“When my mother needed care at home during a serious illness, I realized just how life-changing it can be when you’re sent home from the hospital or rehab facility and you still need so much help,” explains nurse Katrina Turman,BSN, RN, CCRN-CMC. She’s the founder and owner of Benevolence Services, a non-medical home-care business based in the Westchester neighborhood of metro Chicago.
Here’s how a SmartLoan from Pursuit is helping Katrina build a stronger foundation for her business, which she launched in 2022.
The need for compassionate care is significant and growing
Katrina graduated from West Suburban College of Nursing/Concordia University in 2003. She trained at West Suburban Hospital as a critical care nurse and received additional clinical work in geriatrics, telemetry, med-surge, emergency room, and cardiac catheterization lab.
As a critical care nurse, she had long known the value of compassionate care, but her experience with her mother became the ‘aha’ moment that led her to launch Benevolence Home Service. She and her team specialize in helping seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and post-surgical clients to continue their recovery at home.
As a non-medical service, Benevolence Home Service is staffed by experienced aides with a goal of providing compassionate assistance, primarily with activities of daily living such as bathing, eating, errands, and getting to appointments. Depending on clients’ needs, Katrina has anywhere from 2-20 employees and contractors.
Growing the business means opportunities for additional staff
Katrina explains, “Having staff in key areas is a focus as I build the business. For example, with an administrator on board, we can ensure we’re always in compliance. And with more hands-on care staff, I can focus on building our clientele and securing business-to-business opportunities.”
She says that an important lesson she has learned is that her business – and, thus, her cash flow – is less predictable than she initially thought it would be.
“The business took off and I assumed that it would continue like that,” Katrina admits. “I’ve learned that I have to consistently focus on marketing, outreach, and building relationships in the community and with businesses and organizations that can refer clients to us. Although I’m an experienced nurse and care provider, I’m a new business owner, so I’m learning a lot as I go.”
Unpredictable cashflow presents a need for a working capital loan
“As a service-intensive business, I need competent and caring staff to succeed,” Katrina says. “That’s a significant expense, so I needed a working capital loan to smooth out our cash flow.”
Fortunately, she says, a relative who knows Pursuit VP Alex Felton recommended that she reach out to him – and it was exactly the connection Katrina needed.
“Alex was great to work with. He helped me understand how to put my best loan application forward, which helped me clarify my goals and what I need to do to achieve them,” Katrina explains. “He also reassured me that he and Pursuit are my allies and advocates.”
Katrina received a SmartLoan and she says that the loan process was easier than she’d anticipated. “Underwriting always takes a while, but within a few weeks of applying, I had funds in the bank,” she says.
Gaining a lender and more
Katrina says that she’s also learned a lot from VP Malini Krishna, who’s on Pursuit’s Business Advisory Services (BAS) team. These are consulting services that are available at no cost to eligible borrowers. Through BAS, Pursuit clients are matched with experts in key areas including financial management, marketing, and human resources.
“I’m learning that as entrepreneurs, we specialize in particular areas and there’s so much we don’t know yet when we launch our businesses,” Katrina says. “I’m a nurse, not a marketing or financial expert, and I knew nothing about marketing funnels and things like that. But I’m learning! I’m becoming a better business owner and my Pursuit team is a big part of that.”
Katrina’s learning to optimize resources, such as hiring a virtual assistant to help manage day-to-day operations. And, she says, “With the help of my Pursuit team and BAS consultants, I’m finding opportunities for new, more profitable, or more predictable revenue lines, such as business-to-business opportunities with hospitals and rehab facilities.”
Pursuit provides financing and more
“Looking ahead, I want to further stabilize our financial base and build the business to $1 million+ in annual revenue,” Katrina says. “And I’d like to dedicate my time to building the business, because there’s so much need in our community for these services and so many caring and talented people who can fill these jobs. I’d really like to bring this all together and help people with health challenges to live their best lives.”
Pursuit is a leading small business lender serving businesses across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Nevada, Illinois, and Washington. We offer loans and a line of credit for working capital, commercial real estate, equipment, and much more. We’ve helped thousands of small business owners get the funding they need to achieve their dreams and we can help you, too.
Contact us today to learn more.
