Stronger together: 10 companies align to serve the senior economy
by Cape Business staffMargaret Earhart is a financial adviser who specializes in long-term care insurance. As an independent businessperson, she was looking for a competitive edge in a crowded field dominated by bigger, more diverse companies with national brands. Last year, she met Kathey Hickey Fulham, an Osterville-based CPA. Inspiration struck: What if they could join forces to offer their respective clients each other’s services? Bigger would be better.
The two women quickly developed a bond as friends and professional colleagues, giving them confidence to expand the alliance to include eight other small, interrelated Cape Cod businesses – each focused on the fast-growing and fertile retirement economy.
Today, the Cape Cod Senior Resource Alliance is investing time and money to build a single group to help families plan and manage the complexities of senior care. They have been joined by a home health care service, an assisted living facility, a medical supply company, a moving firm, a trust and estate attorney, a reverse mortgage specialist, a residential mortgage business and even a funeral planner.
Earhart, who has assumed the unpaid role of SRA director, is constantly scouting for other complementary businesses. But she emphasizes that strength won’t be in numbers. Instead, it will be measured by the members’ capacity to trust each other and assure quality controls.
“My value to a customer is enhanced if I can deliver them other related services beyond my business,” she said. “But I also risk my brand and customer if I recommend someone who proves inadequate.”
“It’s all about trusting relationships,” she said. “We combine expertise with respect and compassion because we are dealing with some of the most complex and emotional issues facing families.”
Fulham and Kathleen Catrambone, who owns TLC Home Health Care Services, said the alliance’s appeal extends beyond the smart business model. “Succeeding in the field of senior care takes a compassionate personality; we’re trying to make that a common denominator in choosing the SRA’s member businesses,” said Catrambone, who has built TLC into a home-based business with a dynamic 30 percent annual growth over the past seven years.
Her growth reflects the Cape’s senior demographics and economy.
In 2000, there were 51,265 full-time Cape Cod residents 65 years old and older. Today, there are nearly 53,000. Among the senior population, the number of those 80 years old and older rose by nearly 12 percent since 2000 and is projected to grow an additional 10 percent by 2010.
Meanwhile, future retirees are massing.
Between 2000 and 2005, the number of people moving to Cape Cod between ages 55 and 65 increased by nearly 12 percent. Warren Rutherford of Rutherford Advisors Inc. in Marstons Mills estimates that this “pre-retirement” generation of baby boomers will increase from about 27,000 in 2005 to more than 35,000 by 2010, a 32 percent growth rate.
Most plan to stay here for a long time.
These pre-retirement baby boomers not only are aggressively planning their own financial and health futures, but many must manage their parents’ aging agendas – from financial planning and health care to insurance and assisted living to estate planning and, yes, even funeral arrangements.
With that in mind, a key SRA focus is the Cape business community itself.
“The Cape is made up of mainly small businesses,” said Earhart. “Every day, I encounter colleagues who are stressed three different ways – just staying on top of their daily businesses, then worrying about their children’s college educations, and so often having to deal with their aging parents’ affairs,” she explained.
“They need both excellent professional advice and also helping hands and hearts,” said Fulham, who supports elderly clients with everything from estate planning to bill paying.
Catrambone pays for extra insurance so her staff can take clients out in a convertible on nice days. “They are housebound. If I can take them for a ride to see the beach, it can make all the difference with them and their children.”
“I met Jon when I needed someone to help a client move from her home to assisted living,” Earhart explained, referring Jon McEnaney, whose family own Rainbow Movers Worldwide.
“We emphasize logistics in our marketing,” said McEnaney. “That is never more important than when you are moving an elderly person or couple from the home they’ve lived in for decades [and are leaving] because they no longer can keep up with the demands of a single-family house.”
Networking is a particularly crucial strategy for businesses on Cape Cod. “The SRA is networking cubed,” said Earhart.
“This is not about trading leads, but about building relationships,” said Ron Standish of American Home Mortgage. Added McEnaney: “We see ourselves as far more than a referral service. By branding our companies under the SRA umbrella, we can become a far more valuable, full-service resource.”
Leone Larson-Johnson of Forethought Funeral Planning agreed. “I recently encountered a family who needed a reverse mortgage. I was able to refer them to an SRA colleague.”
Another SRA member, Phyllis Cazeault, had a similar experience. She is director of community relations at Whitehall Estate, a Summerville Living Residence senior complex in Hyannis. “I am attracted to the wealth of knowledge suddenly available to me through the SRA. I meet with families every day around the issue of assisted living, but sometimes they need an attorney to develop a living will or protect their estate. Now, I can reliably recommend an SRA colleague.”
That legal colleague is Keith McManus of McManus, Norton & MacNamee, PC, who sees many older Cape Codders failing to keep their estate plans in order. “They retire here from elsewhere, but they have not updated their estate plans or considered different requirements by state. This is especially so for legal plans executed prior to 2003, the year that Massachusetts decoupled from the federal estate tax system. A lot of pre-2003 plans need to be examined.”
McManus appreciates knowing he can also turn those clients over to CPA he trusts, Fulham. “I just gave her a referral,” he said. “I see her all the time; I know her work. I can be sure my clients will be in good hands.”
Another member, James Garvey of West Gate and Apothecare in Hyannis connects with the needs of clients including Whitehall Estate, preparing personalized medication packets for residents.
Forming the SRA also comes with a commitment of time and learning. While Earhart has built a homegrown group, it also is part of a national SRA network that provides educational and marketing support. Members are encouraged to gain certification through the Society of Certified Senior Advisors, designations currently held by Catrambone and Robert Mitchell, a reverse mortgage specialist. Earhart recently attended 24 classes over three days in Tampa, Florida, toward gaining her certification.
As the alliance evolves, members communicate by phone and e-mail while meeting once a month. Recently, they sat together to design a strategic marketing plan. Each challenged one another to pick a single word depicting their enterprise. The terms flew around the room: “inclusive,” “proactive,” “collaborative,” “integrity,” “ethical,” “professional,” “holistic.”
They then forged a mission statement: “Helping Cape Codders age with dignity and a quality of life – financially, physically and spiritually. It’s about long-term living.”
How do they differentiate themselves against other businesses? “Because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
“Surrounded by my colleagues, I marvel at how many more people I will be able to help than if I were operating only by myself,” Earhart concluded.
Originally published in the Nov/Dec 2006 issue of Cape Business.
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