which is senior citizens and people with disabilities they are more inclined to not want help and not ask for help and not seek help and even when help is offered they tend to be proud. that generation of people have a lot of pride and sometimes they turn down the help that would benefit them. So that's the thing that I have learned is ask for help and it's okay to get help. As a matter of fact, it will add quality to your life to get help. So that's a major lesson that I learned. It's okay to get help. It's a good thing and that there are good people out there to provide the help that you need.

[25:19]  You dropping all the wisdom here today, Sheila. dropping all the wisdom here and I love it. What is your question?

[25:25]  I will not reject your help. When it comes time for me to need help, I've already told my kids, move me, bring me, get me a room in your house next door to you, where whatever it takes to make sure that I'm not alone. Because in this day and age, our seniors live here in California, but their kids are in Florida or Ohio or ne Nebraska or somewhere a thousand miles away. So, we're such a mobile society like that. So,

[25:55]  yeah, you're right though. You know, my kids better move me in or something, you know, like

[25:59]  But you got to be close. You got to come visit me.

[26:01]  You got to be you got to treat those kids well.

[26:03]  Yeah. Yeah. When you're for sure. For sure.

[26:06]  For sure. No. She Sheila, what is your blind question to the next leader?

[26:11]  What is Repeat that for me?

[26:13]  Your blind question. What is your blind question to the next leader?

[26:15]  My blind question to the next leader?

[26:18]  Yep. That we speak on the heart and hustle. So, every every episode we're going to ask just like I ask you a blind question, we're going to ask the next leader a blind question. Do you have any question you want to ask someone that you've never met, but you know as a leader, it could be in the healthcare or nonprofit space, what would you ask them?

[26:32]  I would ask them, how is the work that you're doing um helping someone that's less fortunate? Okay, she

[26:41]  there's a lot of people in it just for money or just to get rich or you know and nothing wrong with money and nothing wrong with getting rich if that happens to happen but in the business that you are working in and the in the community that that you serve what are you doing to help someone else that needs a helping hand?

[27:00]  I love that. I love that. I love the conversation we had. I love what you stand for. I love that in your 50s you were able to launch your first business and it's going so well for you. Um two years, congrats on two years as well and and I can't wait, you know, to see what the next couple of years look like for you. Like you're two years in, you you've built a team, you have a Charmaine. What happens when you start to, you know, implement more charmes and and now you have all these little, you know, I want to say little, I hate to use a word little and belittle people, but you have all these talented individuals around you that are really just kind of seeing what you stand for and helping you um reach heights you probably never even imagined. So, congrats on just being so patient with yourself as well, on never giving up, having a good mindset. We should have talked about mindset. Clearly, you have a really good one. That's what led you here. Um,

[27:47]  it's not this great every day, but I pick myself back up every day.

[27:52]  I love it. Well, Sheila, thank you guys so much. Make sure you guys do share, like, and comment. Make sure you guys check out Sheila. Sheila, you're on LinkedIn as well?

[27:58]  I am on LinkedIn. Sheila Jones Lily on LinkedIn. I am

[28:02]  perfect, guys. If you guys want to connect with her, you guys know where to connect. This has been Ephrain. This is Sheila. We'll catch you guys on the next one. Lers. Thank you.