DO THIS TWENTY-SEVENTH: STOP TELLING LITTLE LIES

Nobody I’ve ever met would admit to being a liar.

Sure, they might tell the occasional untruth…fudge a few details…forget to finish a sentence…but flat out lie? No way!

The truth is, for most of us, lying (within reason) is justified if WE do it… less so if someone ELSE does. Funny how that works, huh?

Considering how much the assisted living industry pushes the “trust” word in advertising, the last thing you should do is lie. But many assisted living owners, particularly smaller ones, lie regularly.

I know because I’ve worked with many as a consultant and copywriter.

Sadly, they lie because they think they have to. Maybe it’s the stress of juggling tasks…or the occasional emergency…or finances. Whatever the culprit, it doesn’t excuse lying. When a prospect calls with a few hard questions, they blurt out whatever they think will make the problem go away.

Silly, face-saving lies usually come from scared small business owners. Big corporations use eloquent spokespersons to lie for them.

If your strategy is to become a premium assisted living home—a place where enjoyable, private paying seniors want to live—you have to embrace honesty.

Honest answers—even when they’re not welcome—build credibility. Lies shatter credibility. They also fuel nasty reviews and comments on review sites. The public, which hears news in a very passive way, EXPECTS to hear unpleasant, even HORRIBLE news about “nursing homes.”

That’s not to say that if you lie (and get caught) you’ll always lose your prospect. You may not…especially if it’s not a critical point of discussion. But that’s ONLY because lying has become commonplace. People accept it. Get caught lying and your prospect thinks, “This place is just like everywhere else.”

Positioning your home like Paradise Home Care for maximum profit and enjoyment is all about demonstrating your high value difference. You are not a run-of-the-mill senior home. You’re a business owner in touch with the families of your residents. As such, you can always be relied upon to give honest and direct answers.

If you need further help, go to http://www.mikedevaney.com/contact.html to schedule your free, no-obligation marketing consultation.

DO THIS TWENTY-EIGHTH: TAKE A VACATION

Veterans of the assisted living industry often tell newcomers to say goodbye to their personal lives.

Owning an assisted living home is a job where you’re always available, they say. Forget vacations…carefree weekends…and off hours.

The thinking: your prospects expect this level of commitment from you. The seriousness of the business—caring for vulnerable, elderly people—demands it.

But as everyone knows, being chained to the job is a recipe for burnout. Burnout is a big reason the majority of assisted living homes go out of business in the first five years. The owners just can’t go on any longer.

I suspect most owners who buy into the always-on-the-job mentality are trying to prove the media—who say private pay companies are heartless, neglectful, and greedy—wrong.

It that’s you, please listen: you cannot change the public’s mind. The “public” is a big, purposely vague group. In your business, there are only two types of people: prospects and non-prospects. The majority of the public will never turn into prospects for you. Keeping up on media scare stories will contribute to burnout.

You need to take regular vacations as an owner or manager to step away from the business and let your mind focus on other things: first for the health of you and your family, second for the business.

Having regular time off and getting away helps you detach. You can then see your business objectively in order to plan for the future. “What are we missing now that would add to our future revenue stream?” “What are we doing well… and what could we do better?” “What will wealthy residents expect from a care home five years from now?”

BIG ideas aren’t necessarily expensive investments (although they can be). They’re more like correcting a false assumption or reshuffling priorities.

Busyness and non-stop little things prevent you from hearing big ideas. You can ALWAYS find things to do relating to your business. You HAVE to resist that temptation. There are only a few essentials that assisted living home owners must focus on. Unless you take time to breathe, you won’t see them.

Plus you’ll lose money, time, and peace of mind when you confuse priorities. Ideally, rank everything at work by how much value it brings ($). Get the essentials RIGHT; the rest can be less than perfect.

Of course, vacation means no boss for your home. You want to be training your staff to function flawlessly without you. When you get to that point, it means you’ve succeeded on all fronts: hiring, training, procedures. Then you can open another home. If your home cannot function without you present (or close by), it means that you’ve failed to delegate or train your staff properly.

It should be clear who’s in charge when you’re not there. Freedom is the ability to plan for time away from your business on a regular basis.

Maybe you think what I’m saying is all great in theory but not realistic because you’ve got two vacancies, one of your aides just quit, the family of a former resident has filed a complaint against you, etc.

How do you work towards freedom when you can’t take ANY time off now?

You get away long enough to think…without interruption. That’s the key. Mornings work best. Thirty minutes at least.

Think of how you would like your business to look under the absolute best terms. Hold nothing back. Once you come up with your dream scenario, work backwards. You’ll begin to see the path to freedom.

It’s called reverse engineering. The strategists for Fortune 500 companies use it all the time.

It’s enormously helpful for breaking free from tempting but unimportant tasks. It helps take your head out of the clouds and grounds you in reality but NOT in a hopeless, “Get Me Outta Here!” way.

There’s nothing better than working towards a goal that will one day pay off.

If you need further help, go to http://www.mikedevaney.com/contact.html to schedule your free, no-obligation marketing consultation.