 Thanks for joining us today at Think Tech for Adventures in Small Business. I'm Jane Sawyer with the U.S. Small Business Administration and we want to say happy Valentine's Day to everybody. I hope you're out there buying those chocolates, picking up those flowers, getting all those special gifts for somebody close to you, somebody you love at a small business because we love small businesses. We want to thank Think Tech for helping us with this broadcast. This is a partnership with the organization as well as Hawaii Small Business Development Center Network, the Mink Center for Business and Leadership, and the Veteran Business Outreach Center all here in Hawaii providing assistance and support to small businesses wherever you are, whatever stage your small business is in. I'm happy to have a special guest here today who has been in business here in Hawaii for some time. Please help me welcome Scott Gardner, Scott Gardner and company. Special topic here today because one of the things he's had a small business since 2004 and very successful, fast-growing, found a great niche in the industry, but he also says that the heart of his business is service. So we're going to talk a little bit about that, hear a little bit about the business he's developed. So Scott, welcome to the program. Thank you. Thank you for having me here. Great to be here. All right. So tell me a little bit about how you got started and what does Scott Gardner and company do? Well, how I first got started was my older brother had introduced me to this line of work, worked for him for about five years, learned the ropes, and then after five good years then I separated and went on my own and started from there. And so what I do at Scott Gardner and company, we do, we provide a unique service called Medicaid financial consulting. Sounds fancy, but what Medicaid financial consulting simply means is we help patients, hospital patients, who are uninsured. We help them secure Medicaid benefits. So our staff, we provide a hand-holding service and we navigate these patients through the Medicaid application process from beginning to approval. All right. I've heard it's pretty daunting process and probably, I mean, you might think you don't have a very big market, but I will put here in Hawaii where we have a high incident, high cost of living, high elderly population. So how did it, you know, maybe tell us a little bit more about what you do, what you actually do for clients. What does it entail to do Medicaid financial consulting? Okay. Well, let me see. In the hospital contracts that we service, there are a lot of people in Hawaii who are uninsured. So uninsured mostly not too many jobs. So if you don't have a job, you probably don't have medical. And then when you get ill, if you need help, you would go to the emergency room. So the hospitals are faced with having to provide care for these folks and they go uncompensated. So what we do is a hospital will identify those patients to us, and then we screen them. And if they appear eligible, then we'll navigate them through the Medicaid application process. But it's a variety of folks from, we help from newborns to pregnant moms, to young folks, disabled folks, all the way to the elderly who need long-term care. And that's becoming a much bigger need. And it's a big, big expense for coverage, or particularly just when you get into that situation. What are the eligibility requirements for Medicare? I mean, for Medicaid? So every state, the criteria is generally the same, but whatever state you're in, that's where you would apply. And one, you have to be a citizen or naturalized or a permanent resident for five years. So I have to pass a citizenship test. You have to be a Hawaii resident. That's really easy to pass. And then it's financial tested. Some programs are just income tested and some are both income and asset tested. So there is a lot of paperwork that needs to kind of come together. Yes, correct. Correct. And your staff will help everybody compile it, submit their applications. Is it a long process? Yeah, the process could be long. If you don't understand another process, it could take long. So we try to create efficiencies to whatever the person's situation is, apply specifically for that particular program. So we make that part more efficient. Now, how do clients find you? How do you mark it? So the client is usually the hospital. So we would approach the hospital administration or the billing management office. And then through there is how we would secure a contract with the facility to help all of their patients who are uninsured. So you get a referral from the hospital that you have the contract with to help them work with a client. Yes. So that would indicate to me that normally people are in kind of a stressful or experiencing a health emergency or incident and realize that they need more help financially to continue their treatment, to get their medication, or to have nursing care. So it's important to be prepared when you know that this might be coming up. Right. Or sometimes a lot of crisis moments, people just suddenly get ill, wind up in the hospital. And that's one of their biggest fears is financially so expensive. Yes. And they're like, oh, how am I going to pay for this? Or that's okay. I don't need this procedure or this procedure because they can't pay for it. But when we come in and we screen and they appear promising to be qualified and we're going to navigate them through. It's such a big burden off of their shoulders and stresses. So we like to feel that we're part of the healing process. Yes, I think you're part of the wellness equation there definitely because that can be terribly stressful. And that doesn't help you heal. It doesn't help you go forward at all. A typical client once you get the paperwork submitted, is it like a week a month? Typically, depending on the type of application or program that we're going for, some are quicker than others. But usually like the biggest one is the long term care and Medicaid application. That's the most scrutinized application. But our staff, how we break them up in teams are that certain applications should have a certain turnaround time. So our staff would follow up diligently, you know, go down to the Medicaid office and just follow up, do some friendly follow-ups to push those applications through and to ultimately get, you know, everyone get the facility paid, patient can get the coverage, can get the follow-up medication. Yeah, because I don't think anybody even in that healthcare system or continue and want to deny a patient care necessarily or medication or therapy that they might need. So your role becomes very, very critical in that piece. Yeah. And sometimes, you know, the state who handles the Medicaid applications, they're just overwhelmed. There's so many people applying and so few state workers. So they're just bombarded with applications. So it's really important to get the application correct, the first go around. Right. So as we were talking, you mentioned that sometimes you pick up a client who has been denied, but really needs some help and you can work with that client to propose or create a remedy. Correct. That's correct. So people will apply on their own and sometimes they'll get denied and they just don't understand why they got denied or where they went wrong. So we'll go in, we'll reassess, take a look at what they've submitted and then re-correct and resubmit the application. A lot of times it takes an in-person intervention with the Medicaid worker and just re-explain, okay, this is how the application was meant to be or supposed to go. So just re-navigate it. So it sounds like you need to have a pretty good staff. Yeah. I mean, how many people have you got? Tell us, tell us a little bit about your organization and how you, you find people and things like that. Yeah. So prior to taking this business course, we had 18 and then now we're up to 30. 30 full-timers. Just because we've grown with our business plan, we've grown and it just takes that much people to manage these, the referrals. And we don't like to overwork our staff because we want to make sure that every application gets the right attention it deserves. Wow. So I think having that in many employees and that means you mentioned this course and you were part of the 2013 class. So you've got six years outside of our emerging leaders course, correct? Yeah. So and so one of your goals, why don't you tell us a little bit about emerging leaders? How they came to be. Okay. So I got a call one day and I was being encouraged to take this course and it said it was MBA level learning and it caught my attention but at the same time it made me nervous because I've been out of school for a while and I was like, can I handle the course or what if I can't do it and I just didn't want to fail. So I was really, my wife and I talked about it quite a bit and in the end she said, just go for it because where are you going to get this kind of information? Where are you going to get this kind of learning? Can't go back to school. You don't have the time to do that. Right. Why not go for this course? And I'm so glad, I'm so glad I did. And the incredible thing about SBA's Emerging Leaders course is it's free. Free. You don't pay for the curriculum. We pay for the curriculum because the companies that we bring in, we really believe, well, we kind of grind you a little bit during that application process. Yeah. I apologize. No. But just so you folks who may not have heard about SBA's Emerging Leaders, it is a specialized curriculum that SBA brought in and we have it in over 40 districts across the country. Hawaii's had this program about nine years. We've graduated 100 entrepreneurs like Scott from this class, a little over 100. But they've come into class having at least three years in business. It's not for the faint of heart. It's not for beginners, but it's really designed to help small businesses who have employees kind of get their business to the next level, gain a little more sophisticated understanding and knowledge of using, you know, fact-based decision-making and moving their business forward, understanding their financials, making contacts, networking with peers just like them who are facing some of the same issues. It goes over six to seven months every two weeks at the SBA office and we've had business owners, entrepreneurs, CEOs from the neighbor islands who fly in every two weeks. The class is very interactive. We bring in local experts, but I'm glad to hear it was a good experience for you because it's work. It takes a lot and it does require some discipline, though it may not be cracking the books like you might have done in college or whatever. But yeah, so what did you find were some of the best benefits of the class? The best benefits? I like the whole course, the whole syllabus. Excellent. But I really like learning more about the financials, how to read the financial statements, seeing the percentages, you know, how much money is spent on this this area, this area and so just breaking it down. That really spoke loud to me and I really enjoyed networking with the other students and the other business owners like-minded and just learning, just picking up here and there from each one and it was great and I've actually made some connections with some of the classmates. One guy was a computer design programmer, helped me build my system so I can have an excellent account system right now, customized account system. Works really well for you. You can do reports, whatever you want. Scott Gardner, company, state-of-the-art. Yes, yes, yes and so stuff with that it has elevated me to the next level and all the learning it has, it's tremendous. And 30 employees now, that's quite an accomplishment when you need employees who have some of those analytical skills, organizational skills and we're hearing how hard it is to find good employees now in Hawaii since unemployment is now so low. You get a lot of referrals or what do you have that you could capture another 10, 12 quality employees? Where do you find them, Scott? Yeah, we were so blessed. All of our staff is just amazing but it's usually by word of mouth. So it's a friend, you know, referring a friend or someone that they know that would fit in with the company. They got to have the chemistry. We can teach you everything about what you need to know but you got to have, you got to be loving, you got to be fun and you got to be just truly sincere, compassion about helping others. So those are traits you look for when you're hiring somebody. How do you even cultivate and make sure that people are motivated to continue with that kind of service? Yeah, it'll show, it'll show. Yeah, if it's almost like social work, you know, you've got to just have a certain kind of heart to do. Not everyone is cut out for it. Okay. So you've got to have that spirit in you to wanting to help. So heart makes a lot of difference. Yes. Yes. And how important that is to talk about a little bit today. We're going to go to break but stick with us and we'll come back and talk a little bit more about Scott Gardner and Company, how they're growing and how emerging leaders with SBA had an impact on that. Stay with us. Hi, Mabuhay. My name is Amy Ortega Anderson inviting you to join us every Tuesday here on Pinoy Power, Hawaii with Think Tech Hawaii. We come to your home at 12 noon every Tuesday. We invite you to listen, watch for our mission of empowerment. We aim to enrich, enlighten, educate, entertain, and we hope to empower. Again, maraming, salamat po, Mabuhay and Aloha. Hey, Aloha. My name is Andrew Lanning. I'm the host of Security Matters Hawaii airing every Wednesday here on Think Tech Hawaii, live from the studios. I'll bring you guests. I'll bring you information about the things in security that matter to keeping you safe, your co-workers safe, your family safe, to keep our community safe. We want to teach you about those things in our industry that you know may be a little outside of your experience. So please join me because Security Matters. Aloha. Aloha. Welcome back. We're here with Scott Gardner today talking about his adventure in entrepreneurship, his adventure in small business. I'm Jane Sawyer with the Small Business Administration. So we're just talking about the big growth that you've experienced over the last five or six years. Expanding your customers or one kind of customer that you have is primarily the hospitals who have a really urgent need to have people know where to get the money to pay their bills, coordinate with insurance companies, coordinate with Medicare and there are a lot of people who need that help even as they get older, go on fixed incomes or live longer and incomes don't last anymore. So that is you know a bit of a feeder for you but you also have people who you know find themselves so you know not necessarily hospitalized but perhaps a chronic condition means they need expensive treatment. So those people can find you. Yes, correct. And you do service them, not just through hospital contracts? Yes, correct. So we have a separate division and it's primarily for long-term care Medicaid. So the aging population in Hawaii is exploding as we speak. People living longer, the baby boomers are adding to that population. They have a nickname for it. It's called the Silver Tsunami. Silver Tsunami. Huge aging population, not enough care facilities. Long-term care is so expensive, people can all live their money. So they need Medicaid to pay for their long-term care. So folks would engage our services on that level to navigate them through because that's the most scrutinized application. Okay, when you're older but don't have that incident of a hospitalization or something like that. So okay, so they would go to your website or they pick up a brochure somewhere, their doctor's office. Yes, some people find us online at Scott Gardner Co.com online or via their attorney. A lot of them have estate planning attorneys and so they would need help navigating the application that they get recommended to us. Or just word of mouth at the care facilities. Okay, so word of mouth at care facilities, attorneys, long-term care providers and things like that. Okay, you know and it's a great website, you know. It tells a lot of interesting things about how you work with clients and because it is kind of a little bit of a scary area. They're kind of laying their life bare to you in so many ways. Here's my home, here's what I've got, here are my assets. Yes. Because all of that is evaluated. Correct, correct. It does get personal and sensitive. So we try to handle it very delicately and but yeah, that's what Medicaid wants. Whatever they want we have to show proof. Right and it is a big, you know, health care costs are, you know, hard to control and manage so it's an important, important area for people. I saw you had a lot of testimonials. Maybe you could tell us maybe a story respecting confidentiality of course. That's got to be an important thing. But just some of the types of client cases that you've had that have perhaps touched you or you've made a tremendous difference in an individual's life or their family's life. I mean, I know of people who have, you know, been, we're going to have to sell all our assets or give up our homes or my brother's going to have to move back in with me again. Oh no, you know, things like that. But maybe you could. Yeah, you know, there's a lot of myths out there. So sometimes people think you're not allowed to have a home that'll just disqualify you from the get go, but that's not true. And so when we share the good news like that, they're just so elated about that. Sometimes people apply on their own and they struggle and they, sometimes it takes them like six months a year just trying to do it on their own. They fall through the crack or something and so they come to see us and they say, oh man, I should just, I wish, come to you earlier and we navigate them. And one person said, thank you so much for navigating me through the minefield. So that one sticks out. But yeah, it's a tricky process. And there are some people who hear those kind of old myths or old wives tales or anything like that about that application process and start getting rid of their assets or giving things away only to find that it's, they're going to be disqualified because there's a significant look back period. The look back used to be three years but now it's been extended to five and sometimes people they give away inappropriately according to Medicaid rules and so that would backfire on their application. So we have to meet with them, huddle, maybe return some of the money or figure out a way to get the person approved. Do you work with individuals or families or does everybody know who gets involved in the process once you get a referral from a hospital or organization? So normally the patient themselves or their spouse or the immediate children that that's who we normally work with. And on the bigger scale for long-term care we like to have all the families, as many relatives that are interested to come in. So because there's so many questions so they can all ask their questions and they can all, everything's laid on the table, everything's consistent. Yeah, that planning piece with family can be another minefield. It's definitely a minefield and it's very loaded emotionally too because we're looking at lifespan and inheritance and assets and treatments that some people want or don't want or end of life concerns as well which you know are hard to face but you know I'm looking forward to all this paperwork since I get to do my, I keep getting mail about my Medicare now. So it makes it right in your face that you have to start you know a little advanced planning and knowledge. So I would even recommend to people who you have questions about this for loved ones or families to check out you know your website because there are stories and process information and things like that. So people could just google you Scott Gardner and Company Hawaii and find the right Scott Gardner. But you'll find out once you look at the website too, find out about the attitude of doing business and your commitment to service and the values in your company. Maybe you could because it is such a sensitive area that has to be important throughout your company as well. Correct, correct, correct. Yeah, and we're talking about the website about the tagline that service is the heart of our business and then that's true. That's so true, we hold that with high regards because we have to service the island is small and but if you give good service it'll come back great. Right, I think that's one of those important lessons you know and to really make a note of that as we try and wrap up here you know we're so you know I really appreciate and congratulate you and all the progress you've made in growing this company and providing such an important service here in Hawaii. It influences a whole industry and quality of life for so many, many people and I'm really pleased that SBA has had a little bit to do with your growth in getting you through emerging leaders class and providing you the kind of compelling process and the information to really help you take your business to the next level because you're obviously on the way there and that's a great thing to know so application process is not that daunting we have a one page expression of interest and we do kind of push you to tell us what your goals are to where you want to be in the next three years because emerging leaders you develop there's a work that goes in there to develop your vision and a three-year plan on things you want to accomplish so the application is one page people can get it from our office applications are due March 9th so you have a couple of weeks to check it out get together go to sba.gov backslash hi for Hawaii you can find out the information there or call our office at 808-541-290 to get the inside scoop on how you may be eligible for this class as I said it's not for the week of hard it's not for a beginning business it's for experienced small business CEOs do you need to get into the class you do need to oh annual revenues 200 at least 250,000 at least one employee other than yourself and again be able to articulate your goals be willing to dig in and come on down to the office every other Wednesday evening for a couple of hours then there's some meetings with your peers but it's a great experience excellent experience you know ups and i'm losing my earpiece so um you folks may be stuck with us a little longer than you think so um let's see yes so sba's emerging leaders class coming to you starting in mid april we're looking for 15 students this is a 10,000 dollar uh value uh that goes to you free i guess it takes a little investment of your time a little bit of sweat equity and uh maybe parking parking parking fees driving into to hana lulu for the class so um let's see uh i think we're we're almost ready to wrap up but i have lost mission control okay so uh anyway um also remember it's it's uh valentine's day if you're going to get out there and do some shopping shop small look at it check out our website uh shop small dot com and uh our call the mink center for business and leadership there's some great courses coming up that will help you with your marketing activity so um i'm sorry we're we're off okay happy valentine's day love