Business

Focus Conference held for the first time in person since 2020 After two years of being apart, Focus Conference 2022 was held in-person on May 1-3. Essentially Women members and vendor partners gathered at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater Beach, FL for education, networking, and re-energizing their businesses. Usually held in February, this was the first time since February 2020 that EW members and vendors have gathered together. “It was so good to meet together with everyone

By Brooke Kraft, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist, VGM Group, Inc Everywhere we look, we see the signs: now hiring, help wanted, please be nice to the staff that did show up today (that one is my personal favorite and a good reminder). Our favorite restaurants, bars, and coffee shops are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, menu items are limited, and our coworkers are leaving for possible greener pastures. Regardless of how you are internalizing the current labor market, you can likely relate

Focus Conference 2022 is all about taking a step away from working "in" the business to having an opportunity to work on the business. Nikki Jensen explains why you can't afford to miss Focus Conference, May 1-3, 2022 in Clearwater Beach, FL. Are you registered yet? Register Now! There's no doubt, the last two years have been hard for everyone. This means business managers and owners have spent a lot more time working on the day-to-day operations. Focus Conference

            VGM Education is excited to launch their new program, the Women in Health Care Leadership Breakfast. Save the date for their first breakfast, which will be held on April 6 at 9:30 a.m. CT.  Offered quarterly through VGM EmpowerEd — a product of VGM Education — these thought leadership forums bring together business, civic, and academic leaders in health care to discuss issues and opportunities affecting

By Jill Cisco, Sales Manager, DASCO HME A sales and marketing strategy is only as good as the data that you have behind it. Without a way to measure or benchmark your success, you don’t fully understand your current positioning and how you have improved over time. For years, DASCO Home Medical Equipment used its own data and book of business to gauge the impact of its sales efforts, which did not show the whole picture of potential. We used inaccurate information, often self-reported

As we mark the 2-year anniversary date of when the pandemic started and reflect on what that’s meant for us personally and professionally, there’s a lot to uncover. We could probably spend the better part of a day listing all the things that have changed since March 2020. For right now, let’s concentrate on how your business has been impacted.  Most likely, you’ve spent a lot more time working ”in” your business rather than working ”on” your

By Rob Baumhover, Director, VGM Retail If we’ve learned anything from the pandemic, it has likely been how to be adaptable to change. All successful businesses need to be fluid. As market forces shift and technology advances, all businesses need to continually evolve, change, and diversify. HME businesses are no different. A simple and inexpensive solution to help your business evolve is to rewire your business to include “cash-and-carry” retail products and ensure your business

By Craig Douglas, VP, Payer and Member Relations, VGM Government Relations Since the onset of COVID-19, there have been challenges facing DME/HME providers, not the least of which was a sharp increase in costs pertaining to several facets of their business. Acquisition costs for many products have been rising steadily in the form of incremental price increases. Fuel costs, delivery vehicle costs, and labor costs have also been on the rise. Hiring and retaining qualified and reliable staff has

By Mike Mallaro, CEO, VGM Group, Inc. My DMEPOS forecast for 2022 is bullish. Despite the pandemic, supply chain disruption, inflation, the great resignation, and recalls, DME businesses have fared very well over the past couple years. I see organic growth in the 6% to 8% range across the industry for 2022. Growth should be overweight in the back half of the year as supply chain issues are worked through and pandemic issues subside (hopefully). Below are the noteworthy trends I see creating

Essentially Women received many great submissions for the 2022 Essentially Women Ruth Addison Award of Excellence. Our nomination committee narrowed down the submissions to three deserving finalists: Dr. Kamilla Kozlowski, Mariam Searcy, and Mary Walsh-Aframe. Congratulations to all of our finalists! Meet this year’s finalists:   Dr. Kamilla Kozlowski Dr. Kamilla Kozlowski is the owner and CEO of Knoxville Comprehensive Breast Center and KCBC"s Unique Boutique in Knoxville,