How I Built a Home Care Company During a Health Care Labor Shortage

Evalena "Barbara" Flournoy was none too pleased when her youngest sons, identical twins Joshua and Caleb, dropped out of college in 2007 to start their own company.

- By Rebecca Deczynski

BARBARAKARES CEO: JOSHUA FLOURNOY

CATEGORY: HEALTH SERVICES

THREE-YEAR REVENUE GROWTH: 958%

But she supported their dreams, allowing them to move back home until they found success in the $126 billion home health care market with their company, Primecare. Then, the twins parted ways, and Joshua founded his own home care business, BarbaraKares, named after his mom. Today, the Milledgeville, Georgia, company provides home health care services to elderly and disabled customers across the state. But first, Joshua, 36, had to navigate the industry's growing labor shortages. -AS TOLD TO REBECCA DECZYNSKI

On the way home from college after our junior year at South Carolina State, Caleb and I passed a beat-up vehicle with a sticker that read, "College of Charleston Alumni." I told him, "If we continue with college, we will be driving that car." We had to find our own way to success. That summer, we interned at a home care company and decided to start our own business in that market. We called it Primecare. It took us about seven years to make $2 million in revenue.