"Don't use interns to fetch coffee. Already. ”
Elliott Holt, founder of MediCopy Services Inc., a medical transcription company based in Nashville, TN, is advised to give anyone starting an internship program. He once thought interns would suck his office's productivity until he partnered with Vanderbilt University three years ago. Now, interns are a vital part of his business.
A longtime member of the Entrepreneurs Organization, Holt says interns can be a viable asset to your team and personal growth. “Invest time and resources in your interns and give them meaningful work,” he says. “Think about training the perfect candidate and train your interns the same way.”
We caught up with Holt to learn more about the challenges of entrepreneurship. Read the full Q&A below.
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How did you design your business?
My mothers were medical transcriptionists at a local orthopedic clinic in Nashville for 30 years. During his tenure, my parents divorced. At the time, I was 15 and hanging out in the clinic dining room. I worked up to their medical records department to help me out until they finally put me on their payroll, earning $4.25 an hour. I worked there in medical records all through high school. When I was in high school, my father passed away. I was unsure of many things, including who I wanted to be. I attended a local community college for two weeks before dropping out and resuming my medical records work. My father was an entrepreneur, owning a printing company for over 15 years before his death. I approached my boss at the time and asked if I could take over the processing of medical records (we were using a national company at the time, which is now one of my biggest competitors). With $50 in my account, I asked my mom to sign up for AOL at Best Buy so I could get a gift card (I had no credit at the time). In 2000, Best Buy was offering $500 for listing with AOL. I took the gift card and bought a photocopier. I would use this photocopier to copy medical records for the first two years in business as I grew. Over the past 17 years, MediCopy has grown into a team of nearly 100 employees, more than 1,500 medical practices and hospitals in 44 states.
What challenges did you face when first growing your business?
Capital. I had experience but I had no capital. I have always reinvested our profits back into the business. Starting the business so far has been successful, but sometimes there can be setbacks when you want to grow at a faster pace.
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What personal challenges have you encountered on your entrepreneurial journey?
Letting go of control. Four years ago, I hired a director of operations, a director of human resources, a director of compliance and a director of accounting. I was all of the above until then. I could not any more. I was wearing lean and decided to create these roles within the company. I wish I would have done it sooner but being a stubborn, controlling entrepreneur who wanted everything my way, I held on. Looking back, it was the best thing I could have done. Surrounding yourself with a smarter, more experienced team has catapulted this business more than anything else.
How did you first hear about the Entrepreneurs Organization?
Darren Metz, the owner of NovaCopy is one of our suppliers. After meeting with him, he saw how passionate I was about my business and growing the business and suggested that EO would be a good home. It turned out to be one of the best things I've done both personally and professionally.
Internships can be a negative experience for both the intern and the company, but you've reversed that stigma for create a positive experience. Do you think you were lucky because of the dedication shown by your interns, or do you think interns generally have a bad reputation?
I would agree with both. Trainees =time. Small business owners are already thin on time. I was able to make time for myself and my management team and I believe the combination of that and the dedication of the interns made this a perfect equation.
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COURTESY OF ELLIOTT HOLT
What challenges did you face while developing your internship program?
Finding interns. We have partnerships with several universities in Nashville, but communicating their outstanding internship program directly to them has been a challenge.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs who may be on the intern fence?
Do it.
Don't use interns to fetch coffee. Already.
Invest time and resources in your interns and give them meaningful work.
Always have an intern accompanying you as CEO/entrepreneur as this will keep you on your toes.
Think about training the most perfect candidate for a job and train your interns the same way.
Have a scorecard for your intern and your employee who trains them. This is a good way to keep score on both sides.
What awaits you and MediCopy Services?
MediCopy will continue to grow as it has for the past 17 years. This year we will be celebrating our 6th year of Inc. List 5000 is one of America's fastest growing companies, which is a huge achievement. Now is a great time to do business in Nashville. We expect continued growth in revenue and earnings as well as many personal and professional developments for our team!
Related: 5 ways to make your business better than the competition
This article originally appeared in the October 2017 issue of SUCCESS magazine.
