How he went from food stamps to millions of dollars. Millionaire founder story

Welcome to episode three of the Founder Story. I am actually in Miami. My friend Michael Lasso sent me a dm and he told me that he would love for me to record the founder story of one of his co founders. So I drove all the way from Orlando to Miami five hours yesterday. I have barely slept. And we are waiting for Andy to arrive to his office. If you are a business owner, an entrepreneur, or you have a co founder or anybody that you know that you would like me to do a video for them, let me know and I will just come unexpected if I have the time. Obviously, I'm going to be picking out until Andy arrives, and then once he gets here, we're gonna run and interview him kind of like on the spot and see what he has to say. And hopefully he allowed us to do the founder story. So I hope that you enjoy this video. So he hasn't arrived yet. We are here waiting in the parking lot. So Michael is checking his messages to see what time he will be arriving, but he said he's like five minutes out. That's his car, right?

Yep.

Excuse me, sir. Excuse me. Are you Andy?

Yes.

Hi. Nice meeting you. So Michael sent me and I would love to.

Michael sent you?

Yes, I would love to interview you and ask you about your business. Your business, Right.

Yes, I am.

Amazing. So I help business and entrepreneurs get more clients with social media and I would love to do a free founders video for you.

Absolutely.

Okay, awesome. So can you tell me a little bit more about what you do?

So I've been in healthcare for 22 years. I started when I was 19 years old. I started as a sales rep, and then I worked my way up. I started owning my own business. In 2012, I became a partner. And then 2016, I acquired a company called the Rhodes Home Healthcare.

Amazing.

Now we serve 14 counties in the state of Florida. We serve almost a thousand patients in the state of Florida, and we're doing close to $23 million a year in revenue.

Wow, that is amazing. And how much money did you have when you started this business?

I probably had like $300,000 that I had saved up in my bank account, and that's what I lived off for almost three years.

So you have made 20 million, you

said over the years it's been a lot more, but we've done over $100 million in revenue.

And where is your business? This one. Right.

This is our Broward branch and our corporate office is across the street. But yeah.

Can we tour it?

Absolutely.

Okay, we'll follow you. So how long ago did you open this business?

So this is. So this branch opened up in 2018. So we acquired a company called Joe Morag Health Services. And then we did a DBA doing business as the Rose Home Healthcare.

Amazing. Amazing.

Come in. Hello, our beautiful staff.

Hi. Nice meeting you. What kind of services do you offer?

So we're a skilled home health service. So we provide nurses, we provide physical therapists, occupational therapists, home health aides. So think of us as an extension of the hospital, but in the home.

And what is the best way for people to reach out or get your services online over a phone number?

Yeah, so we are online onlineroadshhh.com we're also on Instagram, so you can DM us there. Also my personal page, Andy Ahernandez on Instagram, you can DM me there as well. So we have many ways of getting a hold of us and finding us.

Amazing. Okay, so just show me around, I'll follow you.

This is what we live by every single day, is how we communicate in the organization. This is how we evaluate everyone in the organization. These are the things that we look for.

Amazing. And what will you tell business owners and entrepreneurs? Anything that you've learned to get them inspired?

You gotta have purpose, you gotta have a calling. And I think what we do in healthcare is a purpose and a calling because there's a lot of challenges that you're faced with every single day. And if you put the purpose in front of that, then you can get through whatever it is that you're facing. And you're helping a lot of people because this country needs home care. The economy won't function if there's no home care because people can't go to work if they have to take care of their loved ones.

And is there a reason why you started this business?

I fell into this business because of my brother. He brought me in, but it was. It was God sent. My mother was on home health when I was growing up. She had a massive stroke when I was three years old. So without home health, we wouldn't have made it. So God placed me personally in this business for that reason. I believe this is my new off. I actually just moved in here last week, so it's not up to par yet. I moved it from across the street, but now I'm in here.

And what are all those prizes?

Those are so. Played a lot of flag football for almost 20 years and we've won a lot of tournaments.

What has been the biggest success for your company?

Being able to expand the Way we expand, we did it in a pretty short amount of time. So I acquired the Rhodes home healthcare in 2016. It has seven patients. Today. We're close to serving 1,000 throughout the state of Florida. So we did it in a pretty quick amount of time.

Did you ever imagine 20, 30 years ago that you'll be here today?

I knew that I was gonna be a successful entrepreneur. I just didn't know what that was going to look like.

Wow. And how many businesses have you opened other than this one?

Multiple businesses. Some have made it, some have failed. It's just been part of the journey. I've had other businesses. I can't remember the revenues right now. I've sold a lot of them and I've gotten out. So I've really put my focus in healthcare and our media company.

What would you say to yourself 10 years ago?

I think I would have focused more when I was younger.

And myself? I'm an immigrant. I'm from Venezuela. I was homeless 10 years ago. My story has been very rough. Yes. But I know what it is to come from nothing and just to build from the ground up. And I know you have been as well. I don't know your story. So can you share a little bit more about where you come from, your family?

So I'm first generation. My parents came here. My mother came in 79 from Cuba.

Wow.

My dad came in 1980 from Cuba and they had to build a whole new life. My parents actually met here in the United States and then they had me and my little sister. And we're actually a pretty big family. My father had many kids, but we all are a very tight niche family when it comes to our siblings. I can't say so much about my father, but that's a whole other conversation for another day. But, yeah, so we've been able to grow as a family, actually. My older brother's a partner in the business and my sister as well.

What has been the biggest lesson as a business owner, as an entrepreneur, that you learned that can give them a little push to keep going and keep being motivated or disciplined with this journey, because it's really hard.

The Valley of Despair is a real thing and you're going to face it. So you're going to have all this enthusiasm when you get into business and you want to make all this money. That's not what it is. I know that. That's what they're selling you on Instagram, that's what they're selling you on social media. But that's not the reality. Of it. So you have to have aggressive patience is what I call it, where you're aggressively working towards what you're trying to get to. But you have to have a lot of patience, and you gotta be able to withstand a lot because this, you know, entrepreneurship is not easy. And there's a lot of nights that you cannot sleep, a lot of loneliness that happens. Things that you don't even want to have conversations about because you're embarrassed or you don't know how to tell somebody about it because you feel like you're a failure. But that's just part of the process and the journey. I always say if you're not failing, you're not growing.

That's true.

And the growth only comes when you fail.

Thank you so much. You're so wise. So are you ready to record your founder story?

Let's do it.

So we're going to go to Michael's studio because he offered, and we're going to record your founder's video over there. I drove all the way to Orlando, so I'm excited to do this for you.

Awesome.

All right, ready?

Let's go.

Okay, guys, so we just finished recording the interview for Andy, and now we're gonna go to my car, get a few equipments, and then we're gonna go to the studio, Michael Studio here in Miami. Also, if you want to get any podcasts or content creation or anything like that and you're here in Miami, I recommend you guys, I'm gonna put the link below of their Instagram and website, so if you want to go support them. They're amazing. They did those all for me, so they're really good. So let's get all the equipment and we're gonna record him. So we're gonna be shooting the behind the scenes as well. And then we're gonna be doing the founder story in a vertical format for him to put it on his Instagram. And I'm really excited about that. So I'll see you inside. Cool. Yeah, that looks nice.

Looks better.

Yeah. And then we need to put the blue one. That's much better. Okay. And when you speak, my name is Andy. X, Y, and Z. I'm the founder of X, Y and Z. And this is my founder story.

My name is Andy Hernandez. I'm the founder of the Rhodes Home Healthcare. And this is my founder story.

Okay, great. We're gonna do it again, but I wanted you to say, and this. And this is my founder story.

It's not only about the. The patient that we serve. It's also about the family members, the kids that we're constantly being able to help every single day so they can move on with their lives.

Okay, perfect. I would like to. For you to say something like this. I have made. I don't know the number exactly, but let's say 30 million in revenue or the most amount of money that you have made, and it could be, like, across all the businesses.

Okay, so bring out a calculator.

Okay, I like that. Okay. If I can do it, you can do it. Because you're. You're a boss. You're. You're there. Like, you're not. I try to make you sentimental. You're not there. Okay, so make you a boss. If I can do it, you can do it.

I know you were trying.

I tried. I tried my best. Okay, let's do it. So we just finished doing the founder story for Andy. What do you think about the experience?

I thought it was an incredible experience. I think you're a great interviewer.

Thank you.

It was great. It was fun.

Amazing. So we're so happy to meet him. Thank you, Michael, for inviting us to Miami or inviting me to Miami. It was so happy to meet you, Andy, and tell your story. Is there anything that you would like to tell to business owners, entrepreneurs, or anything about your story that you would like to share?

Absolutely. Take the first step, but don't look back.

Usually when there is fear, that means that you're doing something right. It means that you're taking out of yourself of the comfort zone. So take that choice. If you would like to be part of this finder series just like Andy did, you can DM me on Instagram, you can apply@kviolite.com and I'll come when you least expect it. So now enjoy Andy's founder story.

We were on Medicaid, welfare, food stamps, but just had an opportunity. And when that opportunity came, I ran through the door. My name is Andy Hernandez, owner of the Rose Home Healthcare, and this is my founder story. We have made $164 million in revenue, but that's not why we did it. When I was three years old, my mom had a massive stroke and she was disabled. The only thing that I remember is her limping around. And without home health, we wouldn't have made it. Being able to oversee my mother while we were at work was a huge, huge, huge blessing. I do this for the legacy that this business is going to leave behind, but I also do it for my kids, and I also do it for other people's kids that are going through the same things that we went through. I started from the bottom, didn't grow up with a lot. We were on Medicaid, welfare, food stamps, but just had an opportunity. And when that opportunity came about, I ran through the door. I think anybody can do it if they find their calling and passion. I know what the struggle is. I know the helplessness that you have when you can't help your family member. And that's why we do what we do with the passion that we have. If I can do it, you can do it. This is my founder story, and I hope I can be a part of yours.