March 25, 2025 • 30 mins
What happens when we stop doing the activities that once brought us joy? For many aging adults, this gradual disconnection from favorite pastimes often leads to isolation, cognitive decline, and diminished quality of life. Enter Brian Blotner of Silver Stage Motivators, who's created a revolutionary approach to eldercare focused on rekindling joy through meaningful engagement.
After 25 years in disaster cleanup, Brian's life took an unexpected turn when three people close to him died during COVID. While caring for his dying father, he discovered his true calling: motivational companionship. "I try and get my clients back to doing what they used to do," Brian explains. "If they used to go fishing, I take them fishing. If they used to cook, I get them to cook."
What makes Brian's approach unique is its intentional structure. By visiting clients roughly four hours weekly, he creates something precious they can anticipate: "Oh, it's Thursday, Brian's coming tomorrow. We're going to go bowling." This anticipation itself becomes therapeutic, combating the downward spiral that accompanies isolation. As Brian eloquently puts it, "You don't stop laughing when you grow old. You grow old when you stop laughing."
Though most clients are in their 80s, Brian works with people as young as 33 with special needs, creating personalized experiences that range from fishing trips to Eagles concerts. His services extend to various living situations—from private homes to memory care facilities—throughout Bergen and Rockland Counties. The common thread? Building genuine connection through active engagement rather than passive caregiving.
Ready to bring joy back to an aging loved one's life? Visit silverstagemotivators.com or call 845-422-6254 to learn how Brian's unique approach to companionship might be the missing piece in your elder care puzzle.
Silver Stage Motivators
Brian Blotner
(845) 422-6254
silverstagemotivators.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Doug Drohan.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of
the Good Neighbor Podcast inBergen County brought to you by
Bergen Neighbors Media Group.
Today I'm joined by BrianBlattner of Silver Stage
Motivators.
Brian holds a score here.
He and I know each other from alot of senior care networking
events.
Brian is from right up over theborder.
I'm like three miles fromRockland County and that's where
(00:32):
Brian's from.
So, brian, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Thank you for having me Doug Appreciate it.
Happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yeah, thank you for joining us.
And Silver Stage Motivators.
So are you a personal trainer?
Silver stage motivators?
Are you a personal trainer?
Are you in the antique business, helping people motivate them
to sell their silver?
What is silver stage motivators?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I do non-medical motivational companionship for
aging adults and need-basedindividuals.
Basically, I try and get myclients back to doing what they
used to do.
So if they used to go fishing,I take them fishing.
If they used to cook, I getthem to cook.
If they used to go to the horsestable, I take them to the
horse stable.
It's pure engagement and realmotivation for my clients.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Wow.
So how did you get into thisbusiness?
What kind of motivated you orwhat was your aha moment to say,
hey, you know, I think this isa need, this is a service that
people need.
Like, what was your motivationbehind being a motivator?
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Yeah, well, that's a great question.
So I had another business for25 years.
I did a flood damage cleanupand mold remediation.
So, my father was anentrepreneur, he was an
executive recruiter.
He started his own business.
So I kind of just followed inhis footstep, created my own
business, which was my other one, and then after about 25 years,
it started to eat away at me,the old business you know it was
(01:56):
24, seven.
It was, you know, a lot ofliability, breaking down walls,
getting rid of mold, and whatreally the impetus of me getting
out of it was when COVID hit.
Three people close to me passedaway within seconds One of my
full-timers, someone that usedto work for me, their son worked
for me, he passed away and mylandlord's son, all in their
(02:20):
late forties and in their midfifties.
And and so I said to myself youknow, I'm not enjoying what I'm
doing anymore and life is short.
I just you know what.
You don't know what's going tohappen around the corner.
So so I decided to sell theother business.
So I sold it, not forretirement money, it was a small
business but I decided what doI want to do?
(02:41):
And my favorite part of theother business was meeting the
clients, making them feelcomfortable.
You know I was going intoemergencies their house was
flooded or they had mold orthere was a fire and I loved
meeting them, getting to knowthem and making them feel
comfortable and just you knowthat they're in a safe place
working with me.
(03:02):
So when I sold the business, Ijust started.
I didn't know what I was goingto do and I just started looking
around and seeing things aboutworking with people, and I saw
this word companion somewhereand I was like huh companion.
But most of the companions outthere work for home health aid
companies and you know they'remore medical and they, you know
(03:25):
they'll play cards.
But I'm I'm non medical, I'mnot, you know, trained in that.
So I just started to kind ofcreate.
Oh, let me go back for one quicksecond.
While COVID was happening, myfather, unfortunately, was
passing away, not COVID, he wasjust, you know, it was getting
time and I became hismotivational companion.
(03:48):
You know, I try and get him tolaugh, I take him out to do fun
things, give him a little bit ofquality of life while he was
declining.
So I didn't know what I wasdoing at that point.
I was just doing what I did asa son to make him happy and
smile.
And then again I saw the wordcompanion.
I was just Googling and I waslike huh companion.
(04:11):
And so what happened was I juststarted kind of gearing it
towards what I can do.
You know, I want to makesomebody smile, I want to make
somebody happy, I want to getthem to do things that they want
to do.
I wasn't from the adults, youknow, the senior community
worked.
I, when I was younger, Ivolunteered at a nursing home,
(04:31):
but you know.
So I just kind of createdsomething for me what I can do
and what I feel I would havebeen the best at, would be the
best at, and that's kind of howI kind of fell into it.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Wow, I mean that's uh , it's funny that you sold your
business but not knowing whatyou were going to do next.
I mean that's pretty bold.
You have a family, right,you're a father.
So to say, yeah, I'm sellingthe business, it's not, I'm not
selling it for five, $10 million.
It's not like I'm kicking back,correct.
But I guess you just were donewith it and figured you'd find
(05:08):
your next calling.
I guess that's that's prettybold.
I mean that's you know.
One of the things you you knowwith an entrepreneur is you're
definitely a risk taker.
To say, I'm going to go off onmy own and try something, uh,
without getting a steadypaycheck, because you believe in
yourself, you believe in whatyou're doing to the point where
you're willing to do that andyour family kind of buys into it
(05:28):
or trust you.
So that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
And they did, and that was a great thing.
My wife was behind me.
I still have one daughterthat's in college, and again I
did get some money from thebusiness.
So that was, like I called it,my college education.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
We were putting on that while I was getting it
going and, um yeah, so I have,I'm a big Seinfeld fan and I
have this episode my head whileyou're talking with, uh, you
know, with Jerry going to theguy's house who has the big
record collection, yeah, and uh,george getting oil rubbed on
(06:04):
his head and uh, elaine going tosee somebody who's got a big
goiter.
I mean, that's, that's, uh, I'mobviously, but it's, it's kind
of a funny, um, as you'retalking about having somebody to
just be a companion, that justyou know came up.
And I'm sure you know one ofthe things you hear about with,
um, you know, with seniors, andespecially if their spouse has
(06:25):
died, is that do I go to anassisted living community or do
I want to stay at home and agein place and stay at home?
And one of the bigger argumentsas to why they should go to a
community is for socialization,correct, and I guess what you're
doing is allowing that, thatperson and that family to feel
comfortable, that mom or dad,yeah, they're home, and maybe
(06:48):
that we have an aid that comesin to help them medically.
But you know, there's so muchto your quality of life that
comes from just being havingyour mind and your brain and
your senses stimulated.
So I guess you know is thatkind of where you come in.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Yeah, 100%.
I mean, it's all about givingsomething, giving people
something to look forward to.
So we all have something tolook forward to, right, we have
a party, we have this, somepeople, they watch TV, they go
to the doctor, they watch TV,they go to the doctor, and
that's their life.
And what happens is that's whenthe mental decline starts.
So part of my business model isI only see each client roughly
(07:30):
four hours a week, some less,but it's about four hours a week
.
Because the point is it's notif I go every day, it's it's not
exciting anymore.
Okay, coming, but what happensis they go.
Oh, it's Thursday, brian's.
Tomorrow's Friday, brian'scoming.
We're going to go out to eat.
You know we're going to gobowling.
(07:55):
You know we're going to go to amuseum.
So it gives them something tolook forward to.
So that's actually part of thebusiness model, not to.
You know, I've been asked tosee someone's parent more or
someone's spouse more and I sayit doesn't work.
You know, sometimes I'll gotwice a week, and I do go twice
a week if it's less time pertime that I go, but it's not.
(08:15):
You could feel it when you getthere because I was just there
two days ago, so it's not thatexciting.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
And it's not just going to their house, right?
You guys go bowling together.
You go to, you know sportingevents.
You just take them on littleyou know, I guess road trips or
yeah, road trips.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Right, you know I have insurance.
I'm allowed to drive my clientsto and from activities and
that's really what it's about.
You know, getting getting themout.
So my clientele, most of them,they have to be mobile and not
too far down the decline of, say, you know, alzheimer's or
dementia.
You know they're all therebecause that's what I do, but
(08:58):
you know they have to be able toget into my car because we have
to go places.
So you know there's that aspect.
You know, if they're too far,you know I've had clients that
have declined while I've beenwith them and then they've been
put into programs.
So I've I've lost them as aclient, unfortunately, but but
you know that's what I do.
I do want to say that I do havespouses.
(09:18):
You know I'm hired by, usuallyby the children, but it's
married couples.
Sometimes I work with the wife,sometimes I work because one of
the spouses is cognitivelydoing OK and the other one is
starting to decline.
So they want them to get outhave something you know, smile.
You know I tell jokes.
It's, you know it's pureengagement.
(09:42):
That's my thing.
I don't watch TV, you know Idon't.
You know, sit around If there'ssilence I get very upset.
You know, it's not a regularcompanion that you hear about.
That's there just to keep themsafe, right, right, it's to make
them think and make them havefun and look forward to the next
time they see me.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Right, and you talk a lot about positivity and the
positive effects of happinessand laughter and how that has an
effect on longevity.
You know you spoke about italready, but you know when your
mind is active and you'relooking forward to something.
I don't want to say there'ssomething to live for, but
there's certainly.
You know ways of how positivityelongates our lives and our
(10:27):
quality of life.
Is that something you?
It's kind of paramount to yourbusiness?
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Oh, absolutely.
You know, smiling to me iseverything.
There's a statement you don'tstop laughing when you grow old.
You grow old when you stoplaughing.
Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
I use that phrase.
I stole it from Don Henley fromthe Eagles.
But he says you don't stopplaying because you get old.
You get old because you stopplaying.
It's the same thing, yeahexactly, exactly that whole
young at heart song.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
And it's so true.
You know, we just have to, wejust have to stay young.
You know, I do a little.
I do a half hour PowerPointpresentation on positivity,
happiness and laughter.
That I do at independent livingresidences, assisted living
residences, and it's it's just,you know.
Living residences, assistedliving residences, and it's it's
just.
(11:19):
You know why we how to thinkpositive, why we think negative.
You know, I tell some dad jokesin there, I get them up to
dance a little bit and it's it'sa half an hour of them to to
smile and hear about the, thetanks in World War II, when they
, you know they get a lot oftalking about stuff like that.
I just want to make people smileand and enjoy life, for you
know cause?
Life is short, as we know.
(11:39):
And and we have to enjoy everyday.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Well, don't you know that it's worth every treasure
on earth to be young at heart?
I don't know who sang that song, but I remember that was in a
commercial when I was growing up.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Oh, I like that song, don't you?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
know that it's worth every treasure on earth to be
young at heart.
Well, anyway, here's myquestion Is there?
What does it take for a familyto trust you to come over, like,
how does the process work?
Okay, I recognize, you know, mydad's a little depressed, could
(12:11):
probably use some.
You know he used to like to gofishing or he used to like to,
you know, go for walks with, gofor walks with the dog.
Um, I don't have time, I don'tlive there.
My mom, you know, can't.
So where do you, where do theyfind you?
And how does the process workwhere you gain their trust
enough to say, okay, we're goingto have Brian come over, you
know, once a week take dad outfor four hours a day, or, you
(12:34):
know, just paint with him or goon walks, like, where?
How do you break down thatlevel of, of, you know, I guess,
skepticism and build that trust?
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Well, that's that's.
That's a great question.
Well, first of all, my businessis only me and I'm selling me.
So I'm not going in theresaying, you know, we do the
greatest work and then I send 10other people so we do me.
So that's one of my, that's oneof my biggest things.
So they, they have to know me,and the reason I doing it that
way is because I can trust me, Iknow me and I enjoy thoroughly
(13:08):
what I do and it makes me happy.
And once I start hiring people.
Now I'm just a business billsupposed to bill.
Doesn't show up.
I get a phone call.
That's not why I got into thisbusiness.
I got into this business tomake myself happy, the client
happy and the family happy,because I'm never hired by the
client by the way, it's always afamily member or spouse and I
(13:39):
do a.
Well, I have a personal intakeform where I ask questions about
them and they fill it out whatwere the activities they used to
do, what activities would theylike to do?
And then I have a free meeting.
So I do a free one-on-one withthe family member and the client
and they just get to know me,just Brian to the client.
(14:00):
They don't really know what Ido, I'm just a friend of the
family.
And then it's like oh hey, dad,would you like to see Brian
again?
Yeah, sure, so that's that'sreally how it works.
I always do the free one-on-onebecause I mean it's always work,
knock on wood.
But you know, once, once youknow, hopefully they meet me and
you know again, I'm full of, Itry and be full of life.
(14:23):
And I've had people that sayyou know my father or my you
know they're, they're kind ofangry and and I never get that
from them because I'm coming infrom a different angle, I'm
coming in from happiness.
Different angle I'm coming inright, missing fun, so I don't
(14:44):
see those sides of them.
Yeah, but that's how they gainthe trust they, you know it's
usually referral I get almostnothing from the internet.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
It's all just word based and, uh, word of mouth.
And then you said referral.
So you know somebody's hiredyou and they see the difference
in their um and their parent ortheir spouse and someone they
know is kind of going throughthe same thing and that's,
that's how it works.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Absolutely.
And again, they know I amcoming every week and I just
build such strong relationshipswith with the families and the
client.
You know it's it's hardsometimes because of what you
know what, what I see and whereit goes, but you know I love.
It's hard sometimes because ofwhat I see and where it goes,
but you know, I love it all thesame.
You know that's just there tomake their lives happier and and
(15:23):
in turn it's making my lifehappier.
So it's, it's kind of a win,win.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Now, do you only work with seniors, and what age is
considered a senior?
Like where does it start?
Have you ever had like an adultwho is maybe in their forties
or fifties, that you know isalone and maybe?
Well, you don't really workwith special needs, right?
So no very great question.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Yes, I do so, I have.
I have one client now who's 58,who has Asperger's.
So he's, you know he drives andhe just, you know socially, you
know he needs to, you know he'snot where we are socially.
So his family hired me to takehim out and he's a client that I
(16:04):
take to concerts.
He loves music.
So we've gone.
We've seen the Eagles, we'veseen ELO.
I'll go to Bergen Pack inEnglewood.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
That was the first concert I ever saw was ELO.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Oh, really Well.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Madison Square Garden there out of the blue tour.
Wow, look at that.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
Well, we just saw them a couple of months ago,
really Wow.
So so he's that I have a clientwho's actually 33 years old,
believe it or not, and he has,he has anxiety and he he was in
a, he's in a group home rightnow and he's trying to get back
into the world but he hasanxiety.
(16:40):
So he has his, his socialworkers and his medical team,
and it was brought up that hejust needs someone to go out
with and get him out.
And you know, talk about reallife things, and so so I see him
and you know we try and I tryand get him to the gym Again.
He has his anxieties, but we,just I, we try and try and make
him laugh and just be me andmake him feel comfortable, and
(17:04):
so so it really doesn't matterthe age, it's just, you know,
90% of my clients are are, youknow, my, my, my main range is
80 to 85.
You know, I have one 94 yearold, I have one who just turned
97 last week, um, but most arein their mid eighties.
(17:26):
I would say.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
So you started this business during COVID or after,
like when the restrictions kindof lockdowns kind of lifted.
Yeah, when the restrictionslifted.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
Yeah, it was kind of like right after I was
developing it, during it I wouldsay OK, and then, yeah, it got
going.
You know, I wasn't reallywearing masks once I started
doing it.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
And the reason I ask is because there was a lot of
isolation during that time.
And, um, you know, one of thethings I think you uh address is
the dangers of isolation,especially in an age of social
media, when everybody's, youknow, thinks that texting or DMS
is, is a human connection.
Um, now, I know that, uh, thatso the isolation.
(18:13):
So you you have, I don't know,have you written a lot of blogs?
Or, to the blogs that I've seenaddressing, you know, the need
for what you offer, Is thatother people written about this?
Or have you written thingsabout the need for companionship
and the benefits and thingslike that?
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Yeah, that's that's.
Other people have written itand I've kind of tweaked it for
my for myself, but it's veryimportant.
You know there's so much outthere about isolation and you
know the decline of, you know,of cognitive, you know the mind,
if you will.
When you know you're alonebecause you just it's, it's a
downward spiral, as I call it.
(18:51):
When you know you're alonebecause you just it's a downward
spiral, as I call it.
And you know all people need isthat human connection to be
listened to.
You know my job isn't always funand games.
You know I don't go fishingevery week with the client or I
don't go to the, you know, and alot of times it's just me with
the client.
You know, listening to them andwalking and and sometimes they
don't.
You know, listening to them andwalking and and sometimes they
(19:12):
don't.
You know I'm not being asked alot of questions, so it does get
difficult at times but my jobis to have no silence and to
keep talking.
But it's so important for themand I just I ask questions off
of what they say and I try anddig deep and get their mind
working again.
And you know, ask them about,you know, their favorite
(19:33):
vacation or fun things thathappened, you know.
You know things come up ofcourse in their lives that
aren't good, but you know thatsometimes they want to get that
off of their chest too.
But I'm, I'm more there for thefun, but I'm certainly
empathetic and I listen, and youknow, I just I just want them
to feel heard, and that's youknow.
I just I just want them to feelheard, and that's you know to,
(19:53):
to someone who's alone.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
You know there's so much about storytelling, brain
science, you know neurosciencebehind the power of storytelling
.
How it, you know, when you'rekind of drawn in and immersed in
a story, how it your brainreleases oxytocin, which is some
call it the oxytocin is a drug,a hormone.
I don't know what it is, butanyway, um, and you know one of
the things that I, you know thatmy big, uh, I guess raison
d'etre if I pronounce thatproperly my reason for being is
to be a storyteller and to givepeople a platform and a line
that I stole from A Star is Born, which is, if you have
(20:35):
something to say, in a way tosay it so that people listen.
That's a whole other bag.
What I've been exploring and Iwas talking to Jillian, who we
know from the networking events,so working with the senior
community and using my magazinesas a way to tell their story of
(20:56):
a part of their life, part ofit is like when Harry met Sally.
I'm thinking of when Harry metSally, how Rob Reiner would go
back to interviewing theseelderly couples and talking
about how they met each other orwhat their love story was like,
and my mother, who is going tobe 90 in May.
(21:18):
My father just turned 90.
They still live alone inFlorida, but my sister's there
with a ton of grandkids, myparents, my mother, for the
first time now.
I knew when my mother was 21,it was 1956.
I knew when she was in heryounger years, before she met my
dad.
She and her girlfriend drovefrom Queens, new York, out West.
(21:40):
But it was the first time thatI heard that my mother met Elvis
Presley and she's like, notonly did I meet him but I have
his autograph.
I'm like what?
So, she mailed me the businesscard of his autograph that she
got from Elvis when he landed inLA.
(22:01):
It and I looked it up and mymother my mother kept a journal
back then.
It was august 16, 1956.
Elvis was landing in la toshoot his very first film of
nintendo and when he got off theplane there were hordes of
teenagers.
It's actually this video of ityou could find on instagram.
(22:23):
Oh my god, I was trying to findmy mother and she's like you
know.
She was 21.
She was surrounded by all theseteens.
She wasn't really an el fan butshe got caught up in it and she
just asked somebody for a pieceof paper and she got a business
card and he signed it.
Now I'm going to tell thatstory.
In one of my magazines I havean antique dealer and he writes
an article called Ask theAppraiser, kind of like an
(22:43):
antique roadshow.
So we're going to tell thatstory.
My mother has the parkingticket.
She sent me at the airport forparking a car illegally to go
see Elvis.
Wow, yeah.
But the point I'm getting to isI've been wanting to have my
parents tell their story.
They grew up during theDepression.
(23:03):
My mother grew up in aGerman-speaking neighborhood in
Queens during World War II Not avery popular time to be German
Right and you know my parent, mygrandparents, owned a fish
market.
They owned another fish market,like I had on my mother's side
some very uh, business-mindedentrepreneur type of family, but
then my grandparents separatedbefore I was born.
(23:26):
I never knew why.
Um, my grandfather wasn't thehappiest of guys when he died.
We hadn't seen him for twoyears.
So there's a story that I wantto get out and I'm thinking of
actually having my mom and dadon a podcast because then I can
record it all.
But I'm sharing all thisbecause, as I looking into what
(23:47):
you do and how you talk aboutthe process of storytelling and
how it's cathartic, and I couldsee how you know there is
science behind the value of whatyou bring.
So, with that science and withthe blogs and with maybe the
popularity, are you seeing morecompanies like you coming into
(24:08):
the, into the fold that aremaybe your competitors that are
doing what you do?
Speaker 3 (24:13):
Not, not too much.
It's just, you know everyonewhich you know.
I just created something for me.
I didn't know.
Everyone's like, oh, it's sonew and it's so exciting and I'm
like, is it really like?
I don't.
To me, it's just what I want todo.
But the thing with mostcompanies is that they have
companions and they do moremedical companions and they do,
(24:37):
you know, they do go for walksand they do things like that,
but there's just not a lot ofbecause, again, it's just me.
You know, a lot of people getinto business to become a
millionaire.
You know what mean to grow andgrow and grow.
I didn't do it for that, so youknow.
So someone else has to be ableto do what I do and just say you
(24:58):
know and you listen, you canbuild a business like mine and
and hire people, you know.
Sure, you can, but I just don'tknow of anybody yet, you know,
because I've, so I've only beenaround for, you know, two years,
two and a half years.
So I'm not that new, you know,or sorry, I am very new.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Um, you know, we'll see, we'll, we'll see what
happens with, with my businessmodel, you know there's always
so much of you can go around ifyou start getting so much demand
, but it's tough to clone you.
You have to find someone whohas the caring and the um
compassion, someone who has thecaring and the compassion and
the desire to do what you do.
So let me ask you this so doyou go to assisted living and
(25:38):
senior care communities and workwith people who live there, but
then just go visit them andtake them out?
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Yes, Great question, doug, I was actually going to
say that and I forgot.
So, yeah, so I work with fromfrom every.
You know people that, peoplethat live alone, people that
live with their spouse.
I, you know, I have clientsthat are in assisted living and
I have one client that'sactually in memory care, which
you would think wouldn't workfor me, but he is in that.
(26:05):
I call it the sad stage wherehe, he was in assisted living
and you start the decline andthere just were a few things
safety wise, where they, theyneeded to put him in memory care
.
So he, he knows where, you knowlike he, he accepts it and he
feels it's a safety thing.
But but we talk and you know I,I take him out.
(26:27):
You know I'm allowed to takehim out because he's physically
able, yeah, um, so so, yeah, soI I'm in assisted living,
independent living, memory care,and you know people that live
in their own um, in their ownhouse.
So it runs the full gamut, youknow, yeah, and what's?
Speaker 2 (26:43):
what's your radius of how far will you travel?
Speaker 3 (26:47):
so I've.
I've traveled.
I've had one client actuallythe one that unfortunately he
had al's and he he was about anhour away.
But when I took him I know Ispoke to the wife and I wanted
to just try it and she was justso happy because he took to me
and he didn't take to a lot ofpeople and he took to me and he
(27:09):
wanted to leave.
You know he was happy to gowith me in my car.
So you know, if it's a littlefurther, I asked for mileage for
you know, to get there, but butthe most I go regularly is a
half an hour.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
I usually travel a half an hour at the most.
Okay, and that's Rockland andBurden County, yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
I used to market a little bit in Westchester.
I do have one client inWestchester, but that bridge is
a bridge is a killer.
Yeah, yeah, depending on thetime of day, it seems you know
pretty close as the crow flies.
But yeah, the Bergen is.
Is is perfect for me becauseyou know I'm five minutes from
Bergen County and you know,there's no traffic and so yeah,
(27:51):
so that's that's my yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
That's true, there's no bridges to go over?
No, I never have, Even when Itravel far.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
it was really never an issue, so right.
Right and and timing is veryimportant to me because I'm back
to back.
You know it's all scheduled,Right, Right.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
And so if I stuck in bridge traffic that just throws
it all off.
Yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
Brian, what's?
What's the best way to reachSilver Stage Motivators?
Uh, the best way is you couldgo to my website at
silverstagemotivatorscom or youcould call uh a business line at
845-422-6254.
Um, those are the best waysthat you could always Google me.
You know, you know I havegoogle.
You could look at my googlereviews from you know, family
members, uh, you know, to seewhat I do, or what I've done for
(28:39):
their families, and you knowhow they're very happy and uh,
so, yeah, that's that's the bestway to reach me, and you know
if it feels like the right fit.
You know, sometimes I get callsand they need more medical and I
say sorry, it won't work.
Or they say we need someone forfive days a week.
I say that's not who, that'snot what I do.
You know, there's many, manyother companies who will be very
happy to you know you know workwith your parents, you know for
(29:02):
five days a week or seven daysa week it's just just not who I
am, so I do get calls that itjust doesn't work out which or,
you know, can you take my dad tothe doctor?
Speaker 2 (29:11):
You're not a concierge like that.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
Correct, Right If people say, yeah, could you
drive my dad?
I get those calls.
I said no, that's not me either.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
I know somebody who does that business so I can
refer you to them, right?
Oh, absolutely, and that's thegood thing is that well, you
know referrals.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
It makes you feel so good.
It's one of my things in mypresentation presentation about
positivity and happiness.
What makes us happy and one ofmy little segments is giving.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
We love to give makes us feel so good to give right,
you know whatever it is give areferral makes you feel great
you know it makes you feel greatso there's another, another
famous rock and roll guy who hasa line that goes the love you
take or the love you make isequal to the love you take.
Who is that?
(29:59):
I know that Paul McCartney.
Paul McCartney yeah, In the end,the love you take is equal to
the love you make.
Last song of Abbey Road.
Anyway, brian, this was great.
I really appreciate you joiningus.
So again, it's SilverSt'ssilver stage motivatorscom.
The phone number is845-422-6254.
It's going to be in the bottomof our summary on the on the
podcast episode, but thank youso much for joining us today.
(30:22):
We're going to have Chuck takeus out and you and I'll be right
back.
All right, thank you for havingme.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Thank you for listening to the good neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnpbergencom.
That's gnpbergencom, or call201-298-8325.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Doug Drohan.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of
the Good Neighbor Podcast inBergen County brought to you by
Bergen Neighbors Media Group.
Today I'm joined by BrianBlattner of Silver Stage
Motivators.
Brian holds a score here.
He and I know each other from alot of senior care networking
events.
Brian is from right up over theborder.
I'm like three miles fromRockland County and that's where
(00:32):
Brian's from.
So, brian, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Thank you for having me Doug Appreciate it.
Happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Yeah, thank you for joining us.
And Silver Stage Motivators.
So are you a personal trainer?
Silver stage motivators?
Are you a personal trainer?
Are you in the antique business, helping people motivate them
to sell their silver?
What is silver stage motivators?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I do non-medical motivational companionship for
aging adults and need-basedindividuals.
Basically, I try and get myclients back to doing what they
used to do.
So if they used to go fishing,I take them fishing.
If they used to cook, I getthem to cook.
If they used to go to the horsestable, I take them to the
horse stable.
It's pure engagement and realmotivation for my clients.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Wow.
So how did you get into thisbusiness?
What kind of motivated you orwhat was your aha moment to say,
hey, you know, I think this isa need, this is a service that
people need.
Like, what was your motivationbehind being a motivator?
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Yeah, well, that's a great question.
So I had another business for25 years.
I did a flood damage cleanupand mold remediation.
So, my father was anentrepreneur, he was an
executive recruiter.
He started his own business.
So I kind of just followed inhis footstep, created my own
business, which was my other one, and then after about 25 years,
it started to eat away at me,the old business you know it was
(01:56):
24, seven.
It was, you know, a lot ofliability, breaking down walls,
getting rid of mold, and whatreally the impetus of me getting
out of it was when COVID hit.
Three people close to me passedaway within seconds One of my
full-timers, someone that usedto work for me, their son worked
for me, he passed away and mylandlord's son, all in their
(02:20):
late forties and in their midfifties.
And and so I said to myself youknow, I'm not enjoying what I'm
doing anymore and life is short.
I just you know what.
You don't know what's going tohappen around the corner.
So so I decided to sell theother business.
So I sold it, not forretirement money, it was a small
business but I decided what doI want to do?
(02:41):
And my favorite part of theother business was meeting the
clients, making them feelcomfortable.
You know I was going intoemergencies their house was
flooded or they had mold orthere was a fire and I loved
meeting them, getting to knowthem and making them feel
comfortable and just you knowthat they're in a safe place
working with me.
(03:02):
So when I sold the business, Ijust started.
I didn't know what I was goingto do and I just started looking
around and seeing things aboutworking with people, and I saw
this word companion somewhereand I was like huh companion.
But most of the companions outthere work for home health aid
companies and you know they'remore medical and they, you know
(03:25):
they'll play cards.
But I'm I'm non medical, I'mnot, you know, trained in that.
So I just started to kind ofcreate.
Oh, let me go back for one quicksecond.
While COVID was happening, myfather, unfortunately, was
passing away, not COVID, he wasjust, you know, it was getting
time and I became hismotivational companion.
(03:48):
You know, I try and get him tolaugh, I take him out to do fun
things, give him a little bit ofquality of life while he was
declining.
So I didn't know what I wasdoing at that point.
I was just doing what I did asa son to make him happy and
smile.
And then again I saw the wordcompanion.
I was just Googling and I waslike huh companion.
(04:11):
And so what happened was I juststarted kind of gearing it
towards what I can do.
You know, I want to makesomebody smile, I want to make
somebody happy, I want to getthem to do things that they want
to do.
I wasn't from the adults, youknow, the senior community
worked.
I, when I was younger, Ivolunteered at a nursing home,
(04:31):
but you know.
So I just kind of createdsomething for me what I can do
and what I feel I would havebeen the best at, would be the
best at, and that's kind of howI kind of fell into it.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Wow, I mean that's uh , it's funny that you sold your
business but not knowing whatyou were going to do next.
I mean that's pretty bold.
You have a family, right,you're a father.
So to say, yeah, I'm sellingthe business, it's not, I'm not
selling it for five, $10 million.
It's not like I'm kicking back,correct.
But I guess you just were donewith it and figured you'd find
(05:08):
your next calling.
I guess that's that's prettybold.
I mean that's you know.
One of the things you you knowwith an entrepreneur is you're
definitely a risk taker.
To say, I'm going to go off onmy own and try something, uh,
without getting a steadypaycheck, because you believe in
yourself, you believe in whatyou're doing to the point where
you're willing to do that andyour family kind of buys into it
(05:28):
or trust you.
So that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
And they did, and that was a great thing.
My wife was behind me.
I still have one daughterthat's in college, and again I
did get some money from thebusiness.
So that was, like I called it,my college education.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
We were putting on that while I was getting it
going and, um yeah, so I have,I'm a big Seinfeld fan and I
have this episode my head whileyou're talking with, uh, you
know, with Jerry going to theguy's house who has the big
record collection, yeah, and uh,george getting oil rubbed on
(06:04):
his head and uh, elaine going tosee somebody who's got a big
goiter.
I mean, that's, that's, uh, I'mobviously, but it's, it's kind
of a funny, um, as you'retalking about having somebody to
just be a companion, that justyou know came up.
And I'm sure you know one ofthe things you hear about with,
um, you know, with seniors, andespecially if their spouse has
(06:25):
died, is that do I go to anassisted living community or do
I want to stay at home and agein place and stay at home?
And one of the bigger argumentsas to why they should go to a
community is for socialization,correct, and I guess what you're
doing is allowing that, thatperson and that family to feel
comfortable, that mom or dad,yeah, they're home, and maybe
(06:48):
that we have an aid that comesin to help them medically.
But you know, there's so muchto your quality of life that
comes from just being havingyour mind and your brain and
your senses stimulated.
So I guess you know is thatkind of where you come in.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Yeah, 100%.
I mean, it's all about givingsomething, giving people
something to look forward to.
So we all have something tolook forward to, right, we have
a party, we have this, somepeople, they watch TV, they go
to the doctor, they watch TV,they go to the doctor, and
that's their life.
And what happens is that's whenthe mental decline starts.
So part of my business model isI only see each client roughly
(07:30):
four hours a week, some less,but it's about four hours a week
.
Because the point is it's notif I go every day, it's it's not
exciting anymore.
Okay, coming, but what happensis they go.
Oh, it's Thursday, brian's.
Tomorrow's Friday, brian'scoming.
We're going to go out to eat.
You know we're going to gobowling.
(07:55):
You know we're going to go to amuseum.
So it gives them something tolook forward to.
So that's actually part of thebusiness model, not to.
You know, I've been asked tosee someone's parent more or
someone's spouse more and I sayit doesn't work.
You know, sometimes I'll gotwice a week, and I do go twice
a week if it's less time pertime that I go, but it's not.
(08:15):
You could feel it when you getthere because I was just there
two days ago, so it's not thatexciting.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
And it's not just going to their house, right?
You guys go bowling together.
You go to, you know sportingevents.
You just take them on littleyou know, I guess road trips or
yeah, road trips.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Right, you know I have insurance.
I'm allowed to drive my clientsto and from activities and
that's really what it's about.
You know, getting getting themout.
So my clientele, most of them,they have to be mobile and not
too far down the decline of, say, you know, alzheimer's or
dementia.
You know they're all therebecause that's what I do, but
(08:58):
you know they have to be able toget into my car because we have
to go places.
So you know there's that aspect.
You know, if they're too far,you know I've had clients that
have declined while I've beenwith them and then they've been
put into programs.
So I've I've lost them as aclient, unfortunately, but but
you know that's what I do.
I do want to say that I do havespouses.
(09:18):
You know I'm hired by, usuallyby the children, but it's
married couples.
Sometimes I work with the wife,sometimes I work because one of
the spouses is cognitivelydoing OK and the other one is
starting to decline.
So they want them to get outhave something you know, smile.
You know I tell jokes.
It's, you know it's pureengagement.
(09:42):
That's my thing.
I don't watch TV, you know Idon't.
You know, sit around If there'ssilence I get very upset.
You know, it's not a regularcompanion that you hear about.
That's there just to keep themsafe, right, right, it's to make
them think and make them havefun and look forward to the next
time they see me.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Right, and you talk a lot about positivity and the
positive effects of happinessand laughter and how that has an
effect on longevity.
You know you spoke about italready, but you know when your
mind is active and you'relooking forward to something.
I don't want to say there'ssomething to live for, but
there's certainly.
You know ways of how positivityelongates our lives and our
(10:27):
quality of life.
Is that something you?
It's kind of paramount to yourbusiness?
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Oh, absolutely.
You know, smiling to me iseverything.
There's a statement you don'tstop laughing when you grow old.
You grow old when you stoplaughing.
Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
I use that phrase.
I stole it from Don Henley fromthe Eagles.
But he says you don't stopplaying because you get old.
You get old because you stopplaying.
It's the same thing, yeahexactly, exactly that whole
young at heart song.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
And it's so true.
You know, we just have to, wejust have to stay young.
You know, I do a little.
I do a half hour PowerPointpresentation on positivity,
happiness and laughter.
That I do at independent livingresidences, assisted living
residences, and it's it's just,you know.
Living residences, assistedliving residences, and it's it's
just.
(11:19):
You know why we how to thinkpositive, why we think negative.
You know, I tell some dad jokesin there, I get them up to
dance a little bit and it's it'sa half an hour of them to to
smile and hear about the, thetanks in World War II, when they
, you know they get a lot oftalking about stuff like that.
I just want to make people smileand and enjoy life, for you
know cause?
Life is short, as we know.
(11:39):
And and we have to enjoy everyday.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Well, don't you know that it's worth every treasure
on earth to be young at heart?
I don't know who sang that song, but I remember that was in a
commercial when I was growing up.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Oh, I like that song, don't you?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
know that it's worth every treasure on earth to be
young at heart.
Well, anyway, here's myquestion Is there?
What does it take for a familyto trust you to come over, like,
how does the process work?
Okay, I recognize, you know, mydad's a little depressed, could
(12:11):
probably use some.
You know he used to like to gofishing or he used to like to,
you know, go for walks with, gofor walks with the dog.
Um, I don't have time, I don'tlive there.
My mom, you know, can't.
So where do you, where do theyfind you?
And how does the process workwhere you gain their trust
enough to say, okay, we're goingto have Brian come over, you
know, once a week take dad outfor four hours a day, or, you
(12:34):
know, just paint with him or goon walks, like, where?
How do you break down thatlevel of, of, you know, I guess,
skepticism and build that trust?
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Well, that's that's.
That's a great question.
Well, first of all, my businessis only me and I'm selling me.
So I'm not going in theresaying, you know, we do the
greatest work and then I send 10other people so we do me.
So that's one of my, that's oneof my biggest things.
So they, they have to know me,and the reason I doing it that
way is because I can trust me, Iknow me and I enjoy thoroughly
(13:08):
what I do and it makes me happy.
And once I start hiring people.
Now I'm just a business billsupposed to bill.
Doesn't show up.
I get a phone call.
That's not why I got into thisbusiness.
I got into this business tomake myself happy, the client
happy and the family happy,because I'm never hired by the
client by the way, it's always afamily member or spouse and I
(13:39):
do a.
Well, I have a personal intakeform where I ask questions about
them and they fill it out whatwere the activities they used to
do, what activities would theylike to do?
And then I have a free meeting.
So I do a free one-on-one withthe family member and the client
and they just get to know me,just Brian to the client.
(14:00):
They don't really know what Ido, I'm just a friend of the
family.
And then it's like oh hey, dad,would you like to see Brian
again?
Yeah, sure, so that's that'sreally how it works.
I always do the free one-on-onebecause I mean it's always work,
knock on wood.
But you know, once, once youknow, hopefully they meet me and
you know again, I'm full of, Itry and be full of life.
(14:23):
And I've had people that sayyou know my father or my you
know they're, they're kind ofangry and and I never get that
from them because I'm coming infrom a different angle, I'm
coming in from happiness.
Different angle I'm coming inright, missing fun, so I don't
(14:44):
see those sides of them.
Yeah, but that's how they gainthe trust they, you know it's
usually referral I get almostnothing from the internet.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
It's all just word based and, uh, word of mouth.
And then you said referral.
So you know somebody's hiredyou and they see the difference
in their um and their parent ortheir spouse and someone they
know is kind of going throughthe same thing and that's,
that's how it works.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Absolutely.
And again, they know I amcoming every week and I just
build such strong relationshipswith with the families and the
client.
You know it's it's hardsometimes because of what you
know what, what I see and whereit goes, but you know I love.
It's hard sometimes because ofwhat I see and where it goes,
but you know, I love it all thesame.
You know that's just there tomake their lives happier and and
(15:23):
in turn it's making my lifehappier.
So it's, it's kind of a win,win.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Now, do you only work with seniors, and what age is
considered a senior?
Like where does it start?
Have you ever had like an adultwho is maybe in their forties
or fifties, that you know isalone and maybe?
Well, you don't really workwith special needs, right?
So no very great question.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Yes, I do so, I have.
I have one client now who's 58,who has Asperger's.
So he's, you know he drives andhe just, you know socially, you
know he needs to, you know he'snot where we are socially.
So his family hired me to takehim out and he's a client that I
(16:04):
take to concerts.
He loves music.
So we've gone.
We've seen the Eagles, we'veseen ELO.
I'll go to Bergen Pack inEnglewood.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
That was the first concert I ever saw was ELO.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Oh, really Well.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Madison Square Garden there out of the blue tour.
Wow, look at that.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
Well, we just saw them a couple of months ago,
really Wow.
So so he's that I have a clientwho's actually 33 years old,
believe it or not, and he has,he has anxiety and he he was in
a, he's in a group home rightnow and he's trying to get back
into the world but he hasanxiety.
(16:40):
So he has his, his socialworkers and his medical team,
and it was brought up that hejust needs someone to go out
with and get him out.
And you know, talk about reallife things, and so so I see him
and you know we try and I tryand get him to the gym Again.
He has his anxieties, but we,just I, we try and try and make
him laugh and just be me andmake him feel comfortable, and
(17:04):
so so it really doesn't matterthe age, it's just, you know,
90% of my clients are are, youknow, my, my, my main range is
80 to 85.
You know, I have one 94 yearold, I have one who just turned
97 last week, um, but most arein their mid eighties.
(17:26):
I would say.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
So you started this business during COVID or after,
like when the restrictions kindof lockdowns kind of lifted.
Yeah, when the restrictionslifted.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
Yeah, it was kind of like right after I was
developing it, during it I wouldsay OK, and then, yeah, it got
going.
You know, I wasn't reallywearing masks once I started
doing it.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
And the reason I ask is because there was a lot of
isolation during that time.
And, um, you know, one of thethings I think you uh address is
the dangers of isolation,especially in an age of social
media, when everybody's, youknow, thinks that texting or DMS
is, is a human connection.
Um, now, I know that, uh, thatso the isolation.
(18:13):
So you you have, I don't know,have you written a lot of blogs?
Or, to the blogs that I've seenaddressing, you know, the need
for what you offer, Is thatother people written about this?
Or have you written thingsabout the need for companionship
and the benefits and thingslike that?
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Yeah, that's that's.
Other people have written itand I've kind of tweaked it for
my for myself, but it's veryimportant.
You know there's so much outthere about isolation and you
know the decline of, you know,of cognitive, you know the mind,
if you will.
When you know you're alonebecause you just it's, it's a
downward spiral, as I call it.
(18:51):
When you know you're alonebecause you just it's a downward
spiral, as I call it.
And you know all people need isthat human connection to be
listened to.
You know my job isn't always funand games.
You know I don't go fishingevery week with the client or I
don't go to the, you know, and alot of times it's just me with
the client.
You know, listening to them andwalking and and sometimes they
don't.
You know, listening to them andwalking and and sometimes they
(19:12):
don't.
You know I'm not being asked alot of questions, so it does get
difficult at times but my jobis to have no silence and to
keep talking.
But it's so important for themand I just I ask questions off
of what they say and I try anddig deep and get their mind
working again.
And you know, ask them about,you know, their favorite
(19:33):
vacation or fun things thathappened, you know.
You know things come up ofcourse in their lives that
aren't good, but you know thatsometimes they want to get that
off of their chest too.
But I'm, I'm more there for thefun, but I'm certainly
empathetic and I listen, and youknow, I just I just want them
to feel heard, and that's youknow.
I just I just want them to feelheard, and that's you know to,
(19:53):
to someone who's alone.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
You know there's so much about storytelling, brain
science, you know neurosciencebehind the power of storytelling
.
How it, you know, when you'rekind of drawn in and immersed in
a story, how it your brainreleases oxytocin, which is some
call it the oxytocin is a drug,a hormone.
I don't know what it is, butanyway, um, and you know one of
the things that I, you know thatmy big, uh, I guess raison
d'etre if I pronounce thatproperly my reason for being is
to be a storyteller and to givepeople a platform and a line
that I stole from A Star is Born, which is, if you have
(20:35):
something to say, in a way tosay it so that people listen.
That's a whole other bag.
What I've been exploring and Iwas talking to Jillian, who we
know from the networking events,so working with the senior
community and using my magazinesas a way to tell their story of
(20:56):
a part of their life, part ofit is like when Harry met Sally.
I'm thinking of when Harry metSally, how Rob Reiner would go
back to interviewing theseelderly couples and talking
about how they met each other orwhat their love story was like,
and my mother, who is going tobe 90 in May.
(21:18):
My father just turned 90.
They still live alone inFlorida, but my sister's there
with a ton of grandkids, myparents, my mother, for the
first time now.
I knew when my mother was 21,it was 1956.
I knew when she was in heryounger years, before she met my
dad.
She and her girlfriend drovefrom Queens, new York, out West.
(21:40):
But it was the first time thatI heard that my mother met Elvis
Presley and she's like, notonly did I meet him but I have
his autograph.
I'm like what?
So, she mailed me the businesscard of his autograph that she
got from Elvis when he landed inLA.
(22:01):
It and I looked it up and mymother my mother kept a journal
back then.
It was august 16, 1956.
Elvis was landing in la toshoot his very first film of
nintendo and when he got off theplane there were hordes of
teenagers.
It's actually this video of ityou could find on instagram.
(22:23):
Oh my god, I was trying to findmy mother and she's like you
know.
She was 21.
She was surrounded by all theseteens.
She wasn't really an el fan butshe got caught up in it and she
just asked somebody for a pieceof paper and she got a business
card and he signed it.
Now I'm going to tell thatstory.
In one of my magazines I havean antique dealer and he writes
an article called Ask theAppraiser, kind of like an
(22:43):
antique roadshow.
So we're going to tell thatstory.
My mother has the parkingticket.
She sent me at the airport forparking a car illegally to go
see Elvis.
Wow, yeah.
But the point I'm getting to isI've been wanting to have my
parents tell their story.
They grew up during theDepression.
(23:03):
My mother grew up in aGerman-speaking neighborhood in
Queens during World War II Not avery popular time to be German
Right and you know my parent, mygrandparents, owned a fish
market.
They owned another fish market,like I had on my mother's side
some very uh, business-mindedentrepreneur type of family, but
then my grandparents separatedbefore I was born.
(23:26):
I never knew why.
Um, my grandfather wasn't thehappiest of guys when he died.
We hadn't seen him for twoyears.
So there's a story that I wantto get out and I'm thinking of
actually having my mom and dadon a podcast because then I can
record it all.
But I'm sharing all thisbecause, as I looking into what
(23:47):
you do and how you talk aboutthe process of storytelling and
how it's cathartic, and I couldsee how you know there is
science behind the value of whatyou bring.
So, with that science and withthe blogs and with maybe the
popularity, are you seeing morecompanies like you coming into
(24:08):
the, into the fold that aremaybe your competitors that are
doing what you do?
Speaker 3 (24:13):
Not, not too much.
It's just, you know everyonewhich you know.
I just created something for me.
I didn't know.
Everyone's like, oh, it's sonew and it's so exciting and I'm
like, is it really like?
I don't.
To me, it's just what I want todo.
But the thing with mostcompanies is that they have
companions and they do moremedical companions and they do,
(24:37):
you know, they do go for walksand they do things like that,
but there's just not a lot ofbecause, again, it's just me.
You know, a lot of people getinto business to become a
millionaire.
You know what mean to grow andgrow and grow.
I didn't do it for that, so youknow.
So someone else has to be ableto do what I do and just say you
(24:58):
know and you listen, you canbuild a business like mine and
and hire people, you know.
Sure, you can, but I just don'tknow of anybody yet, you know,
because I've, so I've only beenaround for, you know, two years,
two and a half years.
So I'm not that new, you know,or sorry, I am very new.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
Um, you know, we'll see, we'll, we'll see what
happens with, with my businessmodel, you know there's always
so much of you can go around ifyou start getting so much demand
, but it's tough to clone you.
You have to find someone whohas the caring and the um
compassion, someone who has thecaring and the compassion and
the desire to do what you do.
So let me ask you this so doyou go to assisted living and
(25:38):
senior care communities and workwith people who live there, but
then just go visit them andtake them out?
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Yes, Great question, doug, I was actually going to
say that and I forgot.
So, yeah, so I work with fromfrom every.
You know people that, peoplethat live alone, people that
live with their spouse.
I, you know, I have clientsthat are in assisted living and
I have one client that'sactually in memory care, which
you would think wouldn't workfor me, but he is in that.
(26:05):
I call it the sad stage wherehe, he was in assisted living
and you start the decline andthere just were a few things
safety wise, where they, theyneeded to put him in memory care
.
So he, he knows where, you knowlike he, he accepts it and he
feels it's a safety thing.
But but we talk and you know I,I take him out.
(26:27):
You know I'm allowed to takehim out because he's physically
able, yeah, um, so so, yeah, soI I'm in assisted living,
independent living, memory care,and you know people that live
in their own um, in their ownhouse.
So it runs the full gamut, youknow, yeah, and what's?
Speaker 2 (26:43):
what's your radius of how far will you travel?
Speaker 3 (26:47):
so I've.
I've traveled.
I've had one client actuallythe one that unfortunately he
had al's and he he was about anhour away.
But when I took him I know Ispoke to the wife and I wanted
to just try it and she was justso happy because he took to me
and he didn't take to a lot ofpeople and he took to me and he
(27:09):
wanted to leave.
You know he was happy to gowith me in my car.
So you know, if it's a littlefurther, I asked for mileage for
you know, to get there, but butthe most I go regularly is a
half an hour.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
I usually travel a half an hour at the most.
Okay, and that's Rockland andBurden County, yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
I used to market a little bit in Westchester.
I do have one client inWestchester, but that bridge is
a bridge is a killer.
Yeah, yeah, depending on thetime of day, it seems you know
pretty close as the crow flies.
But yeah, the Bergen is.
Is is perfect for me becauseyou know I'm five minutes from
Bergen County and you know,there's no traffic and so yeah,
(27:51):
so that's that's my yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
That's true, there's no bridges to go over?
No, I never have, Even when Itravel far.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
it was really never an issue, so right.
Right and and timing is veryimportant to me because I'm back
to back.
You know it's all scheduled,Right, Right.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
And so if I stuck in bridge traffic that just throws
it all off.
Yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
Brian, what's?
What's the best way to reachSilver Stage Motivators?
Uh, the best way is you couldgo to my website at
silverstagemotivatorscom or youcould call uh a business line at
845-422-6254.
Um, those are the best waysthat you could always Google me.
You know, you know I havegoogle.
You could look at my googlereviews from you know, family
members, uh, you know, to seewhat I do, or what I've done for
(28:39):
their families, and you knowhow they're very happy and uh,
so, yeah, that's that's the bestway to reach me, and you know
if it feels like the right fit.
You know, sometimes I get callsand they need more medical and I
say sorry, it won't work.
Or they say we need someone forfive days a week.
I say that's not who, that'snot what I do.
You know, there's many, manyother companies who will be very
happy to you know you know workwith your parents, you know for
(29:02):
five days a week or seven daysa week it's just just not who I
am, so I do get calls that itjust doesn't work out which or,
you know, can you take my dad tothe doctor?
Speaker 2 (29:11):
You're not a concierge like that.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
Correct, Right If people say, yeah, could you
drive my dad?
I get those calls.
I said no, that's not me either.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
I know somebody who does that business so I can
refer you to them, right?
Oh, absolutely, and that's thegood thing is that well, you
know referrals.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
It makes you feel so good.
It's one of my things in mypresentation presentation about
positivity and happiness.
What makes us happy and one ofmy little segments is giving.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
We love to give makes us feel so good to give right,
you know whatever it is give areferral makes you feel great
you know it makes you feel greatso there's another, another
famous rock and roll guy who hasa line that goes the love you
take or the love you make isequal to the love you take.
Who is that?
(29:59):
I know that Paul McCartney.
Paul McCartney yeah, In the end,the love you take is equal to
the love you make.
Last song of Abbey Road.
Anyway, brian, this was great.
I really appreciate you joiningus.
So again, it's SilverSt'ssilver stage motivatorscom.
The phone number is845-422-6254.
It's going to be in the bottomof our summary on the on the
podcast episode, but thank youso much for joining us today.
(30:22):
We're going to have Chuck takeus out and you and I'll be right
back.
All right, thank you for havingme.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Thank you for listening to the good neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnpbergencom.
That's gnpbergencom, or call201-298-8325.
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