094_Building a Compassionate Hospice: Miles Gloetzner's Journey With Inhora Home for the Dying

Speaker A: Attention healthcare leaders. Are you tired of dealing with recurring problems, rising costs and inconsistent results across your departments? If so, it might be time to introduce Lean Six Sigma into your organization. The proven framework trusted by top performing healthcare organizations to improve patient outcomes, boost staff engagement and eliminate waste. Here at the Quality coaching company, we've developed a Lean Six Sigma for healthcare program that's designed specifically for organizations that need results, not the red tape. Our blended learning approach combines online modules with hands on project coaching so your teams can learn, apply and achieve measurable improvements, all while maintaining their daily responsibilities. Whether you're ready to launch a system wide improvement initiative or start small with a single pilot project, we'll guide your team step by step through the proven frameworks and helping you drive better outcomes faster. So if you're ready to streamline workflows, improve patient safety and build a culture of healthcare excellence, click the link in the description or visit www.theqcc.com to learn more. And, uh, schedule a quick strategy call today. Because better healthcare starts with better processes and better processes start here. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the Excellence in Healthcare podcast. Today's episode is part of our Small Business Spotlight series where we highlight healthcare leaders building something so much bigger than themselves. As always, I'm your host, Jarvis T. Gray, healthcare strategist and leadership coach. Joining me today is my guest, Miles Glutzner, founder and executive director of Anora Home for the Dying, the only nonprofit hospice home in all of Albuquerque providing 24 hour care at no cost to families. Miles, welcome to our show. Uh, I'm really excited to have you here with us today, man.

Speaker B: Thanks, Jarvis. Yeah, I'm excited to be here too. And, uh, just to give everybody a little heads up, I'm in downtown Albuquerque. Um, it can be a little noisy, but we're kind of in a cool niche that stays pretty quiet, but you might hear kids or birds in the background. So, uh, but looking forward to talking with you today, Jarvis.

Speaker A: Same here. You know, hopefully, if nothing else, Miles, that's, that's some of the authenticity we bring to this show. So no trouble at all. Um, I'm actually, I was just telling you I'm recording from my home office, which I never do, so hopefully the, the audio sounds amazing for this entire conversation. But, um, you know, Miles, I love to just jump straight in because after connecting with you the first time and then doing my research on you, um, and Anora, I do want to say, first and foremost, this feels like, um, just really sacred work that you're doing. So I loved if you could just give us an overview and just share with us um, a little bit about yourself and what led you to create an aura.

Speaker B: Okay, um, I'll start with what Anora is. So I know you gave a pretty solid intro and thanks for that. Um, it's a, I guess nursing powered, nursing minded. So my background is um, 11 years as a VA nurse, um, working in med surge, street outreach, reaching, ah, unhoused vets and then in the education department and also primary care. Um, but those things were all an amazing step into this project. So I, um, was at the VA 11 years and launched this, um, the idea for it, launched it in September of 23 and it took about a year to kind of cook and percolate. Um, then we got the location and then a few months after that with some remodeling, we actually got the home. So, uh, Inora is a three to four bedroom home in downtown Albuquerque. It's not a facility. We are community powered, um, meaning both volunteers and donors are just everyday people, uh, mostly New Mexicans. But not only that, just believe in this mission and believe that those at end of life deserve better than dying in isolation, dying in an er, dying in a nursing home. You know, um, they deserve being treated as still active and important community members. Just because somebody's dying doesn't mean they're, they're dead. It doesn't mean that they don't have gifts to still give. And one of the greatest gifts that they still give is that vulnerability, um, and that uh, humility and openness to receive care as well as to pass on wisdom. So, um, to. We offer private rooms in each of those three bedrooms. There's a mini fridge, there's accommodations for family. We've got no restrictions of visiting hours to make it as easy as possible because a lot of those that we care for do have families. Not all of them. We do, uh, prioritize those who are unhoused. So you know, it's really interesting to have somebody in our home, one of our guests, who has no visitors, um, throughout their entire stay with us, which is normally days to weeks. And then on the other hand we have some guests who have family come every day. And it's a beautiful, it's beautiful to sometimes see those interactions between the families. For example, one of our guests right now, he's been with us a month, um, and his family realized that someone else in the home didn't have resources and was overdue for, let's just say like, um, some hygiene or shave. So they paid for A barber to come in and um, both their loved one and this gentleman who was off the streets, um, got a shave. So it's pretty special to see, um, these uh, bridges crossed and there's that same diversity among our volunteers to all types of backgrounds. So that's maybe a long introduction, but there you have it.

Speaker A: No, well, I love to still maybe dig deeper. And again, like I said, um, just that heart centered focus. Because even the way you described that, I'm thinking now you're not just, you know, providing a service, you are literally building a community at some very vulnerable times in people's lives and the lives of their loved ones. But, um, I'm curious still, like, was there a, ah, personal experience that led you to identifying this as the need or was there just something missing in that end of life care process that, you know, just inspired you to create, uh, all of the services and the community that you're building?

Speaker B: That's a powerful question and I've been asked it before and I, and I still kind of surprise myself, um, in answering, which is that I had no end of life, um, experiences before jumping into this. So I jumped in as the new kid on the block, um, in the hospice world, end of life world. Um, growing up and into my adult years, I never had any profound, um, experiences with death and dying even. Uh, so the call came as a surprise to me and it came kind of out of nowhere in the middle of the night. I just had the ID and I wrote it all down. Um, that was about a year and a half before I made the decision to actually start the project. Um, so I guess I needed that time, uh, to have it percolate and sit with me and to warm up to it. And it's just come so naturally and easily. And I love the amazing people that I get to work with in this world. Um, but yeah, once I started to take it seriously, I did look around and see how as Americans, which is the only culture that I really fully understand, I've done international travel, but, uh, definitely in the healthcare field, we have medicalized and institutionalized our dying and dead, um, rather than made it a human, community centered process like it's been since the dog, since the dawn of time. So having that realization, um, was definitely a huge impetus. And while it was that idea in the middle of the night, I realized, wow, like, this is a real need that, that the community has and I'm willing to give it a try. So I'm just so grateful and humbled to be part of it because nobody should die alone. Nobody should die in isolation. And nobody should feel pressured to end their life because they don't have resources or support or because they're afraid of that isolation. So it's just amazing to be a solution to those situations.

Speaker A: Awesome. And Miles, I love if you could also share why was it important for you to, um, create this entire business model and service to your community, but to make sure that it was also offered free of charge?

Speaker B: Right? Yes. So we're part of the Omega Home Network, which links homes like this around the U.S. the idea for homes like this has really been around for, uh, many, many years, especially since the start of the hospice movement in, I want to say, the 50s. Um, so homes like this had been an idea, but then slowly hospice became medicalized. And there's some advantages to that, of course, but, um, the idea of community caring for their own dying community members was something that kind of got lost through the time in the bureau, bureaucratizing and, um, uh, corporatizing of, of the end of life care. Yes. Realizing that humans have been doing this for so long, and I guess just from my heart, I didn't want people to have to worry about whether. Whether or not they could afford dignity, whether or not they could afford, um, quality end of life care. I, um, wanted people to have that burden off of their shoulders so that they could focus on what's most important in the end of life, which isn't, am I going to be able to pay this bill? Is my family going to have to pay for this, that type of thing? How horrible that people who are just about to leave this world have that kind of looming in the back of their minds. And that's definitely an inspiration for it. And I'm just wild enough to believe that other people have the same belief as me and want this for their community members. And sure enough, it's true. Because here we are about a year, um, into it, and we've cared for over 60 people, um, since April of 2020, uh, 25. So it's definitely working. And there are others that think like this. I think most people think like this. You know, nobody wants. And as they think of themselves dying or being in that position, it's also an investment into their future because they may be in the situation that the person they're caring for today is in. So it's good for them, it's good for the people we're caring for now. It's good for the future. We need homes like this all over. We just don't have the same Strong community support that we did, um, say a hundred years ago. And now, um, I guess it becomes a blessing for us that it becomes strangers that become like family members, um, to step in on behalf of those who don't have families or don't have enough family support.

Speaker A: Well, again, I was inspired just after learning about you, but then after our first conversation and I started, um, learning more. Um, again, I, I appreciate just the path that you're, you're leading. I would say, honestly, this isn't even, um, this is bigger than healthcare is. What I would call it at this point is dignity. And again, I love the way you put it. I mean this is the way it was before all of the business of healthcare really started to kick in. So, truly inspired, Miles, by the work that you and your team are doing. Um, and I noted as well, so you said, you know, you're hitting, uh, you've crossed, I guess at this point, your one year anniversary for nonprofits and I share with you, I've worked with a number of groups, um, just kind of coaching them through their business models and strategies and things like that. But, um, from my experience, you know, that first year as a nonprofit, it isn't a growth year. It is a, you know, is this a proven idea? Can we, can we maintain? Can we exist? Um, we'd love to maybe get you to speak on that. What has year one, um, taught you and your team so far? Anything specific that you've learned about business, about yourself and just, um, just overall, you know, impact to make sure we have a business model that can survive and support the community the way that you're envisioning.

Speaker B: Wow. Yeah, absolutely. This. If I knew what I was getting into, I don't know that I would have made the leap. I, I've never been an executive director before. I've always, um, been primarily like a frontline worker. There was a time, um, in my teenage years where I would kind of have this entrepreneurial idea and especially in outreach and just helping people who are underserved and such. Um, so that's always been there. But to make this leap and to start an organization that's just bound to grow, um, and to endure that first year with all of the curveballs, uh, and unexpected things. Um, I love that you highlighted the self discovery. I think that's been the biggest part of this, is realizing that there's things in me, um, that needed development to be the executive that an organization like this needed. Um, so that personal development has been huge. And I'm so grateful, Jarvis, that You're in the field of coaching. I think everybody, um, who's in business should have a coach, should have a mentor to walk them through so they aren't unprepared. I happen to wait almost the whole year before getting one. Um, but our board of directors was, was pretty astounding, uh, and definitely helped. So, um. Yeah. Does that, does that answer the question? It's just been a wild ride. I'll put it that way. This first year has been a wild ride.

Speaker A: Yeah, no, I mean, it definitely touches on it. I would like to ask Miles, just for the benefit of our audience, you know, I'll share with you that, uh, many of our audience listeners are, um, either healthcare and wellness entrepreneurs, similar, uh, kind of to the two of us, um, or they are leaders that are still in corporate organizations that may be considering, like, should I start something on my own or, you know, whatever that entrepreneurial vision, um, could be that they would have had at their different moments in their path, similar to what you may have had before starting. Um, I'm just curious. Can, can you share maybe one or two just lessons learned, like, oh, I wish I knew that. That, that situation kind of stretched me thin and I figured it out and I bounced back. And I mean, we, we all. I've had that moment. Miles myself were like, why did I start this? You know, it'd be easier to just go work at McDonald's or something. But have you had kind of one of those moments or experiences just again, so our audience can kind of see what the journey of, ah, a healthcare entrepreneur starts to look like?

Speaker B: Okay. Yeah, absolutely. I have been stretched thin so many times in the last year, it's hard to point out one of them. Um, one of the strengths to endure those moments of feeling like, taking the easy road, um, maybe even a few points. Number one is faith. For me, it's faith in God, but faith that this mission is needed and that people really do need it. Um, and holding on to that and realizing that the ups and downs are really a normal part of the process and journey. And if it's meant to be, it will be. And if it's not, then to let. Uh, this has been on my mind a lot. And, um, when I get to those moments is if this is meant to be, then no matter how hard I try even to have this fail, it's not going to fail because it's going to continue. It's going to work out. Somebody will come in to replace me even. Right. Um, on the other hand, um, in the hopeful sense which is what I'm doing today will be enough. It might not get, I might not get everything off the list that I had, you know, off that checklist that I wanted to get done for the day, but it was enough and it is making a difference. And the next day will come and I'll be able to get the net of those things off the list that I didn't get the day before. And to just keep moving forward and to roll with it, to not let those emotions, um, in the moment, um, be my decision making force, you know, not to make decisions in the heat of those moments, to make sure to sleep beforehand. And um, and then that leads to the next thing. So there's that faith aspect of, um, trusting that this will continue if it's meant to be, and trusting that if it doesn't, then I can move on to the next thing. And that would be okay too, right? Not to grasp, but to really just be, to be open and uh, humble about it. It's okay to fail, right? It's okay if this didn't work out. I've tried other things in the past and they didn't work out. Um, it's nice to know that they're not going to work out earlier and to prepare and to look ahead and to think, um, do I have what it takes? What, um, is it going to take to start this organization or uh, outreach, whatever it is. Thinking ahead before even launching is also definitely a good approach. One that I lack. I just kind of jump in. But this has worked out. Um, and one of the reasons that it's worked out is the second point, which is having the right people they're supporting, um, that can be coach. It can be, especially in the nonprofit world, a great board of directors, um, for me, my amazing wife who supports me every step of the way, even, um, despite the many, many hours it, it's costing away from the family and such. Um, so I would say those two things.

Speaker A: Well, um, Miles, again, I appreciate you sharing those thoughts. And um, you know, my, my personal experience that I think aligns with yours as an entrepreneur is, um, exactly what you said, you know, what's meant to be. As a business owner and entrepreneur, what's meant to be is going to be and what's not will figure out. You know, it's going to come to us when, when it's time. Um, and the only real failure is really when you stop. I mean, as long as you can bounce back and try something different tomorrow, um, you, you get to learn a lot. So that personal Professional development. To me, it's on steroids as a business owner and entrepreneur. And I just personally wish, you know, all of our healthcare leaders and wellness leaders out there, um, can have the chance to experience it, even if it's just like a small side thing to the, to their main things. But again, I just love calling out those experiences. Miles, just for any of our listeners that are thinking, um, hopefully that it just inspires them to take a shot. Um, there's, there's no failure, there's no risk. I think the big risk is not going for it. That's all.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And the reward of giving it a try is huge. For just for the sake of the self knowledge, there is so much potential for those that are open and willing to look at themselves when they're in these really tough situations. Just becoming a better human, becoming who God really made us to be, just in that in itself is totally worth the risk. It's hard, it's painful. Um, and sometimes it is the, the amazing supports that will come around and say things blatantly and in a hard way, uh, and those failures will just stare you in the face. But those are those moments that are opportunities to go into the soul and to draw out who we really are and who we're meant to be. Who we're meant to be. So it's worth just for that.

Speaker A: No. Very well said. And, um, I, I know from reading your bio on your website that you also have kids. Um, I have young kids. And just this journey I feel has made, you know, to your point, a better person, a better father. Um, I get to, you know, teach my kids about entrepreneurship and inspire them to hopefully create something of their own, uh, as they continue to get older. So, uh, a lot of great reasons to do it. So, um, Miles, again, I appreciate you letting me go down that path, but I would like to pivot just a little bit and maybe talk business a little bit with you and business strategy, because that's, you know, part of my goal with these conversations is to spotlight healthcare business leaders like yourself. Um, if there's anything that we can discuss or share that just helps you all continue to take some more steps forward. That's the goal. So would you be okay if we kind of shift into a different tone for the conversation?

Speaker B: Sure, absolutely. Let's go for it.

Speaker A: All right, fantastic. Well, um, as you know, obviously, um, Miles, you completed a short assessment, uh, for my audience, all of our business leaders. Now, just to make sure I don't sit here and talk forever because I geek out on all these conversations, um, I've asked all of our guests to complete a short assessment, to give me some background info, uh, some of the highlights miles that you shared. First, I do want to say your strategic foundations, um, are almost completely off the charts for most of the business owners that I bring on. You had very high scores just with the foundations of, of all the things you're building. You have a small team in place, about two to five people. You're not quite at some of your revenue goals. And I, I'm sure, pretty sure that'll be a, a good part of our conversation coming up. And it looks like donations are a big part of how you all maintain revenue and provide the free services that you provide. So I, I'd maybe love to, to learn a little bit more there because operationally it seems like you all are pretty solid. But for the donation flow, what's uh, I would maybe ask what's thin or predictable currently with your donation flow, your donation process. Hey, healthcare leaders, I hope that you're enjoying the show. Just popping in quickly to let you know that I'm on LinkedIn. So if we're not connected yet, then feel free to hit me up using the link in the show notes or, or by doing a quick search on LinkedIn for Jarvis T. Gray. After we connect, shoot me a dm, um, and let me know what you think about the show. All right, let's jump back into this episode.

Speaker B: Okay. Um, our operating cost with two full time employees comes out to be around 17,000amonth. That includes utilities, just everything. Um, the, the anticipated income, the regular income flow that we have is through sustaining donors and that's only around 4,000amonth. The rest just happens to come at the right time, through the right people, right place, right conversation, that type of thing. So it's very sporadic. Um, so I'd love to get to the point where we had gaining donations at least to meet the baseline. Right. So it's not a, not a leap of faith every month, although that is the opportunity for that self knowledge and personal growth. But uh, I want us to get to the point where the board of directors is feeling comfortable. You know, we'd love to have another home like this too. So to get that financial stability with monthly donors, um, we just open up more opportunities, whether it's for more staff or uh, we just make us all feel a lot better and be able to sleep a little, a little smoother at night. So.

Speaker A: All right, perfect. And currently are most of your donors, are they one time donors? Are they repeat donors.

Speaker B: The biggest donors or the. Yeah, the biggest source of donors are through one time donors. We do get every once in a while again through relationships. What does the background noise, um, our biggest donations have, um, come through meeting the right person at the right time who happened to be part of let's say a family foundation for um, another foundation and the income that can. Maybe we should wait until those. Yeah, they're backing right up to get our trash. So we can. Wait a second.

Speaker A: Uh, you would go outside on trash day, Miles?

Speaker B: Why not?

Speaker A: Um, there's no problem at all. I can edit around all of this so there's no trouble. Yeah. Let me jump in with a new question just to again, I want to make sure I understand your current situation. Um, how much time and let's just say maybe average per month. Um, how much time do you spend, uh, fundraising for an R?

Speaker B: My goodness. Um, it's hard to say. So I wear all the hats. That's one of the problems is I'm not able to get out into the community as often as I would like. So speaking arrangements and such happen sporadically, um, and not on that regular basis. The thing where most of the connections happen is through giving home tours. So there's another truck coming by. So giving home tours is kind of the biggest way that I found fundraising has, has worked. And again that's just through the relationship building aspect. Um, but going back to all the hats I wear on any given day, I'm normally doing both the caregiver for all of our guests. So I've got that role. Um, and then scanning through the email. Sometimes I have to work in the kitchen of getting the food ready, doing the dishes. Um, so that's one of the big challenges is where to spend the limited time that I have. Number one is taking care of the guests. And you know, I might be in the middle of writing an email or even a phone call and then if I get that bell from one of our guests that they need something, then that get, it gets interrupted and changed. And sometimes it's not just a little thing, it can be fairly time consuming, um, or if the dishes, you know, build up. So the, the main thing towards the fundraising that we're working on is getting the board of directors, uh, to realize that that needs to be our priority. And that has happened this last meeting, um, is exactly what happened. So I'm really excited that they're going to be able to step into that role. But it also helps them realize how limited I am on time, which then prompts them to think of the importance and value of adding more staff. Even though that's a cost, it's also an investment because then it would free me more. Free, uh, up to be out in the community. So we are adding right now, believe it or not, Jarvis, we only have two staff, um, myself and Rosa, who's our program, um, director and also wears multiple hats. Um, but we're pretty much one of us is on shift all the time. So she's off, then I get on and maybe there's an overlap and we kind of connect there briefly. Um, but we're having a third staff, um, a like facilities manager, operations manager. Um, so that's going to open up some more time and we can kind of spread that 24, 7, um, load a bit easier between us because of all the nonprofits I started, I went with one that's 24, seven. You know, there, there's no on, off switch. So my hours are crazy, you know, over 24 hour shifts at times.

Speaker A: Yeah. All right. Well, no, and I'm glad I did ask that, uh, again, just with some of the feedback from, uh, that you provided, my gut kind of felt that that may be the case. And this is a normal problem that I do want to call out for, um, business owners. Um, a lot of times we struggle to balance how much time we spend in the business versus on the business. So that, um, again, I'm glad I asked that. Now I will say, um, that that's a challenge, Miles, without kind of having a deeper coaching relationship with you. That's a challenge that I just want to call out is we do have to figure out how to build out, um, a really good fundraising system, but a disciplined one. So, you know, every day or every week, every month, you have dedicated some standard amount of time to fundraise. Because, um, from my notes you noted that a goal for, you know, I'll, ah, call it revenue, but revenue on the form of fundraising or whatever gifts coming into the, into your company, um, at about 50,000amonth. You've already noted 17k per month in operating expenses. So, you know, we want to make sure you, you can meet costs and start to build a reservoir of, you know, rainy day funds. So I do like the 50k a, uh, month goal just to, to set that up. Now how do we get it? We start to dedicate time to fundraising. What kind of funds are we raising? This is just me kind of breaking down my thoughts ahead of time for you. But a 50k month starts to look like, you know, if you have 200 recurring donors just giving $100 a month, that's 20k right out the gate. So that at least helps cover, you know, your 17k operating expense. And then maybe we can get 50 of those one time donors doing about 200amonth. That's an additional 10k. Um, and uh, this will be a question in just a moment, but I'm just projecting if we can get at least two corporate donors giving $5,000 a month, that's an additional 10k. And then two grants or major gifts coming in the form of again about 5,000amonth, that's an additional 10k. So that system right there creates a $50,000 month for your organization. Um, but let me, let me stop there. I mean just any of those categories feel fairly accessible or achievable just in your current, you know, flow of work.

Speaker B: I love those ideas and I love that goal And I think 50, that would make sense, especially with, with our desire to grow and the fact that really none of us are um, making a sustainable income as well. So that um, would, to that point, which would be wonderful. But yeah. So how to get there? Um, your breakdown does make sense. Um, I'm not really sure where to go on how to get more monthly donors. I put out a newsletter and I have the link there. Um, I posted on Facebook every once in a while on our social media and such and even to our volunteers who are, you know, the most, uh, committed supporters. Yeah, so that's a real challenge. And then the corporate donors. I'm not really sure where to start. I've tried reaching out to or I have reached out to every hospice that works with us. Um, maybe my approach isn't the best, but to ask them to step up because we're doing them a favor a lot of times because they wouldn't be able to take on some of the patients that they do unless there was a home like ours to make it possible.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: So, um, but there's so many hospices in town. Um, there's over 20. All of them are referring to us.

Speaker A: Okay.

Speaker B: Uh, I think it makes it hard for one of them to say, yeah, I'm willing to put this much in a month. Um, and then some of them are startups themselves and things. Some of them are larger corporations. I've been surprised that some of the larger corporations have given the least, you know, or the uh, the other ones have, have been more generous. So, um, but looking outside of the hospice world and I'm not quite sure where to start, um, for grants we do have a pro bono grant writer who is amazing. And we do have some goals in that regard. I just learned that the city may have some funds that we could be eligible for. Um, so learning how to tap into that would, I think, ah, make a lot of sense too.

Speaker A: So one of this is just my thought process. And again, this is, this is why I geek out on these conversations, Miles. Because now it's just, let's, let's have fun and kind of be creative in our thinking. But um, I would say number one, just for each one of those different segments, I would say let's have specific strategies. So here's our strategy for getting recurring donors. Here's our strategy for getting one time donors. Here's our strategy for corporate sponsors. Um, all of these, I would say, um, let's think on a national scale. So, uh, uh, uh, a tried and true strategy that I use with all of my clients. Um, this is like one of the first things we do when we start working together. So I'm giving this because I know you are working with a coach. So hopefully you guys can build on this. Um, first let's make sure you have a client avatar. So that's a question. Do you, do you guys already have a client avatar built?

Speaker B: No, we don't.

Speaker A: Okay, perfect. So a client avatar. And you can google this or you know, let's follow up and I can send you some more information. But basically it's, it's the perfect client that we want to serve. What does that person start to look like? So just basic information around their demographics, but most importantly will be information around their psychographics. So, um, why would this person choose an or, or their family members? I'm sure the family members are really going to be the key avatars to build out. But why would they choose a nora? Why would they not choose a nora? What are they looking for? What are their goals? What are their desires? What are their fears? Right. We want to, we want to have a general sense of all of these things. But then in addition to that kind of. So start with the avatar. But now what are the products and services that they need before they come to us, while they're here with us and after they're done, uh, working with us. Right. So those three levels before, during and after that actually becomes a list of those different types of organizations. And notice I did say products and services. So like, and I'm making it up, but if there is a certain product of, um, adult diapers that you all may use to provide care while your patients are bedridden. For example, like that brand of diapers could now potentially be a sponsor for you all, um, whether they are donating some of their products or again, investing directly as a donation into the business. Um, but we want to make the most massive list possible for any of the products and services that our clients need before, during and after they work with us. And then we start to decipher which of these organizations can we reach out to. And again, maybe it's pro bono things that they're donating some of their products or some of their services. Maybe they're giving us free marketing time, you know, or most importantly, maybe they're just writing checks because these corporate entities at that level, they, you know, if they're aligned with the same clients that you're serving, they're probably going to be really quick to write you a check. So let me, let me stop there and just ask if that, that makes sense or any thoughts about that? Any questions?

Speaker B: No, I love that idea. I will definitely, um, do that and like you said, run it by my coach too. And I love that you're willing, uh, to, to speak, uh, with me or give people resources about it. Yeah. Dreaming up that client, when you were first saying it, I was thinking, well, it might not be the person that we're serving that would be the one to bring in those funds. But then as you started to kind of paint the picture more and to think about who are the people that they're interacting with before they come to us, during and after. Then it just opened up these horizons of beforehand. I mean, it's the whole medical system, the hospitals, um, the nearby hospitals, uh, definitely during are those hospice organizations. But like I said, that hasn't really gotten too many places. Um, and then those products, most of the products that we get, they are, they do come through hospice through the benefits. So that includes like the adult diapers, like you're saying. Um, but I'm going to be pondering that more. Maybe grocery stores, you know, for the food, things like that. So, and then afterwards, I mean, the grief support to the family. And one thing with this homes that they found out, again, sorry for the background last one of who, who do they need after they're with us? Um, these homes find that one of the biggest, um, source of donors and volunteers is through family members of those that we cared for. So who, who are those organizations? Corporations. And then even for us, what can we do better to engage with those family members after they leave? So, yeah, I love that.

Speaker A: Uh, I'll share an Example with you, I had a previous client based in Jacksonville, Florida who provided in home hospice care. She had a small team and they would just go sit in the homes and just provide care to that family member until their time. Um, one idea just to highlight what the after could start to look like is that when we identified a lot of the things that happened afterwards, obviously funeral homes and you know, just the post care process, the death care process that happens after that, um, she started developing these packages for family members that included, um, you know, like photo albums of their loved ones, journals so they can write about their feelings. So it was more like on the mental health side of, uh, grief, uh, grief management, um, and everything. So. And what she started doing was just selling this as a normal part of her business so that even if people didn't do business with her, they could still purchase these grief packages after a loss. And so again, just think like there's so many different opportunities. But that's just a quick example. And that right there just helped her bring extra dollars into her company to balance, you know, and help offset different, uh, cost factors. But, um, no, I'm hopefully that is going to be super helpful and trust me, like the brainstorming that I think you guys are going to be able to start doing when you start to see all of that, um, it comes in, um, pretty helpful. Um, I did want to ask on, on top of everything that we just talked about now, do you all have anything in place? I will call around the systems part of your business development. So standard monthly campaigns or storytelling opportunities. Have you kind of systematized some of your marketing capabilities there?

Speaker B: I would say we have not systematized it. I take advantage of those opportunities. There's a great story from the home and such or from one of our volunteers. So I do, I do that and I do have kind of a blog that's in place. Uh, but even with our newsletters, it's almost like, oops, it's that time. I better just get to it. But it's not actually, um, organized. So yeah, it's all erratic right now. And part of it is just because all the hats I wear.

Speaker A: Yes, sir.

Speaker B: Uh, but the other part is I'm good with the idea generating and the visionary. Um, but I'm not as good with the follow through. Um, so with this new team member that we have that we just added on, um, she took a Colby test and we found out that she is good with follow through. Um, so, and, and she enjoys things like social media, she's organized, um, so that goes back to having the right people in the right places. And I just thank God that I think she's coming to us at just the right time. She'll be starting full time. Um, m. We'll be able to help us in those areas. And I can make this a priority too because we need to, as the board of directors is doing the, the funding side and in reaching and that kind of strategizing for, for reaching the. The people that are following us are growing that following too.

Speaker A: All right, fantastic. Well, no, again, um, I'm, um, glad we're having this part. And again, I recognize the, the bandwidth struggle that you're going to have to balance. Um, so I'm glad to hear you do have a team member coming. Um, work this out. I guess when she gets set up and you know, kind of gets into a work rhythm. Um, again, the takeaway here would just be around creating systems for donations is the connecting piece that I'll, um, kind of shoot for. Um, and for me. So when we say systems is actually an acronym which stands for saving you stress, time, energy and money. So now what are the systems that we can start to build that will allow for monthly donor campaigns? And the secret is it's marketing. So now do we have the systems put in place so that we can continuously nurture? You mentioned the follow up. That's the nurturing process for any of our donors or corporate partners. Are you all leveraging, uh, a CRM currently for your business?

Speaker B: No, we're not.

Speaker A: All right. And again, I never promote them online, but I do have a couple that I personally love and I'm happy to share those. But let's look at a system, a CRM type that could do some of that in an automated way. And then what are the things that will require you, Miles, because nobody's going to quote, unquote, sell the business as well as you. Um, but what, what do you need to do? Whether it's putting on, I'll just say dinners or workshops or events locally to pull people in. But, um, a marketing strategy perhaps to keep in mind is that there are only three ways to market your business and that's through creating a movement, spotlighting a lifestyle, or highlighting a, uh, transformation. And I think really with the heart centered work that you all are doing right now, you could probably build a storyline around any of those three. But specifically mission, you know that that movement that you all are creating, I think by offering free hospice services that, I mean that's going to attract a lot of attention if that was the only lever that you all leveraged. Um, that should be very powerful. But that structure behind it, having a CRM and a team member that can kind of manage that process and having standard campaigns, I would say at a minimum, monthly campaigns, that is, Those are just my initial thoughts of where I would try to point you all. Okay, um, ah, again, let me, let me stop there. Any thoughts or questions about any of that?

Speaker B: No, that makes a lot of sense. And you're right, I mean our story does sell itself, right? I mean it's. Every one of us is going to be in that position where we need good end of life care. At least we'll long for it. Once we, once, once we're in that hospital bed and we're like, oh wow, why didn't I invest in a home like this? Now here I am without the family support or, and I'm into this nursing home and nobody's visiting me. And those types of things, where I could have been in this home if I could have made it possible. The, the movement, the highlighting stories, all of those things. I think those two of those strategies make a lot of sense. The CRM, um, investing in that and doing some uh, some growth in that area thing could help. And yeah, monthly campaign, I think that's a no brainer. It's just a matter of having the right person to take that on. And for me, once, once we have this uh, these two team members in place and we're not just in over our heads with crazy hours, like over 70 for me, over a hundred hours a week type of thing, um, then we can kind of balance and share that load and then we can all fit into that niche where each of us are thriving and uh, bringing and operating from that place of best and from excellence. Like the name of your podcast.

Speaker A: So well, and I love to talk about, um, love to talk about your people fit really quickly as well because you noted, you know, just another opportunity there is finding the right people. Um, goes without saying from my experience, Miles, that mission driven organizations like yours, I would honestly say culture matters a thousand times more than just resumes. Because what you're doing is so personal, so heart driven. Um, my question here is have you established a clear, uh, hiring philosophy, so principles around the kind of people and so forth that you really want to be bring into your team?

Speaker B: I would say not on paper very clearly. Although when I put out this um, job opportunity for this third person, it definitely spilled into that or did express itself on the paper, but kind of a behind the scenes paper to guide not as much. We do have, um, values in our home. Um, um, so in the presentation where we're looking for the right people, we do see if they meet those values. And we say outright, we hire for heart more than anything else.

Speaker A: Okay, nice.

Speaker B: Yeah. Because without the heart, not only are they not going to be able to be operating in their best, but they may be, um, burnt out fairly quick. Because end of life, it's, it's not natural and easy for everyone. Right. It could be, um, fairly straining and wearing. Especially in these early stages when we're wearing so many hats, if they don't have the heart and the passion, then it's going to be hard to overcome those times when, you know, we have to carry, carry extra weight and such, um, to get through. So, uh, so I would say, yeah, I know who I'm looking for, but I don't have it, um, totally in place. And our board of directors has kind of proven that, that who I'm looking for is getting into those right positions too. So, so it is there, but it's not systematized, um, or written down.

Speaker A: Okay. And I, in all fairness, I see this. Maybe it's, it's a next level goal, just following some of the strategies and things we've already talked about. But, um, the way that I will frame it out is a hiring process that is truly built around our hiring philosophy. And I love that you've already stated, you know, we hire for Hart. So what does the hiring process look like to support appropriately hiring for Hart and to do it in a way where you are not kind of the pivot point or the barrier of the roadblock as a part of the process? Um, because, uh, Miles, the last thing I did want to touch on, just from some of the notes, was my question. I always ask what's holding you back from anything? And you just clearly said me. Um, so I'd love to maybe ask what, what do you mean by that? And is there anything specific you feel that you might be getting in your own way around?

Speaker B: Oh, yeah, let's see. Uh, I love this straight question. And it, it probably is the, uh, most powerful question. Uh, it as the executive, it as really the person that's been, um, the force, not just behind the grounds. And what's happening here also with the board of directors, I'm still kind of overseeing that. Um, because we don't have a chairperson in position right now. Um, yeah, I'm the naked or break it person. Um, so where do I get in the way? Well, knowing my Personality and thank God for my coach, he's helped me to see it. Um, one of the things about me is I'm a better way type of person. So I'm always thinking how can something be better? But what that can mean for the people around me is that what they're offering isn't enough. Right? Because it can be better. So in me I'm just thinking, yeah, I can improve this. Like we can reach more people or the presentation can be um, and just that word better. But realizing how that comes off to other people can be demeaning or can kind of take away the empowerment that they could have if I just let them roll with it. Even, even if it wasn't perfectly to my standards or even if it maybe didn't quite hit that mark that I was thinking. So that self innate awareness is huge. And also the contributing, um, I know I'm a contributor. So um, learning to not do everything and to let other people do it is also a big step. And that fits in with that same dynamic of uh, if I'm going to let them do it, then I really need to let them do it and not change it after they do it. I mean, if there's something really that really needs adjustment or such, you know, it doesn't line up with the philosophy in things, then by all means. But uh, for just general thing, the fixing a slide on a presentation or um, these little tweaks and stuff, just letting it be, uh, those are some, some things where I could get in the way, um, and prevent the growth. Um, yeah, those are the things that are, that come to my mind regarding where I can get in the way.

Speaker A: Well, and I noted this a little earlier in our conversation, Miles, again, founders are, they are so connected because this isn't just an idea. I mean you are the one that's you know, investing the blood, the sweat, the tears, the money to make this a thing. Um, but this is uh, this is my call out to you. And again, I love that you already got a coach because you know, you all can kind of take this conversation and move it forward. Um, is now my challenge to you is now trying to figure out how to transition from the operator to, and be the architect. Right. So I would say one of the best ways to start to make that transition is to make sure that you actually have standard operating procedures documented in your business. So now you are setting the standard for how you want things to operate, whether it is marketing and donations like we've been talking about, um, all the way down to the Patient care processes that, you know, you and your team, you're already doing it. But now can we find some time and set a simple goal? You know, one standard operating procedure per week, for example. But can we start taking time to identify what are the standards that I want this business to operate? Because we're, we're operating 24 7. So what are the standards? Let's document them. So now I can delegate them in a way that, you know, my team, they, they understand what the goals are and I don't have to. I can truly empower them to do it to the standard that I'm already defining for them. But that, that is kind of my, my quick take on that. But again, let me, let me stop there and get your thoughts before we slowly, uh, wrap up our time today.

Speaker B: Absolutely. Yeah. Um, SOPs are something from the VA, pretty familiar with. Just one of the blessings and I think non, um, accidental or intentional ways that helped prepare me for this type of position is that I did have exposure to those. Um, but I'm definitely no expert, but I know people who are and can maybe help me with it too. Um, so I see the wisdom in what you're saying because these things would allow me to be less hands on where I can just be in that visionary role and let other people do the details. See how my coaches said the more, um, responsibility that I have, the less responsibilities I should have. So passing those things on to um, these oncoming staff especially and continuing to work towards having caregiving staff so that um, in the long run, I'm not even doing any of that in those nighttime shifts and everything are covered, uh, all related to the funding. But in the meantime, how are we going to get there unless I start writing some of these procedures in place? So, yeah, thanks for that wisdom, Jarvis.

Speaker A: All right now, thank you for, thank you for listening and accepting it. Um, you know, just kind of wrap us up. I always kind of like to give my 90 day challenge to all of my guests. And these are basically, you know, this is me again kind of putting on my coaching hat to say, okay, for the next 90 days, Miles, this is where you, you know, these some uh, success points that I will project out there. But, um, without a doubt, I think launching into a recurring donor can campaign first, um, again. And maybe this is one of the things, once your new team member gets up and running, you guys work through the details of what this starts to look like. I would also say let's figure out how to get two corporate sponsors locked in. And again, maybe the Right now task is to create the avatar and identify, create a uh, massive list of the products and services that your people, your clients need before, during and after working with you. And then let's pull out two corporate sponsors from M that list that can help you get some more sustainable, um, donations coming in. I would say let's figure out a standard cadence for storytelling and quote unquote marketing for anora. And then one standard operating procedure per month right now, at least until you get into a rhythm of identifying and documenting your SOPs. Let's just get one per month. So at least in 12 months from now you, you got at least 12 SOPs and 12 opportunities to uh, delegate responsibility to, to others, whether they're some of your volunteers or your, your full time team members. But that would be kind of my 90 day prescription for you. Um, and just before we close out, always love to get a reflection question going. And um, when you think about a year from now, let's just say some of the strategies that we've talking about, some of the strategies you're already working on with your board and with your own coach Miles. If everything starts to line up, you guys have stable funding, you have balanced leadership and maybe there's a chance to even start to expand into a second home. Um, what does that mean for families there in New Mexico? What does, what does that vision start to look like for you?

Speaker B: Oh yeah, absolutely. You know, we've cared for people all around New Mexico, from far up near the border of Colorado, um, in Raton, to uh, the Arizona border and the Gallup area with some of the reservations, um, and south of Albuquerque and Berlin and Socorro. So we, by changing the culture, by planting this little seed in the middle of the state, which is where Albuquerque is, there's the potential to change the very way that we're looking at death and dying. The way that we're talking about it, the way that we're thinking about it, um, in a way that's going to make it not so scary and something that's more human. I look at death as a once in a lifetime opportunity. You know, it's, it's an amazing, powerful uh, thing that we're all gonna go through and only, only um, go through it one time. And in order to get that right for the most amount of people, we just need more options. And I can't think of a better option than a home like Anora, at least within an hour drive commute of every community in this state and eventually beyond that, you know, where everybody has this option. And it's community members helping community members in that hardest and most powerful time of life, along with not just the dying person, but their loved ones, too. To know that they aren't alone in this journey, that they have support, that they have friends, that they have family members in a sense, who are there to journey with them, um, um, and to catch the things that they're too overwhelmed to think about it. You know, that we're there to bring that stability, that knowledge and that home, um, to them and take that off of their shoulders so that it can be everything that it needs to be.

Speaker A: That's a fantastic vision. Um, Miles, I'm praying, um, for your success and the impact that you are looking to make. Really, um, appreciate you just building a business model that truly, uh, I would say just truly honors life at its most valuable moment. So, really, again, inspired by what you're doing, um, for all of our audience members, we appreciate you making the Excellence in Health Care podcast part of your day. Um, on behalf of Miles, this is Jarvis. And hopefully you all will gain a ton of value out of the vision that Miles is building and are inspired to take the next steps in your own entrepreneurial journeys. So, again, until next time, this is Myles and Jarvis, and we're officially signing off.

Speaker B: Thanks, everyone. Thanks, Jarvis.

Speaker A: Hey, thanks again for joining the conversation. I hope that at least one major aha, uh, moment brightened your day. If it did, here's what I'd love

Speaker B: for you to do next.

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