By: Lyssanoel Frater

For April Salsbury, being the ‘right hand’ was never just a job description. It was a calling. Long before founding Salsbury & Co., a nationally growing business consulting firm, Salsbury built her career supporting the operational backbone of small businesses. From taking vitals in an outpatient clinic to negotiating leases and advocating for healthcare legislation, she’s spent over two decades assisting businesses in navigating operational challenges and driving success.

Now, as the founder and CEO of Salsbury & Co., she has brought that behind-the-scenes expertise to the forefront, working to transform how small businesses grow, scale, and navigate challenges.

“I’ve always worked closely with small business owners,” Salsbury says. “Even when I didn’t have the title, I was the person making sure the business ran smoothly. That experience shaped everything I do today.”

Salsbury’s journey began in clinical care, where she worked as a medical assistant with an associate’s degree. But she wasn’t content to stay there. A conversation with her clinic manager sparked her next move. “I remember asking her, ‘How do I do what you do?’ She laid out a plan, and I followed it step by step,” she recalls.

That plan led her back to school for a bachelor’s degree in healthcare. Right after graduating, she stepped into a new role as a medical practice manager, her first real exposure to what it truly meant to build a business from the ground up. “We were launching a brand-new practice. I negotiated the lease, hired staff, managed construction, handled the medical billing; it was everything, all at once,” she says. “And I loved it.”

That experience paved the way for her next challenge: a role as Operations Director at a healthcare organization. Within months of earning her master’s degree, Salsbury was promoted to CEO. Under her leadership, the company grew from just a handful of employees to more than a hundred, expanded to seven locations, built surgical training centers, partnered with universities, and even launched international distribution.

She also worked to push beyond the boundaries of her organization, advocating for industry oversight and legislation in a then-unregulated sector of healthcare. “We were growing quickly, but the industry lacked standards,” she says. “So I worked on getting laws passed that would provide oversight and protect patients and professionals alike.”

Despite her accomplishments in the healthcare space, Salsbury recognized that her greatest strength and passion lay in helping others turn their visions into reality.

In 2015, she launched Salsbury & Co., with the mission of providing small businesses with access to high-level operational support without the corporate red tape. “I wrote down three values on a slip of paper when I started,” she says. “One: I wanted flexibility, especially to be there for my kids. Two: I wanted to provide a livable wage for myself and my team. And three: I wanted to be a trusted partner in the business community, someone people knew had integrity.”

Those values remain the foundation of the company today.

“My team knows those values. We refer to them anytime we face a tough decision. If something doesn’t align, we change course. That’s how we protect our culture and our clients.”

Today, Salsbury & Co. does more than just offer business consulting. It serves as an extension of each client’s internal team. The firm provides a seamless support system for small businesses. What sets the company apart is its deeply integrated approach. They don’t just provide clients with a to-do list. They actively implement, train, and build alongside them.

“Helping small business owners realize their dreams while living my own – that’s what it’s always been about,” Salsbury concludes.