We’re currently experiencing a service outage for our [product]. Our team is actively working on resolving the issue. Our IT experts are working tirelessly to restore service as quickly as possible.

"In the beginning, I just wanted to be my own boss. But this discovery of a position that didn't exist ten years ago has led me to be a lifestyle entrepreneur. What's my lifestyle? I want to have my own business. Be available for family and friends."

Jon Younger, Assisted Living Locators

Senior Solutions: Building Bridges in Assisted Living Through Entrepreneurship

Jon Younger, Assisted Living Locators

Quick Facts

Location

Northeast Massachusetts

Business Type

Franchise

In Business Since

2016

Customer Since

2016

Employees

8

His Story

Jon Younger, the franchise owner of Assisted Living Locators in Rowley, MA, embarked on his entrepreneurial journey after a personal family experience inspired him to create meaningful solutions for others in the assisted living space.

His career started in the high-tech industry, where he founded and operated a successful battery manufacturing company for 15 years before selling it. After a brief hiatus and a return to corporate sales, he was laid off and began searching for a new opportunity. This pivotal moment, coupled with the challenges his family faced in finding appropriate care for elderly relatives, led him to discover his true calling.

Solving a Family Problem – and Creating a Position

In hisCreate the Life You Wantpodcast, Guidant Financial co-founder and CEO Jeremy Ames talked to Jon about how he went on a mission to solve a problem for a family member and in trying to solve that problem found a business opportunity.

Jon realized the pressing need for a liaison to assist families in navigating the complex world of assisted living.I had a family member who developed Parkinson’s and his wife had dementia,he explains. There were several siblings and cousins involved in trying to find an appropriate assisted living environment for my aunt and uncle. I watched the whole situation unfold.

It was clear that lots of questions needed to happen, but the problem is, you don’t know what you don’t know as a family member. That’s the reality of it. I saw a need for someone to be the liaison, someone to be the educator, someone to be help make the decisions when it comes to choosing a healthy environment that’s not the home environment.”

The existing situation, though, as Jon describes it, was full ofa mismatch of information and people. In this particular case, the family member ended up moving three times in three years.”

Part of the problem was the family’s need for information in an unfamiliar situation. But the other piece, Jon saw, was that the assisted living facilities needed information as well.

“I picked up the importance of the different assisted living communities needing to understand more about their potential residents. Because nobody was really talking to each other. Not only did families not know what questions to ask, but the communities weren’t really getting to understand what type of resident they might be getting. It’s important for the facilities to know what type of person is going to be moving in. What are their care needs? What do they like to do? What do they not like to do? You don’t want to bang on the door at 8:00 a.m. for breakfast if they don’t get up until 10.”

Seeing the mismatch, Jon embarked upon a tried-and-true activity for gathering business data: informational interviews. He wanted to understand the market, so he focused on assisted living facilities.I wanted to understand the methodology and the market,he says,including whether there was a need for somebody like myself or somebody as a liaison intermediary person to really help guide the people looking for assisted living, to be the liaison, the middle person, the educator.”

Aligning with a Franchise To Become Service-Oriented

Jon Younger, Assisted Living Locators franchisee, enjoys a meal at Yard House alongside his friend Katie Murray from Sunrise at Lynnfield and Grace Campbell from Sunrise at Gardner Park.
Jon Younger, Assisted Living Locators franchisee, enjoys a meal at Yard House alongside his friend Katie Murray from Sunrise at Lynnfield and Grace Campbell from Sunrise at Gardner Park. Photo courtesy of Jon Younger.

Through these informational interviews with care communities and families, he identified gaps in communication and decision-making between families and care providers. Unable to secure a job in the healthcare industry due to a lack of experience, he turned to franchising. He worked with a franchise coach and found Assisted Living Locators, which aligned perfectly with his vision of becoming a placement agent for families in need.

Using his retirement savings through a Rollover for Business Start-ups (ROBS) program facilitated by Guidant Financial, Jon started his franchise with a modest investment of $50,000.There’s no brick and mortar. You work out of your home. You make your own hours and do the things that you have to do. I didn’t want to be in debt, so I didn’t want to get a loan.”

How did he begin after becoming a franchisee?I hit the ground running,he explains. I did a ton of networking, out every single day for the first five or six years. It took about two years before I made any money. I knew that going into it, so I set my expectations accordingly.”

He networked in several different ways. First, he asked the assisted living facilities’ own salespeople for advice.I found that my showing an interest in what they had to do made me more legitimate,he says.I wasn’t looking for them to give me referrals. I was looking for them to give me advice, likewhat do you do?how can I help you.‘”

In addition, he targeted specific people within networking groups. I need to get these people in a one-on-one conversation where I can dive deep, get to know them, and understand if there might be some places I can add value or places where there’s some synergy between the two things that we’re doing. I can add value to them, they can add value to me,he says.In other words, focus on individual people rather than the group as a whole.”

Also, he found it crucial to have data-driven goals and to write them down.My goal was to get to two or three move-ins a month,he notes.The financial path follows from the goals. The premise of this business is I don’t charge money for this business, for the clients. I don’t charge them. It’s like being a real estate agent for assisted living facilities. And I only get compensated if my client moves in and stays for a month.”

The franchise strengthens the reach of his business. Jon explains that the business is primarily local, but there is a cross-country relationship as well, so thatfolks who live in Florida, they want to move north to be with their family or vice versa, I can connect with in Florida and Arizona and California and Iowa to help people get to where they want to go. I receive referrals from agents in the area they want to move to.”

Jon’s experience reflects his evolution from a corporate-oriented entrepreneur to a purpose-driven solopreneur. While his first venture focused on scaling a manufacturing company, his current business is deeply personal and service-oriented. It’s very validating because every person I’ve helped, they all have said, thank you so much, Jon, we never would have found this place without you,he says.And that gives me chills every time I say it.”

Jon also values the flexibility and fulfillment it provides, allowing him to balance work with his personal passions while making a meaningful impact on people’s lives.In the beginning, I just wanted to be my own boss,he observes.But this discovery of a position that didn’t exist ten years ago has led me to be a lifestyle entrepreneur. What’s my lifestyle? I want to have my own business. Be available for family and friends. I want a mountain bike when I want a mountain bike. You know, I want to just get off, run out the door for an hour or so if I want to.”

Looking ahead, Jon plans to transition out of his business within two years while ensuring it continues to uphold the values he’s instilled.I have an exit strategy,he concludes.Have somebody good who buys it, someone I can count on that will continue to carry the torch of this very important position that I developed.”

Watch or listen theCreate the Life You Wantpodcast episode featuring Jon Younger here:

Ready to start your dream business?

We can help you with the first step. Pre-qualify today for Small Business Financing.

Scroll to Top