Welcome to another episode of The Roadmap, where every week, we bring you some of the brightest entrepreneurs, CEOs, and small business owners who are climbing the ladder, scaling their businesses, and thinking about how one day they can exit stage left. On this episode, host Lee Heisman is joined by Dr. Tony DeRamus, CEO and founder of Black Belt Health and Sandstone Health.
Key Takeaways
1. Dr. DeRamus transitioned from bartending and personal training to health and wellness, driven by early life observations of health issues in his family and community. His journey underscores the importance of aligning career paths with personal passions and early life experiences.
2. Under Dr. DeRamus’s leadership, Sandstone Health has expanded to 10 locations, offering a range of services from chiropractic care to wellness centers. This growth, despite challenges during the COVID era, highlights the demand for holistic health services and the potential for scaling in the wellness industry.
3. Sandstone Health advocates for a comprehensive wellness approach, avoiding quick fixes due to their potential negative long-term effects. This philosophy stresses the importance of sustainable health practices over temporary solutions in the wellness sector.
4. Dr. DeRamus emphasizes the significance of cultivating a strong corporate culture and the synergy it creates within the organization. The approach of hiring for cultural fit rather than just skills suggests a strategy for building a cohesive and motivated team in any business.
5. Dr. DeRamus’ latest venture, Black Belt Health, targets high-performing individuals, offering extensive health assessments and personalized wellness plans. It illustrates the emerging trend in the health industry of providing bespoke services catering to the specific needs of high-stress professionals, highlighting the importance of comprehensive health strategies in achieving peak performance.
"Remembering everyone's name is actually more difficult, in my opinion, than keeping the [company] culture because if you have culture warriors within your business, they'll maintain it for you...The payoff with work culture, I'll take that over intelligence or capability any day of the week." — Dr. Tony DeRamus
