Renee Amoore’s strong desire to help others meant that starting just one company wasn’t enough.
With interests in health care, education, ex-offenders and the homeless, Amoore decided to tackle multiple issues and founded the Amoore Group. The consulting firm encompasses Amoore Health Systems, Inc., 521 Management Group, Inc. and the Ramsey Educational Development Institute, Inc.
“There is a lot of synergy,” the serial entrepreneur said of her various companies. “They all work together, all the staff communicates.”
Smart Business sat down with Amoore to learn more.
How do you find people who fit nicely into your culture?
We’re not just serial entrepreneurs, we’re also social entrepreneurs. So you look for people in social services, … people that want to do things. Our average staff is probably 26 or 27 years old. They’re coming out of school, they have some experience, but then they have that energy, too. … They have energy, they can communicate well, write well, but all in all, they want to help people. … We go to universities, colleges, anywhere we can to make sure we get the resources and the right people to do the right job.
How do you build and foster that culture?
I’m out 24/7 talking to staff, letting people know we care about them, treating staff the right way … It’s very important to make sure that you are there to help folks. If I can’t be there, then I make sure that other staff is there.
What do you think about the power of relationships?
Relationships take up 99.9 percent of my time because I am talking to people all the time. That’s what helps me with business. Also, it also helps me with resources, and it’s very important to have resources. Those resources sometimes may not cost you anything, because of that relationship.
… Our staff goes out to meetings because it doesn’t have to be the CEO all the time, or the founder, so I send out other staff to do that. … Everybody in our company has some type of relationship with a vendor, a politician, a businessperson or a board. Chamber boards are very important to be on, or they sit on another not-for-profit board.
How do you motivate your team?
We motivate by talking to them, making sure that we give back to them, making sure that we meet their needs, because everybody wants something out of it. “What is your agenda?” That’s what we ask them. “What do you want to get out of here?” And we try to make sure they get it.
How do you believe companies need to give back to the community where they live and work?
You have to give back … People have to see you out in the community. We do clothing drives. … We do the food drives, job fairs, whatever we can possibly do to help that community. … Not just me, as a CEO, not just the company, but as individuals in that company, by sitting on boards, by volunteering.
How do you work with your staff to understand the populace better of where you’re working?
The bottom line is that you have to understand the community you’re in. I don’t care if it’s urban or suburban — and we’re all over — or if it’s overseas in South Africa. You have to make sure that you have someone there that already has a relationship so you can partner with them, so you can learn from them.
We have to understand any community that we’re in so that they will trust us and understand that we’re really there to help them. If we don’t do that, we’re going to lose and they’ll also lose out, too.
