Latest news with #HomecareSolutions
Forbes
16-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why Business Owners Should Focus More On Cultivating Their Mindsets, Not Strategies
CEO of Homecare Solutions, Inc. dba Visiting Angels, Coach & International Best-Selling Author empowering others to elevate their success In business school, I was made to believe that strategy is everything—that if you have an ironclad strategy, you're bound to succeed. But when I started running my own business, it soon dawned on me that while having a great strategy is important, that alone won't cut it. Your mindset matters. Strategy forms the building blocks of a successful business. Mindset is the mortar that holds it all together. If you're a business owner, I believe you should focus more on cultivating your mindset rather than your strategy. Why Your Mindset Matters As a business owner, I've found that having a healthy, positive mindset makes me more resilient in the face of challenges, gives me motivation to keep going and helps me be a good example to my team. My mindset gives me the fuel to implement and adjust my business strategy no matter what situation I'm in. For instance, at one point, my business was growing, but it then began to plateau. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and my business's situation became worse. Team members had to limit their visits to seniors' homes to provide care services. Realizing our business could crumble, my husband and I knew we needed to change our mindsets. So, we recalibrated by implementing temporary measures. By using phone-based nursing assessments, partnering with community providers to offer remote monitoring and leveraging fall-detection devices, we were able to care for seniors and adapt our business model to make it through the pandemic. At the core, my mindset translates to the type of business owner I am. Research has shown the power of having the right mindset. Alia Crum, who is now an associate professor of psychology at Stanford University, as well as the Stanford Mind & Body Lab's principal investigator, put it succinctly when quoted in an article in the Stanford Report: 'Our minds aren't passive observers, simply perceiving reality as it is. Our minds actually change reality.' The Stanford Report article pointed to the placebo effect in medicine as a powerful example of how our mindsets impact our lives. Specifically, the article explained that while for a while, the placebo effect 'was viewed as just an experimental hassle,' physicians are 'starting to rethink placebos not as a hassle but as an actual path to better health.' Another example? Having a growth mindset when learning. A study published in 2019 in the scientific journal Nature had a sample of secondary school students in the U.S. watch a brief 'online growth mindset intervention—which teaches that intellectual abilities can be developed.' Watching the intervention resulted in 'improved grades among lower-achieving students and increased overall enrolment to advanced mathematics courses.' How To Cultivate A Healthy, Positive Mindset There are several steps you can take to cultivate a healthy, positive mindset. First, I recommend investing in personal development. You can take courses, watch YouTube videos, listen to podcasts and read books on various personal development and mindset topics. Some of my favorite authors whose works I turn to include Maxwell Maltz, Neville Goddard, Joseph Murphy, Robert Collier and Napoleon Hill. You can also form or join a mastermind group or seek mentorship from someone with more experience. Additionally, I'm a proponent of visualization and affirmations. According to the New York Times (gated), 'Visualization has long been a part of elite sports. Al Oerter, a four-time Olympic discus champion, and the tennis star Billie Jean King were among those using it in the 1960s.' As for affirmations, a Psychology Today article pointed to various studies that show 'that self-affirmation can improve one's life in a variety of ways.' It's also vital to surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you. I've found that it's invaluable to have people in my circle who challenge me when needed and help me stretch my imagination to envision new possibilities. How To Sustain A Healthy, Positive Mindset—Especially During Difficult Times Cultivating a healthy, positive mindset is one thing. Sustaining it is another. Challenges are inevitable in business. It can be easy to fall into negative thinking when dealing with challenges. However, in my experience, there are steps you can take to sustain a healthy, positive mindset. The foundational step, in my view, is to review your 'why' and purpose. By doing so, whenever times get tough, you'll be able to remember the reason you started your business in the first place. That knowledge can keep you going. It's also important to create a workplace culture where everyone has an opportunity to cultivate and sustain a healthy, positive mindset. For instance, on my team, we have short morning standups where we put aside some time for one team member to share something inspirational. We also have a drip email campaign that goes out to our field and office staff members daily to help them maintain the right mindset. Additionally, celebrate small wins. As business owners, we tend to have long-term goals. However, we reach those goals through a series of smaller wins. I believe that by celebrating those small wins, you will gain the strength and momentum to keep going. Finally, I believe it's paramount to wake up every day and think of yourself as the business owner you want to be. I refer to this as 'be, do, have.' Be the person who embodies success. Then, you can move into the 'do' stage—taking actions that generate success. From there, you can have the results you want. As Maxwell Maltz wrote in his self-help book Psycho-Cybernetics: 'In short, you will 'act like' the sort of person you conceive yourself to be.' Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Forbes
02-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
For Aspiring Home Care Business Owners, A Service-First Mindset Is The Key To Success
CEO of Homecare Solutions, Inc. dba Visiting Angels, Coach & International Best-Selling Author empowering others to elevate their success The percentage of seniors in the global population is accelerating. According to the World Health Organization, 'Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world's population over 60 years will nearly double from 12% to 22%.' In light of this demographic change, there will be an increased need for medical and non-medical home care services. On the non-medical side, many older adults will need help with tasks such as personal care, meal preparation, light housekeeping and transportation. Many will also need companionship. Consider this: Data from the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that 'nearly 3 in 10 adults 65 or older lived alone in 2022.' For aspiring home care business owners, a service-first mindset, rather than one driven solely or largely by financial motives, will be crucial for success in the industry. The home care services industry is a relationship-based one that requires empathy, responsibility and a commitment to high-quality care. Seniors and their loved ones depend on home care services providers to deliver compassionate, reliable support that enhances their quality of life. In my view, when home care services owners are rooted in purpose and service, it naturally leads to employee and client satisfaction, enhanced trust and ultimately business success. Employees know when they're truly cared for (caregivers need to be cared for, too). When employees feel taken care of, they're more likely to deliver exceptional care. Clients and their loved ones, I've found, pick up on whether or not employees are being treated well. If clients and their loved ones see employees being treated poorly, they may naturally question whether the company can provide quality care for seniors. If you're an aspiring home care services business owner, reflect on what is driving you to go into this line of work. Running a home care services business is emotionally and logistically difficult. If your reason for entering this industry is purely or largely financial, you're less likely to be motivated to keep on going—and less likely to succeed. A strong sense of purpose will power your ability to tackle the challenges of this industry and go above and beyond for your employees and clients. Given the challenging nature of the home care services industry, it can be difficult for business owners to maintain a service-first mindset. However, in my years in this industry, I've found that creating a culture of care is crucial for maintaining a service-first mindset. In my early days in the home care services industry, I worked as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) and licensed practical nurse (LPN). I saw firsthand how the lack of a culture of care impacted operations. Many employees, stressed and under pressure, just wanted to complete their assignments for the day and go home. For the most part, they weren't focused on building relationships with clients. In my experience, when caregivers and other employees of home care services companies feel cared for, they're able to provide better care to clients and are more likely to stay with your organization, increasing your retention rate. Professional caregiving has high turnover, and the more caregivers you can retain, the better off your company will be in the long run. Once you become the owner of a home care services company, it's important to show compassion to your team members. Some steps you should take include paying everyone on time, giving fair compensation and being as flexible as possible with schedules. When you show your employees compassion, you're leading by example. A genuine culture of care, I believe, ripples throughout an organization. After you've become the owner of a home care services company, it's important to determine your metrics for success—and regularly measure those metrics. Financial KPIs are important, but they are far from the only metrics you should evaluate. If you're only evaluating financial KPIs, you're not getting the full picture. You should identify a broader set of metrics to focus on, metrics that clue you in on how you and your team are impacting your clients, their families and the broader community. Such metrics could include the number of five-star reviews, caregiver retention rates and community outreach and education events. Your ultimate measure of success should come down to how well you and your team are helping clients. Regularly checking in with clients and their families in person, as well as through surveys, will inform you about what you're doing well and what you need to improve. By acting on that feedback, maintaining a culture of care and keeping your reason for entering this industry top of mind, you'll be able to create an organization that your employees, clients and community champion. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
