Connect
To Top

Meet Laurie Malone of Golden Heart Senior Care

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laurie Malone.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Laurie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My story begins with my parents. My Dad, 95, and my Mom (passed on 2016) always insisted on a strong work ethic. Growing up, my Dad was a veterinarian and my brother and I would go to the “office” on Christmas morning before opening our gifts to allow his staff the day off. We cleaned the kennels for several hours and then enjoyed our holiday.

My parents were insistent that they were never leaving their home in their senior years. My Mom loved her porch on the woods, cultivating beautiful gardens and bird watching daily. As they began to age, they were insistent on being home and not in a facility. Our family honored their wish.

In 2014, we sold another business and decided we wanted to put our focus into something we feel passionately about for this chapter of our lives. I kept coming back to senior care. Of course, there are many competitors in this highly saturated market, but we had owned service businesses before and I believed that we could approach it a bit differently. We provide in home care services from companionship all the way to 24/7 bed bound care. We service seniors wherever they live-in their homes, assisted living/independent living facilities, and hospice facilities. We are complementary to home health and hospice and work as a team with these professionals. We also provide professional staffing services for small, medium and large assisted living facilities.

In July 2014, there were 2 of us in the business, my husband and business partner, Rodney and myself. We both came from long tenured backgrounds in corporate America and had owned our own businesses since 1998. We embraced the training and hired the best people available for our start up. We have now grown our business to over 100 employees. We decided to hire CNA’s, AC Certified Caregivers, LNA’s, LPNs and RNs for our business. We recruit from nursing schools, caregiver schools and anywhere we can find quality, compassionate, medically trained people. I personally met every single client and still do. Clients know they can call or text 24/7. We have many great referral partners including hospitals, home health, hospice and other providers. Our work is a privilege every day.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Startup businesses are always challenging. I felt that we should “boot strap” our business and get it going without borrowing. We bought a very large geographic footprint since we purchased the Master Franchise for Golden Heart. We did not pay ourselves for the first 18 months. We put everything into the business. I got in the car and went all over the Valley, asking for opportunities. “Just give us a try!” Some great people knew us from our prior business ownership and opened some doors

One major setback was an emergency valve replacement in 1/16. I fainted on Christmas Eve. I am adopted so we assumed it was part of my previously diagnosed heart murmur. It turns out I had a congenital valve issue. We were scared, but got through it and I was back to work in less than a month. I always say, “I am not afraid of hard work, only no work!”

. I also worked internet leads, calling everyone one within 15 minutes. Slowly, but surely, we began to grow rapidly. We are proud to say after 4 short (and sometimes LONG) years, we are now #2 nationally for Golden Heart. I am grateful every day for the work we have and the opportunities ahead to help others. I sit on a community dementia education committee to help educate all of us on compassionate memory care.

Golden Heart Senior Care – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Golden Heart Senior Care provides seniors with safe and compassionate care in their homes. We also provide our staffing partners with high quality, vetted staffing resources to help them as needed.

I believe what sets us apart is owner accountability and access to our team 24/7. We have a 24/7 line that is answered live by a staff member. This is for families and caregivers. I receive calls from people working with other agencies on holidays and weekends- they can’t reach their agency, leave a message with an answering service, etc. Our business is often very time critical and we have to be able to be reached. Our 24/7 line provides that access. We also provide automated GPS enable, clock in/clock out technology to ensure staff compliance.

And for owner accountability- to me, this is the most important contribution my husband and business partner, Rodney, can make to our clients and employees. The buck stops here. As I explain to clients daily, “I may not be able to predict the behaviors of 100 plus employees at any time….but if you decided your caregiver is not right for you, give us a call and we will fix it immediately.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success, to me, is a matter of holding standards for myself higher than I do for others. I believe fundamentally that I have to expect the most from myself before I can motivate others. Every New Year’s Day, we sit down and identify 3 key business and personal goals for the New Year. These are not resolutions, they are stretch goals. They may have numbers associated with them or they may be more general in nature. And, then, I believe in reviewing those targets weekly. Every Friday, I ask myself the question, “what have you done this week to move your business forward? Help more seniors live safely? Create more jobs?

Doing all of our work with integrity is critical also as a success marker. We background check our people through a third party; drug test them, etc. We have a CPA prepare our books monthly. We hire the best people and pay them well.

The most important success factor to me is referral business. This comes from current and past clients; referral partners, related industries such as hospice and home health. When someone you have worked with refers a new client, it is the greatest compliment in my book.

Pricing:

  • $24-28 hourly depending on care needs

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in