The Dr. Is In

Sterling, welcome. Let’s start with the blueprint. Tell us about your roots — are you a native Houstonian? Where did you receive your education, and how did this city influence your path?

I am a native Houstonian. My parents are originally from Mississippi, but my father was stationed at Ellington Field/NASA with the Air Force, which brought them here.

My twin brother, Stephen Carter, and I were born here. He is also my business partner.

We grew up in the Missouri City area of Fort Bend County and attended Willowridge High School. I played football through junior high, but ironically, we both ended up playing the tuba in the marching and concert bands.

Upon graduation, we received multiple music scholarships. It turns out the bass instruments, and in particular, the Tuba players, are vital for marching bands, and many universities were seeking talented players.

My background is in physical therapy; I hold a doctorate from Simmons University, a master’s degree from Texas Woman’s University, and two bachelor’s degrees from Langston University.

I’m a “Nupe,” having pledged Kappa Alpha Psi at Langston, along with the music fraternity Kappa Kappa Psi.

I served in the Army Reserves throughout college and eventually retired after 25 years of service at the rank of major (promotable to lieutenant colonel). I chose to retire because my business was growing and I did not want to take the chance of losing it. It was a tough decision.

After becoming a Licensed Physical Therapist, I began working at a local hospital here in Houston.

I also worked at the VA hospital. After 10 years at the VA, I felt I’d hit a glass ceiling and knew I could contribute more to the world.

I observed a lack of equitable healthcare for African Americans and the underprivileged.

It seemed that quality care depended on your wealth or appearance, and I felt a strong need to help balance that playing field.

In 2008, I opened Sterling Physical Therapy and Wellness. Three years later, I saw an opportunity in staffing and brought in my brother Stephen, a business guru with an accounting background and an MBA.

Combining my healthcare acumen with his business expertise, we realized we could make a significant impact in clinical staffing.

Recognizing the need for providers in home health, we partnered to launch Sterling Staffing Solutions.

He serves as the CEO of the staffing company, while I lead the physical therapy practice.

Dividing and conquering really allowed us to take off. The staffing company grew by leaps and bounds, landing on the Inc. 5000 list for five or six years straight and picking up a bunch of awards along the way. Not long after that success, Stephen spotted an opportunity to branch out into hospice care.

Stephen later opened White Orchid Hospice, an in-home agency. These three companies formed the foundation of our work.

As our notoriety grew, Forbes reached out to us for their Forbes Books line. After a “blueprint day” in South Carolina to share our story, we wrote our first book, “Double Your Success: Principles to Build a Multi-Million Dollar Business.”

The book focuses on scaling businesses and coaching the foundation for successful business at any size. It eventually became an Amazon bestseller, which opened doors for public speaking and mentoring.

During COVID, we partnered with Fort Bend County to coach over 1,000 businesses. It was a huge win for the community because every single business in our program actually made it through the crisis. Big props to Fort Bend County for making that possible!

INTERVIEW WITH CRAIG L. AMOS

I’ve served as chairman of the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, and we both remain active on their boards. Giving back to the community that supported us is a priority.

I also mentor aspiring physical therapy students. Helping them enter the profession makes a real difference.

Along those lines, my brother and I started the Young Millionaire Series nonprofit to encourage and equip young people with the tools to reach that financial level.

We held a successful conference just before the pandemic, but had to pause our national tour plans when COVID hit.

Are these young leaders clustering in specific industries, like physical therapy, or are they spread across various sectors?

It’s not industry-specific. Our conference featured experts from real estate, finance, and music to show how anyone can scale and leverage their skills.

We even had a music mogul come in to talk about scaling in any industry. It was a powerful moment that showed our attendees how to leverage their unique skills to make a real difference.

Currently, White Orchid Hospice operates in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City, with a new location coming to Tulsa. We also have five physical therapy clinics in Sugar Land, Missouri City, Katy, Bellaire, and Stafford. We serve anyone in pain or struggling with mobility.

White Orchid Hospice provides in-home hospice care for those at the end stage of life. Many people don’t realize these services are often covered 100% by Medicare.

There’s often a misconception that hospice means giving up on your loved ones, but it’s actually a vital support system for families and patients alike.

So can I talk to you about your family, your personal side? Wife, kids, you want to do a little bragging on your kids or anything?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

I’m married and have a stepson, Garry, who recently graduated from the University of Houston. He just moved to Abilene to work as an engineer building an AI data center sponsored by Open AI, StarLink, and others.

Texas is becoming a hub for AI technology, which requires massive data infrastructure. Gary’s team is helping to build that out, and I’m very excited for him.

And they’re going to be helping to run the teams and build out the infrastructure. So I’m excited about that. He just moved out there last week.

My wife, Crystal, also works in healthcare. She manages surgery scheduling at MD Anderson Cancer Center, ensuring patients get the timely care they need.

We’ll celebrate our 10th anniversary this September with a trip to Marbella, Spain.

My 83-year-old mother is living her best life; she recently remarried a high school classmate who had a crush on her since they were teenagers. They reconnected at a high school reunion — it’s a wonderful story.

You have mentored many bright, young leaders. What is the most common obstacle you see them struggling with, and how do you teach them to overcome it?

I’d tell anyone striving for their best: you are capable of anything you set your mind to. It won’t be easy, and it requires hard work, but the opportunities are there.

With modern technology and AI, information is at our fingertips. There are no excuses — use the tools available to you and make it happen.

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