79 - Delivering Senior Care with a Compassionate Franchise Model with Assisted Living Locators' Angela Olea

Welcome to Listening with Leaders. I'm Doug Noll, lawyer turned peacemaker. I teach executive leaders how to listen to emotions rather than words so that they can become the leaders everyone wants to follow. And I teach those same leaders how to be authentically present, available, and connected to their families despite being insanely busy. I have learned that we are 98% emotional and only 2% rational. Learning how to listen to emotions is, in my experience, the foundational skill of life. Stick around to the end of the show and I'll reveal how you can be on our next guest in 15 to 20 minutes. So let's get started. Angelo Olea, welcome to Listening with Leaders. You are the founder and CEO of Assisted Living Locators, which can be found at AssistedLivingLocators.com. Thanks so much for taking the time out of your busy day to be with me.

Well, thank you very much for having me. Love sharing, uh, my story.

Yeah, so let's do that. Tell us your backstory.

Backstory. Well, born and raised in Savannah, Georgia. Let's start with that.

Um, and now you're in it. Now you're in Arizona.

So hot and humid to a dry heat, but I keep it south.

Exactly. You were, you were a registered nurse for many years and then you, what motivated you to start Assisted Living Locators?

Yeah. Well, I am still, I still keep my registered nurse. I still keep my license. I'm an educator now, not a clinician. So want to just make sure, you know, that's, I'm very proud of, of the fact that I'm still a nurse. But I think nursing is one of those things, like a professor or a doctor— once a nurse, always a nurse. Even if you retire, the identity, that's, that's your core of who you are. It's in your DNA, right? Um, so you had asked about what, what prompted me to do this. Um, really the backstory is my mother was a nurse, is a nurse. Um, she's 83, so she's a non-practicing nurse. And my father was an entrepreneur. And so I had the blessing of, of having that in alignment. And I took the route of— the path I took was going to school for nursing and being a nurse. And I thought forever that was going to be my journey, working in, in the hospital setting. And it was really frustration that turned inspiration. I wasn't looking to do anything different. I was really frustrated by the options that the families were, that I was taking care of, what they were experiencing. And I didn't have an advocate on the outside, not anybody that I really felt that offered all of the resources that the patients needed. And it was through that frustration that inspired me and continued like breadcrumbs taking me on this other path I truly thought I was going to go through the fast track of being an administrator of a hospital and working in there. I did not see at that time, but when I ultimately stepped away, the more I learned about this and still being a servant leader and working with seniors, I knew 100% everything I'd ever done up to that point was preparing me for my next phase of leadership and still practicing, taking my nursing into pivoting those skill sets to a different, entirely different realm.

So what, what does Assisted Living Locators do?

We are the solutions for families. We help families during a time of crisis identify resources that are going to provide them with what they may need right now, or it could be a contingency plan But primarily they're calling us, we get a phone call triggered by something, something bad has happened that triggers a phone call. It's a fall, it's an illness, it's a change that's occurred and families or resources need, they need options and they need to find out what can I do? I need help finding a resource and options that is going to support my, my loved one, um, where they're at in their journey right now and tomorrow. So we primarily help them— the, the quick and easy is we help matchmake them with assisted living options. But what we truly do is we're matchmaking with everything else that they may need, because it may be— they may be at home and they need to know how do we How do we survive and thrive at home and maintain that, that respect and quality of life to the best of our ability? And what's a contingency plan if we try this out and it doesn't work? What then? And that's what I love about the journey that we're on is that discovery. So from matchmaking them with— if they need to sell a house with resources to getting in-home care, We are the hub of the wheel, a free resource to families, and we provide them with the information to help make informed decisions.

So you provide a free resource. What's your, what's your revenue model?

So our revenue model is we have providers throughout the United States, thousands of in-home care providers, assisted living, senior living providers, and they pay our They pay our fees, so our service is able to remain free to the families that are, are searching.

And I presume that you vet these people carefully to make sure that they're honest, above board, decent, ethical operations, which is why I went—

when I originally decided, I started, I launched this in, in Arizona, and I started getting calls back 100 years ago. Literally, it was 20 years ago. It feels like, you know, 20 years, it's dog years. It's, you know, so, so years ago. Um, and then sometimes it just seems like a blink of an eye. But, um, I— back then you couldn't geofence and say I only want Scottsdale or I only want Arizona to help families that are here. When you put your, your information on the World Wide Web You got calls everywhere. And so I was getting calls all over the United States. And again, it was— I wasn't looking to expand outside of Arizona, but the opportunity— I was getting calls saying, is there somebody like you and your service that can help me? And I began to look at, oh my gosh, this is just pushed, pushed away from the table and just said, oh my goodness, I'm on for the next adventure. And And originally I tried to do a hiring model and have staff in different parts of the country, and I really couldn't maintain that standard that I was looking for. I wanted— with my nursing, I am processes, procedures, follow-up, accountability, being transparent, you know. And the nursing, the nurse in me, we didn't take, you know, we'd always have patients that would try to slip us a dollar, you know, thank you, here, take this. And you're— I can't touch that money. Like, bring me— bring us— bring us food, bring us coffee, give us a hug. But that model is not— that exchange of money, um, when you're helping a family, it, it took away from it. So, uh, I explored different models, and I, I quickly educated myself that I needed to do a franchise model to really maintain those processes. Was the model that was going to meet the standards, the high standards that I had. And to back it up, there was no other franchise like this in the US. There was nothing like this. So I was the first to create, the first in the US to create an assisted living placement franchise. So pioneer that.

How many, how many franchisees do you have now?

We have 140 locations across the U.S.

I hear that. I hear in the franchise business when you break 100, you're— that's, that's, that's the gold standard. So you're obviously very successful.

Yeah, it, it, you know, for me it was every, every office, um, was equally important. Like you're— like having children. I don't know if you have children, but you know, boy, you just love each one of them. And, um, You know, a number of 100 and 140 there, it's, it has its own challenges versus the first, the first model. But I can tell you we've got it down pat. Yeah, we, we, we're always working to improve and continue to stay in, in, um, you know, uh, learning and, and with technology, but that hands-on, that part doesn't change.

So, so a franchisee then gathers up resources within that franchisee's region of all the different kinds of resources you're talking about, and then, and then gets them onto a local website, I presume, uh, and then which then people can reach out to if they need, if they need help. Is that— do I have that right? I'm just guessing.

Yeah, so the franchisee does become the expert of all things senior in their area and from all the local resources that a family could possibly need in that time of need. And when we get that discovery call, we're able to determine based on is it geographical, is it financial, what resources do you have. And so they're really putting together through that discovery process a plan in place. And it is— their expectation is if it's provider a property, then they physically go to the property, they meet the property, they find out, they also do an inspection online to get a history. But that's a tool. It is not— it is a resource, but that is not the— you cannot judge the book by a cover. Um, and just saying, oh, they— it can rule out some, but so they use that as a resource, but they physically go to the, the properties that they work with. They meet the providers, learn who's a good fit, who's not a good fit, and really what is that personality of that property. And so we have a detailed proprietary database that we see things on the back end and we're able to say, does it have a roll-in shower?

Do—

if it could be a small provider that's only 3— licensed for 3 people, a small home that's licensed. So, or it could be a 200-bed care community that has independent living, assisted living, nursing home. We have all of the details and we have— we're contracted with the largest providers in the U.S. So typically when a franchisee launches, depending on where they're launching, we're already going to have some existing relationships in place through our national partnerships. However, their responsibility is to meet and greet and do their own research because it may be— just because we have a contract doesn't mean they're necessarily going to work with them because it may not meet their local standards. So that's part of our training that, that we do. We have ongoing training twice a month, every month. All of our franchisees have to be dementia certified. They take a Certified Senior Advisor course and pass an exam, have continuing education units. It's a process. So they come to Arizona for 5 days of initial training, but that's just the beginning of a lifetime of a lifetime commitment to ongoing learning.

Wow. Good for you and good for them. And the fact that you've got so many franchisees tells me that people like, like, they like the model.

All of our franchisees, they love being a Serpent Leader. They love helping families in a time of need. It is the most rewarding part of what it is that we do. When you hear that peace of mind from that phone call, the family's in a frenzy and they're just like, oh my gosh, sigh of relief. Okay, you know, now I, now I can calm down. I'm not through the hurdle, but I can see what's in front of me and I have, I have a beacon to guide me.

I've got, I've got help. Somebody's going to help me.

Yes. Yeah. And we've helped thousands and thousands.

That could be big. So what is it that gets you excited every morning when you get out of bed?

Boy, I'm a pretty hyper person and I wake up, I'm a morning person. So I, I have a journal by the bedside. And so it could range from opportunities to, um, for our franchisees to, um, how can they intersect with more families and on a scalable— if I've got something that's working in a different area, how do I get that across the board introduced? It could also be— I have— I spoke before 9 o'clock this morning. I'd already spoken with two franchisees that are on the East Coast and really helping troubleshoot, you know, some different issues that they were going through. One, at a professional juncture, you know, kids are changing, really looking at the next phase of their journey and wanting to know what does that look like. Um, and then another franchisee just with dynamics of a family, because I did hands-on, I owned my own franchise for 16 years, and I— there wasn't a scenario that I didn't see. And being able to break it down into bite-sized pieces, so that still excites me that You know, it's helping them understand how they can be part of that process and really untangle some of those knots that perceive as, you know, permanent, and they're not.

So you get excited teaching people how to, how to deal with thorny problems that you've seen over and over again, and you know how to deal with it, and teaching them how to deal with it gets pretty exciting.

Yeah, no, exactly. The other part excites me is helping I'm very involved in, in the onboarding process, the vetting process for people that want to explore being a franchise owner. And we get, you know, we, we turn away quite a few because this is not the, the right fit for everybody. And we've got a really tight vetting process that we do. And so I'm involved in that, you know, franchise development process. And that excites me too, because I get to travel across the country and meet with individuals to help introduce who it is, what, what we stand for, and help recruit people. And that excites me. And helping people understand, too, entrepreneurship, because if you've been an employee of a company, you've got a ceiling and you've got opportunities that you miss. If you've got a family, you know, as a nurse, I worked 3 12-hour shifts at the hospital. Every week, 3. And, and so if there was, you know, a broken bone, uh, game, you know, I had to be in the hospital. And, and for every holiday, boy, you know, those hospitals don't shut down for Christmas or Thanksgiving. So there were sacrifices. I worked over a decade in the hospital. And so being able to work with prospects and help them you know, really understand what entrepreneurship, what, what this offers. And there is no ceiling financially on what you could potentially can make, and the flexibility of really being an owner of your time and understanding that time management of what this is going to afford for them, and the ability to work from home. And then to top it off, if they've got franchisees in each state and they've got properties, thousands of properties in every state, make a visit to those properties because that could be a tax deduction. So, you know, helping them really providing them with resources of understanding all of the aspects of entrepreneurship, you know, that could be in front of them. And then watching that journey of people really breaking through and, and when it really opens up for them. And so I love that part of it.

How would you describe your typical franchisee?

We have as young as 26 and as old as 68. And I tell you, on the top, um, you know, top performer, meaning that they help the most families, and, um, probably 55% female, 45% male. But all of that, the age gamut's from all different backgrounds, from a snowplower in Indiana to, you know, uh, Wall Street, somebody from Wall Street, um, you know, to nurses that have left the hospitals. So all different aspects, every, every different background you can imagine. And that's fun too, to really See, how do you transfer? One of the things I love doing is how do I transfer? What skill sets are you bringing that we can now build upon? So for instance, in Connecticut, that is, we've got Mimi, and Mimi came from Wall Street, and boy, the level of detail she's able to sit down with the families and show them financially how they can afford it, what to expect. And, you know, her resources, she's got a lot of financial advisors that refer to her when it's time. And so she's taken her skill sets to the next level. And that's just one example of, of, you know, somebody who you would not typically think, you know, how do they— so some— a nurse may have an advantage in the beginning in this process. She's going to understand— he or she is going to understand the lingo of your patient in the hospital, your resident when you move into assisted living, your client when you're working with, with us. And so you understand assisted living and SNF as a skilled nursing facility. So in the beginning they've got advantages because they, their learning curve is much quicker. But then you get to that even mark where now the knowledge, it, you know, may take the other ones a little bit slower out the gate because of the language and learning, you know, those dynamics. Boy, but once they do, it's In our top performers, it's a mix of all different blends of backgrounds.

Huh. What is it you think that's unique about what you bring to the table?

Boy, it's a combination. It's really leading with heart with what, what we do and always going into this and recognizing that reputation is everything. We're in— that our partners are the providers that we work with. It is a partnership with the referral sources who trust us with their families or their patients or their clients. And then we've also got a partnership with the families that we're working with. And when we work with them, it's a lifetime commitment. So even once they move in, we're following up every 6 months after our initial settling-in period, and then every 6 months we're checking in. So we have these 3 partnerships. And it's a serious partnership because with the providers, by understanding who's a good fit and more importantly is who's not a good fit, because we need to set them up for success. We want to refer people if they can afford, you know, I'm going to just give a car analogy. If they can afford, you know, a Toyota Scion, you know, versus a Mercedes, they're going to tell us what their budget is. We would refer them appropriately. Somebody who can afford a Mercedes, you know, a Toyota, we're not going to show them, you know, a Mercedes, right? Family, through our discovery of asking them probing questions. So, you know, we're going to show somebody properties that, or resources they can afford because oftentimes first phone call we get is someone says, I want to keep mom at home. I want 24-hour care. And we say, boy, that's going to range from $24,000 a month, could be up to $40,000 depending on the level of care. And that's a sticker shock there. Oh my gosh, who's paying for this? You know, is Medicare paying for this? No. So then it may be a shift. Okay, well, have you ever explored assisted living? No, I haven't. So then we talk about different prices. You know, you've got a high range of this, a low range of this. This is— and then we find out about the care level. And what can mom or dad do? What are the problems? And so we're really doing that. And so we're matching the properties and the providers because if someone to stay at home and they're expecting a home care company to really clean their house like whistly clean and cook gourmet meals and have these really grandiose conversations, we need to set up realistic upfront expectations and say no. That is not what you're going to get. And really have that open and honest conversation. Otherwise we're setting everybody up for failure.

Right.

So that's what we do is really understanding those partnerships. And then with accountability to the referral sources, we're letting them know, you know, how this turned out, whether mom or dad is happy or unhappy. And you know what those resources are that we referred them to and, and And then with the families, like I said, we continue following up and let them know that we're going to check back. And if you have an issue, you know, we'll be able to talk through with them because maybe they say, you know, oh, I want to move mom or dad. It's too costly in this community. And then we explore with them, well, you know, have you considered— you're in a 2-bedroom deluxe facing the pool. Have you considered going to a 1-bedroom? Or if you want to maintain, you know, how was everything else at that community? So it may be discussion like that, or maybe, you know, you're right, have you talked with the executive director and explained your finance situation? Because they may, can make some adjustments, or we may need to look at alternatives if mom's going to run out of money and she's going to have to move out in 6 months at this rate, and now you're going to be on Medicaid. So we really want to make sure that we're working with the community. You know, talk the family through again, what are your options? And it's up to them 100% to take the advice, don't take the advice. And, you know, we're just there to assist them in that journey.

It's a great service. So tell me how important listening is in your business.

Boy, it's an 80/20 rule. It better be. It is 80% really learning by asking those probing questions and letting You know, with families specifically, tell me your story. What, what triggered this phone call? You know, what is a day in the life of mom? Who was mom or dad in their younger years? Um, from likes to dislikes, what's worked, what hasn't worked? Who's involved in this process with you? Are you the decision maker? Um, are mom and dad on board with, you know, the decisions that you're making? Do they even know that you're doing this? Have you explored these things. And so really, um, and finding out from them likes and dislikes, um, because that's going to help us narrow down, um, the, the options to best choices and not waste— be time wasters, you know, for them. And equally important, it's, um, with the properties that we work with, the providers. So I explained, you know, we've got small residential homes that It's a very different situation. And so in some states, they don't require that the, the night shift be awake. You just need to be responsive to needs, expected and unexpected. So you might have live-in staff that are a husband-wife team that might live in, in that, and it's a very home-like situation. But if I said, if I've got somebody who needs an awake night staff and I asked the caregivers, do you have an awake night staff? And if they come back with any question, I don't care what, what response, what, what comes out of their mouth. If, if they ask a question on that question, already know they don't. So in our training, it's learning to understand what is said and what's not said and how to interpret, um, the responses that you get. And, and being prepared again, it's setting the upfront expectation because in that situation, if mom, if I'm asking for an awake night staff, that means mom's up at 3 in the morning because she wants a snack and she's sleeping during the day. She might have dementia, might be one of those really rotated where she really does need an awake night staff. And if a property doesn't have that, what we want to avoid is medication management, trying to force someone into their sleep patterns that because of the, the property. Now, large providers, you don't have to worry with that at all, and most of the small ones, you don't have to worry with it, but it is a process. And so asking those questions, or even if someone requires a 2-person lift, if it's a small property at night, if mom or dad has to get up and go to the bathroom and you've only got a 5-foot 4 female that weighs 100 pounds, you know, and you've got someone who is a 6-foot, 250-pound man that needs to be pivoted and getting up to go to the bathroom. If they don't have the proper staff, he's not getting up out of bed, right? And, and now there's going to be unhappy and his, his respect— he's not going to have dignity, the respect. And so we really do these, these asking those little questions that families don't know how to really do that in investigation. And we're not investigating to be punitive, it's investigating to set up everybody for success. Right.

It's so interesting in listening to you because I'm a professionally, I'm a lawyer turned peacemaker, and I've dealt with many, many family conflicts around the elder care. And the questions you're asking are the ones that We're always at, I'm always asking, and when I'm mediating in family disputes, which is kind of the reason why I knew, I knew of course that 80/20 would be right. And your business, listening is everything, just as it is in mine. So it's fascinating. But you know, the conflicts that arise over elder care are, they're everywhere. And I'm sure you guys see plenty of it. Siblings that can't agree on how to care for mom and dad. Mom and dad don't want to move, and adult children want to honor them, but on the other hand, they've got to deal with the pragmatics of the situation. I mean, all kinds of fights come out over everything, and I'm sure you've seen it all.

Yeah, and that's why really, who is a decision maker? And another example of what, you know, what if I'm working with an adult child who is a decision maker and maybe they do have siblings, and when it's time to move mom or dad, And she says, well, my brother doesn't see them, so I think I'm going to move my folks near my brother so that he will see them more frequently. And a question that we would ask is, where are your mom or dad's doctors? Well, they're near me. And, you know, and so we really say, you know, if your brother is not seeing them right now and you're—

I see—

to make a sacrifice to get them closer to your brother thinking that that's going to prompt him, you're going to be You know, it is going to be another move because in our experience, that's not going to happen. If you wanted to be a priority right now, focus on you, you know, get your family near you, make it convenient for the best setting near you. As a decision maker, put yourself first, put your family first, not your brother, put your parents. And so really having— and I can kind of pivot that to same thing with a church. If they've got a church or they've got neighbors that go and visit and they want to move mom in that same neighborhood, but that's an hour away from the daughter who is now the key influencer and responsible party. And we will discourage that. We will say, you know, the visits will slow down. The visits will ultimately start, you know, the neighbors will slow down their visiting. So bring your loved one near you so that you can develop and have that convenience of you stopping in and seeing, and they're going to establish a friendship and a bond with their neighbors within their building. But if you have to drive an hour because you think that, you know, 2 or 3 neighbors are going to consistently go and visit, that, you know, in our experience, that dwindles. And so it may be a 2-move process. If you want to do that, we support you, but know in 6 months you're going to be making another move. So as long as you're okay with that, then we support you. But we want you to make informed decisions based on, you know, our experience.

Right. One last question and I'll let you go. What's the one thing about you, Angela, that we would never know about unless you revealed it to us?

Boy, I'm a grandmother.

Really? You don't look old enough. So how many grandchildren do you have?

I have 3. I have 3.

Wow, good for you. And they're the joy of your life, aren't they?

Boy, I tell you what, they, they, uh, I call my A-team. So, um, I'm Angela Marie Olea, and the oldest is Angel Marie Olea. Aurora and Abigail. And so I have two 3-year-olds that are a day apart and then a 9-year-old. And so now I did— I'm not gonna lie, I was a very young mom, but it, it has enabled me— these, these little girls are just the highlight of— I've got two car seats in the back of one of my cars, and, and, and I will take them. And, um, yeah, we just hit I, we, we hit it full speed and, you know, just love it. My family is a huge part of my life.

Good for you. Well, thanks so much for taking your time out. This is really fascinating listening to you today.

Oh, well, thank you.

Doug Noll here. Thank you so much for listening to Listening with Leaders. If you are a successful executive leader who would like to be on this program, please visit podcast.dougnull.com/podcast. If you got something out of this interview, would you please share this episode on social media? Just do a quick screenshot with your phone and text it to a friend or post it on the socials. If you know someone that would be a great guest, tag them on the social media to let them know about the show and include the hashtag #ListeningWithLeaders. I love seeing your posts and guest suggestions. We are regularly putting out new episodes and content. To make sure you don't miss any episodes, go ahead and subscribe. Your thumbs up, ratings, and reviews go a long way to help promote the show and mean a lot to me and my team. Want to know more? Go to my website, DougNoll.com, or follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. That's That's @DouglasEnoll. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you on the next show.