Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good
Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Lisa Swiftney.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hi everyone and
welcome to episode number 126 of
the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Today we have with us goodneighbor Brandi Broadbent, and
she has Home Helpers, home Careof Rochester Michigan.
How are you doing today, brandy?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
I'm doing great.
I'm doing great.
Thank you, Lisa.
How are you.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
I'm really good,
thank you, and thank you for
being a guest today and sharingyour business with us.
You're welcome.
I'm happy to be here.
Good, good, so tell us what isyour business.
What do you do?
Speaker 3 (00:48):
my business is home
helpers, home care of Rochester,
michigan.
We offer non-medical care toanyone in need.
That being said, our primaryclients are senior citizens who
would rather age in place andstay in the home as opposed to
going to, like, an assistedliving facility.
And so, the way that we do this, we help our clients with a
(01:10):
variety of things Companionship,just being there to help keep
them stimulated throughout theday.
We can do light housework, mealpreparation, even going with
them to the grocery store orgoing to the grocery store for
them and then helping them cooka nutritious meal.
We can provide transportationto, like, the doctor's office or
(01:31):
even like if they wanted to goto a senior center like OPC, we
could take them to OPC so theycould get their socializing in
there.
And we can also help you know,if they've been released from
the hospital recently with maybea physical therapy or
occupational therapy plan, wecan help make sure.
Help them with those exercises,make sure they're regaining
their strength and theirindependence, help them with
(01:53):
things like that.
And then, really, just ourcaregivers are so much fun to be
around.
They really bring joy topeople's lives.
So it's just really want thatto be a bright spot in my
client's day.
When we're not, when ourcaregivers aren't there, we have
a device called a direct link,which is kind of an Alexa
looking device.
The senior can use it in anemergency situation Light comes
(02:17):
on, voice comes on, can helpthem dial either 911 or can help
them dial a family number ifthey just need to talk to a
family member.
We can also provide wellnesscalls on days we're not there,
so you know just good morning,how are you?
Have you had your breakfast?
Have you had your meds?
Just checking up with them,seeing how their day is going.
And we also have a contractwith a meal service so we can
(02:40):
deliver frozen nutritious meals,help get them in the freezer
and then they can take a mealout, put it in the microwave,
which can be a lot morenutritious and a lot more
economical than ordering out allthe time.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
That is amazing,
amazing, and I like the part
where you like to bring joy.
That is so important.
So tell our listeners aboutyour journey.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Oh yeah, definitely
so the reason I chose Home
Helpers my parents are aging.
They live in Cincinnati, ohio,and then my family is we're kind
of all spread around thecountry.
They've made it clear that theywant to age in place, age
independently, for as long aspossible.
(03:28):
In order for them to do that,at some point they're going to
need somebody to come in thehouse and just and help them
with things around the houseperhaps meal preparation help
keep them stimulated during theday.
And so I thought, well, that'sprobably something that I could
provide to my community, got intouch with Home Helpers.
They've been tremendouslysupportive every step of the way
(03:50):
, helping me learn, hit theground running, and just always
helpful with tools and tips andthat kind of thing.
It's been a great experience.
Long, long time ago I was in theAir Force.
I was a helicopter pilot, soservice has always been
important to me.
It's always been important tome to be part of things that are
bigger than just myself.
(04:11):
So I really feel that by owningHome Helpers, home Care and by
helping people within mycommunity, I can continue to
serve and I can continue to bepart of something that's bigger
than just myself.
So that's how I got here andwhy I chose Home Helpers.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
That is amazing, and
we'll have to do another whole
podcast about you being a pilot.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
I'd love to talk
about it.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Can you tell us about
any myths or misconceptions
that you hear about in yourindustry?
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Yeah, yeah for sure.
I think one of the biggestmyths or one of the biggest
concerns.
When people come to me, they'reuncomfortable with the idea of
having a stranger in their houseand they're worried that they
won't connect with the caregiverand that it'll just always be
like there's just this strangerthere.
That couldn't be further fromthe truth.
(05:05):
My caregivers are absolutedelight.
They are really really goodwith connecting with people,
hearing their stories, reallyidentifying what's going to
bring that senior joy during theday.
You know, is it a puzzle, is ita game?
Is it reading?
Do they like to talk about newsevents?
They're really good abouttalking to the senior, finding
(05:29):
out what it is in their lifethat makes them happy and brings
them joy, so they can connectwith them and really form a
trusting and lasting bond.
So it's only briefly thatthey're strangers.
Then they really move in to afriend to feel like friend and
family, quite confident,confident, somebody you can
really put trust in and rely on,and so yeah.
(05:50):
So that's probably the biggestmyth that I'd like to dispel.
Just that it's not anuncomfortable situation at all.
It's really a joyous, happy,happy situation.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
And that is good to
know for everybody.
So when you're not working onyour business, what do you like
to do for fun?
Speaker 3 (06:07):
Yeah, yeah, I think
that's so important to have fun.
Just, you know, launching thebusiness, it felt like I could
spend 24 hours a day, seven daysa week, working on the business
, tweaking this, tweaking that,you know, constantly questioning
my decisions, and I realizedearly on that that's just not
(06:28):
sustainable.
If I, you know, I want this tobe a long, lasting, sustainable
business and in order to do that, I've got to make time for
myself to hands off the businessand do what I love.
So, yeah, when I'm not workingon the business, I have two
daughters they're 15 and 11, andI love being around them.
(06:49):
So we just we love playinggames, watching movies together.
I love hearing about their dayat school.
You know what went well, whatdidn't go well.
And then you know then, ofcourse, as a parent of a preteen
and a teen, shuttling them toall the different activities.
They're into dance andgymnastics pretty heavily, so I
do a lot of that.
And then also, I'm a bigproponent of fitness.
(07:12):
Fitness has always beenimportant to me, so I work out
at CrossFit Maven in Rochestersix times a week.
That's really important to me.
And then I also got in to rockclimbing at Planet Rock down in
Madison Heights, and I do that acouple of times a week as well.
So, yeah, definitely making themost of my time away from the
business is really important tome.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Wow, rock climbing,
that's something that's pretty
adventurous too.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
It's a great way to
be outside and to really test
your limits and it's reallygreat, yeah, and my rock
climbing partner is amazing.
So we just we have a great time.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
That's great.
Can you describe to ourlisteners one hardship or life
challenge that you rose aboveand can now say because of that
challenge that you're better forit and are stronger?
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Yeah, I really think
rock climbing has really been
beneficial to me, reason beingwhen you're climbing you're
often afraid of falling Eventhough I trust my client partner
and explicitly we have a reallygreat relationship but still
when you're up there climbingyou can just get really, really
fearful and just really afraid.
(08:25):
And so one thing that you'reconstantly trying to do is calm
your breath, get control of youremotions and you know, and
still make the climb even thoughyou have fear.
And some days are great and Ireally I'm really in charge of
my fear and it's not, I cancontrol it through my breath.
(08:45):
And then there's some dayswhere I can't and I'm just
fearful and I climb well withinmy limits and stay safe because
I'm just not in the right frameof mind to push myself that day.
And I really think that havingthat constant fear that you're
trying to manage and trying tonot defeat, you can never really
(09:08):
defeat it, but trying to be themaster of it has really helped
me in this business, justbecause the business is just
constant series of highs andlows, highs and lows, and if
it's, and if I'm letting thosehighs and lows always drive my
emotions, then it just becomesthis emotional roller coaster.
(09:29):
That's just hard to wrap yourmind around.
And again back to thatsustainability.
You really can't sustain it inthe long term if you're riding
the highs and lows with thebusiness.
So I've really had to learn tostep back and just go.
You know, okay, this is just ahiccup, it was a minor thing,
(09:51):
we're going to get past this.
In the longterm it won't make adifference.
And even with the highs, justyou know congratulating myself
and really being proud of thebusiness, but at the same time,
you know not thinking, oh, thisis going to be a meteoric rise
from here, because there'salways going to be highs and
lows, highs and lows.
And so really managing myemotions is critical, I think,
(10:13):
and running the business andmaking it sustainable for the
long term.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
That is great.
What is one thing you wish ourlisteners knew about your
business?
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Well, I thought of
two things.
So I'm going to share twothings that I really wish people
knew.
So I'm going to share thingsthat I really wish people knew.
I think the first thing that Ireally wish people did is have
(10:45):
the hard conversations with mom,dad and uncles them, the hard
questions hey, what are yourwishes as you get older?
You know, do you want to livein place for as long as possible
?
Is that your goal?
How do you feel aboutretirement communities?
When you're independent living,how do you feel about assisted
living?
You know what kind ofenvironment you know.
What do you think of when youthink of assisted living?
(11:06):
What do you think of when youthink of memory care?
I really think having thosediscussions and just talking
about it as if it's normalbecause it is normal, right, god
willing parents are going toage, you're going to age, and so
having those conversationsabout how they want their aging
to go, so that when a healthcrisis does occur because
(11:26):
they're going to occur that'sthe definition of aging You're,
you're going to have some healthsetbacks, so that when those do
come, you're not caught offguard.
You know, I talked to so manypeople where mom had a fall and
now they're rushing.
They don't know what to do.
They don't really know what momwants to do, they don't know
(11:47):
how much help they can provideas a family and they're just
really stressed and it's nevergood to make a decision when
you're in crisis mode.
So I think having thosediscussions early so that when
something does happen, somebodygets that really devastating
Alzheimer's diagnosis it's likeOK, now we've had these
(12:10):
discussions, now we know whatmom and dad, aunt and uncle
would want and you know, so wecan help them live the life and
age in the way that they want to.
So that's the first thing thatI just wish that families would
have those conversations.
And it's almost the holidays,so that's a great.
You're going to be aroundfamily, aunts, uncles, mom and
dad, so it's a great time tobring up those conversations.
(12:35):
The other myth I'd like todispel, and I kind of talked
about it earlier.
I just I really want people toknow how remarkable my
caregivers are.
Like this is it's a caringprofession, it's a service
profession and the people thatare drawn to it are really
amazing individuals.
They have just a reallywonderful way of connecting with
(12:57):
people and earning their trustand just being with them, and I
really think you know, once youmeet my caregivers, you're going
to be like oh wow, this isamazing.
You know, I'm working with onefamily now Every week.
They're like oh, kiki's justwonderful, we really love her,
she's doing such a great jobwith dad, she's just amazing.
(13:17):
And so I just that's the otherthing that having care in the
home it's not a negative thing.
So I want to dispel that myth.
They're not there to take awayyour independence.
They're there to help you liveindependently.
So that would be the secondthing that that I'd like to
dispel from the, from the carefield okay.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Well, that is truly
amazing.
Our listeners are now intriguedand they want to learn how to
in contact with you.
They might have a parent theywould like to to meet and spend
time with, so how can they learnmore and contact you?
Speaker 3 (13:53):
Yeah, absolutely.
I keep up with my socials, soyou can find Home Helpers, home
Care, on Instagram, facebook andthen on my personal Brandy
Broadbent LinkedIn page as well,as I've got a website for Home
Helpers.
It's homehelpershomecarecom.
Forward slash, rochester-mi, oryou can call me.
(14:14):
The office number is248-270-2268.
Reach out to me any way you can, or see me at a chamber event.
I love talking about home care.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
That is great, Randy.
Thank you so much for being aguest today on our Good Neighbor
podcast.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Thanks for having me.
I've had a great time.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Thanks for listening
to the Good Neighbor podcast
Rochester.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNPRochestercom.
That's GNPRochestercom, or call248-988-9640.
(15:01):
Music.