Today we’d like to introduce you to Birchie And Sharon Stillwagoner.
Hi Birchie and Sharon , we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
We are a family owned business. We actually have two businesses. We have Lone Star Phlebotomy, our trade school, and we own BStill Investigations, which is a private investigations company.
We started Lone Star Phlebotomy because Birchie and I saw a need in our community for quality medical training at an affordable price. We realized, especially once our children graduated high school, that there was a need for trade schools in our area. Not every child is cut out for college and most can’t afford a 4 year degree. We wanted our kids, and others to be able to get not just a job, but form a carreer. We wanted to help people be able to get an education without being in debt for the next 10 years. So, we opened our Burleson location in 2016 and our Sherman location in 2020. We are going on almost 10 years now.
We opened BStill Investigations in 2021. Birchie was a police officer for 25 years so this was a natural next step after he retired from the police department. Our girls, Haile Peach Kinnaird and Ali Medellin work for both of our companies.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
NO! We had so many challenges our first year opening Lone Star Phlebotomy. I think anytime you go into business you always have people out there that are jealous and so they try and make things more difficult for you. They make complaints and spread lies about you and say negative thing, but we have realized that it is their own insecurities causing them to act the way they do. We even had one school try to sue us for copyright infringement. Which was absolutely false. We bought our curriculum when we started. This particular school was also using the same curriculum but tried to sue us saying they wrote the curriculum. They have never written anything. They even lost their contract with the National agency because they were forging the copyrighted curriculum. We have since written our own curriculum. They also made complaints to the state that delayed us getting our Certificate of Approval from TWC. But we persevered and here we are today.
We have learned to ignore the naysayers and keep our focus on God and our own business and not worry about what others say. The haters are going to hate no matter what. We believe we are the best in the business and our students success is proof of that.
There is also a lot of paperwork involved with the state when you open a trade school in Texas. And you have to meet the requirements every year with TWC to renew your Certificate of Approval. The hardest part is being audited every year, which is not fun. But after 10 years we have figured it out and now the process isn’t quite as hard.
BStill Investigations was slightly easier, but again there were so many hoops we had to jump through with the state that it was crazy. We never seem to take the easy route when opening a company. We unknowingly pick the most challenging businesses to start. LOL
We’ve been impressed with Lone Star Phlebotomy LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a family owned medical trades school licensed by TWC in the state of Texas. We offer affordable National Certifications for Medical Assistant, Phlebotomy Technician, and EKG Technician. Our classes are two days a week for six weeks.We offer morning classes and evening classes. Our class times are set so students have time to take their kids to daycare/school before coming to class. And they get out early enough to pick them up.
We offer payment plans for our students so they don’t have to pay all of their tuition up front. We work with a few local agencies that will help students with tuition assistance if they qualify. Which most do.
We keep our classes smaller and have 2 instructors per class so each student gets the individual attention they need. Most of our students prefer a smaller class size.
We get to know our students and they become family to us. Our students are not just a number. We genuinely care about every students success. Our main goal in class is to support and encourage each student. We give them the self confidence they need to go out and perform to the best of their abilities. They tell us all the time they don’t want to leave and wished we had more classes so they could stay with us. A majority of our students keep in touch with us long after they graduate. They send us pictures of their children, invite us to their weddings, they stop by just to say Hi and to catch us up on their lives etc. It makes our hearts happy to hear their stories and to see their successes. Sometimes all people need is someone to believe in them and we believe in each and every one of our students!
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was shy growing up and always a rule follower. I was your typical “middle child”. I was quiet until someone was being picked on. Then I became a little fighter. I have always fought for those who couldn’t fight for themselves. And Birchie was a complete rule breaker. But he always had a soft spot in his heart for the underdog too. We balance each other out now. I make the rules for the school and want them followed and Birchie continues to break them. LOL Just kidding.
We were both poor growing up and had to work if we ever wanted anything. I believe that is what makes us so relatable to our students. We have been where they are now and we are here to help them make their situation better.
Pricing:
- Medical Assistant classes are $2350
- Phlebotomy Technician classes are $1450
- EKG Technician classes are $1180
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lonestarphlebotomy.com; bstillinvestigation@gmail.com
- Instagram: @lone_star_phlebotomy
- Facebook: Lone Star Phlebotomy “A Medical Trades Company” LLC
- Other: Tik Tok @lonestarphlebotomy
Image Credits
We took all of our pictures and all students involved have signed waivers.
