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Marketing Offline Helps Build Personal Relationships

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By Gene Guarino

What is Offline Marketing?

Offline Marketing is having a brochure, flyers and business cards. They should look professional and be accurate and clear. You only get one chance to make a first impression. The brochures should match your website and your online presence. In addition to that, one of your biggest and probably the most important way to market your business is referrals. Getting the word out to other people who can bring business to you.

business-card-943997_1280How do you get referrals?

When somebody is thinking about Assisted Living, they’re going to ask someone they trust. who do you know? Where do you think I should go? If they have a friend that’s in a care home right now, they can invite them over for a visit to see for themselves. We need to create and maintain those relationships.

There are professional referral sources.

There are placement agents that refer seniors to homes. They went out and created the relationships. They typically get paid one month’s fee for those referrals. That’s expensive however if the bed was vacant last night you would have earned zero and you’ll never get that revenue back.

tie-690084_1280There are attorneys that specialize in working with seniors. Insurance agents that work with long-term care insurance. Financial planners that specialize in working with people’s estates as they get older. They’re the ones who are getting ask for a referral and they can direct those people to you.

Hospitals and doctors offices are your two other primary sources for referrals. People don’t go into a hospital for fun. They go there in an emergency or because they’re sick and they need to, not because they want to. The hospital has doctors, nurses, and orderlies that are potential referral sources for you. It could be something as simple as having your brochure in the waiting room or building a relationship with the nurses and staff.

You can build offline marketing relationships yourself!

chocolate-744337_1280Imagine if you just showed up once a week for a month where you just bring in a flat of coffee, a small box of chocolates and a handful of brochures. Everything I just described costs about $25 or $30. I suggest that you go there once a week at about 10 AM, when they need a little pick me up. Nobody’s ever going to turn down coffee and chocolate. You just say, “Hey, just wanted to stop by and say a quick hello.” Get to find out what their favorite coffee is. That’s about $100 per month. You’re going to get one, or two, or maybe many more referrals from that. Every one of them is worth thousands of dollars to you,

It doesn’t have to be you building those relationships either. It could be your manager or somebody that’s got the personality and is willing to get the word out and build those relationships. Set a budget, give them a business credit card or debit card for these types of expenses to help build those relationships.

Referral marketing is the best way to get new business in Assisted Living and Residential Assisted Living.

You can also subscribe to our iTunes for on the go listening:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/assisted-living-networks-podcast/id1360517721?mt=2

gene

Gene Guarino
Founder/CEO
Residential Assisted Living Academy™

Gene is the President, CEO & Founder of RALAcademy.com. Gene has over 30 years experience in real estate investing and business. Today, Gene is focused on just one thing… investing in the mega-trend of senior assisted housing. He has trained thousands of investors/entrepreneurs throughout the United States how to invest in and operate residential assisted living homes. For over 25 years he has been educating people on the strategies of successful investing, business and self-employment. He now specializes in helping others take advantage of this mega-trend opportunity.

How EASY Is It To Open An Assisted Living Home?

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By Gene Guarino

Is it easy to start an Assisted Living home?

How easy is it to start an assisted living home? To those of us that own and operate these homes, we get asked that question quite often. The answer is “it depends”.

I don’t know you, your background, what you’ve done, what makes sense to you, what doesn’t, or where your heart is at. I don’t know what you’re willing to do to make something happen. I do know you can do anything you want in life if you’re willing to do it if you’re committed to making it happen. If you’re not truly committed and willing to do whatever it takes, at some point you’re simply going to give up. Now I want you to think back to something where the first time you tried it, it was not easy at all and now it is as easy as “riding a bike.” The 1st time was the hardest and after that, it became “easier.”

We can “tell” you that it’s easy, but when we can “show” you how it is done, providing the “context for the content” that’s what makes the difference for most people. Seeing IS believing.

How do you learn about opening an Assisted Living home?

write-593333_1280When you learn something new, you probably watched somebody else do it. It became easier and easier until the time where you can’t forget it. It’s muscle memory. And then the next time you do it, you’ve got it down. Before you know it, you’re making it look easy to somebody else. There’s always effort that you have to put in. Out of the thousands of people that I’ve had the privilege of training how to do what I do. I know that I’ve helped them save time, effort, and money by learning what to do and what not to do.

One of the best suggestions I could give you is to find somebody who’s done whatever it is that you want to do and have them show you how to do it. They’ll make it look easy of course but when you try it, it will be “harder” than it looks. That’s normal. If they are a great teacher they will be able to communicate what to do step by step. If they’re willing to give you the key information, you will benefit greatly and speed up your process significantly. That is what a “mentor” can do to help you.

Once you apply the knowledge they have shared with you and you come back and show them what you have done, they give you more information and they take you step by step through this process.

It now becomes easier for you to do it. The “proof” is in the pudding as they say. As a mentor, I know that someone has truly learned something when they can share the information with somebody else and show them how to do it successfully.

How do you make it look easy?

easyThe answer is easy for me because I’ve done it before. I was talking to some of our students that we’ve trained and they were we were talking through the different steps to open their 1st home. Each one had challenges and needed help along the way. Some needed more than others but they all needed some assistance. Easy? It’s never easy. But the second time is easier than the first time. That third time is easier than the second time, but it’s never easy. I am truly a believer in education. I’d much rather learn from your experience than mine.

You can also subscribe to our iTunes for on the go listening:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/assisted-living-networks-podcast/id1360517721?mt=2

gene

Gene Guarino
Founder/CEO
Residential Assisted Living Academy™

Gene is the President, CEO & Founder of RALAcademy.com. Gene has over 30 years experience in real estate investing and business. Today, Gene is focused on just one thing… investing in the mega-trend of senior assisted housing. He has trained thousands of investors/entrepreneurs throughout the United States how to invest in and operate residential assisted living homes. For over 25 years he has been educating people on the strategies of successful investing, business and self-employment. He now specializes in helping others take advantage of this mega-trend opportunity.

Business Plans For Opening An Assisted Living Home

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By Gene Guarino

Why do I need a Business Plan?

The number one reason to have a business plan is for you, so that you have clarity of vision of who you are, what you’re doing and where you’re going.

why-1780726_1280The second reason, is to help raise capital. No private investor or a lender is going to give you the money you need without a business plan. You need to be able to show to other people that you know what you’re doing and where you’re going. You need to know where it starts, where we break even, where we’re profitable, what’s my reserve and all of the details. You want to give them a clear vision so they can buy into or lend to you.

What are the 5 Ps?

People. Me, you, whoever is inside and operating within this business. The first thing a lender is going to look at is, who are the people involved? What experience do they have that is related to what they’re giving the money for? What do you do now that relates to what you’re raising the capital for? And if you don’t, who else can you put inside your Business Plan as an advisor? A team of people is better than one person.

meeting-2284501_1280Product. In your business plan you have to lay it out. What is it that you’re doing? Is it a product, a service, Is it whatever? You need to explain that clearly. With senior housing we’ve got it down to a T. We know exactly what it is.

Position. Are you the most expensive and that’s what makes you better than everybody else? Or are you the least expensive, which makes you available to everybody and everybody, however you don’t want to be the cheapest because then you’re always battling on price, and to be at the top? There’s very few clients or customers at the top. The best position is to be a high quality, somewhere above the middle. That’s what we call the sweet spot.

Projections. If you’re buying an existing business, there’s a past, a present, and there’s the projections into the future. The projections are, this is where we’re at and this is where we’re going. I’m going to encourage you to be conservative. Whatever you think it is, reduce it a little bit more. Don’t go overboard, make it more conservative to give you some breathing room so that you can under promise and over deliver when it’s all done.

door-1590024_1280Plan. An exit plan is one of the key elements that most people miss. That lender doesn’t want to know how much money they’re gonna make. They need to know their money is safe. They need to know there is a purpose. A two to five year exit plan means their money is committed for two to five years and our plan is to either sell or refinance once that business is stabilized. And that investor wants to know that they’re going to eventually get out of that deal. So two to five years on an exit plan is that key.

You can also subscribe to our iTunes for on the go listening:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/assisted-living-networks-podcast/id1360517721?mt=2

Gene Guarino
Founder/CEO
Residential Assisted Living Academy™

Gene is the President, CEO & Founder of RALAcademy.com. Gene has over 30 years experience in real estate investing and business. Today, Gene is focused on just one thing… investing in the mega-trend of senior assisted housing. He has trained thousands of investors/entrepreneurs throughout the United States how to invest in and operate residential assisted living homes. For over 25 years he has been educating people on the strategies of successful investing, business and self-employment. He now specializes in helping others take advantage of this mega-trend opportunity.

Senior Housing – Big Box vs A Real “Home”

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By Gene Guarino

What would you rather live in… a “home” or a warehouse? When it comes to senior housing facilities, there are generally two types: Big Box facilities and Residential Assisted Living Homes.

In general they offer the same type of service, but how they deliver the housing or a “home” experience is very different. The first difference you’ll probably notice is the feel of the facilities. A Big box facility feels like a hotel or an apartment complex. They try really hard to make it “feel” like a home, but it is difficult to get that homey feel in a facility designed for hundreds of people to live there.

house-961401_1280

Residential assisted living is done in an actual single family home. It is achieved by converting single-family homes into a cozy place for a a group of seniors to live and receive care.

Another obvious difference is size. Big box facilities are big while residential assisted living homes are small. This difference in size plays a big part in the caregiver to resident ratio. That is the number of direct care staff compared to residents. In a RAL home, an average ratio is 10 residents to 2 caregivers. This is very reasonable, as caregivers can give ample time and attention to the residents. In a big box facility, the ration easily reach 20 or more residents to 1 caregiver. Ratios like this make it difficult for caregivers in bigger facilities to give each resident the full time that they need.

elders-401296_1280

Big box facilities aren’t all bad. One of their advantages is that there are more residents to interact with. These facilities also tend to be able to offer a wider array of activities for the residents. With a facility of 200 seniors, it is easy to find a group of people that want to knit together, watch a movie together, or maybe play bridge together. Big box homes don’t offer all the advantages though. Smaller homes offer more freedom to residents and their families. It is easier to arrange for a day out with your loved one at a small home. It is also much easier to stop by, with no need to sign in or show I.D. before you see mom or dad like in a big box facility.

A major difference is the cost of staying at these facilities. Smaller facilities generally charge a flat rate for residents care and housing. That cost will be determined up front based on the resident’s level of care and the actual room they stay in. Big box facilities charge a monthly rate and bill additional services a la carte style. The room rates will vary, depending on size and privacy and then they charge more based on what the resident’s level of care is.

location-3324959_1280The location of these facilities are quite different as well. Small homes are generally in residential neighborhoods. In fact, there might be one in your neighborhood and you didn’t even realize it! Big box facilities are large commercial buildings surrounded by a parking lot. These can be located near a neighborhood, but they are generally located in the busier areas or even the business districts of cities. The differences are clear when it comes to big box facilities and residential assisted living homes. One feels institutional, one is a home.

Be sure to subscribe to our iTunes podcast to listen on the go! [CLICK HERE]

gene

Gene Guarino
Founder/CEO
Residential Assisted Living Academy™

Gene is the President, CEO & Founder of RALAcademy.com. Gene has over 30 years experience in real estate investing and business. Today, Gene is focused on just one thing… investing in the mega-trend of senior assisted housing. He has trained thousands of investors/entrepreneurs throughout the United States how to invest in and operate residential assisted living homes. For over 25 years he has been educating people on the strategies of successful investing, business and self-employment. He now specializes in helping others take advantage of this mega-trend opportunity.

Assisted Living Explained

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By Gene Guarino

What is Assisted Living?

A lot of people think that assisted living means a big institution. In the old days, that’s what it was. What it is today is completely different. When you think about living at home, all of the comforts of home and there are other people in that home. One of the things about the way we do it in residential assisted living is it’s a community. It’s a group of 8, 10, to 12 seniors in a home with peers their own age, living in that home together.

Why you should consider Residential Assisted Living

If you’re at home and maybe a spouse has passed away, you’re alone. It gets lonely. Your kids can’t come visit every single day. They’re not living with you taking care of you either. So having a community of people to be with is incredibly important. It’s not just your physical health, it’s your mental health, your attitude. Residential assisted living looks like a home because it is a home. It may be in the same exact neighborhood the senior lives in now.

Assisted Living is for when somebody has an event, they move into assisted living after that event where they need additional help or monitoring. They need help with their medication, bathing, feeding or whatever it may be. They move there because they have to. And it’s a home setting and that’s specifically what we do with residential assisted living.

It’s not a nameless, faceless situation. It’s a home.

The caregivers know the seniors who are living in the home by name, they love them dearly, they love to be with them. And it can be a fun place to be. It’s not just people sitting around in wheelchairs and getting ready to die and pass away. It’s people who are there living out those last days and many times what the families find is when they move mom or dad into that assisted living home, they come back to life.

All of a sudden they are eating better, they’re getting sleep. The families come to visit and they have a whole new attitude. They now can be the sons, the daughters, the granddaughters and the grandsons again, not the caregivers.

How do we handle death in Assisted Living?

Let’s face it, we’re all going to pass away. The question is when, not if. The manager will see that and call the family. The family will come and they’ll spend the last few days and weeks with them, saying their goodbyes. And then in a very natural way, nine times out of 10, they pass away in the middle of the night. You understand that there’s more than being here on earth. There’s a lot more that’s coming ahead of us. The opportunity to share with other people during that time is incredibly powerful. To be able to care for them during that time is equally important. The families are thankful that we were there to take care of their family member all during that time.

You can also subscribe to our iTunes for on the go listening:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/assisted-living-networks-podcast/id1360517721?mt=2

Gene Guarino
Founder/CEO
Residential Assisted Living Academy™

Gene is the President, CEO & Founder of RALAcademy.com. Gene has over 30 years experience in real estate investing and business. Today, Gene is focused on just one thing… investing in the mega-trend of senior assisted housing. He has trained thousands of investors/entrepreneurs throughout the United States how to invest in and operate residential assisted living homes. For over 25 years he has been educating people on the strategies of successful investing, business and self-employment. He now specializes in helping others take advantage of this mega-trend opportunity.