Certify CNY 2020 Year End Edition

CERTIFY CNY

20 20

Year End Edition.

DEFEND THE DEFENSELESS

In just eight years, José Perez, Esq. has built a distinguished, regional law firm that serves the Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo and (coming soon) Albany communities with workers’ compensation, social security, immigration, and personal injury representation. Just this year, he expanded his practice to criminal, family, traffic, and divorce matters. He is licensed to practice law in Venezuela, New York State, and New Jersey, He is the recipient of the New York State Super Lawyers Rising Star Award in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2020, he received the 2020 Super Lawyer Award, the most prestigious and important award that lawyers can receive. He has also been awarded Lawyers of Distinction (2020) and Workers’ Compensation Most Influential Lawyer (2020).

José was born in Ithaca while his father was studying at Cornell, but soon after, returned to Venezuela with his parents. Venezuela was where he would live his childhood and the first study to become a lawyer. It´s also the place where his passion for defending the defenseless began. “Since kindergarten, I’ve always wanted to be a lawyer or a cook. In fact, I became a lawyer first in Venezuela. Seeing all the different things happening while I was in school affected me. I was the editor of my high school newspaper.

THE LAW OFFICES OF JOSÉ PÉREZ

DEFEND THE DEFENSELESS

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THE LAW OFFICES OF JOSÉ PÉREZ

We were a protest newspaper and we got information from students about corruption from teachers, etc. Seeing everything that was happening drove me. It was always my passion to defend the defenseless. Also, I cook really well.”And so José pursued Law and became a plaintiff lawyer in Venezuela. He later decided to return to Ithaca and enrolled in an ESL program at BOCES. Unable to find a job in the legal field at the time because his law degree was from Venezuela and not New York, he worked as a pizza delivery driver while taking ESL classes.

He also took his LSAT and applied to law school at Cornell and Syracuse University, where he ended up earning his cum laude law degree in 2007. José was among the top-ranking students of his graduating class from SU and upon graduation, he joined a midsize firm here in Central New York.

His work was in defense litigation, defending corporations who were being sued. Because of his background and strong desire to do more social justice work, he asked if he could start taking immigration cases after being at the firm for some time. The firm agreed, but José soon saw that he couldn’t represent clients in the way he wanted to due to conflicts of interest.

So, in 2012, José opened his own law firm in Central New York offering workers compensation, social security, immigration, and personal injury representation.

Since then, he has expanded toBuffalo and Rochester, and will soon be opening offices in Albany.

He also now offers additional legal services including criminal, family, traffic, and divorce.

“I’m really proud of being able to help change people’s lives.

J O S É

P É R E Z

THE LAW OFFICES OF JOSÉ PÉREZ

DEFEND THE DEFENSELESS

When someone is about to be removed from the US, avoiding that, stopping that, I’m proud of that every day when I can make that happen.”

Read more of José’s journey in his own words: What has been the secret to your success so far?

“My openness to people and the fact that I’m not afraid to take on big challenges.

And of course, the support of my wife and family is very important because this practice can take a toll on you. You see people being deported every day, families being torn apart day after day. These things take a toll, but having family support…that helps you to move on.”

What is the most challenging part of being an entrepreneur?

“Trying to balance your daily life with your clients and your staff. At any point in time, someone has expectations of something that you’re doing.

Clients, for example, may not know that things may take a while to accomplish. They may become upset with me or with my staff.

Making everybody happy is the most challenging part. Specifically when it comes to immigration, and especially with the Trump administration, people are not used to being told ‘There’s nothing else I can do for you.’ Or with personal injury, for example, when a doctor gives an opinion contrary to the client’s doctor’s opinion, it’s difficult because it’s important to them, to their livelihood.”

How has the community responded to you and your firm?

“The local community itself has been great. I speak Spanish and not many lawyers do. They see me as competition, but I’m niche. As soon as we add more people that speak Spanish, we serve the community better.”

What has been a challenge you have had and how have you overcome it?

“Before I left my job, I had a salary and health insurance. But when I left to start my own practice, it was challenging When it comes to my cases, they don’t pay right away so I

DEFEND THE DEFENSELESS didn’t have income for a few months. You have to sacrifice and work the file for a while, waiting to get paid. It was very challenging, and we even went on public assistance for a brief time.”

Do you find your gender/ethnicity to be a challenge or an advantage in the work you do? Why? “It’s a challenge sometimes when you’re dealing with the general public. Some people have yelled ‘Speak English!’ even though they have called the firm. Also, my inability to speak English without an accent can throw people off. I never experienced that before Trump. If the prejudice or unconscious bias was out there, people didn’t say it out loud; no they do. But being Latino and being able to speak Spanish? Of course that gives me an advantage over anybody that is not Latino or does not speak Spanish because people identify with me, my culture, and my language.”

Where do you see your company in 3-5 years?

“This year, we expanded to offer four new areas of practice. We currently employ ten office staff and during the Summer we had almost 20 people. In the next 1-2 years, we will be opening in Albany and will be expanding more Down State.”

How has Corona Virus affected your business? What do you think will be most challenging about it going forward?

“Early on, the immigration court was stopped for two months, and Social Security hearings haven’t started back in person again yet. For workers’ compensation courts, nothing has changed. In the office, we try to avoid contact as much as possible, use masks, and lower numbers in the offices and waiting rooms. As far as payments, we have been impacted because many people pay us out of pocket and only 20% of payments have been received.”

What advice would you give potential entrepreneurs?

“Don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid to go on your own, to make it happen. It was difficult for me, but as I look back, the only thing I regret is not making the change sooner. Being afraid of making the change is ok, and even if you fail, learn from that. Don’t be afraid to change things.”

DEFEND THE DEFENSELESS

Is there something I haven’t asked that you would like people to know about you/your business?

“It’s important to let people know that we are here to help. It’s important to communicate your issues in your own language with people of your own cultures. Not everyone understands people from different countries. For example, some people who come from other countries don’t know their addresses from their country of origin.

In their countries, they don’t have or provide that info or use it in day-to-day life. Not knowing these nuances [in the U.S. legal system] makes it look like they don’t want to disclose information, but it’s not that people don’t want to provide information. It’s a cultural difference. We’re here to bridge that gap between those cultures and what is expected here in terms of the services we provide.”

Article by Diana Clark

A LEGEND IN THE MAKING

NYS MBE DREISSIG APPAREL INC. · WHEN YOUR FAMILY LINEAGE INCLUDES HARRIET TUBMAN, THE WORD DETERMINATION TAKES ON A WHOLE DIFFERENT MEANING.

BY DIANA CLARK

Marc Jones is the founder and CEO of Dreissig Apparel. Born and raised in Central New York, Marc began his journey in the apparel business through sports. He played football at the University of Tennessee and later, professionally in Germany. But what really inspired him to become an entrepreneur? “My parents have always inspired me, encouraged me to stay positive, pushed me, and told me to never give up. They encouraged me to go after my dreams. Another person is my great, great, great, aunt Harriet Tubman. To do what she did back in the day, to overcome those obstacles? She’s really a true hero of mine.”

Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, while Marc was playing professional football in Germany, a clothing designer approached him to create his own line of apparel. He agreed and got the process going, but it never panned out. Marc then spoke with a business advisor who suggested he evaluate the possibility of starting his own apparel company.

In 1998, Marc did just that, founding Dreissig Apparel (Dreissig is German for thirty, his jersey number). More than twenty years later, the company is still standing strong, even amidst the current pandemic.

So how does he do it? Here’s Marc’s story in his own words.

Tell me about the early days of your business and how you grew.

“I started the company to be a Nike or an Adidas, providing athletic apparel.

DREISSIG APPAREL INC.

We outfit athletic teams across the country, sell school uniforms and apparel for fundraising, and provide PPE for hospitals. We do corporate work, as well as work with hospitals and the government.”

I’m like the head coach, I run my directors and coordinators, they coordinate the rest of the staff.”

What is the most challenging part of being an entrepreneur?

What’s something you’re really proud of?

“Our longevity for 20 years. I started from scratch with the money I had earned from football and invested it. Then when I made a profit, I reinvested the profit. I used the natural growth model.”

What has been the secret to your success so far?

“My dedication, determination, and desire. Those are my three principles for achievement. You’ve got to be determined, have the desire and the will in your soul to make things happen. You’ve gotta do whatever it takes. I work hard and I’m a risk-taker. If my staff didn’t believe in me and in my vision, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. I go out and negotiate with manufacturers and distributors. Back in the office, I need people who can manage that here. I have account managers, directors, and coordinators. They manage the various divisions of what I’m doing. With my sports background, I control my business like a team.

“Keeping a positive mindset and really genuinely knowing how to overcome obstacles. The challenging part is obstacles that you must overcome because you either overcome the obstacles or you fold in business. No matter what you do, obstacles are going to come, maybe financial obstacles, maybe a business can’t scale as they need to or aren’t sure how to make an opportunity happen.

The obstacles are the challenging things that keep beating you down both mentally and physically.

Having the mindset that you will have obstacles, but you need to make sure you can maneuver around them and stay on track helps. It’s not easy. People want to give up after the third or fourth time. I probably wanted to quit 150 of the first 365 days I was in business. But I had the persistence and drive to keep going.”

How has the apparel industry responded?

MARC JONES

DREISSIG APPAREL INC.

“It has been challenging. Everyone doubted me at first when I started. They asked, ‘How will you compete against Nike and Adidas?’ It was cold and disheartening at times. I would go to Athletic Directors to bid for contracts to provide their uniforms and they would say ‘Well, we’ve been working with Nike or Adidas.’ So I offered to provide their workout apparel first and then worked my way up. My niche was custom-made, high-end uniforms at first. I also started local with pop warner, baseball, and high school teams. My alma mater, CBA, gave me my first opportunity. Now, we’re dominant in the North East but I want to be a force across the country.”

What has been a significant challenge for you and how have you overcome it?

“When COVID-19 first started, I had had the most successful first quarter in my company’s history.

Then, I had the worst second quarter ever. I had to get into survival mode as we started getting cases here. As the CEO and owner of the company I had to say, ‘What am I going to do to lead my team into battle?’

Thank God I had diversified my hospital, state, and other government business. That was my pivot.

We were already doing PPE supplies, but I concentrated on selling PPE products in April, May, and June. I started marketing on social media for gloves, sanitizer, etc. We ended up selling sanitizer to markets that were out of it all across the country. That truly has helped me get through COVID-19.”

“We lost 60% of the apparel part of the business. We’ve recovered some. We’re down 30% now and we’re getting back on track. The numbers keep improving. Will I be 100% back to where we were PreCOVID-19? No. But, apparel has been picking up since July/August. Schools have been buying custom masks. At the end of the year, we’re projecting we’ll only be down 15%.

But, I’m happy we can still get through it. I created a blueprint for the survival of COVID-19, and now if it happens again I know how to handle it.” COVID-19 has created a lot of fear. Fear is what stops everybody from moving forward.

MARC JONES

MARC JONES IS THE FOUNDER AND CEO OF DREISSIG APPAREL INC., DBA DREISSIG COMPANY. HE IS THE 2020 RECIPIENT OF THE NAACP MUHAMMAD ALI ENTREPRENEUR & SPORTS AWARD, But at some point, you have to conquer the fear. My fear of failure outweighs my fear of success. You have to overcome the fear so you can start moving again. Everyone thinks you have to hit a home run every time. It's not like that. You start one step at a time, then you walk, then you start running.�

How has being MWBE Certified contributed to the success of your business?

“It kept me in business during COVID-19.

Previously, 60% of my contracts had come from private businesses and 40% from the government. But almost anyone that needed apparel had shut down because of the virus.

What kept me going was my state, government, and hospital divisions. The certification is very important. My business advisors and the board told me a while ago to diversify.

You have to have other divisions [besides apparel], other opportunities coming into the business. I started in apparel and a natural merge for me was textiles. Now, one of my big state accounts is with Upstate University Hospital to provide all of their scrubs.

Do you find your ethnicity to be a challenge or an advantage in the work you do?

Why? “We’ve got to overcome that no matter what anyway. Being an African American man here in Syracuse it’s a challenge no matter what. I have to present myself better and work harder than my white counterpart. I’ve gotta pass the “eye test” all the time; not because of who I am as a person but because of the color of my skin. But I take advantage of that too because of my MWBE certification. I am very proud that I can use that, and I do use that.”

Where do you see your company in 3-5 years?

Dreissig Apparel Inc. A NEW YORK STATE CERTIFIED MBE TEXTILE MANUFACTURE.

BY DIANA CLARK

In addition, we do cleaning cloths, privacy curtains, shower curtains, etc. Then, I started becoming a distributor of those products. Getting certified as an MBE started all that for me. From apparel and textiles to industrial supplies, I now have contracts with Onondaga County, New York State, etc. They can contract with me to fulfill their NYS MBE requirements.”

DREISSIG APPAREL

I have two major goals. First, right now, we have business spread out across the country, but we’re more dominant in the North East. I want to expand more nationally. I want to be more dominant, not just in apparel, but beyond that as a distributor. Secondly, I want to expand more in the retail sector by selling online. I want www.dreissigathletic.com to be more of a powerhouse in the national retail space. I want to tighten the line so we can present it to larger stores like Dick’s, Modell’s, and Academy Sports.”

What advice would you give potential MWBEs? “Go ahead and get certified, but before you do, try to have a plan in place for what you’re going to do once it’s in place. People think that the contracts are just going to come, but that’s the farthest from the truth. Get certified. Have a plan for how you’re going to go out there and get the business. Do your research. Ask, ‘What’s my target market? What’s the plan? How can I market to the agencies and bigger companies that work with them?’ Have a plan and attack, attack, attack. As we say in football, you’ve gotta smell the endzone. Now, instead of the touchdown, I’m closing deals.”

DREISSIG APPAREL

F O O D

E S S E N T I A L S

I-VIEW PSYCHIATRIC NP & BEHAVIORAL THERAPY PC AN INTERVIEW WITH ABRAHAM MASARA DIANA CLARK “My family was caught up in that. My mom and dad took different paths and my dad was largely out of my life for a while when he was in prison. Despite that, he never stopped being a dad. Every time I visited him in prison, he

Clinic number 315.391.7770 or email

would say ‘Bring your work.’ Our visits were lessons.”

serviceinquiry@iviewtelepsych.com

Later, at the age of 15 Abraham was diagnosed with Large

Website: https://www.iviewtelepsych.com/make-

Cell Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Over the course of the next

an-appointment

two years, and largely in isolation due to his diagnosis, he

Click on the intake tab to schedule an appointment.

endured surgeries, chemotherapy, and a Cancer relapse.

Having Cancer and the lack of human touch during treatment was another trauma.

Abraham Masara is a Board-certified Psychiatric Nurse A practitioner whose practice, I-View Psychiatric NP & Behavioral Therapy PC, provides mental health care for clients ranging the whole life span from 3-81 years of age. His practice is unique in that it focuses on Psychiatry, Cultural Competence, and has a focus on Telemedicine. He currently has eight employees and simultaneously runs a non-profit called I-Mobile Health Mission. His journey as a business owner has been as much spiritual as entrepreneurial. Abraham Masara has seen a good deal of trauma in his life. He was born and raised in New York City (Harlem and Washington Heights) which as Abraham puts it, “brings its own trauma.” It was the 80s and the crack epidemic had hit hard. There was a crime, everything was bad.

“It’s easy for people to develop isolation psychosis when they go through intense medical treatment like that, in some ways, it's similar to what people experience when they’re in the box in prison.” But the experience also changed him. For the first time in his life, Abraham met African American and Latino nurses. “That was my first exposure to them, and it opened my eyes to the idea of seeing my people, Black and Brown people, in those positions. I remember one nurse in particular who reminded me that I was handsome all the time during my treatment. And when I told her I was interested in nursing, she told me to go to nursing school. That meant the world to me.”

I-VIEW PSYCHIATRIC NP &

Abraham Masara, Board-

BEHAVIORAL THERAPY PC

Practitioner

Because he had missed so much school due to his Cancer treatments, Abraham required the help of a tutor. One of his favorite tutors, Mr. Modell tutored him at Colombia University’s library. Abraham was blown away by the smell of the library and the focus of the students there. He was already hungry to work in hospitals and that experience only piqued his interest. He decided to go to school to become a nurse.

Abraham had his RN license by the time he was 19 years old and was working on his Bachelor’s degree. Sensing he needed to get out of NYC for a while, he applied for and was hired as a nurse in the ER at SUNY Upstate. He moved to CNY for his first job as a nurse and transferred to Syracuse University. Upon graduation with his Bachelor’s degree, he returned to NYC to work at St. Vincent’s Hospital. Eventually, Abraham decided to come back to Syracuse because NYC was getting too chaotic.

certified Psychiatric Nurse

WALK AND TALK THERAPY SERVICES CARING FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH He had overcome so much trauma, but still

“Depression looks different for different

couldn’t find happiness. “When you have

groups and I got to the point where I

untreated trauma it starts to conjure up

wanted to create something for us. For me,

depression. I had goals and I was

it was on a spiritual level. God created us in

ambitions, but I wasn’t happy.” Abraham

the image of our creators and the care

continued his journey through deep

should reflect that."

introspection. Everyone’s journey has hard lessons. Everyone battles themselves. And

Three years ago, Abraham took that leap of

everyone is trying to learn about

faith and started a private practice. The

themselves. I went through a rough path in

first year was tough. His house almost went

my life and began to question things,

into foreclosure and his car was almost

philosophical things. I started reading a lot

repossessed. But he was determined to

of theology and got really interest in the

give his community what he knew it needed.

mind and psychiatry.”

He didn’t want it to be a typical, sterile medical practice, rather, Abraham

Back in Central New York, Abraham was

believes in the neighborhood clinic

hired at Liberty Resources. During his time,

model. “When you bring the services to the

he thought deeply about the lack of cultural

people, it’s theirs. They have ownership.

competency in the Mental Health field

And it saves the system money. It uses

and in his own experience. Assessing

fewer Medicaid cabs and promotes

African Americans with symptoms of

exercise. We have to stop with these clinics

Mental Illness is not the same as assessing

that look like clinics. You walk into my

Caucasians.

clinic and it looks like an art studio.

We have a beautiful office. This population

Part of Abraham’s success is also attributable to

deserves to have the same services as anyone

his foresight when it comes to Telemedicine.

else.” And it’s working. “There are a lot of

When he opened his practice three

deterrents in the lower social-economic classes

years ago, he took into consideration that

that prevent people from seeking help. It’s

Telemedicine would be the wave of

still taboo. But I opened a clinic in Mattydale at

the future. He invested in the technology

first and six months ago another on Slocum Ave

necessary to make that happen. Then

in Syracuse in collaboration with Family

COVID-19 hit. “I already had the technology but

Planning Services. Our waiting list is already out

Covid sped up my plan for it.

two months and my non-compliance rate

Now, it’s time for me to get licenses in other

doesn’t go higher than 10%.”

states, and thanks to Telemedicine, we can do it.

TELEPSYCHIATRY SERVICES

BY DIANA CLARK We are licensed and have clients in Florida. We’re currently, trying to get our California license. We’re targeting areas where there are not Spanish-speaking therapists, and going for states that have high Latino, monolingual populations. I-View will continue to be a brick-and-mortar private practice, but also we are truly a telepsychiatric service. We’re also planning case management for the future.”

“The most important pivot we have made during this pandemic is that we are now hyper-focused on making this a national telepsychiatric company. Florida is a test run.

We want to bring the clinic to the neighborhood. We think in hubs, not clinics. If you put hubs in rural areas where there isn’t access to the internet, it breaks down barriers.

That’s how we’ve pivoted. We’re moving forward.”

No matter what this pandemic or any other trauma might bring, Abraham has an unwavering sense of his vision. “I love helping people.”

ABRAHAM’S ADVICE CORNER WHAT CHALLENGES ARE YOU SEEING PEOPLE STRUGGLE WITH THE MOST DURING THIS PANDEMIC? “AT FIRST IT WAS KIND OF NOVELTY, THE DEMOGRAPHIC THAT IS HIT THE HARDEST FROM THIS IS OUR CHILDREN. NOW WHAT I’M NOTICING WITH CHILDREN IS CONDUCT DISORDER. BUT IT’S NOT THEIR FAULT, THEY ARE A BALL OF ENERGY AND THEY CAN’T GET IT OUT. DEPENDING ON THE AGE DEMOGRAPHIC IT’S DIFFERENT TOO. THE 18-25 ARE KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE ON WHETHER THEY’RE TAKING IT SERIOUSLY OR NOT. IT’S AFFECTING PEOPLE DIFFERENTLY. IF IT’S NOT THE FEAR OF COVID-19, IT’S GETTING LAID OFF, AN INCREASE IN DEPRESSION, AND ANXIETY, AND EXACERBATIONS OF ALREADY OCCURRING SYMPTOMS.” WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE ABOUT SELF-CARE DURING THE CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES? “BE EASY ON YOURSELF. DON’T WATCH SERIOUS TELEVISION ALL THE TIME, WATCH SOMETHING NOT SERIOUS. YOU’VE GOTTA LEARN TO UNPLUG. GO ON A FAST FROM TECHNOLOGY. EAT CLEAN. BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR VICES. REMEMBER THAT LIQUOR STORES ARE RECESSION-PROOF. LEARN WHEN TO GIVE PEOPLE SPACE. LEARN WHEN TO WALK AWAY. SIMPLE THINGS LIKE EXERCISING, OR FINDING A NEW HOBBY CAN HELP. THIS IS A PERFECT TIME FOR SELF-DISCOVERY.” HIS ADVICE FOR POTENTIAL ENTREPRENEURS? “MY GOLDEN RULE IN BUSINESS IS ‘DON’T GIVE UP.’ YOU’RE GONNA HIT THE BRICK WALL. I CAN’T SIT HERE AND TELL YOU IT WAS AN EASY JOURNEY, BUT WE ARE NOW A SUSTAINABLE CLINIC THAT IS CULTURALLY COMPETENT. NO MATTER WHAT, DON’T GIVE UP. PUT ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER AND THE MIND CATCHES UP.” Abraham Massara, Board-certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

NYS CERTIFIED MBE CAREFARE LLC

JONATHAN MAXIM, PRINCIPAL

CAREFARE LLC

Jonathan Maxim works hard. Real hard. He is up early in the morning to drive dialysis patients to their appointments and often stays up late to bring the last patient home from evening appointments. His hands-on approach means that, when it comes to his business, he’s doing it all.

He runs his company, Care Fare, LLC, including payroll, vehicle purchase and maintenance, hiring, management, and contract procurement, in addition to driving patients to and from appointments.

Care Fare, LLC isa medical transportation company that currently employs ten people and has a fleet of twelve vehicles. Care Fare, LLC began as a labor of love for Jonathan’s mother, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2013.

“When my mother became ill with secondary Multiple Sclerosis, she suddenly went from being an ablebodied teaching assistant at Fowler High School to the end of her working career. I found myself having to bring her to appointments on a regular basis, so we bought a wheelchair van.

Unfortunately, she got progressively worse. Eventually, she moved into an assisted living facility at Loretto.

People at the facility saw me taking her back and forth to appointments and told me that I should open a transportation business. I talked to my mom and she said the same thing, so in 2013, I created my company.”

When Jonathan first started, his niche was transportation to and from dialysis care. “In order to get patients in the first dialysis appointment of the morning, you have to get up at 4:30 a.m. No one else would do the very early and very late drop offs and pickups at dialysis. But I was just that hungry. I wanted to grow my business.

Then, that work started to generate more business. Loretto Assisted Living has twenty-one floors,and there are ten rooms on each floor. Now, we’re a huge presence at Loretto. We provide services for Loretto Rehabilitation Services, Loretto Long Term Care, Buckley Landing, and Loretto Assisted Living. Whatever they need, we provide.

NEW YORK STATE CERTIFIED MBE

CAREFARE LLC

I pride myself on insuring that every client gets to and from their appointment no matter what.”Prior to getting into medical transportation, Jonathan had owned rental property. He had the business experience that came with buying, renting, and maintaining houses. Now, he has gone from buying houses to buying vehicles.

And he’s proud of the high quality of care his company provides.

“We’re transporting the elderly.

You’re caring for someone’s grandmother or grandfather. You see them and you start to establish relationships with them. We work hard for them. Me and my guys get up even in snow storms.”

As is the case with any business, the work comes with its challenges. “The most challenging part of business is managing people! When you start a business of course everybody wants a job.

It’s different when you have friendships vs. becoming someone’s employer. I’ve gained friends and lost a lot of friends. As the owner, the quarterback, the field general, you have to give direction, you have to manage your team.

I’ve turned to technology now, for example, router box, which tells me where my drivers are, how long it takes them to get to appointments, etc. And then there are the expenses that come with the business – especially maintaining all our vehicles.”

“Financial hardship is always a challenge. You don’t get any financial assistance from banks unless you can produce two years of business tax returns.

That means that you have to make it financially for two years on your own, and both years have to show a profit or the bank won’t loan you the money. I pride myself on paying my drivers. I’ve never missed a paycheck since the day I started. But what people don’t see, is the bills associated with owning your own business. Surviving financially, paying my guys even when I don’t get paid, that’s a challenge.” That challenge was heightened this year due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

“When the shutdown came this spring, I had twenty-two employees and twenty-two vehicles. Twelve of my employees had to go on unemployment.

NEW YORK STATE CERTIFIED MBIE

CAREFARE LLC

I had to take some vehicles off the road. What really saved me was a strong dialysis clientele that has to get treatment three times a week no matter what. I have been able to bring some employees back since then. We’re back up to thirteen now. Eventually, selective surgeries started opening up again, and then COVID testing sites, etc. so people needed rides. We slowly started to come back. But now we’re in a second lock down and business is starting to slow down again because of second wave of COVID. Some people are going to Telehealth appointments, so they don’t need rides. I downsized my fleet enough in the first wave that I won’t need to again, and in the first round of relief, I got the PPP money. But now there’s no second round. There’s no forbearance on vehicle payments. I’ve gotta survive that. It’s a constant, daily restructuring of my small business, without trying to hurt my employees because they’re counting on a forty-hour week paycheck. I don’t want to hurt my employees.”

As Jonathan looks toward the future, he’s bringing something he prides himself on: his firepower. “It doesn’t matter what color you are. Are you getting up at 4:30 in the morning to get a dialysis patient to their appointment? How hard are you willing to work? That’s what built my company, my work ethic. I’m just a hard worker. ”What might the future of Care Fare, LLC look like? “At this point, now that I’ve gotten to this level, now that I have a building that’s under contract that I’m going to purchase, I’m ready to really expand. I’m ready to go regional. I want to service the five-county region of Central New York. I purchased a building and a piece of land on Milburn Drive, it’s theold Lee’s Feed building, the oldest structure in Syracuse, NY. It sits on two acres of land. You have to have a place, a home base, so this will be atransportation hub to hold my vehicles and where I can employ people from the inner city that struggle.”

NEW YORK STATE CERTIFIED MBIE

CAREFARE LLC

Being MWBE Certified can play a big role in that future. “I’m going to use my MBE certification next to start going after some of these contracts. I know I can be 10x bigger. Everything I have done so far has been by word of mouth from doing good business with the nursing homes that then refer us to others. The MBE thing is so big. I want to be able to service Oswego, Madison, Cayuga, Oneida, and Onondaga Counties.

We want to provide a service for those communities and create more jobs. A lot of these advantaged companies their wives and sisters, cousins, and uncles have been doing it for years so it’s all in the family for them. How do we bridge the gap? The MBE is supposed to bridge that gap.”

Jonathan’s advice for potential MWBEs?

“Prepare yourself to work harder than you’ve ever worked before if you want to be successful.

Being an entrepreneur is not a 95 job. You have todo scheduling, billing. It’s very, very long hours.

For me the payoff is phenomenal, it’s fantastic. I’m the owner. I’m the one who cashes that big check. But I’m also working 80-hour weeks. In this industry, you have towork.

Hospitals don’t close and neither do we.”

Care Fare is a medical transportation service company.

We provide non-emergency transportation to our clients. We overcome the most common transportation challenges and make personal mobility a simple and reliable process. We will provide safe and prompt transportation while providing everyone degree of care and professionalism.

NEW YORK STATE CERTIFIED MBIE