Charisma Leigh is a medical doctor originally from Sierra Leone who founded Bailah Home Care to provide optimum-quality home care to seniors in the southern communities of Montgomery County, Maryland.
My company is named after my father, who is a physician, researcher, and eminent professor in Sierra Leone. I’m also a physician by training, but since coming to the U.S. I’ve utilized my training in various ways outside the clinical setting. I spent a decade in research. I taught healthcare courses. I did some home care. But I have always been an entrepreneur at heart. Even while still in school, I ran a transportation business, renting out cars.
I arrived initially in Nebraska but knew quickly that it was not where we would settle down. On a quest to find myself and the right place to start the next leg of my journey, I rode across the country with my son and stopped in Philadelphia. I liked Philadelphia, but it did not call to me the way Maryland would several years later. I kept exploring. I went to visit a friend in Maine. Later, I checked out Virginia. But my heart kept saying, “No, this isn’t it.”
Then a friend invited me for a weekend in Maryland. That was it! I felt in my bones that Maryland was where I was meant to be. The weekend visit turned into six weeks, during which I did some job searching. Then, I went back to Philly, packed up, and got my car.
In Maryland, the first job I accepted was in Bethesda. At the time it was my dream job, so I moved to Bethesda to be closer to work.
By then, however, I had already decided to find my niche in business. In addition to working and raising a young child, I kept exploring the business landscape to see where I could fit in. At one point, I made a friend who, as it turned out, would become one of my first clients when he began to demonstrate early dementia. Because he was quite a bit older than I was, when he introduced me to his friends I got my first introduction to the senior community in America. I loved hanging out with them. Although I was up to 50 years younger, somehow I fit in with them. I found that I liked helping them. I empathized with their stories. That is how I came to decide on home care as a business that I would own and operate.
It may be relevant that by the time I was born, my father was already of advanced age. So, for most of my life, I have known him as an “old” man. In addition, my beloved grandmother was a very strong businesswoman. She, too, has dementia now. The fact that a strong person like her is now so dependent on compassionate care has also greatly informed my choices for my practice. I feel like this seminal experience of being part of an elder community, plus all the skillsets I’ve developed over the years, have aligned to have me here.
Once I began to focus on my business, I worked with a mentor who advised me that I should not try to be everything to everyone. “You have to focus,” he told me. So I decided that to start, I would only serve the communities I knew. Therefore, I focused first on Bethesda, then branched out slowly to neighboring areas: Potomac, and Chevy Chase.
We have grown organically, from our start in 2016, when I was basically a freelancer.
Montgomery County & Me
I have mostly utilized my training as a physician and my understanding and empathy for the elder community to be my guide. But I am a graduate of the Montgomery County–M&T Bank Small Business 0 to 100 Accelerator program.
Additionally, the son who traveled cross country with me has been a product of Montgomery County Public Schools, which we are happy with. I now have a younger son, too, who will soon follow behind him. Like so many others, I have the challenge of integrating motherhood and my career. It is difficult, but my sons are my joy. We enjoy Montgomery County’s many libraries, farmers markets, and the steady stream of events and festivals in Bethesda.
The Future of Bailah Home Care
Since I am hyperlocal in my focus, my marketing, and my plans for expansion, we strive always to provide the best service. I want to be known in this county as having provided tremendous value for our clients – and just as importantly, for my team members. Most of the Bailah team are women. I know their struggles and their challenges. I want them to do well in life and I want our clients to know that we are more than “just” a caregiving company. We are not a franchise; we are not about the numbers. We are about care.
We demonstrate every day, and in many different ways, that our clients can count on us. Sometimes a client will say: “My Washington Post wasn’t delivered today.” I run to the store and get it. We do pedicures, wash hair, and more, just to make them happy. We buy flowers. This is how we operate – client first. This level of service is what I want Bailah to be known for.
With time, we may expand into neighboring jurisdictions next, and we will continue to offer our clients that level of care.
My business is named after my father who is a good man and an exceptional parent. Bailah must live up to his legacy.
Wise Words For the Rest of Us
To other entrepreneurs, I say trust yourself and keep going. If you have a dream, it’s because you have the abilities necessary to achieve those dreams. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It can be very hard, but if you know what you want, keep going. Don’t give up. Empower yourself, educate yourself, and try to give your best in everything you do.