Carolina Therapy Connection
Greenville, NC
First in Community
Carolina Therapy Connection founder Cindy Taylor knew she wanted to create something different, more versatile, than the clinics she had experienced in her field work. Compelled by her creativity and supported by her entrepreneur mother-in-law, Taylor decided to open a pediatric practice offering a comprehensive therapy team to aid child development from birth through adolescence. “I love this business,” she said. “To see kids’ and families’ lives changing because of what we do.”
Navigating Growth
As her business grew from twenty-five employees to sixty-five, Taylor needed help building her team and developing HR policies. “We’ve built this business on a pile of mistakes, and not being proactive about [establishing policies and procedures] has been a challenge,” Taylor said. She felt like her business was a train she’d been running behind for twelve years, and she was ready to be more intentional about her company’s growth to better serve her team and her community. She emphasized the need for an outside professional opinion to counterbalance the advice of her close personal advisors. “I didn’t know how we compared to other businesses. What am I missing? What’s out there that I don’t know about? How do I hire people who are a good fit for my team?”
Valuable Experience
Taylor reached out to Steven Jacobs at the SBTDC office at East Carolina University. Together, Taylor and Jacobs performed a competitive analysis to help her address knowledge gaps, get ahead of her company’s growth, and build an operations strategy. The SBTDC acts as a direct line to resources and opportunities, Taylor explained, and counselors can help with planning, creating policies and procedures, setting goals, and creating strategy for the future of your business. With the SBTDC’s help, Carolina Therapy Connection could “scale with excellence.”
“SBTDC puts me at ease because I don’t feel like I’m alone in making business decisions.”
When Goals Change
Originally, Taylor had planned to scale her practice by opening more locations. However, through continual evaluation of customer and community needs, she decided instead to focus on broadening the range of services offered in her three existing locations. In order to accommodate her new programs, she expanded the Greenville office from five thousand square feet to fifteen thousand (with an additional three thousand planned) and doubled the size of her New Bern office.
The Family as a Whole
Today, after thirteen years in operation, Taylor has offices in New Bern, Greenville, and Goldsboro. Her goal is to “meet the needs of the family as a whole,” which is reflected in her expanded offerings, including camps, social skills groups, tutoring, and family counseling. Taylor and her staff are also involved in the community, often helping local organizations make their events more inclusive for kids with sensory needs. In 2022, Taylor was nominated for the Small Business Leader of the Year Award.
Besides her expansion to “this gorgeous space,” Taylor’s greatest achievement, she says, is the supportive work environment she’s cultivated. She loves having the opportunity to support her staff through life changes to allow them to be their best selves. “Our team works together so beautifully and have so many connections amongst each other when we are collaborating with each other and with families.” Walking in to Carolina Therapy Connection, “people are comfortable and people can communicate,” Taylor says. “It feels like home.”
