Expert Private Duty Assistance
SStarting a business is so much easier if you have someone holding your hand every step of the way, isn’t it? So if you’re looking for an organization that compliments its expert training and start-up materials with a first-class support team, you’ve come to the right place.
Expert support can mean the difference between getting out of the gate with a full head of steam or at a slow jog. Don’t get us wrong – jogging is a great form of exercise and we highly recommend it after a busy day of running your business. But our members are like thoroughbreds and they want to be galloping towards the finish line instead of jogging. That’s exactly what our support team helps them do.
It’s not enough for your support team to simply say, “Give us a call if you need us,” which is how most organizations offer support. That’s why you’ll be glad to have personal support and attention from AnNita. As the former owner of her own senior care business and one of our earliest members, she’s “been there and done that.” Yup, AnNita can answer pretty much any question that comes to your mind and she can prepare you for any situation you’ll encounter in this business. She's that good.
After you complete your training, AnNita will schedule her weekly coaching sessions with you. Every week, AnNita will walk you through your short and long term goals, help prepare you for specific events (like your very first assessment or that big meeting you set up with an important referral source), and keep your business moving forward. She’ll also provide inspiration, encouragement and confidence to help you achieve anything! Of course, you can talk to her as much as you’d like in between your coaching sessions, too. After all, isn’t that what support is supposed to be about?
Then there’s always Steve – the “go-to guy” if you’re in the mood for some straight talk about utilizing financial and operational benchmarks to track and measure your progress. He’s got an MBA and his background as a CPA means that he’s really good with numbers. As the co-owner of one of Northern California’s leading senior care companies with over five million dollars in annual revenue, he knows what it takes to build a successful in-home care business.
Pete's the man when it comes to honing your sales skills. Whether you need help building your confidence or want assistance in formulating a coherent sales strategy, Peter has the answers. Lindsey will help you locate any marketing collateral, policy and procedure or partnership program from our vast repository of tools and information, while Nona will patiently explain the finer points of generating reports from QuickBooks or maximizing your use of eRSP scheduling software.
Want to know a little more about the men and women who will help you scale the heights to senior care success and happiness (perhaps even fame and fortune)? Then please keep reading. This is your opportunity to put names together with the faces you've heard so much about, or perhaps we should say put faces together with the names you've heard so much about. It's like one of those brain teasers we're not very good at. Either way, the proud people who collectively make up The Senior's Choice organization are on display for your review below:
Steve Everhart
President, Founder and Big Cheese
Steve’s the boss and the mad genius who founded this company almost a decade ago (1999 to be precise). Don’t let his surfer-dude lingo or Hawaiian shirts fool you: he’s anything but laid back when it comes to figuring out ways to give his members more of what they want and devising new ways to give them a competitive edge. Like most great ideas, Steve took an existing concept and decided to make it better. His idea to build an organization of well-trained business owners of the highest integrity was based on his experience of seeking care for his aging grandmother, who could no longer live independently in her home. It bothered him that were so few options for her, and the providers he did speak with left a poor impression on him. Aging happens to everyone and so he knew that he couldn’t be the only one to go through this frustrating experience. Steve being Steve, he decided to do something about it and formed The Senior’s Choice membership organization.
As a self-employed entrepreneur for over twenty five years, Steve has founded and managed several successful companies, building them from the ground floor up. But helping countless others fulfill their self-employment dreams has been and remains his greatest source of joy and personal satisfaction. His leadership, integrity and business marketing skills are hallmarks that have served him well throughout his career and have played a crucial role in helping others achieve success.
It was Steve who innovated the membership model. As a former franchisor, he understood his obligation to provide franchisees with everything they needed to successfully run their business on a day-to-day basis. But what happens after they can run their business without the franchisor’s help but are still obligated to pay them a large percentage of gross income? They get fed up. Steve wanted to build an organization where members were treated like family. So he decided that, if this “Senior’s Choice thing” was going to work, his members would need to want to be part of the organization, not be forced to remain part of it like in a franchise.
He knew that if he gave his members support, advice, new tools and resources, additional training and Choices – all for a reasonable fixed monthly fee – they would stick around for the long haul and continue being part of the family he developed. And guess what? They have.
AnNita Klimecka
Mind-Blowing Business Coach and Mentor, Trainer, Elf Princess
We’re not really into fantasy role-playing, but if members had to choose one fictional heroine to describe AnNita, it would be Galadriel the Elf, or Lady of Light, who gave Frodo the light of Earendil to light his way on his dangerous journey to Mordor. OK, she may not have pointy ears, wear a tiara or speak with a British accent, but her training and mentoring does illuminate the path for members and help them navigate any obstacles they may face. Plain and simple, she’s a real flesh-and-blood heroine to them. Her wisdom, kindness and patience give new members the information and confidence to succeed as business owners in what for many of them is a new industry. And veteran members continue to seek her counsel when the need arises. I guess all that knowledge comes from her years of running her own senior care company. Where did you think it came from? After receiving her counsel, there’s only one thing to say to AnNita: “Le hannon” (that’s “thank you” in Elvish).
Peter Droubay
Chief Trainer and Esteemed Sales Guru
Pete was one of the first people to join Steve on his mission to develop a membership organization of the highest caliber. As a nationally recognized and widely sought-after sales trainer, Pete’s job is to give members the skills, technique and self-confidence to start growing their business on day one. And it works. Even the most demure members leave his training sessions with an abundance of self-assurance they didn’t even know existed within them. Pete's in-depth knowledge of the senior care business, combined with his background as a sales trainer, give members the structure and confidence they need to develop the all-important referral relationships that are the key to their company’s long term growth, and also explains why Senior's Choice members get out of the gate faster than their peers. Also, it’s worth noting that the name “Peter Droubay” has the exact same number of syllables as “Robert Goulet.” Not sure why that’s worth noting, but we noted it.
Nona Everhart
Chief Financial Officer, Bride of Steve
You won’t find a beehive hairdo with silver streaks on Nona…just pretty blond curls. When she decided to help Steve create a great senior care membership organization, she knew her accounting, administrative and training skills were going to be tested as never before. It was one thing to keep up with Steve's internal motor, which never seems to run out of gas, but it was quite another thing to help lay the financial blueprints for getting the company off the ground and moving it forward through its continuous growth.
Nona's expertise is highly sought-after by members seeking assistance with all things accounting and technical, which lets those who are allergic to math and technology breathe a big sigh of relief. In a flash, she can help you set up your business's accounting systems, teach you QuickBooks and advise you on the finer points of eRSP scheduling software. Also, if you give her any date in history, in less than a second she can tell you what day of the week it was. Creepy.
Lindsey Starr
Membership Coordinator and “Go-To” Girl
Lindsey is in the thick of everything that happens at The Senior's Choice and is one of the organization's most visible faces. When she's not sending out weekly announcements from "TSC Mission Control," collecting data from members, or posting new resources to the download board, she's organizing the next training event and fielding members' requests for information. On top of that, she also has the pleasure of managing Steve's busy schedule. To say that Lindsey’s days are very busy is an understatement, but she takes everything in stride and never loses her smile. Her knowledge of TSC's vast library of manuals, training tools, systems and resources makes her invaluable to the membership and explains why she’s at the top of everyone’s speed dial (sorry ‘bout that, Poison Control). Lately, Lindsey seems to have developed a Texas accent, although we can’t imagine why. So don’t be surprised if she slips a “Howdy” in there or refers to you as “Y’all.” Just accept it. We have.
Oliver Harlow
Marketing and Communications, Wordsmith
Oliver is the editor-in-chief of the company newsletter CHOICES, which he confidently claims to be informative, funny and cutting-edge – although its readers claim it to be merely educational and witty. Simon Cowell, meanwhile, has mercilessly called it “boring” and “dull.” Among his many other responsibilities, Oliver is always seeking out new business development opportunities on behalf of the membership that will help them find more clients and generate new streams of revenue. After all, helping members achieve success is priority #1 around here. Oliver is continuously developing The Senior’s Choice brand and thinking of innovative things for the company website, like the “Vote for Your Favorite Idol” poll, which was a huge hit with the membership until FOX network executives threatened to slap him with a breach of copyright lawsuit. He also writes press releases, internal memorandums, and works on top secret marketing and sales projects for Steve. Having worked at a non-medical home care company himself, Oliver knows a lot about the senior care business, too. And since he also spent several years as the Membership Director for another senior care organization, he has loads of experience helping and assisting members with all of their needs. Oliver speaks German fluently so greet him with a friendly “Guten Tag” or even a friendly “Hello.” He’s liable to answer to both. Also, stay tuned for his forthcoming addition to the website: a “Deutschland sucht den Superstar” poll (are there copyright laws in Germany?).
Allan Bulsiewicz (Pronounced “bul-sha-vits”)
Sales Guy
We just call him “Allan B” or “Mr. Allan” since no one besides him can pronounce his last name. If you haven’t met Allan yet, you soon will. He’s our man in charge of sales, and like a good bouncer at the hottest nightclub in town, no one gets through the door without talking to him first. Allan’s job is to give a warm welcome to everyone who contacts us and to send them an information kit. He’ll also probably ask a few harmless questions, too, most likely about the research you’ve done so far and how soon you’re looking to get started. Later on, he’ll follow up with a phone call or two, just to make sure you received his email or package in the mail, and to set up an appointment for you to speak with Steve. If Allan calls you, be sure to answer the phone and say hi to him. You’ll make his day. Please Note: The Senior’s Choice is hereby indemnified from any pulled muscles or mental trauma which may result from attempts to say his last name.
Myrna Louk
Receptionist, Amateur Zoologist
Myrna’s a Big Apple transplant who fell in love with Southern California one Spring Break and never left. She greets every caller with a friendly “hello” and then directs them to the right person. In her free time, Myrna enjoys snowboarding, watching kung fu movies and identifying different marine species from her office’s coveted view of the Pacific Ocean and Dana Point marina. If given the chance, Myrna will enthusiastically debate the differences between seals and sea lions. So we’re warning you: don’t give her that chance.
Danielle Carpenter
Billing and Accounting, Aka “The Whiz Kid”
Danielle CarpenterDanielle’s the new girl at the company and we won’t let her live it down. Although she’s been with us for quite a while, we still like to refer to her as “Hey, you” and “New Girl” and, on rare occasions, “Danielle.” She’s a whiz with numbers and gets her kicks from working on Excel spreadsheets (seriously), so if your ever having trouble crunching the numbers on your cash flow statement, she’s the one to go to. When you speak with her, maybe you’ll guess that hers is the alluring voice of our telephone menu system. Prrrrrrrrr.
Matt Olin
Marketing and Public Relations, Eccentric
Matt is the brainchild of one of TSC’s most successful members, Don and Sally Olin of Partners In Care. He not only helped them establish their business when it was just an idea on a piece of paper, he also helped it reach its current stratospheric height through his tireless marketing and public relations initiatives – skills which now benefit the entire membership. Matt’s ability to analyze any situation and recommend the correct course of action is one of his biggest strengths, which helps him in his position of co-editor of CHOICES, where he plays the role of the mysterious “Dear Doctor” who answers readers’ Private Duty questions. Matt lives a strangely eclectic life – helping to build home care companies, producing professional theatre, and even playing in a rock band that has shared stages with such artists as Cinderella, REO Speedwagon, Blondie and, oh yeah, A Flock of Seagulls. Honestly, we couldn’t make that up. Which finally explains why, during company meetings, he’s always suggesting that “it’s time to bring this ship into the shore and throw away the oars forever."