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Shine On Success
Shine on Success is a dynamic, story-driven podcast where extraordinary entrepreneurs, visionary leaders, and resilient change-makers share their journeys to success, revealing both the challenges and the strategies that led to their breakthroughs. Each episode offers a unique blend of inspiring personal stories, practical business insights, and actionable advice, allowing our guests to connect with an engaged, growth-oriented audience ready to be motivated and uplifted. By joining us, you’ll not only have the opportunity to showcase your expertise and inspire listeners but also to be part of a powerful platform that celebrates ambition, innovation, and the courage to turn dreams into reality.
Shine On Success
Healing Journeys and Entrepreneurial Resilience
When resilience meets entrepreneurship, remarkable stories unfold. Join me as I engage in a heart-to-heart with Stephanie Suarez-Gonzalez, whose journey through domestic violence and her father's cancer battle has shaped her into a beacon of strength and innovation in the realm of public health. As the COO of both Odyssey Protection Services and MedCompanion, Stephanie's experiences are not just personal victories; they are the driving force behind her dedication to enhancing safety and empowering patients within the healthcare system.
Stephanie's candidness in discussing the creation of MedCompanion will resonate with anyone who's ever sought clarity in the complex world of healthcare. This episode isn't just about a platform that simplifies communication between healthcare professionals and patients—it's about the very human side of medicine, the emotional support, and the importance of understanding that can significantly improve treatment outcomes. As an entrepreneur, Stephanie also sheds light on the delicate balance of business relationships, the resilience needed to weather adversities, and the profound personal growth that comes from such challenges.
Our conversation is a tapestry woven with threads of passion and purpose, highlighting how fear and self-doubt are not barriers but common steps in the path to confidence and success. Stephanie's transformative approach to long work hours and the surprising confidence that emerges from running a business, even for the introverted, is a testament to the transformative power of embracing one's inner drive. So, let’s step into Stephanie's world and discover how resilience can not only craft a powerful entrepreneur but also create services that touch lives deeply and meaningfully.
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Welcome to another inspiring episode of Shine on Success hosted by me, Dionne Malish. Today, I'm thrilled to have Stephanie Suarez-Gonzalez, a visionary entrepreneur at the forefront of public health and public safety. As the leader of Odyssey Protection Services and MedCompanion, Stephanie is driving transformative change, aiming to create safer and healthier communities. So, hi, Stephanie, how are you doing today? I'm so excited to have you. Hi, I'm good you doing today. I'm so excited to have you.
Speaker 2:Hi, I'm good. How are you? I'm so excited.
Speaker 1:Fun. I love doing this because I get to meet all these incredible people and I'm sure, after reading a little bit about you, that we're going to have a very good time today. So let's start with you. Tell me about a day in your life, tell me about what you do.
Speaker 2:Let's start with you, tell me about a day in your life, tell me about what you do. That's a loaded question, I would say. You know, the fun thing about my life is that every day looks a little bit different. You know, one day, especially just being the chief operating officer at both Odyssey and Night Companion, my days look different, you know from. Sometimes even every hour looks a little bit different. I totally understand that. Yeah, it can definitely, but it's exciting. Especially, you know, as you kind of mentioned one of my my background is in public health. I'm currently getting my master's in public health at Baylor and I'm also still on top of everything.
Speaker 1:You're still studying right now. I did not. I thought you were done, but you're studying currently.
Speaker 2:I am, yes, like. My ultimate goal is actually to become a doctor of public health. So I'm graduating this year with my master's from Baylor and then I'm hoping to move on to my doctorate or my doctor of public health. Basically, thank you. So, you know, during the day I'm working, I'm leading these companies and my ultimate goal is really, just like, improving public health, right, you know our communities need that, our communities need to be safer, and that's what I do through Odyssey. You know we work a lot with public health organizations the church, the schools you know different work a lot with public health organizations the churches, schools you know different, whatever you name it.
Speaker 2:But one of the main things that you know really drove us to start Odyssey was protecting the individual. Right, like you know, you see a lot of security for organizations and big celebrities, but what about, like, the individuals that need it? And that? That comes from a personal story, for sure it. And that comes from a personal story, for sure.
Speaker 2:You know I'm a domestic violence victim myself and not having that support was huge. I was just, like you know, going through something like that. I was like, why isn't there something a little bit more accessible for people? And when there is, you know, the ones that are out there, it's like it doesn't feel very personal. It's not about like protecting, it's just kind of about having somebody there, and so that's another thing that really drove me of like improving public safety in of itself, and so that's kind of where Odyssey comes from, and I get to do that with one of my, with my business partner on that end. And then obviously I'm also on the healthcare side of it all, because when I first started in my career I wanted to be a pediatrician and I was in the healthcare field, kind of saw the need out there as far as like patients not really understanding what was going on, and then I had my own personal like story. This is very loaded, this is.
Speaker 2:You know, it's also a very personal story of like the healthcare side of it all, because you know it's also a very personal story of like the healthcare side of it all, because you know I was going down that route of being a pediatrician. I saw, you know, the need out there, patients just being lost and, you know, getting drowned in the healthcare system and I knew I needed to do something about it. And then I'm already getting choked up about this. But my, my dad throughout. Well, when I started MedCompanion, I started this with another business partner and you know we started it to to do this.
Speaker 2:You know, like she had a very personal story of her own grandmother passing away from breast cancer because she didn't understand what was going on and this was high peak COVID time, so no one could go to the doctor with her. It was hard, yeah, and we started Med Companion for that reason. It's a, it's a virtual aspect, so now anyone can be there with you, even they don't have to be there physically. You know what I mean. And then, while we started that, my own father got diagnosed with stage four cancer and he's doing really well.
Speaker 1:That's like the beauty of it, like he has.
Speaker 2:Med Companion on his side and he's doing really well. That's like the beauty of it, like he has med companion on his side and he's doing really well. Thankfully he's still going through it. So you know, we're still kind of pushing on that end, but we definitely see the difference in people.
Speaker 1:That's for sure I could have really used your help. My father passed away in September and he had we didn't know what he had, like he. He was sick for so long but he wouldn't go to the doctors. When he finally went, he literally died the next day. So we found out that he had, you know, he had a tumor and he probably had cancer everywhere, like it was. He was so sick and it was horrible to watch him die. And so having someone in you know I want to know more about. So what does that mean? What does med companion mean? Because I think the idea of what you're saying sounds incredible. But tell me more.
Speaker 2:Yes, definitely. So. You know, with MedCompanion it's kind of taking that concept of like a patient advocate, somebody that's on your side, a family member, if you want to even say it that way that understands the healthcare field. We go with you virtually. Well, let me backtrack. We actually first get to know you, that's one of our first goals.
Speaker 2:It's not just like we're going to join and just kind of like you know, figure it out along the way, like we really take that personal perspective and we really want to get to know you, get to know your history, and if it's like a family member signing up for like their parents or something, cause they want to know what's going on and they can't necessarily be there all the time, we're getting to know whoever's signing up and we're really getting to understand the background, the history, medical history, family history, just so that we can be better prepared to advocate for the patients.
Speaker 2:And then so then we go with the patient virtually on our app to a doctor's visit and you know we're making sure all the questions are addressed, especially like you know in your case, for example, that if you couldn't go with your father to that doctor's visit, um, but you wanted to know, you wanted the doctor to make sure they knew. Like they are, you know they have xyz symptoms or whatever the case may be. Like all that stuff is getting, um, you know, sent over. Like the doctor is getting to know all that information. Because so many of us go to the doctor, we're like, yeah, I gotta say all this stuff, and then we forget.
Speaker 1:And I even with like, with my, you know my husband right now say make sure you tell him this, this, this and this. So let's give you a story, because stories are really how we relate, right? So tell me a story, without saying a name, because I know you're not allowed to do that, but just kind of give me a story of how it worked recently.
Speaker 2:I'll actually just give me, give you my own father, because he doesn't mind, you know he's always saying so. I'll kind of tell you the story of like how it all started. You know, when I started going with him to his doctor's visits, like, and just having my med companions go with him, you know we got to know history, got to know all of his medications that he was taking. You know he was trying to go down like a like a very natural route with a lot of like natural stuff, because he had a history he has a history of like diabetes and a bunch of other different things like that. And he didn't really understand, like you know what was going on. You know the doctors are telling him a lot of things, but he didn't really understand the full picture. And so we started going with him, we started really breaking down things of like what his lab works, looks like, you know what it all means like, why he's on certain medications, and really just started to break that down to him like outside of that doctor's visit so that he could understand that better. And even, you know I'll share the example of like when, by the time we even got to the oncologist, by the time we got to the oncologist, you know he had such a good understanding like you know, we were just more there as like backup he was.
Speaker 2:He was able to, like, you know, really talk through it, like this is what I have, but he still, you know, was able to say, like, what medication am I on for this? You know, was able to say, like, what medication am I on for this? You know, kind of having that support basically, but also having somebody that can like, if he didn't understand something, you know, cause that still happens to this day, where he gets new information, um, but the doctor says it's so quick that he's like, wait, I'm don't really understand. Can we talk about this later? Um, and then that's where we're able to like, sit down, um, obviously, like more specifics, like we were able to really like sit down and say, like, okay, this is what they meant by this and this is kind of where the direction that they're looking to go towards and this is why they're putting you on this medication. This is why we're doing this and able to like, really even help him understand, like, his options, so that he can make the better decisions, he can make the right decision for himself on his own care. So that's kind of like that.
Speaker 2:A brief overview. Basically it makes sense.
Speaker 1:So yeah, so looking at a business opportunity. Is there any competitors out there doing what you do? Because I've been alive for 55 years and this is the first I've heard of anything quite like this, honestly not, not the way that we're doing it.
Speaker 2:No, this is definitely a very new concept. You know there are patient advocates out there. That's starting to become a very more understandable concept, but not to the level that we're taking it, because, you know, one of the biggest things that we're trying to do is, you know, even have the like, have our app, for example, that you know they're able to use their app as kind of like their own personal, like health record system, because the med companion is also summarizing everything that's going on and, you know, keeping it in their little HIPAA compliant app for them, so that they can always go back and look at everything and see like okay, this is what, this is what they said, this is what's going on, kind of thing. So that's one way we're very different. We're different because we're also virtual no one's. You know there are patient advocates out there, but they go and they're usually.
Speaker 1:They're usually there with them yeah, right, so that kind of limits, limits you know how far you can go right, because it's geographic, instead of you know you can go worldwide and help people, yes, so that's definitely another big part that makes us different.
Speaker 2:And then you know we're also just, we're also there for the doctors, right? Because the doctors are only one person and they can't, you know, they have so much on their plate and so we're trying to be that extension of them too. It's not we're not giving medical advice, but we're just helping the patient see, like what the doctor is trying to say, what they're, you know, trying to keep them compliant with their, with whatever treatment plan is, you know, being allocated for them and things like that. So you know, we definitely see the I wouldn't say the demand, but you know that the doctors definitely appreciate what we do as well.
Speaker 1:I guess you could say I'm sure that they do. So you've seriously tackled two very important subjects with both of these businesses and you know I'm sure you have a ton of stories to tell, but for me I want to know about some adversities that you've had along the way, you know. So can you tell me some things that maybe you could share with our audience about adversity and how you push through to the other side?
Speaker 2:Oh man, I we had one today, so I can learn so much. You know, I think you know. I guess let's start with. We'll start with Odyssey really quick and take a quick pivot.
Speaker 2:I kind of briefly already talked about you know what my experience there was. But you know I was in a domestic violence relationship and you know violence looks a lot different. Abuse in general looks very different for everybody. But you know, when I finally realized like I need to leave, there wasn't a lot of support outside of, like my family members, like you know, my family and friends that were there, but even from a legal and law enforcement standpoint there was only so much that they could do and I felt very trapped in my own home. I couldn't leave, like he would show up everywhere I was, it was, it was scary. So, yeah, and you know, and so that was one of the main things that I was just like there has to be a better way in in the sense of trying to get something out there.
Speaker 2:But you know, I dealt with that for a good year of just, you know, the back and forth with him and just trying to, you know, get away from that, Um, and just feeling trapped. Like I said, like I couldn't enjoy my own life because I decided to walk away from that, and just feeling trapped, like I said, like I couldn't enjoy my own life because I decided to walk away from from abuse, and that, you know, just didn't sit right with me. I could definitely go into a lot more details about that, but I think that's just the big picture of it all is just like you know, dealing with abuse and just, you know, seeing the lack of resources available was I mean, and there are a lot of resources out there, but you know it can be very, you know it can really stop your life at the same time too, and I can see that and unfortunately I have not been, you know, had that in my life and I'm so fortunate I've been involved with many people that have so Odyssey Protection Service.
Speaker 1:What does it, what do you do to help the person involved?
Speaker 2:Yeah, great question. So you know it looks a lot different for everybody too, because you know we take a very personalized approach to that aspect as well. But it looks like security. It looks like bodyguard services, you know. You see, like celebrities, for example, with bodyguards that they go with them everywhere. That's what we do for our individuals as well, and then obviously, we do it for our communities, local organizations. We partner with local organizations to help the homeless, you know things like that, and we're just there in whatever capacity that they need us for, because you know we go to them, we kind of figure out their situation and we decide, like you know, for some domestic violence victims we've just been in a car close by, you know, just kind of being there to step in if we need to, but, you know, letting them live their life kind of thing, so that they feel the freedom to be able to do that basically. So, yeah, it looks a little bit different for everybody.
Speaker 1:It sounds amazing and that is something that you can't do on Zoom right. You have to provide help for the person that needs it. It's incredible. You know, even reading a little bit about you like I didn't realize the impact. These are both so extremely impactful to help people and I give you so much praise for doing this and I think, listening to you, I hear some bit of resilience in your voice, like you've been extremely resilient and you know you're taking things that happen to you in your own life and making the world a better place for everyone else. It's kudos to you, stephanie. It's incredible. So let's talk about resilience as the in the key of the face of adversity. Can you share a moment where things didn't go as planned and something else that you may have pushed through? So let's talk about the business side of it, if you want, like where you were trying to start these companies and tell me about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, very one. You know I'll pivot back to Bed Companion as an example here. You know I'll pivot back to Bed Companion as an example here. You know it's a new initiative, right, and so when you see new and you know we were in beta for two and a half years, but even during the beta trial it was very much of like trying to get people to understand a new concept in health care a lot of people have laughed in our face and just said, like, like this isn't gonna work, like y'all are crazy and we're just like, no, like this has to happen. You know, and I think, for me, when I think of resilience, um, it's funny.
Speaker 2:I was thinking about this word the other day because I've been called resilient my entire life and I almost resented it at one point. You know, I was just like I don't want to be resilient. You know it's not something that anyone's like, yeah, like you know, I don't want to be resilient. You know it's not something that anyone's like, yeah, like you know, I don't want to do that.
Speaker 2:But I've had a lot of change in like you know how I approach that, and I think the reason you know the changes come from is that I'm I'm passionate about what I do. I'm passionate about, like, changing things for people, and that is how my resilience is. You know, I see something and I'm just like, no, you know, I know that this is meant to happen and I'm just I just have to keep pushing for it, and so that's kind of how I see my own resilience is not, you know, like I'm just going to keep getting up. It's just more like I have to do this for other people because, you know, our community needs it, our people need it, and's just. I think that's what I focus on when I think about resilience is my passion.
Speaker 1:You're doing it, and so you manage two companies. And you're going to school yes. Do you have any timing for yourself?
Speaker 2:No, I mean, you know it comes and goes here and there but, like I said, I think I'm I love what I do. I really do, you know so to me it comes and goes here and there but, like I said, I think I love what I do. I really do, you know so to me it doesn't feel like work most of the time. It just feels like I get excited about being able to jump on calls and talk to clients about, you know, the things that we can potentially do for them, and so, yes, it's long hours and sometimes, you know, I will get calls, you know, late at night to talk with one of my business partners who's in California, and then the other one that's even here and investors that are across the world. You know, and I'm OK with that, you know, I think it's OK and I find my little moments here and there where I get to recharge in other ways, but I I truly enjoy what I do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love working as well, and it's it's always. There's so many parts of it that I love. When I go on a vacation, I think, like what am I going on a vacation from? I love this, you know so, but I do like to go away and I'm getting as I get older, I'm enjoying it much more, realizing there is a whole world to see other than where I live in Pittsburgh. So you, know, there is.
Speaker 1:There was a point, I think 2020 really hit me when I thought you know what if we can never go anywhere for a long time, you know? So now I take advantage of it and enjoy it. So what keeps you up at night?
Speaker 2:What does it? I think you know it also looks a little bit different every day, but I would say you know, one of the biggest things is fear. Fear is still a really big thing. Even where I'm at in my, in my career, and even though I know I'm making an impact, fear is still. Fear still likes to knock on my door, and that's why I always like to joke with everybody about that, but it does still knock on my door quite often. You know, I still worry on a daily basis of like I'm, if I'm the person that should be doing this, or if I'm even capable of doing something like this, but then I continuously tell myself like if it wasn't yeah, If it's not you, then who would it be?
Speaker 2:right, that's just what I have to remind myself of at night, when that fear kind of creeps in for sure.
Speaker 1:I remember I talked about this Russell Wilson in the Super Bowl when he won the Super Bowl a few years back, and he said why not me? And I always think about that. You know in my own life, you know why not, you know why not. And so, throughout all of this and all these changes in this, these companies that you've started and been a part of, what's something surprising? You learned about yourself outside of resilience Cause. We know that's that's part of you period, but something else that may have surprised you, oh, that's a.
Speaker 2:that's a great one. Um, I think the confidence that I have built up through all of this you know when. If you talk to anybody that's known me, you know I grew up playing sports and on the court I was always very confident in my abilities. But off the court I was shy. I was like I could never run a big company, like there's no one, you're shy. I'm so shy I was, I'm very, and I'm still very, introverted, which is another reason I like working from home. You know, I like, I like my space.
Speaker 2:I'm very, I'm very introverted, but it's the confidence that I've built up and you know, just being able to do these things. I'm just like, yeah, I can do this. So that's probably been the most surprising part of it all is just like my confidence and what's come from it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you said you talked to your business partners quite a bit, and so I also have a business partner. So there's not. I don't talk to him about everything, and sometimes I wish I did. You know, I wish that we talked about everything. But you know he's a male, I'm a female. It's different, we think differently. You know we have different ideas. He has four kids, I have none, so there's a lot of things that challenge that, you know. Just sharing everything. So who do you talk to when you feel stuck outside of your business partners?
Speaker 2:Oh, I would say my best friend. And I've had my same best friend since sixth grade. Yeah, her and I are like we're soul sisters. You know, she, she's that one person I go to. I'm just like, okay, help me think through this, because you know we better than you know it's that same, that same concept. And you know, I'm very thankful for the relationship I do have with my business partners. I, you know, I actually have one, one's male, the one for the security businesses is a male, and then for the men, for men companion is a female. You know, I'm very thankful for the relationship I have with them. But, yes, like my outlet is usually my best friend, like I said, her and I have been very close and she knows how to ground me and I know how to ground her for sure great and she understands you're being in business right and helps you through that as well exactly, and she's in health care, so that also helps, you know yeah, so do you have a favorite book?
Speaker 2:Oh, that's a good one. Um, I I feel like every year is a little bit different. I'm actually reading a really good one right now. It's not one that I would say most people know about, but it's called the Scout Mindset. It's it's actually for school, but I've grown to absolutely love it and it's about, you know, our own mentality kind of going into things and it's something that I carry with me into you know what I do for a living, because sometimes we get in our own way and that's like the biggest thing that I've been taking away from that is just like again going to that confidence level, right, like I was always so shy and even doing something like this I would have, like a year ago I would have been like, no, I'm not doing this. But you know, just getting like. You know, having that mindset of like getting out of our own way has been a big part of, like, my change over the over throughout my entire entrepreneurial journey.
Speaker 1:Honestly, so it's important because if you don't have the proper mindset, it's very difficult to succeed without it. And you know I always tell our agents, you know, we can't have a positive mindset and negative mindset at the same time. So pick which one is better like, pick the positive line, because there's always positive in every negative. And you know, going through the things that we've went through in our lives, you know we always can find on the other side of it is something amazing. So I look at life like that and even though it's hard and we all have hard days and we cry and we're sad, but you have to push through it, you know. And so Is there any question that you wished I would ask you today? There's something you like our audience to know about you.
Speaker 2:You know there's much that I didn't share. I'll talk about a specific story to you know, another part of like the resilience, I guess or maybe just crazy, you know just trying to continue to push forward is that you know I was, I've always been, an overachiever my entire life and there's been things that have constantly gotten in my way of that, you know. You know things that have that have stopped me, but I've always kind of found my way to keep going. And even, you know, I had very good grades kind of growing up and I got a full ride to for school.
Speaker 2:But you know, going into the adulthood, from like high school to college, was very rough for me and I think everybody's always expected so much from me. You know they've always expected me to get to this level. But you know there was a time when I didn't even think I was going to be there. I ended up losing everything in regards to like school and losing my opportunities. But I fought my way back through that. You know I got kicked out of school because I just I couldn't keep up. It was, it was a lot. You know that transition, I'm sure you, you know we all remember that transition. It is hard. It's getting slapped by adulthood, basically, and not really having that support that you know I needed in that time. So you know, I think that would be my biggest like. Something that I want to share with everybody is that life is going to hit you in one way or another but you just got to keep going and you know, find your way. You know you're when you're put in a certain road. Sometimes it's directed Exactly.
Speaker 1:Right, and if you hadn't gone through what you went through, you wouldn't be able to share the story Right and you wouldn't be able to have these two businesses, because you, you've been there and you can share it. And I think that's the part of life that maybe we don't always understand is, why do we have to go through so much? But we have to, or else we can't help anyone else. So the fact that we go through it and pick ourselves up is what sets us apart, and we have to be able to share that with other people so we can change their lives.
Speaker 1:I love what you're doing, stephanie. I am so impressed by you. I can't even tell you I don't even know how old you are, but I know you're really young and I am just truly, truly impressed and you're making a difference and it just. I can just think of my own life and how many people that you can help in my own life. And you know, for me, going through my father passing and watching him die and not understanding so much and why is this happening. Or you know, what could we do? Or why in hospice did they tell us that he had a few weeks and he just died the next day Like there was a lot of things that I could have had a person that would have been super helpful. So, before we wrap up, can you let our listeners know how they can connect with you to learn more about your transformative work in public health and safety?
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely so. One of my um just kind of send you to our two main websites, um. So for med companion, it's med companioncom, um, m E D companioncom, altogether, Um and um. You'll find my little profile there as, along with my business partners with that one and any of my personal, you know platforms like my social media. You can kind of keep up with my journey through that one. And then same thing for Odyssey it's odysseyprotectionservicescom, and you will also find my profile there with all of my social media platforms, so you can keep up with my journey on that one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's awesome and thank you for sharing everything. I'm I just sitting here thinking you make me want to do better, like you, make me like that. So, in our audience, if you're inspired by today's conversation, don't hesitate to reach out. You can connect with us on social media to share your thoughts and stories of overcoming adversity, and don't forget to like, subscribe and share. Shine on success with anyone you know facing challenges. If we help just one person, this podcast is a success. Thank you for joining us today, stephanie, and thank you, listeners, for tuning in and until next time, keep shining bright.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
