Today we’d like to introduce you to Hamida Mahamed and Sumaya Yusuf.
Hi Hamida and Sumaya, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
After tirelessly working for various small healthcare companies, non-profit organizations, and even in the school system, Hamida and Sumaya were ready to take on a new challenge. They recognized that small businesses often struggled with identifying how to prevent or address compliance issues.
They decided to combine their passion and knowledge. Hamida had experience assisting minority owned substance use treatment centers with following compliance. Sumaya had experience as a teacher and had a passion for training and development. And on a random weeknight while at Panera Bread, the idea to start a consulting company and the name Beacon Behavioral Health was born.
Fast forward to two and a half years later, Beacon Behavioral Health has grown from just an idea to a reality. We have a staff of highly experienced clinicians, an overwhelming support from the community, and have assisted over thirty agencies ranging from home health care agencies, assisted living centers, substance use treatment centers, mental health providers, and autism centers.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road. The healthcare consulting business is very small. As two Black, Muslim women in this field, we have had to work harder to earn the respect of others. Black women work in a variety of jobs and industries at all different levels. We have had to confront misconceptions as well as racial and gender biases about our work.
We are obsessed with our company and we have had some difficulty with balancing work and life. We are both mothers and juggling motherhood with entrepreneurship is not always an easy task. Thankfully, we have great families who have helped us. Lately, we have been more mindful about practicing self-care.
As you know, we’re big fans of Beacon Behavioral Health. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Beacon Behavioral Health is a consulting agency based in Minneapolis, MN. We provide support and consulting solutions for behavioral health organizations. We work with companies from their inception and help them stay in business! We offer training, insight, and solutions. As clinicians, we have the passion and expertise to provide quality care.
There is a lot of red tape and bureaucracy with starting and maintaining a healthcare business. As products of hard-working immigrants, we understand the value and dedication of our clients. For some minority groups, there are preconceived beliefs about their competency simply because of their ethnicity. We want to take control of that narrative by striving to empower minority-owned providers.
We are dedicated to raising awareness about opioid use. We have seen too many people die from opioid use in the Twin Cities. We create social media content and hold events to educate the community about the dangers of opioid abuse, address the stigma, what to do in the event of an overdose, and find treatment options for individuals suffering from addiction.
We want Beacon Behavioral Health to be known for our commitment to excellence; our ‘take action’ approach, and our valuable relationships with our clients.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
We are lucky that our clients entrust us into making their dreams of running a successful business a reality. However, we have never taken their trust for granted. We work hard to earn their trust and to keep their trust. Our business has been successful primarily due to word of mouth. We haven’t done much advertising and yet 90% of our new business is a referral from a client we have worked with.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.beaconbhealth.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beaconbhealth/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beaconbhealth
