HireSmart Cares founders Mark and Anne Lackey are addicted to entrepreneurship, having successfully run multiple multi-million dollar businesses.  

They love sharing tips with anyone aiming to launch a business. But their first word of advice is always — be ready to live frugally. 

"How many of you like to work and not get paid?" Anne asked a roomful of Melinda Cochran-Davis’s construction students at Jackson Empower College and Career Center in Jefferson, Georgia. 

No one responded or raised a hand. 

"No one? Well, then you probably don't need to go into business," said Anne. "As a business owner, we worked for years without paychecks. We worked for years making investments back into our business over and over and over again." 

Mark and Anne, who run multiple businesses in international hiring, real estate, and consulting, as well as operating a nonprofit, HireSmart Cares, emphasize that "bootstrapping" a business is all about commitment. 

There's no free time, and the responsibility is 24/7/365. There's no "off button." 

A call to action: HireSmart Cares aims to help youth realize their potential  

"We worked seven days a week, 52 weeks a year for seven years before we went on a vacation," said Mark. "There were days when we needed to pay our employees and guess what? We didn't have enough money left to pay ourselves. Running a business is fun and exciting, but it is challenging. It is difficult." 

Mark and Anne talked about Madison County, Georgia, teenage entrepreneur Olivia Braswell, who runs her own homemade soap-making business, Proverbs 31 Farmstead. 

"When you start a business, there's a lot more to it than just owning a business and making money," said Anne. "It's an investment." 

Olivia owns three cows that supply the milk for her business. Mark and Anne asked students to consider all the responsibilities with the cows. Olivia had to purchase the cows and make sure they're fed and properly cared for. She milks them at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. every day. 

"Every day, seven days a week, 365 days, and she can't miss a day," said Mark. 

Anne said having a good product is not enough. People need to know about what you have to sell. She talked about developing a marketing budget. 

"You need customers; you need advertising," she said. "How are you going to pay for that?" 

Anne said she and Mark worked full-time jobs and invested a portion of their salaries into their businesses, never taking out loans. 

"You have to figure out how much money or time you are willing to invest in something to see if it's going to be successful," said Anne. 

Mark shared that he considered starting a hardware business, so he worked for free every weekend at a hardware store for several months to see what it took to run a hardware store, ultimately deciding he had no desire to start such a business. 

"It was a cheap investment, rather than buying a store or starting to buy nuts and bolts and screws and things and then starting my own hardware store," he said. "I invested in learning." 

Mark and Anne said entrepreneurship is all about marrying your passion for an idea with a commitment to make it work. 

"Find those things you enjoy already," he said. 

"Understand what you do best and what you're passionate about," said Anne. 

A student asked Anne what she loved most about being a business owner. 

"Service," she said, noting that she and Mark employ over 700 people. "I get to help change lives by helping people achieve their goals and giving them health care, dental care, and community." 

Anne said being a successful entrepreneur is rooted in passion and establishing a distinct quality of service. Seeking money for money's sake isn't enough. 

"When you love what you do, and you do your best every day, the money will show up," she said. 

After the talks, Mark and Anne chatted with students, fielded questions, and heard their ideas. 

"We're here to help you," said Anne. "Ask us anything." 

That's the spirit of HireSmart Cares. It's a quest to serve youth with time, teaching, tools, and technology so today's kids can be tomorrow's leaders. 

If you're interested in reading more about HireSmart Cares, click here

If you'd like to donate to support HireSmart Cares and its initiatives to support today's youth, click here. 

If you have ideas for supporting youth that you'd like us to hear, email us Info@HireSmartCares.org. 

You landed the job, and And you got that paycheck. Yay! Now what?  

HireSmart Cares founders Mark and Anne Lackey recently talked about personal finances with students in Melinda Cochran-Davis’s construction classes at Jackson Empower College and Career Center in Jefferson, Georgia. 

What does it take to live? 

Mark and Anne praised Cochran-Davis’s work with the students on budgeting. Davis assigned each student a salary based on their grade-point average in the class, with A's earning the most, followed by B's and C's. Students then had to allocate their income toward living expenses, including rent, auto costs, food, insurance, utilities, entertainment, etc. 

"This is a great tool!" said Mark, noting the importance of careful budgeting. 

Mark and Anne both shared their early-life budgeting processes with the students.   

"What I did is I kept a little notebook in my pocket, and every time I purchased anything, cash or check, I wrote it down," said Mark. "I did this for months, and after about three months, I could look at my history and know what it cost me to live." 

He then knew how to live within a budget because he carefully tracked the numbers. 

A call to action: HireSmart Cares aims to help youth realize their potential  

Mark said banks make a fortune off overdraft fees and urged students not to help banks make their offices bigger by incurring unnecessary and expensive overdraft notices. 

"Whatever works for you," he said. "Develop a system of tracking expenses so you don't pay overdraft fees." 

Anne shared her former system of budgeting by envelopes. She talked about days of living lean and working to make a little bit of money last. 

"When I got my paycheck, I ended up taking it and cashing it, and I put it in envelopes," she said. 

There were envelopes for rent, car payments, gas, food, utilities, and entertainment. Anne talked to students about "fixed" costs, such as rent and car payments, versus "variable" expenses, such as food and entertainment. 

She put her cash into each envelope every pay period. When an unexpected expense arose, she had to determine which envelope went light. 

"Let's say I have a situation where my car breaks down, and I have to do repairs," she said. "Where does that money come from? I only have so many envelopes." 

Anne shared the necessity of firm budgeting priorities and a hierarchy of needs. She said rent, auto, and gas expenses came first. She needed a place to live and transportation to work. When unexpected costs came, she pulled first from entertainment funds and next from food. Anne added this system helped her positively refine her decision-making. 

"If I only have $20 for entertainment for the month, maybe I'm not buying that $7 Starbucks latte," she said. 

Mark and Anne also talked to the students about good debt versus bad debt, explaining that good debt has a positive return on investment, while bad debt continues to bite into your wallet for years. They urged students not to be on the wrong side of compound interest. 

They noted that taking on major debt for college without a viable repayment plan is financially destructive, with debt payments increasing over the years because of compound interest. They urged students to consider working through college to pay as they go or to see which employers have a tuition reimbursement program. 

"Think about your income potential after college," said Anne. "We often see kids saddled with $100,000 worth of debt, and their earning potential is $40,000 a year." 

Mark talked about how powerful compound interest can be for students if they save money over time and invest it wisely in interest-bearing accounts. 

"So compound interest can work for you in savings and against you in a loan," he said. 

Along those lines, Anne advised students to "beware of credit cards," noting the high-interest rates that saddle young people with debt. 

"They (credit card companies) make it sound so interesting, but it can get you into bad trouble," she said. "Don't try to live over what you earn because that will get to you." 

High schoolers are zooming toward the days of paychecks, rent, insurance, and other adult concerns. Mark and Anne want the next generation to face those challenges with skill and confidence. That’s why HireSmart Cares allocates time, tools, teaching, and technology to those efforts.  

To learn more about HireSmart Cares or to make a donation to the nonprofit’s mission to empower today’s youth through skill-development initiatives, visit hiresmartcares.org. 

You’re going for that interview. You want that job. How do you land it? 

HireSmart Cares founders Mark and Anne Lackey recently talked with Melinda Cochran-Davis’s construction classes at Jackson Empower College and Career Center in Jefferson, Georgia about the essential soft skills needed when searching for work. 

"There are some foundational skills you need to know and practice," said Anne. 

Mark and Anne emphasized the need for respect and interest while seeking employment. 

"What we hear from employers and what we hear out in the community is one of the bigger problems is the lack of respectfulness given in those initial introductions," said Mark. 

The first sign of respect a job applicant can show a potential employer is a professional appearance. 

A call to action: HireSmart Cares aims to help youth realize their potential  

Mark talked about how he worked full-time and took evening classes in college, where he arrived dressed in his three-piece business suit from the workday. A marketing professor called Mark and several classmates to the front of the room, asking, "Which person would you trust with your $10,000?" When the instructor pointed to Mark, the class cheered loudest. He said it really drove home the point that first impressions matter. 

"You don't have to wear a three-piece suit," responded Anne. "But you can be clean — no stains on your shirt, have your shirt tucked in with no wrinkles. You can do many things to make a good first impression that are easy and don't cost any money. Again, how's your hair? How are you coming across? Are you offering a good, firm handshake? Those little things make a huge difference in how people perceive you and how seriously they take you." 

Mark and Anne had the students stand and practice firm handshakes. One other tidbit of advice: If you wear a nametag, put it on the right side so that when you shake hands, it's visible to the person you're greeting. Also, remember to call people by their names and leave your cell phone in your car. No phone call or text is more important than a job interview. 

The couple emphasized the need for timeliness. Arriving for a noon interview at noon is late. "Always be early!" they said, noting the importance of factoring in potential delays, such as a traffic accident on your route. 

They urged the students to consider their behavior and appearance well before the interview begins, noting that how a person acts toward a receptionist is a vital indicator to employers of a person's character, which decision-makers notice.   

"Your interview starts the moment you step on the premises," said Anne, stressing the need to be respectful to everyone, including those encountered in seemingly chance meetings, perhaps even before entering the job site. 

"You don't want to cut someone off in traffic and then go in for your interview and realize that's who you just cut off in traffic," said Mark. 

Both urged teens to "be interested instead of interesting," pointing out that employers are drawn to intellectually curious applicants who ask good questions about the place of employment. 

An interest in others leads to better conversations, more information, and more potential connections. So, if a job doesn't work out, a connection has been made, and that person may be a source for additional connections and job opportunities. 

"What you do matters, how you act matters, how you treat people matters, what you look like matters," said Anne, adding that it's essential to get all of those things right to stand out in a competitive job market. 

HireSmart Cares empowers the next generation by donating to a variety of community efforts aimed at helping children and teens be self-sufficient in years to come. But for Mark and Anne, it's never about just writing a check and walking away. It's about truly being present for youth hungry for knowledge and encouragement. 

That’s why HireSmart Cares allocates time, tools, teaching, and technology to those efforts.  

To learn more about HireSmart Cares or to make a donation to the nonprofit’s mission to empower today’s youth through skill-development initiatives, visit hiresmartcares.org. 

"How many of you have gotten a paycheck?" 

HireSmart Cares founders Mark and Anne Lackey recently asked that question to a roomful of high school students at Jackson Empower College and Career Center in Jefferson, Georgia. 

Several raised their hands. Mark and Anne then led the students on a journey from job interview, to managing personal finances to starting their own businesses. How do you make smart decisions every step of the way? 

HireSmart Cares empowers the next generation by donating to a variety of community efforts aimed at helping children and teens be self-sufficient in years to come. For instance, Mark and Anne provide $2,000 grants to construction teachers in Madison and Jackson County to aid their efforts in developing teens’ hands-on skills.  

But at HireSmart Cares, it's never about just writing a check and walking away. It's about truly being present for youth hungry for knowledge and encouragement.  

“We’re here to try to help you be better in the future and give you some tips,” said Anne to students in Melinda Cochran-Davis’s class at Empower. 

The successful entrepreneurs, owners of six multi-million-dollar businesses, share their time and knowledge with young people who will soon face the challenges of getting a job, managing finances, and looking for potential entrepreneurship opportunities. 

A call to action: HireSmart Cares aims to help youth realize their potential  

The basic theme of their talk? Success is all about attention to detail. 

Mark and Anne emphasize the importance of attention to detail in every aspect of professional and personal life. They draw from their vast experience, illustrating how meticulous planning and execution played a pivotal role in their success. They shared anecdotes from their own careers, highlighting the small but significant decisions that led them to where they are today. 

The concept of “attention to detail” was not just limited to job tasks or business plans, but extended to everyday life decisions such as budgeting, time management, and setting goals.  

Mark and Anne discussed the importance of financial literacy, pointing out common mistakes young people make and offered practical advice on budgeting, saving, and investing. Their message was clear: managing money wisely is a crucial skill, especially for those aspiring to start their own businesses. 

The entrepreneurs also encouraged the teens not to get too down in the face of failure. They shared their experiences with setbacks and how they used them as learning opportunities, highlighting the reality that failure is often a stepping-stone to success.  

Mark and Anne urged the teens to be intellectually curious, to ask questions of others, and to recognize that there is a vast range of options for their future.  

The shared success stories, such as “Tony,” a local teen who made an HVAC industry connection while in high school and now has a profitable job in that field.  

“Tony has been promoted and promoted because he had skill sets that he demonstrated here in class being attentive, being interested,” said Mark. “Tony sat in one of these chairs just like you do.”  

High schoolers are zooming toward the days of paychecks, rent, insurance, and other adult concerns. Mark and Anne want the next generation to face those challenges with skill and confidence. That’s why HireSmart Cares allocates time, tools, teaching, and technology to those efforts.  

To learn more about HireSmart Cares or to make a donation to the nonprofit’s mission to empower today’s youth through skill-development initiatives, visit hiresmartcares.org. 

Mark Lackey, co-founder of HireSmart Companies was the speaker at Rotary to share the vision of HireSmart Cares.

When a home burns to the ground, there’s the loss of both past and future — the memories and the plans — along with a disorienting plunge into a chaotic present for families who escape the blaze minus all their belongings.  

Day or night, it’s a nightmare. 

Unfortunately, such tragedies are all too common. And we can’t help every suffering family. We don’t have that power. But here at HireSmart Cares, we do what we can to make life better for as many as possible.  

HireSmart’s primary philanthropic focus is helping kids build a good life through a variety of vocational and agricultural scholarships and initiatives, but our nonprofit also focuses on helping people rebuild their lives, whether it’s with assistance for the local food bank or providing aid for families struggling after natural disasters, as we did when we helped 31 Filipino families after Typhoon Rai in 2021. 

HireSmart answered the call again recently when one of its Filipino employees and her family lost their home in a devastating fire.  

“Our home was engulfed in flames, resulting in the destruction of our belongings, cherished memories, and a place we once called our safe haven,” the employee said. “The fire spread rapidly, leaving us with nothing on our backs and an overwhelming sense of uncertainty about our future.” 

HireSmart jumped in with financial assistance to help the employee and her family in their recovery.  

The grateful employee said assistance in a time of need restores “our faith in humanity and gives us the strength to move forward.” 

“Words cannot express the gratitude we feel,” the employee said. “Your kindness and compassion make an immense difference in our lives and bring hope where it is desperately needed.” 

Two cans of pork and beans, a bag of rice, and four bounced checks — that’s what Bobbie Rooker encountered when she took over in 1992 as Madison County’s Action Coordinator, which included overseeing food services for those in need.

Assistance for needy Madison County, Georgia residents was sparse 30 years ago. But that’s changed in a big way over the past three decades. These days, the food bank shelves are stocked with food and much more.

Many empty stomachs have been filled in this rural community thanks to a community rallying behind Rooker and her quest to feed the hungry. Two leaders of that effort are Mark and Anne Lackey of HireSmart Cares, who assist in a variety of ways. The Highway 98 facility in Danielsville is heated and cooled thanks to a new air conditioning unit donated by HireSmart. The Lackeys also make noteworthy monetary donations on a regular basis.

And, of course, there are the blue bags filled with food, clothes, household items — whatever the needy might need. Mark and Anne have attended countless conferences over the years, speaking and passing out blue bags for conference attendees to carry various goodies received at the gatherings.

Well, those bags serve another purpose — carrying sustenance for those down on their luck. The Lackeys stuff the blue bags full, then drop them off with Rooker and her assistant, Leann McMullan.

Rooker said the Lackeys’ donation of the air unit, the food, the funds, the clothes — it all adds up. It shows HireSmart Cares does indeed care.

“Those regular contributions are the glue that holds us together,” said Rooker of HireSmart’s efforts.

The Lackeys’ support for the food bank is nothing new. They’ve always made basic sustenance for the needy a focal point, giving frequent and substantial donations to the Norcross Cooperative Ministries and the Jacksonville Downtown Ecumenical Service Council.

“We’ve always helped the food bank wherever we are locally,” said Anne. “We know that if people don’t eat, nothing else matters. If your basic needs aren’t met, you cannot be a productive member of society, period. When we started out, we didn’t have much. But what we did have typically would go there because we knew it would have the greatest impact.”

The donations tie directly into HireSmart Cares’ big mission: helping kids.

Rooker said seeing a child going hungry is heartbreaking, but it’s a common sight.

“It’s tough when you see somebody, and they’re living in their car, and the car is piled up, and they’re trying to get food, and that kid is grabbing for what you’re handing him because he’s hungry,” she said. “How can you go to school and learn when you haven’t had any breakfast? How can you sit there in school and listen when you don’t know where you’ll be when it gets dark?”

Rooker also launched the county’s Christmas toy program that provides toys on Christmas morning for needy children. The program will be 30 years old next year and will serve 178 local children this year. The donations from the Lackeys help brighten Christmas morning for those children.

Of course, people across the age spectrum struggle. Rooker sees veterans in dire straits, too.

“It breaks my heart to think our veterans are not looked after,” she said. “They really aren’t. We have some that come in, and they can’t buy their medicines, and they don’t have enough food. That’s who fought for our freedom, and it just infuriates me.”

Older residents often find it tough to ask for help, Rooker said.

“I had one client come in the last six weeks,” she said. “He said, ‘I’ve never had to ask for food,’ When you see a person over 60 asking for food, it takes a lot of their pride away. It really does, and he actually had tears and said, ‘I need to eat.’ And I said, ‘We’ve got food. That’s why we’re here.’ He said, ‘Do you have anything that I can do? Can I help you do something?’ He wasn’t able to do that. He could hardly get up the ramp, but he wanted to try to give back. And three weeks ago, he brought me a $20 check. And I took it because it would have broken his heart if I hadn’t.”

Rooker has heard so many stories from those hungry and hurting. It gets to her. And she occasionally drives home and throws a rock to let out some of that pain. Rooker is a rock lover, and her late husband, Bill, would joke with her about having to pick up rocks wherever they went.

“Bill used to say every time we went on a trip, ‘I know, you want to bring back some rocks,’” she said. “He’d say, ‘Look, there’s a pretty rock.’”

And she’d go pick it up.

She still holds the rocks, thinking of the past and contemplating today’s world, which is truly harsh for so many.

“I see a lot,” she said of her work at the food bank. “Sometimes I have to go home and dig a hole in the dirt or throw some rocks across the field. My place is full of rocks. Whoever gets my house will wonder who in the world brought all these rocks here.”

Rooker has endured her own hardships, too. She lost both sons over the past decade, with her younger son, Mickey, passing away in 2013, and the older son, Clay, in 2018. Mickey’s son, Justin, lives with her and accompanies her at the food bank. Look up at the walls of the food bank, and you’ll see elaborate puzzles that were pieced together by Justin. He listens to his Travis Tritt albums, makes cards for people, talks to those who show up needing food and often helps load their cars.

“He (Justin) makes it a better place here,” said assistant food bank director Leann McMullan.

McMullan says the same about Bobbie Rooker. She said the food bank isn’t just a place for those in need to find some physical sustenance but a spot they find a kind soul who listens.

“She is like a counselor,” said McMullan. “People come in, and they just go off, not in a bad way. ‘My husband has cancer.’ ‘My sister’s died.’ And she’s lost a lot and has a lot of experience. So she can relate to it in a way that I can’t. I haven’t gone through the same life experiences she has. So she can understand how they feel, talk to and relate to them, and I think they feel better when they leave.”

Rooker said it’s necessary for a community to be compassionate and to do its best to lift people up when they’re down. And she said Madison County shines these days with the way Mark and Anne support the food bank, along with others.

“I’ve been to conferences and seen all directors and counties coming together, and from just listening, I’ve always left with, ‘You mean Madison County, you do all that? You’ve got that much support?’ Yeah, we do, we have that much support,’” she said.

With support from HireSmart Cares and others in the community, Madison County has come a long way from two cans of pork and beans, a bag of rice, and four bounced checks.

The shelves are stocked and hurting people are getting what they need.

The relief often arrives by blue bag.