Nursing Staffing Solutions – Celebrating Women of Color Business Owners

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios, it’s time for Women In Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Women In Motion and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Women In Motion, we have Chanelle Nakkashian with Honest Love Global Professionals Staffing. Welcome.

Chanelle Nakkashian: Thank you. Thank you. I’m so excited to be here. And thank you so much for having me here.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m excited to learn about your company. Can you tell us about Honest Love? How are you serving folks?

Chanelle Nakkashian: Absolutely. Honest Love is a travel nursing agency and also for allied health. It’s mostly staffing for healthcare. And we do provide health care workers and clinicians to various hospitals and healthcare organizations. So, what we do is we send nurses and other therapists that do work in healthcare, in mostly acute care facilities, which is hospitals, we send them there to go help out for staffing shortages.

Chanelle Nakkashian: So, here and there, hospitals will be short of staff, although they will have facilities that are looking for extra help because some of the nurses called off, or they have more patients, or they have more demand than they currently have so they will outreach to resources such as Honest Love Global Professionals Staffing and we will be able to provide them that support that they need.

Lee Kantor: Now, are you providing the support primarily in California or is it around the country?

Chanelle Nakkashian: Currently, we are providing primarily in California, but we are looking to also helping out in other parts of the country. Certain states do require licensing, so we are working on that. And some of the other states that do not, we are marketing and continuing to expand and trying to help all the other states that could possibly use our help.

Lee Kantor: Now, in your work, it seems like you have two different clients, you have the medical facility that hires you, but also you have the health care professional that you place there. How do you serve both of those constituents?

Chanelle Nakkashian: You know, me being a health care professional myself – I’m not sure if I did explain to you before – I am a registered nurse, and prior to starting my company, I did work in the healthcare, and I also did work as a travel nurse. So, I do have quite an extensive background in that field, so I’m able to actually pinpoint the needs of the client and be able to also serve them with the clinicians that I believe that will be able to be the right fit for that particular facility.

Lee Kantor: So, let’s talk a little bit about your backstory. How did you transition from being a healthcare provider to, you know, running this entire firm?

Chanelle Nakkashian: Excellent question. You know, I’m an immigrant from Africa. I arrived in the United States in 2001, right after high school. And when I came to the U.S., I didn’t have any security or stable place to live. I faced challenges of homelessness, and I found solace in a sense of belonging within the community of the church that I used to attend. With that being said, healthcare has always been my passion. Despite all the adversities I faced, I remained steadfast in my pursuit of education, particularly in the field of healthcare. I’ve always been determined to make a difference in the life of others.

Chanelle Nakkashian: So, I began taking classes in community college with the goal of pursuing a nursing education. Nursing, for me, was not just a career, but a choice, and also a profound way to connect with and support others in their times of need. Driven by my passion for helping others, my journey has always served as a testament to the power of perseverance and the transformational impact of compassion.

Chanelle Nakkashian: My journey extends beyond the realm of nursing into the dynamic of entrepreneurship. As I stand today, I’m a founder out of two impact ventures, not just Honest Love Global Professional, but I also did founded Honest Love Global Home Care, which served the community and provides home care resources for the elderly. So, this all came from my deep rooted passion for helping others, and also it aligns with my commitment to making a difference in people’s life.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned the term travel nurse, can you explain to folks who maybe aren’t familiar, like what’s a travel nurse? And why is that choice of nursing different than one who may work in one place over a long period of time?

Chanelle Nakkashian: Okay. Excellent. So, you know, travel nursing is when a nurse decides to explore. So, instead of just serving, working, deciding to work at one particular hospital, an individual or a nurse or a clinician decides to go to different hospitals or sign a contract at a particular hospital for a certain amount of time. It could be 13 weeks, which is the average time frame.

Chanelle Nakkashian: So, a nurse will sign a contract with a particular hospital and that’s where the middleman comes in, which is the agency. And the nurse will work at the hospital for a certain amount of time. It could be 13 weeks or the hospital will decide to extend that for another 13 weeks. So, it goes for three months at a time.

Chanelle Nakkashian: Part of the pros of actually working as a travel nurse is, after that 13 weeks, you can actually take a vacation and decide to take three months off. On the other hand, if you did work for the hospital, you can just take that time off from the hospital without the hospital or the current company authorizing that time off. So, being a travel nurse kind of gives you that freedom to be able to make your own schedule, work when you want to, take time off to be with family in case that’s needed.

Chanelle Nakkashian: As a former travel nurse myself, I did do travel nursing because it did work for my schedule. As a mom, I was able to take the whole summer off to spend time with my kids and then go back and travel when the kids were in school. So, those are some of the perks that a travel nurse will have. And travel nurses tend to get paid a little bit higher, too, so that is also another part of the perks that a lot of the nurses do enjoy.

Lee Kantor: And when you’re saying travel, they’re not traveling to another country. They could just be traveling to another facility within their community.

Chanelle Nakkashian: Absolutely. They can be traveling to another facility within the community that they live, or they could be traveling to a different state or a different city or a different county in California. For instance, if someone lives in Riverside County, they could drive to a L.A. County to be a traveler, to work in a particular hospital in Los Angeles or to Northern California. So, you do have that flexibility to move around and you do have control over your schedule in that sense.

Lee Kantor: Now, how do you help your team kind of grow their career? Do you give them mentoring or education or advice when it comes to a career plan?

Chanelle Nakkashian: Absolutely. You know, I serve as a resource and a mentor to all our staff. And I always tell them I’m always open for any questions that they have or how do I advance their career. Education is my number one, so I’m always advising people to continue to go up and move on and get your education, advance your career, go get your masters. A lot of our nurses do travel nursing because they are advancing their careers and going to be a nurse practitioner. And being a traveler becomes a lot more flexible to be able to work for three months and go back to school, and also cut down on their hours when that time is needed to be able to complete all their clinical work and be able to get their degree as a nurse practitioner.

Chanelle Nakkashian: So, a lot of our nurses, actually, they do work on advancing their degrees. Some are in school to have their doctorate degree. So, we do support that and we do encourage that and we always offer them resources.

Lee Kantor: Now, can you share a story about maybe one of your people that got to you maybe young and maybe not confident, and then after working with you, they were able to attain a higher level, a new level in their career.

Chanelle Nakkashian: Absolutely. You know, a lot of our nurses or a lot of the clinicians that work for us, they come to us after a year or two of getting experience. And we do have nurses fly in specifically from Houston and Texas – Texas, not just Houston – excuse my language – from the State of Texas. The State of Texas is very close to California, so some of the nurses will fly in to work as a traveler here in California.

Chanelle Nakkashian: Let’s put it this way, California logistics is a little bit different from that in Texas, so sometimes some of the facilities that we will place them at, they do have a hard time, either the way they chart or the expectations of the hospital. So, this is when we come in and we mentor them, and I give them tips because I have done it. I’ve lived in your shoes, so it’s easier to communicate with them, let them know this is what you can do, this is what it takes to survive.

Chanelle Nakkashian: Because being a travel nurse itself is not easy and it’s not for everyone. You have to pick yourself up, go to a different facility, and act like you’ve worked there before, and be a people person to be able to work with others very well. There’s a certain criteria that our clients are looking for. So, this is when I come in and I mentor them, I send them emails, I call them, I let them know this is how you do it. If you have any challenges, let us know.

Chanelle Nakkashian: So, basically, there’s been a lot of instances where I have shaped specifically younger nurses that have, like, a year or two experience and I’m talking about 24, 25. And by the time they do talk to me, they realize, “You’re actually right, when I used all the things and everything that you shared with me, I’m having an easier time at work.”

Lee Kantor: Yeah. I would imagine, because if you’re not used to that, you’re always kind of the new person. Like you get in there and you don’t know anybody and then you’re kind of dropped in there, and if you don’t have the confidence, it could be challenging.

Chanelle Nakkashian: It could be very challenging, because, like I said, there’s certain qualities that the facilities are looking for. You have to just go in there and be able to fit in. And it’s not always comfortable. And I always let them know it does take a few days, a few shifts because you’re not going to go there and be comfortable that very first day. But it takes perseverance and endurance to be able to fit in and prove yourself, let them know how confident you are. And it works out great. I’ll tell you, 90 percent of the time they have a great experience after a week or two.

Lee Kantor: Right. And especially if you can really get them with the right mindset coming in, it probably becomes a lot easier.

Chanelle Nakkashian: It’s a lot easier. And the mindset is extremely important, especially in this field.

Lee Kantor: So, now, why was it important for you to be part of WBEC-West and what have you gotten out of that?

Chanelle Nakkashian: You know, it was extremely important to me, it’s a sense of belonging. Like I shared my story earlier, I’m an immigrant that basically didn’t have any family. So, for me, once I became an entrepreneur, I wanted to actually join forces with others that were just like myself or that were trying to be an upcoming entrepreneur, to be able to join forces and come together and also help others that want to be while I was continuing to also take mentorship from others. So, basically just learning from each other.

Lee Kantor: So, what’s next for Honest Love?

Chanelle Nakkashian: What’s next? What’s next for us is continue to get more contracts, continue to make our name out there, continue to overcome all the other hurdles and other barriers. Because this business is also not easy. The healthcare industry is complex and it has a lot of hurdles and also a lot of evolving technology. So, our goal for Honest Love is continue to expand, and continue to educate, continue to broaden our knowledge, continue to bring on more clients. And also prove ourselves and let people know that Honest Love is here and we do have a lot to offer.

Lee Kantor: What about some advice for maybe the person that’s new to America and then says I want to be an entrepreneur, do you have any advice for that person on how to jumpstart their entrepreneurial journey?

Chanelle Nakkashian: Yeah, absolutely. You have to believe in your mission. You have to stay true to your passion and purpose. Be dedicated to helping. You have to build a support network that will be able to serve as a mentorship to you. Continuously learn and always build a landscape of constantly involving people around you. And always stay curious, keep learning, be willing to adapt to new changes and new opportunities. It is not easy, but seek collaboration and partnership. Stay resilient. It can be a roller coaster ride of highs and lows, but you have to develop resilience to bounce off from setbacks and keep moving forward.

Lee Kantor: And if somebody wants to learn more about Honest Love, either the professional staffing or the home healthcare, what is the website? What’s the best way to get a hold of you or somebody on the team?

Chanelle Nakkashian: Please contact us at Honest Love Global Professionals Staffing, or you can always call us, 951-290-8543, and one of our recruiters will be willing to welcome you and show you how amazing we are.

Lee Kantor: Well, Chanelle, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Chanelle Nakkashian: Thank you so much for having me. You have a great day.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.