Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Robert Moghim and Jim Chandler.
CEO Dr. Moghim, a Board Certified Anesthesiologist, founded Onyx M.D. back in 2005 with Jim Chandler, President & CFO. From start-up to top 13 largest locum tenens firms, they managed to grow the company organically through hard work, persistence, and A LOT of on-the-job experience!
For Dr. Moghim, as a young doctor working with various medical staffing firms, he quickly realized that there was a lack of physician representation in the industry. In 2005, just one year after completing residency and working, on average, 80 hour weeks, he took every penny he earned and started Onyx M.D. No loans or outside capital was utilized to start the company.
As for Jim, he was excited to be in healthcare and in an environment where they started from literally NOTHING! Their first office was a converted house. This is now a clothing boutique. His “space” was a room in the basement. The door to get there was actually part of the floor and, unless you knew that, no one would ever know he was there! It was like he was in a dungeon of a castle…albeit a small castle.
Today, with over 40 employees, Onyx M.D. operates in all 50 states and is a proven leader in the industry. The company is nationally recognized as a Best of Staffing® firm (3 years in a row). Their CEO Dr. Moghim was also named as a finalist in the 2016 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year award.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Moghim: In any business venture, it is expected that challenges will arise along the way. I think one of the biggest obstacles in building Onyx M.D. is making the ‘right’ decisions when there is no clear cut answer or direction. In other words, building a service organization with national reach requires calculated risk or “playing in the grey”. Luckily, we aren’t the only company that has these challenges and learning from our mistakes only makes us stronger as we march toward respectable growth.
Chandler: The road of an entrepreneur is littered with obstacles. Success is defined by the obstacles, challenges, and struggles you experience as you go through life and career. I think the biggest challenge (or responsibility rather) is knowing you have many employees and their families relying on you and your ability to “keep the lights on”, provide meaningful employment, and ongoing career opportunities. This is something I constantly think about and underscores the importance of surrounding yourself with the BEST people you can.
Onyx M.D. – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Founded in 2005, Onyx M.D. is one of the leading (privately-held) healthcare staffing companies in the nation. The firm focuses on the placement of physicians and advanced practice providers of all specialties in locum tenens (temporary assignments), locum-to-perm, and permanent positions throughout the United States. The company was founded by a physician with a proven track record of building and operating healthcare practices as well as practice management entities. This gives Onyx M.D. an established credibility and strong understanding of both the provider and client perspectives. The company is committed to delivering elite, professional, and memorable medical placement experiences…again and again.
In addition, we are extremely proud of the fact that the founders continue to have full control of the company thus allowing the founding principles to continue to shape and direct the company’s culture. After all, a strong internal company culture is a must for continued and sustainable success. We also make it a priority to give back to our community through our employee-driven charitable program, S.C.O.P.E., where we take a percentage of our sales each month and donate to a local charity/organization specific to causes related to children and families in need.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Moghim: A majority of our competitors are backed by private equity firms or strategic partners with access to easier forms of capital and/or public funds, etc. We are likely one of the ONLY companies in our industry that started and grew the organization organically. For example, if the company needed more capital I would just take more call shifts or work holidays (as a physician). Meaning, we didn’t raise capital, acquire debt, or bring in more partners. We made it happen by using the old school methodology of hard work, reinvest, more hard work, reinvest…and that cycle still continues to this day. This has allowed us to remain extremely flexible in our strategy and approach to growing the business.
Chandler: Breaking into Top 13 Largest Locum Tenens Firms (based on revenue).
Contact Info:
- Address: 1212 Corporate Drive, Suite 500, Irving, TX 75038
- Website: onyxmd.com
- Phone: 877.466.9963
- Email: jobs@onyxmd.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onyxmdstaffing/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/OnyxMD and https://twitter.com/OnyxMDjobs
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