Some of us may have started our aging in place businesses because we saw an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our clients and we felt there was a good financial potential in doing this. We are good at what we do, we enjoy it, and we can make money doing something that is both fun to do and uses the skills we have.
However, there are some of us who may have started our businesses with less of an eye on the bottom line and more of a perspective on working with and serving those who need our services. Making money is less important than the difference we can make in people’s lives and the satisfaction we gain from seeing how their lives are better as a result of the solutions we are able to provide for them.
What about those people who require our services – our clients? Are they out to get the best deal possible for the least amount of money expended, to get the services and solutions they require provided by the lowest bidder regardless of quality, or are they wanting to achieve an effective solution for their requirements regardless of the expense (within reason)?
How about the strategic partners that work with us to help us provide our services – the occupational or physical therapist, the designer, the trade contractors, the contractors (depending on what we provide and the services we need to have combined with what the skills we offer)? Are they just working with us to stay busy, do they have performance and revenue requirements, or do they derive a similar satisfaction as we do from serving our clients? As for the referring professionals that directs us to clients we can serve, what is their motivation and their level of satisfaction?
Are each of these scenarios mutually exclusive, or can both the provider (us) and the client, as well as others involved in referring the client or helping us deliver the solutions, benefit in some way from the interaction?
Our businesses should function so that as we are working for the client and making sure that they are getting what they need to live a happier, safer, healthier existence in the homes they have chosen to remain living in, at the budget that is comfortable for them. At the same time, we are getting the satisfaction of serving people in their time or moment of need (regardless of the severity of that need, the extent of the renovations, and whether this is a one-time or recurring effort) and are making a decent wage while doing it.
As many people have said in one form or another, reminiscent of a phrase popularized if not created by legendary Zig Ziglar, is that we can get what we want if we help enough other people get what they want. Paraphrased, we can make a good living financially by focusing on serving our clients rather than concentrating on making money and letting the client assume a secondary role.
In some ways, it may be hard to say who benefits the most from the services we provide – our clients who require the improvements to their homes to allow them to live in a safer environment for longer and more successful life or us as the providers who get to see the results we can provide to our clients (not to mention being able to make a living while doing what we truly enjoy). What a great business that we can enjoy our work and get to help so many people in a truly effective way that really impacts their quality of life!