Today we’d like to introduce you to Kara Anderson
Hi Kara, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Melbourne, Florida, and I love Brevard County. Although I moved away for high school and college, I found my way back very early on in my professional journey. After graduating from Baylor University School of Social Work, I earned my first job as a Social Services Director at a skilled nursing facility (a.k.a. nursing home) in Hillsboro, Texas. It was in that role that I developed an appreciation and passion for seniors, specifically individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease. After a year and a half there, I returned to Melbourne and was immediately hired as the social worker at Brevard County’s first dementia-specific assisted living facility. Within a couple of years, I was promoted to Administrator, developing an affinity for older people, and curiosity about how care and compassion can be monetized responsibly. I was very aware that the owner of the facility had placed a great deal of trust in me and at a very young age I learned that often the most impact I could have on the seniors in my care was to create and amplify environments where they could thrive.
After that experience, I went on to help develop a “one-stop shop” senior business center while concurrently building a private duty home care branch office in the Orlando area for the same business owner. Just as the business center was about to open its doors to sustained success, I relocated to Georgia for personal reasons. While in the Atlanta area, I returned to my assisted living roots and became the Executive Director for a flagship community of a global senior living brand. I quickly advanced to Senior Executive Director with oversight responsibilities for several additional buildings.
After five years in the big city with a big company, I was ready to return to Melbourne. Fortunately, I was recruited by a local senior living management company just south of Melbourne and was able to come home to Brevard County. After returning from Atlanta, I worked for two different management companies and helped a friend start his senior living management company. Some of my best, most unbelievable stories come from this period, working with my friend and living in the facilities we were reorganizing. This was also when I decided that starting my own business couldn’t be as hard as all that I had already been through.
I was right. And I was wrong. Starting a business is hard work. Selling an intangible is incredibly hard. In my previous roles with assisted living facilities, I helped sell my building, my product, as the senior living option for every potential resident. With my own business, I have the freedom to find the solution that works for each client from among many quality independent living, assisted living, and memory care facilities. And, without oppressive overhead and the intrusive fiscal oversight of a supervisory upline or management company, I can refer to the resources a family needs – even if it nets me zero dollars.
I started Simplifying Senior Living to take my 20+ years of experience in senior living and offer it at no cost to seniors and their families. My goal is to educate each client about their options and support them as they choose the one that is best for them. I narrow down the facilities that best meet their care needs and budget and then walk with them as they experience each one. I bring the data, but they have to feel, touch, smell, and hear what is best for them.
I also teach the next generation of assisted living administrators as a state-certified Assisted living Core Trainer. I enjoy teaching others how impactful their work with seniors can be and getting them started on a positive journey.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My career – as a whole – has been somewhat charmed. I was given great opportunities at a young age that grew and developed my skills in ways I didn’t appreciate fully until starting my own business. With a deep history in Brevard County healthcare, I developed friendships that have become my best cheerleaders, confidantes, and referral partners. Any struggles I have encountered were primarily of my own making – not availing myself of business classes or not joining organizations that I feel – rightly or wrongly – won’t be fruitful for my niche.
I only make money when I successfully move a client into a contracted Independent Living, Assisted Living, or Memory Care facility. I do not charge my clients for my service and the facilities I work with are happy to receive my marketing assistance for a fee. I can struggle with how much uncompensated time is spent tracking down resources and helping people who will never result in a billable outcome – but it’s the right thing to do. And by helping them, many remember my name and refer my services to a friend, neighbor, or another family member. They speak my name positively, in a Facebook group, for example, and the cycle continues – someone calls who needs help and I offer what I can. I’ll never be rich, but it all just seems to work out.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m incredibly fortunate – I help people. It’s what I do for a living. People find me during a crisis or difficult time with an aging loved one and I give them space to breathe. I take tasks off their plate, answer questions they didn’t know to ask, and work at whatever pace is needed to find a solution. Optimally, I am helping the family find appropriate senior living options. If their needs are outside of independent living, assisted living, or memory care, I have a village of trusted resources that I can refer to and depend on to treat my clients as skillfully and thoughtfully as I do.
I am known for my knowledge and experience in the rules and laws of assisted living in Florida. I take pride in the reputation I have built over almost three decades – professional, trustworthy, and supportive. I encourage people who are new to healthcare in Brevard by introducing them to others who can help them. I support local, small businesses as much as possible, and I try try try to always be a positive reflection on the Brevard healthcare community. We take care of human life – and we should look like responsible humans while we do it. 🙂
I guess what sets me apart is the unique perspective I bring to every client interaction. As a social worker, I listen to and support families who are working through difficult progressions with their aging parents. As an assisted living administrator and ALF core trainer, I can advocate for both the client and the facility since I know both sides. I want every client experience to be positive so knowing each facility, what they can and can’t do, and having open conversations about client needs can both protect the client and the facility. Assisted living in Florida has an expansive list of can-do’s – it’s just a matter of finding the right one.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love Melbourne, Brevard County, and the East Coast. I love its proximity to big cities like Orlando, Jacksonville, and Miami without the commitment to increased traffic, longer commutes, and skyscrapers dotting the landscape. And yet I love the big cities for all those reasons – more traffic means more business to support local, longer commutes provide time for favorite podcasts, and skyscrapers can be a marvel to behold.
What do I like least? The social worker in me says the lack of affordable housing, no longer hearing Jim Philips in the afternoon, and when people only come for the Mouse and miss out on so much more that Florida offers.
Pricing:
- No Cost to Clients
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.SimplifyingSeniorLiving.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplifyingseniorliving/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SimplifyingSeniorLiving/
