Benefits of Joining the Aging In Place Directory

Janet and Esther discuss their new website, the Aging in Place Directory, which connects homeowners and caregivers with aging in place professionals.

They explain how the idea for the directory came about and the benefits it offers to both homeowners and professionals.

They also discuss the three subscription plans available for professionals and the features included in each plan.

Janet and Esther highlight the importance of networking and collaboration in the aging in place industry and how the directory and its accompanying community platform facilitate this.

They also discuss their marketing strategies for promoting the directory to homeowners and caregivers.

Takeaways

The Aging in Place Directory connects homeowners and caregivers with aging in place professionals.

The directory offers benefits to both homeowners and professionals, including a centralized platform to find and market services.

There are three subscription plans available for professionals, offering different features and levels of support.

The directory also includes a community platform for professionals to network and collaborate.

Marketing strategies for the directory include search engine optimization, content marketing, social media marketing, and collaborations with other organizations.

The directory will be launched on April 8th, with a 60-day free trial for professionals.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Announcement of the Aging in Place Directory
03:31 Creating a Directory for Aging in Place Professionals
09:29 The Benefits of Joining the Aging in Place Directory
14:26 Subscription Plans for Aging in Place Professionals
26:19 Marketing Strategies for the Aging in Place Directory
31:20 Launch Date and Free Trial for the Aging in Place Directory

YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/K34JlZTYY1U

Transcript

Janet (00:01.5)
Hello everyone and today I have Esther Kane with me. Esther is my business partner. She is the founder of SeniorSafetyAdvice .com and she has been the co -creator of AgingInPlaceDirectory .com. Esther, thanks for being with us today.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (00:29.26)
Well, thanks for having me. This is my first Facebook Live. Not quite sure what to say or do.

Janet (00:33.82)
It's not a Facebook live, it's a LinkedIn live. That's okay. So I invited Esther on my podcast today and on this LinkedIn live because we are very excited to announce our new website and

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (00:40.588)
Oh, sorry. I apologize. LinkedIn live.

Janet (00:59.004)
Actually, we have two new websites. We have an aging in place directory that we've created and we also have the aging in place directory community, which is a separate platform where aging in place professionals can network with each other, learn from each other and also refer to each other. So Esther, why don't you start by telling everyone how

we came up, well, how we got started, because really you came up with it.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (01:33.932)
Well, it's like anything, you know, when you see a need. One of the services that I offer on seniorsafetyadvice .com is to find aging in place professionals, because we were getting, my partner and I, Robin Shilton and I were getting a lot of emails for people asking us, you know, all over the country where to find an aging in place

Janet (01:59.612)
Mm -hmm.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (02:04.524)
person to help them, whether it be a contractor or a CAP certified or anything like that, occupational therapist, whatever. So I thought, well, I should offer that service. And I'm very good at hunting on the internet. I've been doing internet marketing since 2000. So I know the internet very well. And I can pretty much find almost anything online.

but I was having a very hard time finding people to provide these services in all these areas around the country. So I know that they're out there, but they're just not advertising or there isn't a place for them to advertise or I'm not sure. Even on the National Association of Home Builders where CAP certified professionals are listed,

Even that wasn't very extensive to find people. So I thought, well, why not let's build a directory? So I came, Jen and I were already working on some other projects. So I presented the idea to say, hey, I think we need a directory just for aging in place professionals, anybody involved. So it would benefit both, you know, not only the...

seniors or family caregivers that are looking for these people, but it would also benefit the people who are offering that service instead of being scattered all over the internet, they could have one place where they can go and market their services. And that's how the whole thing started. And I haven't slept since, so.

Janet (03:49.756)
Yes, yes. And I'm so glad that you suggested that because I too have been receiving inquiries about where can I find an aging in place professional? Where can I find a CAPS professional? How can I get someone to look at my mom's home? I get emails, I get phone calls from all over the country and I really didn't know how to help people.

that wanted someone to be in their home, that didn't just want a virtual evaluation. And it's true, the best evaluation is one where the professional comes in your house and can talk to the homeowners and can look at the home. And that idea that you had about creating a directory just never occurred to me, number one, because I wasn't capable of building a directory. So I thought,

that was way over my head. But you have such valuable computer skills and coding. And with some research and some help from our computer programmer, Paul, he helped us make it into a real project. So.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (04:55.052)
Thank you.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (05:12.428)
Yeah, exciting.

Janet (05:15.004)
Yeah, it's very exciting. We've worked hours and hours and hours. In fact, I was at Esther's house last night until 10 o 'clock at night and we were, and I had just driven up from Florida yesterday. So after I got everything ready, I went to her house and got back to work. And we are pretty much there. We have decided to launch on April 8th.

And this is the date where anyone who wants to become a subscriber and list their business profile on the directory will be able to do so. So Esther, why don't you talk a little bit about the benefits of joining the directory?

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (06:05.068)
Yeah, I mean, there's actually a lot. I mean, obviously for the homeowner and the family caregivers, you know, the benefits are that they can find everyone that they need in one spot. So if they decided that they wanted to modify the home, you know, for someone aging in place or maybe the mother or father are moving in or they're moving in with them, whatever, they need to modify the home. So this is a place where you can find not only the

the aging in place professional to do the assessment. But then you can also find contractors, you can also find interior designers if you need that. You can find anyone that is related to that field. So it's all in one place. The benefit to the... And then of course it's all listed in a directory so you can look for these people according to your zip code, your state.

your city, you know, whatever, which is nice because it also has a radius, you know, where if you don't find any, if you happen to live in a rural area in a small town, you may not find someone specifically in that area, but it also has a radius line that you can then expand that area, which is nice. You don't have to keep typing in different.

cities or zip codes or anything. So it's a really nice directory. And then for the business owner, for any of these professionals who are providing these services, you know, obviously they're marketing those services on their own websites and Facebook and whatever, at least I hope they are, but this is someplace that they can put everything that they do all in one place specific to that need.

But on top of that, in addition to just having their business listing, they can also connect with other people in their area or maybe even other areas and get referrals and hook up with all these other people that can help them complete the project. Because as we all know, when you do a remodeling project of any kind, you tend to use a multitude of professionals. You've got carpet.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (08:26.348)
and electricians, and you've got maybe designers and contractors and just all kinds of different. I mean, I know I just had my home remodeled and I had more people in here than I've ever had. So it's a great place for everyone to get to know everyone else that does this specific type of remodeling. I mean, I know when I did Home Health, it would have been a great place to...

to go to and to refer my clients to. Don't you think that Shanna, you did home health too.

Janet (09:00.028)
I did home health most of my career and I had patients asking me all the time, do you know someone that can come do this in my home? And in fact, for some time, I did have a few handymen on my contact list that I would refer to people because I got asked that question so often. And one thing that I love about this directory that we built is like you said, that, you know,

Of course, these business professionals should also have their own website. But what's lovely about this directory is that you can actually link your website from our directory. So you'll be able to link your website. You can add images of work that you've done or perhaps images of yourself. You can even add up to one video of your work.

And my favorite feature is that you will be able to chat live with potential customers that contact you. So once they see your your business profile, they can choose to write you a chat message directly at that from our site. And you will see it when you log into your business profile. You will see that message. And I know personally that.

That is one way that you lose people when you don't respond to their email right away because, you know, it's not like, for example, I check my email at least 20 times a day, but there are a lot of people, especially people that don't work anymore, you know, they may check their email once every two or three days. So they are able to give you their phone number. They're able to write you a message.

or they can also choose to email you, which is separate from that live chat feature.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (11:04.108)
Right, the live chat feature on the directory actually looks like a chat. They have their message and it's like a text message almost. Their message and then your message and then so on to keep responding. And also when someone does fill out that chat, that live chat option on your page on the directory, then you get an email notification that a chat came through. So you don't necessarily have to log in, although...

you know, to find it, but of course you would log in to respond back. But every business person will have their own page on the directory, obviously, with, as Janet said, all the information about, you know, whatever they put on there, their business. And it even includes a map. If you have a storefront type of business, it even includes a map where the address, your business address will be shown on there. And then they, you know, can have the map of...

and directions of how to get there. The map option, if you work from home, you can hide the map so that it wouldn't show up on the online page. But you can always go in and edit the page and make changes to it as you grow or change address or contact information, whatever. So you have control over that page, which is nice. And it's very easy to get into and edit information. So.

Yeah.

Janet (12:32.668)
And another thing that I really like that will add credibility to people who have their profile on our directory is that there is a space where we have all of these different aging in place certifications that are out there like CAPS, CLIP, CEAC from VGM.

We have geriatric care managers. If you're a clinician like an OT or PT or a CODA or PTA or nurse, you will have the option to check that off. And then you can also upload your aging in place certification and you can also upload your insurance information. And that really adds a lot of credibility because people are already telling you who they are.

And that's a big issue with older adults that there are always scammers on the fringes trying to take advantage of people. And that's one thing that we will not allow on our directory. And also, once you do acquire customers, customers will be able to review your business profile and give you a rating. And so that adds further credibility.

for other people who come visit the directory looking to hire someone.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (14:02.988)
Right. I think it's going to be a very good project for this growing field, really. I mean, at the end of the day, it's really growing this aging in place industry. But Janet, why don't you go a little bit into the three plans? We do offer three plans for the business owners.

Janet (14:26.46)
Yes, so we have a plan to meet you wherever you're at in your business, your growth. We have the basic plan that's $14 a month and that will give you the opportunity to create a business profile. You'll be able to link your website, add pictures, add a video. You will also have access to the Aging in Place

Directory community that we've created which is a separate platform that once you become a subscriber you'll be given a link to access that platform and that's going to be a forum where people can network with each other. I know that teaching the CAP certification, many of the questions I get from my students is well how am I going to find an OT in my area or how am I going to find a general contractor and

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (15:21.452)
Thank you.

Janet (15:25.852)
this is why we created this networking platform. So that it's much easier for people to build that network because it's true, it takes a team to create a modification that really works for someone, especially for someone with a progressive need or someone with a traumatic event. And so, you know, one person doesn't have all the answers. So we need a team and...

If your team is composed of other people that are also aging in place professionals, well, wouldn't that be awesome? Then we all speak the same language. So I just love that idea and I want that to be available to everyone.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (16:08.844)
And I think the idea, I'm sorry, the idea of the forum also was to help further the education. Because like you said, there's no way any one person has an answer for every possible case study situation that they walk into. So getting help from other professionals across the country that may have come across that particular situation or have a solution for that is a great way to build your own skills.

Janet (16:14.62)
Yes.

Janet (16:31.548)
around.

Janet (16:37.308)
Exactly. Yeah, we can all help each other grow and and cross refer to each other, which is another, you know, big benefit. So that's going to be available to everyone. And and then, of course, that chat live feature will also be available from the basic plan, because I personally believe that you.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (16:39.532)
or

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (16:45.868)
Mm -hmm.

Janet (17:06.716)
We need the skills to succeed. So I don't want to take opportunities away from people that will make it more difficult for them to succeed because finances are an issue. So Esther, why don't you talk about the second tier?

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (17:26.188)
Yeah, so the second tier is $24. And in that plan, you get everything per month. I'm sorry, per month. And then you get everything from the basic plan. But in addition to that, what we also wanted to offer was some training on how to help you build your business. Because a lot of the, well, especially Janet's students, a lot of her students are coming into this field.

Janet (17:32.156)
I want to clarify.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (17:53.58)
for the first time or coming from other fields and creating a new career, but they don't have the skills on marketing online or they don't have the skills of building a business. Or even if they do, you can always learn from, you know, you can always keep learning. I mean, I know I do. I'm always learning every day. Yeah. So, so what we wanted to add in the second tier was webinars.

Janet (18:11.324)
I'm always learning.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (18:19.948)
So we have these recorded webinars that we're going to be providing information on everything from search engine optimization, which is basically how to work with a website to get it seen by Google, Bing, Yahoo, wherever, content marketing, which is basically how to write articles, why write articles, what to write them on, and so forth on your website, keyword research.

Janet (18:46.492)
how to do keyword research. That's a big one. Yeah.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (18:49.804)
Of course, email marketing, newsletters, how to use AI, all the wonderful tools that are coming out with AI, not only for creating content, for creating images. Then also, the business end of it, how to set up a basic business, LLC, whatever, all the legality that goes along with that. And then everything, LinkedIn marketing, social media marketing like LinkedIn and Pinterest, building a referral network,

All those kinds of things are, you know, these are what the webinars are going to be about. And, you know, because they're webinars, you can access them at any time. So we're in the process of building them and creating them and then putting them online for you to access if you're in this second tier plan. And...

And I think it's great for anyone who is looking for much more than just, who's just starting out. I think the second tier is a great plan for starting out. At $24 a month, it's very affordable. In addition to all of that, we're also going to provide a discount from a company, Silver Spaces Home Assessments.

Jen, if you want to tell them about that.

Janet (20:14.876)
Well, I think we're gonna wait until we have all of that information, you know, that is organized and everything on the other end works because we don't wanna say something that then doesn't happen. But there will be, yeah, there will be.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (20:23.116)
Okay.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (20:27.98)
Okay.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (20:32.844)
Okay, we're waiting for the owner to talk to us. Again, she's confirmed but we don't have the details on.

Janet (20:40.508)
Yeah, of how that discount will work. But it's another tool that you're going to have to help you grow your business. And do you want to say something, Esther? OK. And then the third tier is our premium tier, and that's thirty four dollars a month. And that's going to give you everything you have in the basic tier and in the professional tier, which are the recorded webinars. But you will also

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (20:43.244)
Yeah.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (20:48.428)
Right.

No.

Janet (21:10.556)
have access to weekly live mastermind Zoom meetings that are going to be 75 minutes long and they're going to be led by Esther and I and we are going to have topics that are already pre -planned for that week. According to people who belong to that tier, they will make submissions on topic requests that they have. And so we'll choose about four topic requests.

so that we have ample time to discuss them. And you will already know what that mastermind meeting is going to touch on. And during that meeting, we'll have opportunities for question answer sessions, we'll be able to demonstrate the skill that we're teaching, and it'll be a completely interactive.

approach and it's going to be similar to the CAPS classes. This is one of the things that I love about the CAPS program and one of the things that many students tell me they love about it is that it's interactive. You know that not only are they learning from myself, the instructor, but they also learn from everyone else who's in that class. And it's just so valuable. You know, how do you take 20 years of experience that someone has, let's say in real estate?

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (22:27.596)
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.

Janet (22:35.068)
you know, or interior design, you would never have access to that information. And yet, you know, you get to, to learn that person's perspective during the course. And so this is the same concept that we're going to be implementing in these mastermind meetings is that we are going to all learn from each other and therefore, you know, help each other grow and add.

tools to our toolkit.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (23:07.02)
Yeah, I'm looking forward to those mastermind classes because I think it will also help us with the directory. It'll also help us add features or take away features or modify it to meet the needs of the users because we've been engrossed in the directory for so long now. There's a lot of, I'm sure there are things that we've missed or that we haven't seen.

Janet (23:29.372)
Mm -hmm.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (23:35.628)
So I'm so looking forward to hearing feedback and seeing what people are saying about it and how we can make it better. That's the beauty of websites. You can constantly change it. It's not as if you're stuck with publishing 50 ,000 books and you're stuck with 50 ,000 books until you sell them all with a website. You can constantly evolve it. And I love that.

Janet (23:44.508)
Yeah.

Janet (23:58.812)
Right. Esther, let's tell our listeners how we are going to be promoting the website to homeowners and caregivers.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (24:08.076)
Yeah, obviously, if you're going to be putting your business listing on the directory, you want people to find you. So that means that we need to promote the directory, the aginginplacedirectory .com, obviously. So the way we're going to do it is basically through what we're teaching you is search engine optimization, content marketing, which means we're going to be adding articles on the website.

all about aging in place, modifications, everything that is involved so that people can find it via Google Bing, Yahoo, whatever. We're also going to be doing social media marketing through LinkedIn, putting in posts and articles. Then of course, Facebook and Pinterest, those are all very popular and having anything to do with the home, the house. So those are good platforms.

We're also going to be creating a newsletter, not only, well, really two newsletters, one for the business owners and then one also for home owners who are looking for information. So it'll be two different types of information, but it'll be newsletters for both. And you always want to build up an email marketing campaign. And that's how we're going to do it. And it's one of the things, of course, that we teach you.

And then the other two is Google Ads, putting advertisements out on Google to have people come to the site, and then also collaborate with other organizations such as the Parkinson's Foundation, Alzheimer's Association, any kind of caregiver groups, those kinds of things, advertising or just notifying them that this is available, and so that they can notify their members.

about the product. And then, you know, of course, I mean, locally, you know, going to business events and networking, building it that way, getting the word spread out that way, because you never know who knows who.

Janet (26:19.228)
And I want to tell everyone that the directory is completely free to use for homeowners. So there is absolutely no cost to them. It is free for them to come to our website, read articles, do searches. Everything is free for them.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (26:42.124)
Right. So, and it will be live on Monday, April 8th.

Janet (26:49.148)
Yeah, and one last thing that I want to say before we close today is that my favorite aspect of creating a directory like this is that it gives business owners an opportunity to grow their business, to grow their business name. Because here, whenever someone contacts you,

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (26:50.54)
Bye.

Janet (27:16.924)
and wants to hire you for their service, they are hiring you. They're not hiring us and then we contact you. No, we are just providing the platform for that match to take place. But we do not make any money off of your work. You just pay the subscription and you're not required.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (27:40.524)
Right, right.

Janet (27:46.46)
to subscribe for a whole year. It's month to month. You can move up and down as you wish. It's all what you need. I don't believe in forcing people into anything or making them make a financial investment that they're not comfortable with. If you don't like it and you're not getting the benefit that you think you need.

You drop us. It's that simple. So I don't think that will happen. But I believe everyone should be in control of their own finances. So I just love the idea of a business owner being able to grow their business because at an affordable price. Yeah. And reaping 100 % of the benefits.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (28:16.876)
Sorry.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (28:35.564)
At an affordable price, really. Right.

Janet (28:43.356)
you know, not 40 or 50 or 60. What you charge is 100 % what you earn. So I just, I love that concept. And I wanted to make sure everyone knew how it worked. And if you want to contact me and give me your email or contact Esther, we're going to be creating a newsletter with

the invitation and the link that you need to create a business profile. Oh, and here's the best part, that everyone will have a 60 day free trial from the time you sign up. So that 60 days gives you an opportunity to learn the platform. You know, if you don't have a website already to create your website or images, but it gives you an opportunity to.

Get all of your ducks in a row without any money coming out of your pocket. You have 60 days to do all of that and enjoy the benefits of the basic plan. So we are looking forward to just having as many people sign up. If you have questions, please message us on LinkedIn or on my email, homedesignsforlife at gmail .com.

Esther, why don't you give your email?

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (30:12.268)
Yeah, the email is Esther at, well actually you can call, yeah, esther at senior safety advice .com, but actually you can also email us at the website address, which is aging in place directory at gmail .com. You can email us there. Aging in place directory, gmail, yeah. And so look forward.

Janet (30:28.38)
Okay, ajinplacecorrectly at gmail .com. All right, well, great.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (30:36.78)
to working with everybody on this. And I definitely look forward to the masterminds. I think that's going to be really great. So, yeah.

Janet (30:45.5)
Yeah, I do too. All right, well everyone, thank you for being with us and please spread the word, share this video. It's gonna be the podcast, so there will be the Buzzsprout link, the RSS feed that you can share. So just tell everyone, not just professionals, but tell caregivers.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (30:47.18)
Thank you.

Janet (31:12.124)
or homeowners that are looking for these services that this platform will be live as of April 8th.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (31:20.459)
Yeah, great.

Janet (31:22.46)
All right, thank you, Esther. Thank you everyone for spending time with us.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (31:24.364)
Thank you, Janet.

Esther Kane, CAPS, C.D.S. (31:28.684)
Bye.