Scrubs To The Rescue Changes the Trajectory of the Medical Apparel Retail Market

SCRUBS TO THE RESCUE CHANGES THE TRAJECTORY OF THE MEDICAL APPAREL RETAIL MARKET – Where some believe the stigma that the Black woman cannot collaborate with other sisters, there is an exemplary enterprise right in the heart of our city combatting that stereotype.  A group of like-minded and like-spirited female colleagues of color in the medical profession birthed a business in 2019 over a conversation in the hospital cafeteria. That simple chat sharing dreams and goals of a medical scrubs collection, organically turned into a rewarding business partnership, Scrubs To The Rescue.  Co-owners Tennille Johnson, Keosha Austin, and Natisha Holly, coming together with a passion and purpose to fundamentally change the trajectory of the medical apparel retail market, have leveraged a non-traditional shopping model that has proven to be ahead of the curve for a valuable and convenient experience for medical professionals, providing medical scrubs for women and men.  Through their varied backgrounds and skill sets that compliment each other, the co-owners of Scrubs To The Rescue have set a trend and stellar example of how women working together can create success, being a shining example for other females and all entrepreneurs to follow.

“Just remember that being strong does not mean you have to do everything on your own.  We as women can work together, using our different God-given gifts and talents for something greater than ourselves.  I am proud that this is what Scrubs To The Rescue represents,” Tennille said.  Co-leading Scrubs To The Rescue as CEO, she is guided by her faith and stands on one of her favorite quotes by the late Mother Teresa, reminding us, “’I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” 

WOMEN OF COLOR COLLABORATING To offer a variety of medical scrubs collections

WOMEN OF COLOR COLLABORATING TO OFFER A VARIETY OF MEDICAL SCRUBS COLLECTIONS – Scrubs To The Rescue is run by influential female leaders with over 20 years of combined experience in the healthcare industry. They use their own individual dexterity gained as healthcare, corporate, and retail professionals to bring expert knowledge, innovation, technology, and the most desired products and services to meet the needs of busy healthcare professionals, like doctors, nurses, and other medical support staff. The business ultimately helps medical professionals and all professionals requiring scrubs to look and feel their best while at work by offering a wide range of brands such as Dickies, Maevn, Adar scrubs, and many more! Scrubs To The Rescue wants to be a part of empowering these professionals with chic and quality attire, by providing medical scrubs for women and men.

Scrubs To The Rescue is already widely recognized, being the proud recipient of the Houston Area Urban League Small Business University 2019 Pitch Competition and honored as a 2021 d-mars.com Top 50 Black Professional & Entrepreneur. One thing that makes Scrubs To The Rescue unique, is their large variety of brands which include some of the most popular names like Betsey Johnson scrubs and Healing Hands uniforms! You are also guaranteed to find the classic sets from Cherokee, Maevn, and Adar scrubs. The online and in-person store offers medical scrubs for women and men.

Get to know the Scrubs To The Rescue leadership and team

Born in the windy city of Chicago, Tennille Johnson came to Houston to attend Texas Southern University. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree and has worked as a pharmacist for over 16 years.  She prides herself on being a lifelong learner and community activist. She is a proud and active member of the esteemed Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Fort Bend Alumni Chapter. Tennille also has been a part of numerous community and professional organizations that include the Houston Area Urban League and the Texas Pharmacy Association. As CEO, she wants Scrubs To The Rescue to be known worldwide for providing durable, but trendy and fashion-forward medical apparel.

Keosha Austin hails from Arkansas, earning her degree from Arkansas State University and relocated to Houston in 2015.  Keosha has held many leadership roles in product procurement and supply chain management. As Scrubs To The Rescue’s uniform fashion expert, she provides guidance on all of their product line selections.

Natishia Holly grew up on the Northside of Houston, Texas. She attended Booker T. Washington High School. Her career in healthcare began in 2001, and she has held many leadership roles in medical information management. A natural gift and ability to connect with individuals, she continues to foster this talent for advancement in her personal and professional life. She is a member of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, where she is active in ministry work. Natishia’s combination of experience and spirit of service enable her to strategically and successfully manage Scrubs To The Rescue’s resources and customer service department. 

As Scrubs To The Rescue grows with increased customer and business requirements, they must have a team that grows with it. De’Ja Jackson is new to her role in the company as a sales agent, but with her previous experience, she’s not a stranger to handling the responsibilities in the area of sales.  Owning this position at the Gessner location, she has already proven herself as a superior team member.  In addition to her sales savvy, she is a natural in the area of customer service, making her a perfect fit and great asset to the team.

Q&A with Scrubs To The Rescue

DMARS: Where there’s this stigma about how Black women cannot work well together, talk about how you all as female co-owners of Scrubs To The Rescue combat that stereotype?

SCRUBS: We came together originally with one common goal, to start a small business incorporating our love for fashion, our healthcare backgrounds, and our drive for success.  I will never forget that conversation we had during our lunch break about starting our own business.  After further discussion, we committed, made a plan, and have not turned back since.  What sustains us is that we started off as friends with a mutual respect for each other.  And though we have different personalities and ways of accomplishing things, we remove all personal feelings for a common goal to serve our customers with excellence, resulting in exponential growth for Scrubs To The Rescue.  We communicate often, and we each understand our roles in this partnership.  What helps the most is that we are all mature enough to work together in business.  Communication is very important, and we meet on a weekly basis to discuss our business plans and to make sure we stay on track.  Determination, hard work, mutual respect, and staying in line with that one common goal is what has contributed to our success as a female and Black-owned business.  This mindset drives us now and will continue to drive us into the future. 

DMARS: As co-owners of Scrubs To The Rescue, how do you all successfully work together and stay within your key roles, not overlapping into each other’s responsibilities? 

SCRUBS: We have mentors, and the best advice we received was to create a partnership agreement with very specific roles and responsibilities.  Yes, we could have just filed that document, but instead we use it as a guide and reminder to stay on track whenever there are differences.  I cannot stress enough the mutual respect and level of maturity we all have.  Not to mention, we leave our egos at the door.  We are one team, working within our strategic plan to accomplish our goals.  Having good documentation of our processes and a well-constructed business plan guides all of our decision-making.  Organization and focus are the keys to winning.

DMARS: What would you say has been your strategy from the beginning that has resulted in your company’s impressive growth in a short amount of time? 

SCRUBS: Creating our business plan at the very beginning and updating it as needed has been our guiding light, even when it appeared dark and grim.  We are an innovative group of women, always brainstorming about ways to solve customer problems.  And because we are our own customers, as healthcare professionals, there is a first-hand understanding of customer needs.  We also tapped into resources like the Small Business Administration, SCORE, the Houston Community College program supporting entrepreneurs, and the Houston Area Urban League.  Consulting with successful business owners who have a proven track record has helped with our growth and sustainability.  We work hard, have patience, and take advantage of our resources.  We are constant learners and never feel like we know it all, depending on each other.  If you are truly a team, you know that you don’t have to do things alone. 

DMARS: Being a female-owned business, have you found it difficult/challenging as women, or do you find that you are on a level playing field, receiving respect when dealing with vendors, etc.?  

SCRUBS: Yes, as a minority-owned business, it has been a challenge. But we look at it as an opportunity to grow and learn.  Most of our challenges have been trying to find capital to help finance our business ventures.  We are often overlooked by vendors because of our lack of resources, which initially was frustrating.  But, I soon came to understand how businesses are to stay operational, and it comes down to having capital.  This challenge has just forced us to work harder so we receive the financial support for our continuous growth.

DMARS: What challenges has your business faced during the pandemic, and how have you overcome those challenges, sustaining a successful business? 

SCRUBS: We are definitely living in a time where traditional shopping can be considered risky.  But, we have made significant changes last year, pivoting and taking advantage of this new era.  We were in the process of relocating before the pandemic, but mandatory closures put that on hold longer than expected.  From January through August 2020, we were only able to gain revenues from online sales.  This dramatically reduced our marketing budget.  But not giving up, we used cost-effective and no-cost marketing to boost our online sales, making our own masks for purchase, increasing our social media marketing efforts, and utilizing Google Ads.  As a result, we were able to open the doors of our new location in August 2020.  With the improved visibility and securing a space in a popular area, we were able to get back on track.  Our continued growth strategy involves making more resources available through our Click It & Forget It Scrub Subscription Plan, helping to reduce the customer’s need to have to shop at our physical location. 

DMARS: What are the upcoming plans for Scrubs To The Rescue as you continue to evolve? 

SCRUBS: Our vision for our Click It & Forget It Scrub Subscription Plan will definitely be a disruptor, satisfying the need for a more innovative shopping experience, as well as helping nurses and healthcare professionals select products that meet their individual needs.  This model is fairly new to the medical uniform industry and is a great model to incorporate, considering nurses replace uniforms using a replenishment model.  Medical scrubs take a beating day in and day out, requiring our customers to go back and replenish stock often.  With this subscription plan still being an untapped market in the uniform industry, we plan to change the game on how healthcare professionals shop for medical uniforms.

DMARS: Your company believes in serving the community.  How has giving back helped contribute to your success? 

SCRUBS: We have already donated over 200 scrub sets to the homeless and look forward to incorporating more community ventures into our business plan.  Giving back gives us pride as business owners.  We strive to be prosperous so we can help our community, making a difference one scrub at a time.  Giving back has also allowed us to build partnerships with other entities.  Annually, we plan to donate scrubs to the homeless, but also partner with other businesses to do a clothing drive for disadvantaged families. 

With continuous growth each year, Scrubs To The Rescue continues to develop new business models, staying competitive.  New developments, like the launch of the Click It & Forget It Scrub Subscription Plan, enhances their ability to serve customers conveniently, especially as we are still in the midst of the pandemic. Adapting has kept Scrubs To The Rescue a valuable resource for professionals in the healthcare industry, accommodating their ever-growing customer base. 

For more information on Scrubs To The Rescue’s products and services, please call 713-640-5717 or visit www.scrubstotherescue.com.