by Elizabeth Denham
Carolyn Thurston is a self-described dreamer. From a young age, she had a strong faith, a relentless desire to help people and the gumption to find a way to succeed. That gumption led her to her position as Founder and CEO of Wisdom Senior Care, an emerging franchise, and President and CEO of Wisdom Health Academy, a state-approved nursing school in Durham, North Carolina.
“In 11th grade, God gave me the idea and a name – ‘Wisdom,’” Thurston said. “I told my mother, and she said, ‘Girl, you can do it!’”
After going to school for sociology, she had a burning desire to get her nursing degree. She worked in a hospital for a time and then went to work in home health care always knowing she wanted to start her own business.
In 2005, she had a dream, but she didn’t know what to do with it and had no money to start. She decided to go for it. By 2006, Wisdom Senior Care came into being and Thurston learned as she went.
“I had no business experience at all,” she said. “I learned that if you don’t have a business degree, have people around you who know business.”
After ten years, Thurston began to feel burnout. She was doing everything herself, losing her passion and gaining fear. This is the typical reality of more than 30 million businesses nationwide. She got the opportunity through her church to be introduced to wEquipu, a business coaching and digital marketing agency. With the agency, she discovered and read the book, “EMyth” by Michael Gerber and set her business growth around the concept of franchising.
“My whole story is about faith which is our first core value as an organization. I didn’t have money, and my credit wasn’t great, so I had to learn how to become my own bank,” Thurston related. “I began franchising in 2016, and we have 5 franchisees now.”
Thurston credits her persistence with pushing her forward.
“I just don’t quit,” she said. “One of my greatest strengths is tenacity. The harder it gets, the harder I am going to fight. And when anyone tells me I can’t do something, that gives me the energy to prove them wrong.”
Not only does Thurston stick to whatever she sets her mind to, she also makes sure she is prepared when opportunity arises.
“I was shy. I knew I wanted to improve that part of myself, so in high school, I went to the library and read self-improvement books to learn to speak up for myself,” she said. “I worked to build myself up so that when I began the journey into business ownership, I was ready.”
She is also intentional about surrounding herself with a good support system.
“I have learned that you have to put people in your life and in your business who you trust and who will speak the truth,” she said. “Life is about improving ourselves and now, as a franchisor, I am in a position to help others avoid some of the things I have gone through.”
Thurston defines success as being able to do things and live life without physical or mental limitations. It’s the whole picture of health – physical, mental, spiritual, social. It’s about being able to help others and about leaving a legacy by building a community of Wisdom Business Owners for her children.
It’s also about accepting having no fear but not let it ever take over you.
“You can’t let fear take over in business,” Thurston said. “You don’t know if you don’t try. What’s the worst thing that could happen? If it’s not death, everything else can be corrected. The real goal is to live with faith, core values and integrity and build core values that guide your decisions. Everything else will come.”
For more information, visit: www.wisdomseniorcare.com/ and www.wisdomhealthacademy.com/