Posted Under: Entrepreneurship, Our Heroes

Today we are interviewing with Ethan Kassel who is a valuable addition to the “Our Heroes” series. Ethan is a social worker who felt constrained by upper management and that his time and energy could be better spent in opening his own company. Along with his partner he founded Garden State Eldercare to pursue his entrepreneurial dream. Keep reading to find out how it all happened for this hero…

DD: Who are you and what kind of corporate job were you at?

EK: My name is Ethan Kassel. I am a social worker and my business partner Kerry Boland is a registered nurse.  We both worked in management positions for a national home care and care management company with its corporate headquarters in NYC.

DD: What made you leave the job? When did you realize that you wanted to be an entrepreneur & why?

EK: We felt that we were putting in the same time and energy that we would to our own company, but we had no control over anything and were always constrained by the management above us. I had wanted to be an entrepreneur for a long time but never felt prepared enough to actually go for it.  I wanted the personal freedom and financial upside that comes with being an entrepreneur and hoped I would be able to do it by the age of 40 (which I did!).

DD: How did you prepare yourself for the employee to entrepreneur transition?

EK: It started as a causal discussion and then grew into something much larger and more significant. I knew from the beginning that together Kerry and I could build and manage a successful company. We spent a year discussing and planning everything and we wrote up a business plan.  We worked with small business administrations and attended some of their classes. We both took out equity loans to start the business and we also luckily have friends and family that are entrepreneurs so we confided in them throughout the whole process.

DD: What are your Top 5 tips for employees who want to be entrepreneurs but are hung up on something?

EK: 1) Write a business plan.

2) Pick an industry that you are familiar with.

3) Know where you money is coming from and how long it can last (realistically).

4) Get support from family and friends.

5) Find the right person to start a partnership with since the support is invaluable.

DD: How are you now? Are you still in the same business, and how do you feel?

EK: Almost three years later we are still in the same business and can’t imagine doing anything differently.  We both feel it was absolutely worth it!

DD: Thank you so much Ethan for taking the time to speak with me about your entrepreneurial journey. I am so glad that you and Kerry have been successful and I wish you all the best in the future. Thank you for realizing, as many entrepreneurs do, the importance of having control over your everyday actions; that is one of the most important aspects of being an entrepreneur, second of course to making a difference in other peoples lives in an innovative way.

EK: Thank you, Devesh, for believing in people like Kerry and I who just want to take matters into our own hands and put the same or more effort into our own business which is comprised of our own ideas and no one else’s. Garden State Eldercare has let us do just that, while at the same time assisting others in a variety of ways so as to make their lives easier and of a better quality.

DD: That was Ethan Kassel, social worker turned entrepreneur and co-founder of Garden State Eldercare, a company with a comprehensive approach to geriatric care management. Thanks to the effort he and his partner put into their previous corporate jobs they were able to develop a new and successful way of caring for the elderly. Thank you, Ethan and Kerry, for understanding the importance of comfort and security for our elders.

Success to all!!