Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Hill.
Hi Melissa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at the age of 20 while attending college and living out my dream of playing softball. Shortly after the diagnosis, I found my health deteriorating and had to give up playing softball. Although I found myself lost on what was next and wondering what to do with my life; I did have the determination to keep pushing forward and finish college, get married, and have a career. There were many challenges along the way including two major surgeries, the second one leaving me with a permanent ileostomy (no colon). I strive to share some of my challenges with others through a blog and social media outlets. I named it, Ain’t Got No Colon (@aintgotnocolon) – Although the struggle is real, I still like to have fun and enjoy life to the fullest. Today, you can find me and my husband running our medical equipment business together in Villa Rica – which turned ten this year. It was not what either one of us set out to do in our original plan. However, my husband was working for a pharmacist ten years ago who was looking to retire. They had a very small portion of their business dedicated to medical equipment. After the pharmacy was sold, we were given the opportunity to buy the medical equipment business. Although, my health and the economy was very poor at the time. We decided to take the risk.
I could have never imagined that what I saw then as my biggest challenge and hurdle in life would be what brings us and others so many blessings. We get to serve people everyday while having a sense of compassion and empathy for what physical and mental challenges they might be facing due to what we have gone through ourselves. We provide and teach others how to use medical equipment in hopes that it will make what they are going through a little easier. We absolutely love what we do and are thankful that we get to show up everyday and help people.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has been difficult at times. Some of the struggles were my husband carrying the weight of running the business while I was sick or recovering from surgeries by himself. We will be facing this challenge again soon with the surgery I will be having in a few weeks. We have learned a lot from our previous experiences so we have been able to prepare and plan for this challenge.
We have had struggles with hiring staff. In the beginning, we couldn’t afford it. Oftentimes not paying ourselves so that the little bit of profit we were making could go back into growing the business. Today, we are finding it difficult to find dependable people. We know they are out there, we are just having to work harder than before to find them.
I think one of the biggest struggles that any business owner has is wondering if you made the right decision and if you make the wrong one -what will affect. This same struggle is always what is so rewarding about being an entrepreneur. You get to make your own decisions (good and bad) that ultimately will help you learn and grow. You then take what you’ve learned and invest in other people to help them grow.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Plaza Home Care?
We have a large showroom where we sell medical equipment and supplies to the public. It’s important for people to be able to try out the medical equipment they need and to know where they can go back to if they need help with it. Our supplies range from compression hose, knee braces, walkers, wheelchairs, lift chair recliners, power scooters, CPAP, shower benches, orthopedic shoes, incontinence products, ostomy and wound care supplies. We are known for making you feel taken care of. Our motto is “Big enough to serve you, small enough to care about you.”
Most medical equipment suppliers are large corporate companies who operate out of warehouses and provide people with only what their insurance covers. Don’t get me wrong, these companies are important and do hold a tremendous amount of value within our communities.
What sets us apart is that we do not let insurance companies dictate what product is right for our customers. We made the decision earlier this year to stop working with insurance companies after watching them slowly over the years cover and less and less yet require more and more documentation to get something as simple as a walker. By no longer working with insurance contracts, we can lower our prices and provide a wider range of options for people. What we do is educate and empower our customers on their options and let them decide what is best.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
What we like best about our city is that it has so many options. You can live in the city, the hustle and bustle if you will or you can have a short 30 minute drive from almost anywhere in the city and feel like you are in the country. No matter where you are, you will be treated with southern hospitality. Our city offers so many great restaurants, venues, and places to relax.
What we like least about the city is our traffic. Our rapid growth and expansion over the years has criplied our major highways that feed our city.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@plazahomecare.com
- Website: plazahomecare.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plazahomecare/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/plazahomecaremedical
Image Credits:
picture #1 (me by myself)- Jennifer Carter picture #2 (me with a customer) – West Aerial Imagery Picture #4 (Us at our front counter) – Visions to Images Photography
