Miriam Allred (00:10)
Welcome back to the Home Care Strategy Lab. I'm your host, Miriam Allred. I am joined in the lab today by Emily Isbell, the founder and CEO of 24/7 Solutions. Emily, welcome to the lab.
Emily Isbell (00:22)
Thank you so much for having me, Miriam. I'm very excited to be here.
Miriam Allred (00:26)
Every time we get to talk like this, I look forward to it. I feel like I've learned more and more about you over the last couple of years, and I get a lot of just insights and value out of these conversations. And so you and I have been talking for a while now about this topic, and I'm really excited to like kind of hash it out in this conversation. Before we get into it, I think more and more people know you in the industry, but I personally love your backstory and where you started and...
some of the decisions you made that have led you to where you are today. So why don't we give everyone a little taste of your history and leading up to where you are and what you are up to today.
Emily Isbell (01:02)
Absolutely. So for those that don't know, I actually started in the home care industry in 2007. So I've been around for a while. I actually started as a caregiver when I was in college. And the short version of the story is that I decided to change my degree as a junior in college, add some more time to my college career. And then ⁓ all because I realized you could do a business in home care and helping seniors, something I thought that you just did on a volunteer basis.
didn't realize it was such a need. And so I actually talked to the owner of the franchise that I worked at and I asked him, I said, how can I do what you do one day? And through that conversation, he helped me in the degree change and what path I should take there. And then of course, took me under his wing and mentored me and I'm so thankful for that. So fast forward 14 years later, we had built the organizations that together into seven locations across three different states.
And we served throughout those seven locations, a million hours of care a year. So that's, that's my story when I was in home care operations. And then I always like to share, say, ⁓ in 2020, I feel like COVID pinched me, ⁓ so to speak, I was very grateful. I leaned into the fact that we were made essential and thankful for that with my team and so glad that we had jobs that we weren't told we had to stay home, but.
At the same time, it pinched me in the way that I had always wanted to be an entrepreneur. So even though I had built these businesses and done such great things, I knew that I still had that entrepreneurial itch. And so in 2021, I ended up starting this business after giving a long notice and working through a succession plan for the previous owner where I was working. And so in 2021, started 24 seven solutions. And today we have over
12 team members serving home care business owners, both in the US and internationally. And what's especially exciting today, Miriam, is I'm so glad to be doing this episode on the day that my audio book is being released. So the book is called The 24-7 Solution, its subtitle is Proven Strategies for Home Care Business Leaders. And I released that about a year and a half ago, two weeks after my youngest was born, which was
Quite the whirlwind. One of my friends said I birthed two babies at once, basically. ⁓ And so about a year and half ago, that came out on paper. And it's been such a success and a difference maker for so many home care business owners. But it was always, always said to me, you know, we're busy. We need this on audio. Please let us be able to hear it on audio. So after lots of recording sessions, I was able to record it. And I'm so excited that today it's being launched out for people to listen in on.
Miriam Allred (03:22)
Amazing. Congratulations on that. I have read the book and my two cents on it. It's no secret to anyone listening to this that I haven't run a home care business, but I read that book and here I was like highlighting, highlighting, highlighting. And when I finished, I thought, I actually think I could do this. Like you break it down so simply and there's so many like, you know me, I love formulas. I love structure strategies. It's like the book is like a blueprint and you read that book and there's something for everyone first and foremost.
If you're just starting out, that is your roadmap. If you're in it, there's like all of these like, you know, knobs and tips and tricks and advice that again, anyone can learn something from. And I love that it's an audio book. Here we are on a podcast. You know me all about audio formats. Like, of course there's a time and a place to sit down and read a book, but home care leaders are on the fly. They're driving to appointments. Like they're on the road quite a bit or traveling state to state as well. And so having an audio book is amazing. So did you say where people
I'm guessing it's on Audible on all the platforms. Amazing. Available today. I can't recommend it enough. I think everyone needs to read that book, especially those getting into home care, those have been doing it for a while. I've spent time with you and I know kind of your style and your personality. When I read the book, it was like, I'm talking to Emily. Like it's very much in your style and the way that you think about things and approach things. And so I just love, that's why reading is so special. It's like you get a..walk into someone else's shoes and someone else's personality.
Emily Isbell (05:22)
Absolutely. Yeah. Well, I appreciate you saying that. I was nervous doing the audio recording. Still today, I'm like, my goodness, my country accents out there for all to hear. But at the same time, I do want it to be relatable and for people to feel like you felt that you can actually run this business and survive it. It's not not more than survive. You can thrive in it. So appreciate your.
Miriam Allred (05:44)
And just to acknowledge your backstory, I love what you said and I think everyone, lot of people can relate to this. get into, they experience home care on a personal level in some shape or form. And then people learn, there's a business opportunity here. Like it's one thing to take care of a loved one. It's another thing to start a business and take care of other people's loved ones. And so I love that that was your path because so many leaders in home care today lived through a personal experience had good care or bad care, good experiences, bad experiences and think, I can do that better or I can have a much greater impact in helping a lot of families go through this.
Emily Isbell (06:24)
Yeah. And if you think back to 2007, it was a new idea. Thankfully, like today, we are actually getting a seat at the table. I think COVID helped in that regard that we actually were seen as essential as a part of the health care spectrum. And so, I was shocked that there was a way to make money, but it's also in such a good service, right? It's a necessary service. This isn't a greedy way to make money. It is providing a need that has a high demand. you do it well, you can profit and have a good living from it.
Miriam Allred (06:57)
And you said that you grew to seven or eight offices across three states. Like you took a small operation to a large operation. And one of the things that you're becoming more more known for in the industry is management and leadership. And that is applicable to every single business. But what draws me to you into this topic is the difference between managers and leaders and what good managers are and what good leaders are and what good managers aren't and good leaders aren't. Like we're gonna dissect that because you have lived through it firsthand. You've hired managers, you hired leaders, you currently have 12 leaders that are helping you support all these home care businesses. Like you have a lot of firsthand experience in this and you've made some comments to me recently that kind of stood out to me, you know, like.
There's a lot of good leaders in home care, but a lot of them kind of suck at managing. And so we're going to break that down what that actually means. So let's just start high level. Why is the leadership versus management a huge struggle for these home care agencies?
Emily Isbell (08:04)
So I want to start with just what I typically say about running a home care operation I have compared it to people that are outside of home care who friends family I Say it's like running a seven-minute mile Marathon, okay, so a marathon at seven-minute mile on a treadmill, which would be Underwater you add the water then that friction there so like it is just
It's intense, it's hard, it is not easy. Like that's the best way I've found to describe it, whether it makes sense or not, but for runners, they can understand that dread. And so I think we just have to be aware that the 24-7 home care business, the aspect of it being 24-7 is just tough. There's no ignoring that or making it not 24-7. I mean, I guess that is possible, but that wouldn't be providing the quality and meeting the demands that are out there. So. ⁓
I think first you just have to acknowledge it's tough. And so if you are leading or managing a home care business and you don't recognize it's tough, you're not going to sharpen your skills to be a better leader or manager in that environment. The other thing is when you start a brand new agency from scratch, you as the owner have this entrepreneurial dream. You're ready to, have that freedom that comes with entrepreneurship that they talk about.
⁓ but in reality, you have to wear all the hats. You're conducting phone screens for potential caregivers. meeting with family members. You're training new caregivers, dealing with caregivers, disappointing you and not showing up for their assignments. And then having to walk into a referral provider and say, we can handle this. We've got you. And, and with a huge smile and confidence. And it's just, I mean, behind the scenes, it's so tough. ⁓ and then after you get past wearing multiple hats and you grow to the point, you know, you survive.
survive those first six to 12 months or however long it might take you. ⁓ Then you're trying to find people who care enough about the business to do it well as if you were to do it. Right. Like the that whole entrepreneurial journey is ⁓ they say people don't care as much as as you ever will as an owner. And that's true. And yet you still to find people that can care enough to provide the quality that you want to provide and.
ensure the reputation that you want to ensure. And so you have that challenge. then, I mean, not to mention like the constant whack-a-mole, right? The fact that you came in today, you had all these plans to develop the next caregiver meeting agenda that you're hosting for all of your caregivers. And that's what's on your list. And suddenly you have a caregiver who's accused, personal story, accused of ⁓ punching a senior inside of the most ⁓
prestigious, don't know if that's the right word, but most well-known, proper, skilled nursing facility that has the best reputation in the industry, and your caregiver who's in her mid-70s is accused of punching a senior with Alzheimer's by one of the aides there. What? That was not on the bingo card that day. So you have that, and you're trying to run and manage and lead this home care agency.
I don't know about you, Miriam, but even in just talking about all that, like I'm already exhausted. I'm already ready to retire when it comes to running a home care operation.
