Press

Press

Entrepreneur

Renee’ Smith

Putting her

Heart to work

By Susan Agee

Renee’ Smith has worked against the odds to get where she is today, both personally and professionally, Smith was raised in foster homes and suffered abuse, but rather than let those experiences make her bitter, she has allowed them to fuel a desire to care for others in need. This was the motivation behind her earlier work in nursing homes, and now it is what powers her as owner of Caring Companions.

Smith, a divorced mother of two, had done volunteer work at nursing homes and then worked as a social services assistant at Kirby Pines Nursing Home.

Later, Smith took a marketing position with Promus, but found herself leaning back toward caregiving work. She interviewed with Caring Companions, a division of ServiceMaster, Inc. and spent two and a half years there as the division’s director. Last year, the powers that be decided to sell the division, which provides non-medical caregiving, and Smith found herself at loose ends emotionally. She felt that she had found her niche at Caring Companions, and more importantly, found herself worrying about the future of the clients with whose lives she could so closely relate.

Smith’s first attempts to buy the company were unsuccessful in that every source of financial backing that she approached turned her away. It was then that Smith relied upon the faith that had seen her through the instability of her earlier years. She knew that if she were meant to continue work with Caring Companions, God would provide a way for her to do so. Within 24 hours, an anonymous donor had provided the loan.

That was July 1, 1998, and Smith’s niche in Caring Companions has deepened. Because she feels it is her mission as well as her job, Smith remains consistent in honoring God with her profits as well as her talents. Thus, Caring Companions donates 10 percent of its net profits to various missions and charities. Another 10 percent will go toward building a home for indigent clients, once an existing business loan is paid. This home is the next step in Smith’s fulfillment of her purpose to care those who can’t care for themselves. It will not only provide an atmosphere of family for those who have none, but will still service those needs that Caring Companions now provides on an "outpatient" basis.

The job description for a Caring Companions employee can include anything from errand running to housekeeping/meal preparation to simple companionship.

In her new role as business owner, Smith has definite opinions about corporate involvement in the community. "I would love to see other businesses contribute to charity," she says. And because her client base is mostly senior citizens, Smith has been involved with many committees such as Memphis and Shelby County Council on Aging that coordinate such activities as Senior Expo and Senior Zoo Day.

Smith’s belief about what motivates one to start a business is integral, she feels, to the success of her venture. "If you start a business with only the goal of making money, that’s wrong," she says. "A business should benefit both the owner and the client. It should serve both their needs."

She adds that some might consider that a crazy statement, but the continuing success of Caring Companions attests to its truth. And the truth of the value of every human life is what has propelled Smith through her hard times to now, when she can make her living, and live out that truth in the process.

December 1999

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