In today’s podcast, MultiFunding President Lynn Ozer, aka SBA Queen, and I talk to Joe Torres, CEO and president of Developmental Therapy Associates, based in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. He also runs a software development company and a real estate group and holding company. In this episode, Joe tells us how a near-fatal incident changed the trajectory of not only his career but also his life.
In 2012, he was riding his motorcycle to the gym when he was hit head-on by another vehicle, changing his life forever. He spent a month in the hospital and three months in a wheelchair and was introduced to the industries of physical, speech, and occupational therapy and rehab.
"I didn’t know anything about it because up to that point, I never broke a single bone, and in that one accident, I broke over 22 of them. Both femurs, which I now have titanium rods and screws everywhere," he said. "I was introduced to this amazing industry that I would argue till I'm blue in the face helped me live whatever my normal, my new normal, would be."
A year later, he met his wife, who was, incidentally, a speech therapist.
"I immediately was enamored with her even more so because of her profession, and what it just did for me a year prior to even meeting her," he said.
A few years after that, the company his wife worked for went up for sale, and he put in the sweat equity to explore ways of making it happen.
"It was a multitude of different things. One, I took some of my other investments that I had and liquidated them and put that towards the purchase. The other was an SBA loan," he said.
While learning the ins and outs of an SBA loan and business acquisition was a challenging experience, he was comfortable in the decision because of his wife’s experience and knowledge of the company.
While he is not a clinician, he believes that actually helps in running the business.
"What happens is a clinician, whether it be a medical doctor, primary care, dentist, it doesn't matter, they're actually clinical first, their mind is not business. Their first thought is, ‘I want to help people.’ And then what starts to happen is they find themselves in the middle of this business that they have no real earthly idea of running," he said.
Although the company is growing with four locations in North Carolina, hiring licensed practitioners continues to be the biggest headwind.
Listen here to learn more about how Joe and his wife divide the business duties based on their individual strengths and how a strong leadership team allows him to balance all of his business interests, as well as a few hobbies, too.
