Born and raised in Miami, Jeanne Luis sees her small business as a gift to families in the city she loves. Her business is built around ABA – or Applied Behavioral Analysis – which is behavioral therapy that focuses on building social skills, communication skills, and other milestone skills that children, particularly those with Autism, need to flourish as individuals. “I fell in love with the combination of helping children and the science behind it,” Luis says.
Before starting her company, One on One Behavioral Services, in 2019, Luis [pictured above] had already been working in the relatively new field of ABA since 2009, observing and learning, after earning her bachelor’s degree at Florida International University. In 2017 she earned her master’s at FIU, and as a fully board certified behavioral analyst, she began to feel the pull to go out on her own.
“I identified a strong need for ABA services in South Florida, particularly with services that are individualized and tailored to a child’s needs, a child that was diagnosed with Autism particularly. With the encouragement from members in my local community, I started One on One Behavioral Services to deliver therapy in homes, schools, and with the long-term goal of opening a center to provide therapy in all settings for children diagnosed with autism.”
The mission
Today, One on One works with children with Autism or Down’s Syndrome from age 18 months to 17 at their home, school or in One on One’s Doral office.
“Our mission is to continue to reach families in need by delivering early intervention and comprehensive services that reduce long waits that exist for ABA Services while maintaining high quality of care and inspiring my team and myself to always place the client first. Our focus is to provide the children we work with on a daily basis with the resources they need to eventually grow into a fully participating member of our community,” says Luis.
ABA therapy works well because it is data-based, she adds. “We observe the child’s environment, collect data, and from there, we develop the skills we need to work on. With that data, we can quantify progress, break down goals into small, manageable steps, and work with the child daily. The services can range from 15 to 40 hours per week, depending on the child’s needs, and we work every minute on social skills, communication, and independence.”
Getting help
In 2021, Luis began receiving guidance from Florida SBDC at FIU, the small business development center within the university’s College of Business that provides consulting services and training to small businesses at no cost. At the time, Luis had just a few people on staff and a small caseload. To expand her services, which included opening its center in Doral, SBDC business consultant Mark Mungenast, who specializes in marketing, sales, business development and strategy, and the SBDC at FIU team helped her win a $50,000 BizOp grant, which was offered by Startup FIU, Bank of America, and Miami-Dade County.
SBDC at FIU has supported her in everything from marketing/sales, employee satisfaction programs, HR issues, and QuickBooks accounting.
“Mark has gone above and beyond. Each meeting is important, offering something I can improve upon,” Luis says. “Over the past three years, Mark and other consultants at the SBDC have helped me to reach more families, become more confident in the space, and provide the right care to my families and my employees.”
Woman-Owned Business of the Year
Luis’ hard work is paying off: One on One Behavioral Services now reaches families from Key Largo through Coral Springs with a team of 25 therapists. The small business recently received SBDC’s Woman-Owned Business of the Year award.
“I continue to work with [SBDC at FIU] to this day alongside Mark and other consultants, such as Kiomara Hidalgo, who helps with HR, and Lilian Urbandt, who helps me with accounting. So, with their help, we’ve grown, and every year we grow exponentially,” she adds.
Since 2021, Luis’ business has grown more than 4X and now has the staff for the number of children she helps, Mungenast says. With SBDC’s help, changes in marketing, employee retention and caseload helped her grow. For instance, employees with ABA certification are scarce so they discussed strategies to retain them. With revenue growth, she has been able to provide more perks and employee get-togethers, lowering turnover significantly. She also hired lead practitioners to manage the number of cases. “We also suggested that she get a line of credit, which she did, to plan for cash flow issues due to the slow process for insurance claims,” Mungenast adds.
SBDC at FIU also helped her develop outreach strategies to communicate her services to physicians and families, including through Facebook ads and Google organic search and through articles and blogs. “Working with Jeanne and knowing that you are helping children receive the care they need is very rewarding,” Mungenast says. “Jeanne is a remarkable person who greatly benefits the community.”
Looking ahead
What’s ahead for One on One Behavioral Services? To reach more families with its high quality of care, Luis says. Although One on One works with major insurance plans, it hasn’t yet expanded into Medicaid. That’s a goal for the coming year, she adds.
“Every day, I still wake up amazed by what we’re able to do. I’m very grateful for the position I’m in and proud of what I’ve built with the help of others.”
Luis’ advice to other entrepreneurs: “Reach out for help. Don’t be afraid to connect with your local community for support. That has been crucial to my success and turning my vision into what this business is today, which is a successful business where we have the resources to help families, and I’m living the goal that I set out. That is where it all started, really, and where it all kicked off was reaching out to the SBDC. Keep learning from others, and don’t hesitate to ask for that guidance as you grow.”
