The Homecare Millionaire Podcast
Learn how to turn your agency into a wealth-building business without losing the heart that got you here. Each week, Paul & Joan share behind-the-scenes lessons, mindset shifts, and strategies from their journey building an 8-figure home care empire.
The Homecare Millionaire Podcast
From #58 to Top 10: The Ranking That Lit a Fire for Audrey in Home Care
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In this episode of The Home Care Millionaire Podcast, Paul and Joan sit down with Audrey Henry, a Visiting Angels owner in Mississippi who refused to accept being #58 in a 60-office network.
Audrey shares how she built early traction before she felt ready, and why one unexpected 24/7 referral became a defining moment in her agency’s story.
If you’re curious what ‘ignorance on fire’ looks like, Audrey’s story will show you.
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Your next big win starts here. Serve with heart, lead with faith, and remember… compassion is your calling, and wealth is your reward.
Hello and welcome to the Home Care Millionaire Podcast, the show where compassion meets prosperity. I am Paul Tembund. Alongside my beautiful wife, Joan here, we're honored to be your hosts. Together, Joan and I have built a home care agency from a$12,000 a little$12,000 credit card loan. Okay, some people call it a gambler at that time. We've built it into an eight-figure business serving thousands of families over the years. And now we're here to share the lessons, strategies, and the strategies and the mindset shifts that help us get there so that you can too.
SPEAKER_03We launched this podcast because the home care industry is often misunderstood. Too many people don't see the sacrifices owners and their caregivers make every single day, or the powerful impact agencies have on seniors and their communities. And truthfully, we looked around and realized there were not many podcasts out there shining a light on this industry. So we felt called to create the Home Care Millionaire Podcast.
SPEAKER_05This podcast is designed for the purpose-driven provider. For those of you who feel called care, but also want to build a thriving, sustainable business. Each week we're going to share with you real life stories, current strategies, and powerful mindset shifts that will help you move from just surviving to thriving.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. And here on the Home Care Millionaire Podcast, we're going to show you how to embrace both.
SPEAKER_05So get ready for inspiration, practical insights, and encouragement you need to impact lives, build wealth, and create a legacy through your agency. So hit subscribe, folks. Join us on this journey to transform your business, your mindset, and your future. Welcome, folks, to the Home Care Millionaire Podcast. Julie and I are truly honored to introduce, uh, to welcome a good friend, fellow owner just like us, and who is doing a fantastic job in her neck of the woods, in her part of the country. Uh, she's in Mississippi. Is it Birmingham? It's Birmingham Alabama, isn't it, Audrey?
SPEAKER_01It is. It's Jackson Flarewood, Mississippi.
SPEAKER_05There you go, Mississippi. Exactly right. So Audrey's doing a heck of a job out there, serving many, many families in her special style. And so we're just honored that uh Audrey was said yes to Jonas to share her wisdom, her strategies, her story. We want to hear her story too, and how she delivers the excellent care. And we also want to, you know, hear the struggle she's been through, you know, how things have turned out. Audrey, folks, has a heavy heart, a good heart, a good heart, a service-oriented mindset. And uh, you know, these are the kind of folks that uh when you meet out that uh when you meet them in this industry, you're happy to get to know because you know that they are to do what they say. When they show up, you see them, that's what you get.
SPEAKER_03John, you want to speak to that, so yes, and I Audrey is the exact perfect example of all what you said, Paul. So we are excited to hear her story, her wisdom, what she's gone through, and how she can impact that wisdom to our audience to to be all all of us are better home care providers, right? So, Audrey, let's get started. If you can share with us, you know, you know what you were doing before you got into home care.
SPEAKER_05Well, welcome at first. Well, first of all, we want to welcome you, Audrey, to Home Care Millet Podcast. Please go ahead, Audrey.
SPEAKER_01So when I started, before I started, I had been at a rehab hospital, the biggest rehab hospital in Jackson for about 10 years. And then I transferred to a probably the second or third largest hospital, just regular hospital for about 10 years. And I was doing great. Um, I was kind of over a surgery department, and I felt like I was just kind of at my my top. I couldn't get any farther. But it was a comfortable and people who know me know I don't like to be comfortable for any reason. Um, but I wasn't looking or anything. October 2020, anybody can remember what was going on during October 2020, it was COVID. I saw an ad and I had not looked at an ad in probably 20, 25 years. So when I say it was a God thing, it was definitely a God thing for sure. Um, and he just kind of threw it in my lap and I did. I said, God, you are crazy. And I tell you I said, You have just what's what's going on? Um, I didn't even want to be around old people because I thought I would never be old, and here I am. But um he threw it in my lap and I said, Okay, let's if we're gonna do it, let's do it. Um and I remember that the person I was talking to, um, Fred Crenshaw, he said, I'm gonna be your last person you ever interview with. I thought, why so? But he was true. It's just from that moment I knew I was into something big. Did I know what I was doing? Not at all. Was I scared to death completely? I mean, this is October 2020. Couldn't go into hospitals or anything. So, well, you're gonna have a guy that's gonna train you. The office is small, they're not really doing anything. And I'm thinking, this is not me. And I remember I remember getting there the first day, and the Craig or somebody had already told me, he said, he'll be there a week, he'll train you, he'll meet you to all the right people. Four hours later, he gave me the keys and said, You ready? Take me home and you can have it. Well, four hours. Didn't even realize what home care was or anything, but I am the one that I will do whatever it takes from day one. And I kind of just hit the ground running, and it's just you know, it was crazy. And when I got into my office, it was just a little small place they had rented or leased with one other person, very small offices, and I thought, now what? So I didn't know, I had no idea. So I got on the phone and called a few people that kind of gave me a little bit of background. So I said, Okay, I can do this, and you know, I just I hit the ground running from day one, and then you know, I'm part of like a 60 network of visiting angels. Okay, they do like a uh a spreadsheet once a week of the top one to 60. There you go, and I was number 58. I said, No, no, no, that's not gonna happen. Started with like 600 hours a week, and I said, This is not gonna work for me because I don't like being at the bottom.
SPEAKER_05That's right.
SPEAKER_01Just about from day one, I loaded my car up, took as many little marketing bags as I could, some little flyers and some candies, and I I mapped it out all my location. I said, Okay, where am I going? And so I mapped out in each location, I mapped out the hospitals and the doctor's offices. That's all I knew. I didn't know anything about home health and hospice at that time. And I went to every one of them each day, giving them stuff and said, Hey, I'm new, let me help you, let me take care of somebody, and give me a shot. Within one week, I looked at my numbers, we went from 600 to 1100 in the first seven days. Wow, if you've ever heard the phrase ignorance on fire, that's it. Wow, and it's funny at first, and it's not like that now, but at first, what motivated me was that spreadsheet where I was number 58 and to watch me go up every day, you know, and now I'm top 10 of that 60. I just this and there was just so much out there that they weren't doing, you know, because his heart wasn't in it the first before, you know. Um and that was my start, and I didn't I see again, I didn't know what I was doing, you know. Um that was just kind of crazy for sure.
SPEAKER_03Wow, wow. You were very brave and courageous. Wow.
SPEAKER_01Well, I didn't know like yeah, I didn't know what I got into. I'll be honest, I didn't. And because I remember and y'all may laugh at this, I probably shouldn't say this, but y'all may laugh about three months in. I was really, really hitting it pretty hard. One of the corporate guys sent me a thing, it was letting me know how much it was gonna be for my franchise. I think, whoa, I'm I'm in the job, I'm not buying anything. I didn't think I realized at first what I was doing. Yes, and you know, I was the first one um that made partner in nine months, and no one's ever done that that quick. So, you know, nine months from nothing to to get in there, you know. I thought, okay, let's do this thing.
SPEAKER_05Wow, Audrey. I just see I see the fire, I see the drive, the fire, the excitement. Because I think I think I think that had a lot to do with it because your excitement, you know, you just you want to do good, you were motivated to, like you said, to excel. Wasn't that a big thing for you?
SPEAKER_01That was that was huge for me, and then realizing what we did. Um, I'll go back to my first 24-7 patient, probably like around November. It was like only a month later, one of my partner hospitals called me up and said, Hey, can you take this patient? I'm thinking, Oh, yay! My first referral from this particular hospital. Yeah, and they said, Well, he's gonna be 24-7. I said, What does that mean? But I didn't even know. Uh they said, Well, his other home care won't take him back because he's got COVID. And I said, Wow. I said, Yeah, I've come from a hospital background, you know, for 20 years. I said, Why wouldn't they take him? They said, Well, he's got COVID. I said, So we have to take care of everyone. That's right. No matter their income, no matter their age, anything older. So he wasn't in the best section of Jackson. At that time, I didn't have anybody I knew of that could do 24-7 at all. So I said, I'll take them. Come on, God, let's do this thing. Okay.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So I went to his house to see where it was at, and it was okay. I mean, it wasn't the best location. I went in there with some gloves, disinfect everything. I had not even met the guy yet. They just said he's pretty sick with COVID. Okay, let's do this. They said he may not even make it two or three days. I said, Okay, let's do it. So we got him. You know, I didn't have a first problem getting caregivers to do 24-7, not one time. It was just like God had a plan every time. And then when they brought him to the house that same day, I had I was probably in, I don't remember what I had on, but I was probably in my cleaning clothes because I had been disaffecting everything, threw everything out, all that kind of good stuff. The ambulance brought them in there and kind of just dropped them off. And I took one look at him, I thought, oh my, I'm gonna lose my first patient. I was scared to death, you know, and he didn't have any family, nobody around at all. He had the funds, but that's it. He had nothing else. And so he got there, and I think it was three and a half years later he passed away. So for three and a half years, when I say it's a God thing, it's a God thing, 100%. Wow. I mean, went through all of COVID, went through the ice storm of 21 or 22, whatever it was back then, you know, and he finally he did finally pass away. But for 24-7, he couldn't get out of his bed. He was always bedridden. He talked and all that kind of good stuff. We watched TV and you know, no, he was just he was a great guy. And I just look back to that other company not taking him back because we had COVID. And you know, it it just that was my turning point to be able to say we can do this, we do whatever it takes, and let's let's do the darn thing. Let's let's you know, let's take anybody that needs to can afford us for sure. And it was surprising. I mean, it was definitely a turning point to realize what we can do if we just open open our eyes and do it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that speaks to your mindset, Audrey, because like you said, the other company they were looking at COVID, but you saw possibilities, you saw compassion, you saw care for someone who needs to help, and you went for it. So, congratulations. Thank you. You can't take patience.
SPEAKER_05No, you can't. You're right. No, you're right, Audrey. You said you're right. And also, Andrew, the thing that gets me the fact that you you know you care. I mean, you were but you put your compassion right there. I mean, that's a hat you put your hat on. I mean, he could afford your service, but you look at compassion. This person is care, and and like you said, we're in the caring business. If we don't do it, who will? Right? And you turn that little bit of case, yeah. Well, you turn that case 24-7. That you you felt you you you were he may be on just for three days, you turn it to what three years three and half years later. I mean, that that should, I mean, that was you talk about your faith, talk about God blessing you, you know. I mean, and really this is what you did, you know. I mean, you know, wow, wow. Let me just ask you this real quick before we get we'll get too too far ahead. Were you a nurse or something? I am not a nurse.
SPEAKER_01I've always been in administration. I have a lot of people that think I'm a nurse, but I'm not. I was the first nurse in that large hospital that was over a surgery department and not being a nurse. I could hire nurses, I can manage nurses, and even to this day, every now and then they'll say, Well, what's this? I'm thinking, you know, I'm not a nurse, but I'm smart. I will say that.
SPEAKER_02There you go.
SPEAKER_01And if I can't figure it out, I can I can find it out, you know. But I'm not a nurse and don't try to be a nurse by any means. But um, I just love to I don't know, I love to work, I love to take care of people, and you know, I will do whatever it takes all the time for sure. But I was gonna tell you real quick one thing. You know, I I always wondered why God put me through some of the things He put me through. So from working at the biggest rehab hospital, right now it's paying off great. Worked at one of the biggest hospitals, it's paying off now. That's two of my best referrals right now. I went through a death of a husband, and I thought, you know, why would I go through a death of a husband? You know, now I can relate to patients that are losing a spouse. And I it never dawned on me at that time, but now I can really see where he just put me all the way through to be where I'm at today, you know. And you know, it's when you think of it like that to me, he has a plan.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, he does, he does. So you look at every every situation you see, you know, you turn into something as a benefit, you know, something lessons learned, if you would, right? I mean, because right, you know, because because what we do, I mean, what we do, those things are gonna come up. You're gonna have days that are gonna be challenging, you know. What are some challenges? I know, I know that you've been very successful, we know that, and we're so gonna applaud you for that. But what has what has the journey been like for you, Alredo? You've talked about a little bit. Has it always been, you know?
SPEAKER_01I wish, but no, not at all. So um, you know, some of the challenges in this line of work, as you guys definitely know, of course, office staff. That's been a struggle. I went through a bunch. Um, I'm still going through some, but I'm starting to build bigger and longer-term employees, and they have the same passion that I have, you know. And I'll tell you, I don't care if you have any background and what we do, if you have a heart and you have the passion to help people. That's what matters to me. And that's what I tell my caregivers. Just today, I had to actually interview a caregiver because we was kind of backed up and I was sitting here getting ready for this. And she walks in, and I'm thinking, you know, she knows I'm the owner. Yeah, she knows she had to talk to me. I said, You know, you're lucky you get the owner, you're probably not lucky, but it's gonna be a very quick interview. And she just kind of laughed. Then all of a sudden, I looked at her, she's on her phone. And I'm thinking, Whoa, if you're gonna be in your phone in front of me, what are you gonna do in front of that client? And I told her, and I didn't hire her, and I said, You know, let me tell you a little secret. I said, When you're interviewing, put your phone up because you know, I can't expect know for good that you're gonna go to a client's house and not get on your phone. If you're sitting in my office for less than five minutes and you're already on your phone, yes, and she just looked at me like, I was just I was just um checking something. No, let me give you some little um elderly advice. Don't do that on your next interview and let her go. Caregivers have been a problem. We've always had a lot of caregivers apply. We don't always have the right, right quality of caregivers. I think sometimes they're just putting applications in um because they have to. We've gotten better. Uh, I think when we started, I think I wrote down we had I think 25 caregivers and now we got 200 plus. You know, and again, and I tell my clients, you know, I want to sound perfect and we're not, you know, but the difference with me is I will accept it, I will own it, and I will fix it. I'm not gonna shy away from it. You know, if something goes wrong, good or bad, I'm gonna fix it no matter what. So caregivers have been a big obstacle. And one other thing that's been really huge for me that's been an obstacle is the the V. Um, I'm passionate about helping my VA. It took me three years to get accepted into our local VA system. The person ahead of me had basically just given up on it. I said, Well, I'm not giving up. So I would, I mean, it took a solid three years. Um, so it was only about a year and a half ago, less than two years ago for sure, that we actually were approved to cert C V veterans.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_01Every every assessment, I still do all my own assessments because I like to. And I think if they're fixing to spend that kind of money with me, I think they appreciate the owner coming out. Now I know I won't do that all the time, but right now I enjoy it and I want to I want to see my patients. And every single one now I ask if they are veterans. And they most of them, most of them say, Well, yeah, I started a couple years, but you know, let someone else get that and needs it. And I said, Let me talk to you about that. And I change the mind usually I do.
SPEAKER_04Yes.
SPEAKER_01The patient's daughter, you know, and I say, You fixing that, you want me 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Let me just let me show you what that's gonna cost. I know you guys can afford it, don't get me wrong. I said, but if we save, you know, that$1,500,$2,000, whatever it may be, a week, not a month, but a week. Yes, and the VA pays for some of that, that's more money when God forbid he takes your dad or mom home. Yes, you know, and then like a big light bulb goes off. And then I mean it helps all kinds of people. So I think I've gotten about 30% VA right now out of all my business. Um, and that's within a year and a half. Everybody says you can't go to the VA and market. I don't. I go and talk to them and say, How are you? How you doing today? I take a dozen donuts. I mean, I got one little girl that won the clinics, wants a pair of my shoes, and you know I'm gonna take her a pair. You know, so I'm not marketing, I'm making relationships with those, you know. They are standoffish, you know. Yeah, I can't take that. I don't want you to. And they'll even meet me at the door sometimes and say, here, come on back real quick. You know, they don't want anybody else to see me bringing in donuts. You know, but you gotta be persistent and keep pushing. You know, if you give up, this business is not for you. Not in my not in my area, anyway. You have to be persistent, you know, and be there for that patient. Veteran, no matter who it is, you've got to be there for them for sure.
SPEAKER_05Wow. And thank you. Thank you for I was gonna talk about marketing. That's I'm sure you I'm glad you brought that up. Actually, we're both gonna bring it up. The marketing, how's your I mean, I I know that what we do, I know for our is we have different revenue streams. You talk about marketing. I mean, we're we're private pay for the most part, but we have we have, you know, I know you talked about uh the veterans administration, the folks that you serve as a big part. We have that mix too. What's you what's your revenue stream mix up? What would you say?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so we have private pay, it's still the bulk of it, veterans about 30%. I'm trying to get to 40%. We have long-term care and we have a little bit of workers' comp. Um, that kind of comes and goes my workers' comp. But we do have a good bit of long-term care. Um, they still pay us up front and long-term care pays them back. Um and I mean I have one or two that because they've asked nicely, I take the assignment. Um, I don't do that much, but I have um if I know they're gonna spend a a lot of money and they've already met their elimination, I will take their assignment and do it like that. And I feel good that I I have to do that um for them um because they ask. And so sometimes I'll do it just because they ask, but you know, pretty much I don't take medi uh we don't have Medicaid. I'm thinking about it. Um, and I have people call every day wanting me to know if we take the Medicaid waiver. It's just that I know they're talking about this 80-20 rule that's coming up for the next year, that does scare me. So I don't know if I'll ever get on the Medicaid, but you know, long-term care, a lot, veterans, and private pay. That's my three biggest incomes for sure, or streams of income.
SPEAKER_02Oh wow.
SPEAKER_01We do take, I forgot we have one small one, um, APS, adult protective services. Yes, it's not it's not a lot, but no other company would take those patients but me. So we get those some. Um, and you know, it's not a lot. Like yeah, they have a a certain amount that those patients can use, and when that amount's over, it's done. So if the state would give them, I think it's only$2,500, they'll give them and they can use that, and when that's done, it's over. Um, and these are patients that desperately need it. I mean, they're uh adult protective service patients, so but a couple of those have turned in from those to maybe a veteran or those to something else, which is very unusual, but it has happened before.
SPEAKER_03Wow, wow, you're very diverse actually. We did a video, I think it was last week, on um, I think the title is The Danger of One for those agencies that rely heavily on one payer source, right? Or street revenue stream. And the challenge with that is you you know, we have an example in in the state of Maryland where the state decided to mandate that every agency that has that accepts Medicaid, their caregivers, the employees have to their caregivers have to be W2.
SPEAKER_05The employee has to be, right?
SPEAKER_03Yes, they have to be W2 as opposed to 1099. Right. So guess what? If that and we've had some situations here where the agency was heavily, I would say 9095 Medicaid. Oh wow, okay. So guess what? That extra overhead just put them under. I can imagine. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You may want to check out the guide program. Also well and we do. I forgot about that.
SPEAKER_01We kind of just um we probably have five to eight patients. Um so it's just it's just keeping in. And again, I'm the only one in the state doing it right now. No one else is gonna skip into it, but um, we are actually picking up patients with that. And I was thinking about that when you were talking about the guides. Um, and I'm thinking, I'm hoping every July they kind of up the amount just a little bit because it's such a great program.
SPEAKER_05That's right. Yeah, it is okay. It is, you know, I I was gonna just add also that uh marketing, you know, because as you know, Audrey, we're in the uh business with our industry, what we do, we do with folks who are in a life, right? I mean, you know, we don't really know how long they're gonna be around with us, right? So we have to keep marketing. We have to keep marketing. That's an important part of what we do, you know. Um, and what we always do in our office, and I'm sure you do the same thing, is that marketing is such an important part of what we do. What are some nuggets you want to share with our audience here when it comes to marketing? Because I know it's a big part of what you do.
SPEAKER_01It is a big part. I only have a full-time marketer. Um, so last year and a half, two years, I finally have a full-time marketer. I probably need two. I haven't made that jump yet, but I probably do need two because my territory is big. You know, it is it is really making relationships and then making sure they trust you, you know. If they call, we're the only ones I think that answers the phone at three o'clock on Friday, you know, and I tell them, call me, we'll take it. Every Friday, probably for the last two years, a hospital has called about three o'clock on Friday afternoon. Every Friday. No one else will answer. No one else will answer. With you know, and I didn't know what I was doing when I started, you know. I'm a people person, but you know, just going out, you know. I say now we go to those hospitals every day. And someone says, Oh, you can't get in the hospital still, they're kind of shutting it back down again. I don't care. You go in like you know what you're doing, and if I go see a patient on a floor, when I leave that patient, I'm gonna stop by that nurse's desk every single time and say, Hey, speak back up here. I'm letting them know that I'm picking up somebody in room 207 or something.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And that was probably one of the hardest things. It's just it's just making those relationships, you know, going to that doctor's office. They're busy, you know. But I said, just you know, if you find one patient, let me let me try them. Let me see if I can help them out, you know. Um, and I'll I'll try to bring up things like um so and so's about to have surgery, you know, she might need someone to help her when she gets home, you know, or somewhere at the hospital. I tell them, you know, we can go to the hospital and stay with them at the hospital so that family member can rest. Assistant living, you know, where so-and-so keeps falling out of the bed, let us come in there and help you. We follow our patient no matter where they go. We didn't do that now. We follow. If they're going to the hospital, what's their room number? We can go in that room, we we can help them out. Oh, really? Yeah, you know, rehab, long-term, short term, whatever it may be, we follow that patient no matter what. We don't give them an option, they may tell us no, but we always say we'll be there, same schedule.
SPEAKER_05That's right. Yeah, and I was gonna add also, Audrey, that it makes the hospital or the uh the facilities work less too, lighter makes because you you we we're there, right? You when you send your caregiver to take care of the client that's also their client there in their facility, they don't have to worry about that, right? Because you take care, exactly, you know. So I mean it's also it's better for the client too, because they see the same person who's being with them at their home, so it's a better deal for everybody. It is a weird thing. Because we're a service, exactly. Because the way I look at it, we're we're in a service business. I mean, we're there for the for the for the benefit of the client at the end of the day, right? You know, and if the client is is best served by us being there, why not be there? You know, and I think often oftentimes we don't push, we don't say that enough. You said we're kind of timid about it, but boy, if you're doing something good for the customer, for the client, hey, why would you hold back? It's best for them, it's best for them. You can't be. I look at it for me, marketing. You know, to your point, is really like you talked about you said it's all it's relationships. How can I serve? How can I help you? How can I when I show up to market? Because I do I do some marketing. We said I was doing marketing, I love I just love it. It's about people, like you said, people, it's about people. Hey, some folks gonna shut the door behind in front of you. I've had it happen to me, but you know what? I don't take it personally. It's not personal. I mean, it's because hey, they could have they could have had a bad day at uh uh maybe then them boss chewed them out, and I showed up after right after that. You see what I'm saying? It's a matter of just going knowing you're here to serve. How can I serve? How can I help you today? And I think if we show up that way every day when we go out, you know, some people are gonna say no, it's all part of it, you know. But a lot of other some folks are gonna say yes too. Right. That's how you were able to get that that uh 24-7 case, you know.
SPEAKER_01Gotta be open to what we do, you know, and you're not gonna you're not gonna get everyone, and that's okay. That's fine. I think I remember one of the the one patient, uh son and daughter called me in to talk to the parents, definitely had hands up. We don't need anybody, and he let me sit there and it kind of hurt my feelings. I can say that. You know, I I did my spill and I thought it wasn't you know rehearsed, it was just being very easy and comfortable. And you know, the sweet little man said, Are you finished now? I said, Yes, sir, I am. He said, Well, thank you, but you can leave. I don't think we need any help right now. And of course, the daughter and the son just went outside and said, Oh my god, I'm so so sorry. I said, It is okay, it is no problem at all. Two weeks later, that's who called me back. And I said, You know, that is fine. Sometimes people aren't ready and they don't want to admit it yet. And I get it. You tell me someone's got to help me, I'll probably be standoffish too, you know. If they need you or they can help, they need your help, they're gonna eventually probably call you back.
SPEAKER_05So true. So true, and Audrey, I was gonna add to that. I know Joe, I know we've all been there. We're also gonna realize one thing, also, these seniors they're at a point where they don't have too much control, right? They don't have too much control, there's only so much they can control. So that's one thing they want to be in control of. Man was saying that gentleman was saying, you know, have you done? Can you leave? He wasn't talking to you, right? He was trying to assert some control over his situation.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. That's exactly right, though.
SPEAKER_05We gotta be careful about you know how we look at it, and like you say, you were very professional and nice about it, and you what about you? And what about you? And that is about you, it's about the situation.
SPEAKER_01And if I would have got mad and upset, he would have gone somewhere else.
SPEAKER_05There you go.
SPEAKER_01I said it's fine, it's fine. But I mean, the the daughter and son were just devastated. I said, It is okay, it's not personal. I'm gonna do my job. And if you need me and when you need me, give us a call.
SPEAKER_05There you go, and they call you back.
SPEAKER_01Sure did, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_05Exactly, exactly. Wow, this is this is this is I tell you what, Odre, this is some folks are gonna learn something out of this because I like I said, you and I love marketing. I mean, we I love marketing, you know, and uh this is one of things I tell the team a lot of times, just get out there and just make some friends.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you don't have to be perfect, and no, no, no clue to what I was doing, no, and I still, you know, even when you asked me about this podcast, I thought, you know, I'm not an expert, but I have a heart and I'm passionate about what we do, and you know, I I see that we're not even nowhere near where we need to be at yet. Amen to that's just I don't know, you gotta have a heart to do this. That's all it takes.
SPEAKER_05But Audrey Audrey, you're an expert. You've been in it five years plus. You're an expert in my book, you know. Listen, all these folks you've served, you know, you're an expert. I mean, that's that's what expertise is all about, you know. You talk to talk about walk the walk, you care for these people. That's an expert in my book because that's what we do, right, Joe. That's what we do.
SPEAKER_01And it's and it's like I told my staff today, a lot of times, about once, twice, three times a week, I send them a group text my ops team, you know, and I told them today, I said, don't use the word we can't cover your loved one today, or we can't tell them we we have not we gotten the caribur right now, but we're still looking, saying the exact same thing, you know, it's how you put that relate that relation around there. I mean, it's just you know, um, I don't I don't like not to be able to cover anything, you know. I just I want to help, and because I go out and see the paid people, I see the faces, you know. And so then to me, it's hard to turn that patient down. You know, I met a veteran yesterday and she was a single African-American lady. She was wonderful, she was wonderful, you know, and she just wanted to talk. I could tell, you know. I sit there probably 30 minutes. Now I'm usually pretty quick in and out and just talked to her, and then I actually said, Well, you know, let me honor you as my veteran of the week this week. And I took a picture and she she just wow, you know, just taking that extra time to talk to her, you know. It's like, you know, what else could happen good today? It's that's all I need right there.
SPEAKER_04See that, see that, see that.
SPEAKER_01I wrote down a sentence. This is what I wrote down. I was gonna read it. I put leadership is not about being the hero, it's about be building something strong enough to last beyond me.
SPEAKER_02100%.
SPEAKER_01I had not thought about that. I'm thinking, you know, it's not about me, it's not about being a hero, it's not about the praise, it's about building something long term, you know. 20, 30 years from now, I look back and say, you know, I had a I had a hand in that.
SPEAKER_05The the the fish?
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. Um starfish, the starfish. Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah. You want to go and speak to that?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, so she wanted to put them in the right mindset of caregivers. The caregivers, right? So the starfish story, if you don't know, it's um I was just gonna cut it short. It's a young man who was walking along a beach one day, and he saw an older gentleman picking stranded starfish and tossing them back into the you know, into the ocean, yeah. Into the water, yeah. Into the water, and he walked to the um gentleman as like, Why are you wasting your time doing this? There's so many starfish you know, stranded on the beach. Why are you wasting your time? And as he reached down and picked the last one, he said, and tossing it into the water, he said, I made a difference to this one. So we embrace that, we share it with our caregivers during orientation because we want to let them know that when you are there with Mr. X, Miss X, you are making a difference in their life, right? And together, then we have that influence, that impact in our community. So it's um again going back to that relationship, building that relationship. I just wanted to mention something, Audrey. You're going into your referral sources, bringing a solution, right? That's what you're doing, and that makes a big difference. You're bringing a solution that helps you develop that trust, build that relationship. You're not just asking for their next discharge, right? How can I help you? How can I make your job lighter today? Putting a smile on your face, you know. So that's awesome. But let me ask you this how has your perception or your your perspective on providing care to seniors changed over the five years?
SPEAKER_01It has it has changed like 360, not 180, but 360. I used to always think, okay, well, I'm gonna get John Doe, he's gonna pass away, and that's it. That's how that's how ignorant I was. I think about he might have a spouse, he may have an in-law, he may have a brother or a sister. I thought it was one and done, you know, and I never thought about having repeat family, beat customers like that. And I love it now when I get a referral that I've already had. Well, you took care of my mom, now it's my dad. This week, you know, my mom passed away, and I want you to take care of my dad now. You know, it's just they're so smart. I mean, I did. I used to not want to be around old people and like thinking it's 40s old and 40 is so young. I know, everybody, you know, but they're so they're so wise, you know, they're not all perfect. Sometimes they just want you to sit down and talk to them, you know. Sit down and just you know, just put a hand on them and don't say anything. Yeah, it is it is it is amazing how I've changed in five years. You know, I've always been a workaholic, I always want to do the best and be the best, you know. But my motto is do whatever it takes. If you're gonna jump in and be a race car driver, be the best race car driver you can be. If you're gonna be a doctor, be the best doctor and do whatever it takes. You know, when I have someone comes in, uh a caregiver, and she thinks, Oh, well, you've never done this. I said, Let's sit down for a minute. Let me tell you how many people I've given a bath to, how many times I've gotten caught out on a holiday and went and you know, spent the weekend with somebody's house, you know. I said, I've done it. Okay, do I have to do it now? No, but if I need it to, I would, you know. And I think that's that's the difference with me. I don't mind getting my hands dirty, you know, and they can they see that now, they understand that I'm not just the owner, you know, that I want to be one of them and help them, you know, and and be the best business, you know. So I know it. Wow, wow. I love it, you know.
SPEAKER_05No, you can meet people like you guys. Thank you, Audrey. Thank you. And the big thing, is that like you said, you walked in their shoes. Because you know, people don't care how much you know to know how much you care. That's exactly right. Once you put out caring, once you put out caring ahead of everything, it just you know, it just everything that it just it puts things in perspective, is what I learned. You know, you just gotta care because folks, I mean, we get so busy we don't care. But in what we do, folks want to know you care. Are you hearing me? Are you you know, you know, just are you here? Do you feel my pain? Because once you once they can get that, that's they're always gonna come to you. They're always gonna come to you. Wow.
SPEAKER_03Yes, so for someone who is just starting home care or looking to start home care, what is that one piece of advice you could give them that will help them excel? You know, just shine in the industry and just shine that light on all that we do.
SPEAKER_05And even and even avoid common pitfalls, you know, to get them on the right track.
SPEAKER_01You can't do it all yourself. You have to have a team. Look to people who's already done it, you know, ask for advice for sure. Um, put on your boots and buckle up and get in. You know, if this is what you want to do, do it. You know, I I mean I went to an owner, I don't know, a few months ago that's just started out, and he they asked me to go talk to the person um because it was brand new, probably making a lot of mistakes and everything. Um, and when I got there, he absolutely gave me zero chance to help him. And to this day, he still he just he wanted me, he wanted me to know how good he was, you know. And and I said, you know, if you need me, call me back. You know, I drove three hours to go see him and three hours back, you know, and I'm thinking, whoo, you know, but he was wanting to tell me what his history was and all that kind of stuff. He never asked any. I asked him questions because I'm that type of person. That's right. Um, it's it's kind of crazy, but you got to be able to ask for help, you know. If you don't know something, don't lie about it. Say, Mr. Paul, let me find that out and I'll call you right back, or I'll get the answer and let you know. You know, we're not all perfect.
SPEAKER_02Just no, no, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_01Do it with your heart, do it with your heart, no matter what. It's not easy, it's not easy at all. Um, everybody thinks it's a get rich quick, it's not. Is it worth it? 100%. It's worth it, and just knowing that you help someone, you know, in the in very vulnerable times, it means a lot. Yes, and the population is not getting any younger. I think that the future is huge. I don't even think we understand how big the future can be, you know. I think it's huge, I think it's a big business. Yeah, I think if the competition's only gonna get stronger, you know, but we have to keep getting better then. Keep learning, keep getting better. 100% do whatever we can do, no matter what.
SPEAKER_05And you know, Audrey, I was gonna add on to two things. You've said so many nuggets. Thank you again for the nuggets. You know, the our industry, like you said, what we the folks we serve, that population is only gonna increase. Number two, in addition to what you just said, also, you cannot AI can't do anything about it. No, you know, obviously, AI can't do anything about it, right?
SPEAKER_01AI can't feel your pain. Nope. They can't help you, yes, but it can't replace you. It can help you. We we can all use better technology and better systems and better tracking, but it's not gonna replace that hands-on and personal relationships, it's not gonna replace that.
SPEAKER_05That's exactly right, and yeah, you know, Audrey, to your point, you know, the I think the big thing that separates us, and especially your success, is that you put service first. You got in, you didn't know what you get into, but you were out to serve people. You see what I'm saying? And then the hours just took off because you were serving people. What can I do for this client? How can I help you? How can I help you? How can I be of service? You know, and I think when you put that ahead, you know, not the money, the money will come, you know. But if you put that service out there first, you're about how can I care enough to do good for this client, right? You know, and you don't look at you look at the client as not just the hours you're gonna get out of it, but hey, this is a client that needs serve service, right? How can I take care of them? How can I provide the best care for this client? You know, the return is gonna come. I mean, you know, and I think I think that's what it comes to. That's I I would say that's that's gonna keep your success.
SPEAKER_01I would definitely say the same. And now when I look at a client, yeah, you look at the hours and the money, but now I look at the wife, the sister, the in-laws. It's not just a one client, it's to make that relationship with Mr. Jones, and then you get to keep that relationship. It may be three years, but who knows?
SPEAKER_05There you go. There you go, or longer. That's it. Wow, well, thank you so much. Thank you. This has been thank you, thank you, Order. This is boy, a lot of nuggets here. Luggets here. I mean, yeah, this is you know, I I mean, from the marketing, the operations, the vision, the hard work, the compassion that you you bring. I mean, that's that's a key to your success, right there.
SPEAKER_01You've got it all all covered. You y'all are great, but it's just you have to love what you do, and if you don't go find something else, it's okay. It may not be for you.
SPEAKER_05That's I I agree. I mean, I we we you know, we've been in this is our 24th year today. Today, or just so you know, and I tell you what we we love the business, we love what we do a lot more now than when we started because you know we started or the we're like you, we did not know. Joe came we both came from corporate jobs, IT jobs. We did not know, but we wanted to serve. Our big thing was God give us uh an industry that we could just serve people because we felt that you know if you serve people, you'll get rewarded. And I tell you what, you know, uh uh it's been the greatest joy and and honor in our lives, I could say. Just serve people. It shows, it shows. Thank you, thank you.
SPEAKER_01Cannot be better, sir. I I greatly appreciate it for sure.
SPEAKER_05Thank you, thank you, guys.
SPEAKER_01Happy anniversary. Thank you, thank you, Audrey. Thank you, Audrey.
SPEAKER_05And so, so we're gonna remember this, we're gonna remember this episode. It was an anniversary. That's how special you are, Audrey. Just so you know, that's how special you are. Thank you, Audrey. Thank you so much, thank you for your time, thank you for taking time to be with us here, and thank you for sharing your wisdom. And uh, we just want to wish you continued success in what you do. Keep serving them people out there, you know, because that's what that's what this is all about. You want some final words for Audrey John?
SPEAKER_03I just want to say thank you so much for being real, for being yourself, right? Right, that's right. You were willing to learn, you're willing to put in the hard work and put your heart out there for your clients, and you know, it's just it's just paid off for you. Thank you so much for the difference you make and for the positive light that you shine.
SPEAKER_05Thank you so much for joining us today on the Home Care Millionaire Podcast. We hope you found inspiration, encouragement, and practical tools you can apply right away in your own journey. Our mission is simple, folks, to shine a light on the incredible impact that home care owners and their caregivers make every single day, and to give you the mindset, strategies, and faithful wisdom to build both purpose and prosperity.
SPEAKER_03Because here is what we believe compassion is your calling, wealth is your reward. If this episode spoke to you, we would love for you to subscribe so you never miss an episode. And if you like more resources or have questions for Paul and I, just head over to askjouneandpaul.com. We'll be honored to connect with you there.
SPEAKER_05Until next time, folks. Remember, you have what it takes to build wealth, create freedom, and live a legacy through your agency. We're here carrying you on every step of the way. Bye for now.