The world is now more customer-centric. Just a peep into the business models that enterprises offer gives an idea about how they design paths that promise enrichment to their customers. In fact, to establish this fact, to convey the message to their prospects, they spend millions on marketing. Often, they achieve their goal when their clients find themselves aligned with what the company preaches. But the vision they have and the one these companies want their customers to believe are not always true. Sometimes they are manufactured by expert storytellers to lure in prospects and increase ROI.
In the home care sector, this is quite evident. The industry is synonymous with better care. A noble cause and better marketing helped the industry achieve this status, and businesses have been capitalizing on these for decades.
If you ask David Ellenwood, Owner at Sunny Days In Home Care, he will say how things changed in the industry. It became no longer about the quality one provides. The focus was more on the dollars these companies can make from their services.
An entrepreneur with years of field experience, David Ellenwood knows the home care industry like the back of his hand. Thus making him realize how each dollar is ranked and how the services in the sector was deteriorating. This prompted him to leverage his knowledge of the sector to come up with his own company Sunny Days In Home Care, through which he wants to touch the chords of the primal belief that set the sector’s cornerstone.
Age Provides Edge
Often entrepreneurs start at a very young age. People tend to take risks when they are young as the chances of getting hurt are low and getting back on feet are high. But when you start young, you lack the requisite experience.
David Ellenwood came up with the idea of providing home care service when he was 58. He teamed up with his wife and started the company. He recalls how the initial days were scary as the future was uncertain and unknown. But then his perseverance kicked in, and he began working round-the-clock to make his business a success.
His knowledge of the field helped him take calculated risks. It also simplified the process of plugging holes and moving on. As a matter of fact, David has had his fair share of hurdles, but his insights made his pathway easier.
Sometimes entrepreneurs linger long in the past to understand where they have gone wrong or what they could have done better to change their present. But it happens mostly to those who are not happy with the way things are. However, David begs to differ. He believes that his journey thus far has been incredible.
He often gets bombarded by questions from people who want to know what tweaks he would have made if he got a second chance. But he just brushes them aside. When the present is good, and the future looks happier, changing the past becomes irrelevant.
When it comes to getting motivated, he finds a lot of solace in his God and scriptures. He believes, “God has blessed us greatly and my mission in life is to give back wherever and whenever I can.”
He donates a great deal to many ministries and helps out people who are in distress. His acts like the Good Samaritan have percolated into his business and it inspires him to put the profits in the backseat and serve the people first.
Why is Sunny Care Different?
David is in a field where monopoly is out of the question. There are lots of companies that offer the same services, which makes standing out all the more difficult. While this may be true, the companies’ visions and how they execute strategies to stay aligned with the core belief can help in elaborating the differentiating factor.
David’s model is different from others, thereby ensuring that the feel of a small company remains even though the company is scaling fast. To give it a robust platform, he ensures that his clients always get the best. It germinates from a simple belief. “We believe that our seniors deserve to live with dignity and joy. They have lived a long life and deserve it.”
As its step one, David Ellenwood and his colleagues drill down a bit to find what the clients need and like. Then they put in all their effort to find the best person fit for the role – that one guy has to meet all their client’s lifestyle and physical needs. Such a holistic approach ensures that Sunny Care provides the best possible service.
However, there is one significant challenge that often puts David at crossroads, which is a shortage of good employees. Getting the perfect staff is difficult but retaining them involves harrowing processes. David has realized that this one will be a persistent challenge and they have to live with it. Some good people want to be a part of this noble cause, who want to associate themselves with David’s company and that is one of the main driving factors of David’s venture. But these challenges never hindered his progress for as long as David believes that God is always there by his side and helps him out whenever he is in trouble.
How He Overcame the COVID-19 Challenge?
When the pandemic broke out in 2020, the future turned bleak. People from every sphere were getting haunted by not just the virus but by the uncertainties it brought along with it. As David’s business deals with older people and involves a lot of physical contacts, his employees were worried about their well-being. He also had to take his client’s health into account.
To counter the hiccups, he provided extensive training and protective gear to all his employees. As a result, his business witnessed only a few COVID-19 cases. The company has over 600 employees and around 400 clients. When one compares the number of people affected by the pandemic against the total number involved, it showcases the precautionary and safety measures taken by the company.
However, there were clients who refused the service to stay in isolation and lessen the chances of getting infected. That impacted the growth and brought it down to some extent. But with things turning around, David is expecting a better growth rate in the coming months.
How’s the Future?
The company has entered a new phase of growth. It is now devising strategies to expand the base and include more clients to reach the next level. It has started making acquisitions of other home care businesses. At the same time, the company is now planning to explore more in Pennsylvania.
These new initiatives always keep David Ellenwood on his toes and the course he has charted for himself includes tactics for a 4x growth in the next 5 years. He wants to impact more lives and enrich their lifestyles with his endeavors.
David, Entrepreneurship, & Leadership
Risk is something common for both entrepreneurs and leaders. With only 10% of startups becoming successful globally, the hardship an entrepreneur undergoes is understated. But this does not negate the importance of risks. When it comes to capitalizing on the moment or luring in clients with innovative ideas or trying out some new features, risks are the only way out. But it has to be calculated, and for that, an entrepreneur has to be ready.
A good leader should also know when to step up to encourage and when to sit back and let others do the job. However, he should never be afraid of getting his hands dirty as working hard is a necessity and it is unavoidable. It helps your business grow and make it strong.
However, for entrepreneurs, David Ellenwood feels that thinking outside the box is a must and they should never be afraid of taking chances. When an entrepreneur enters the arena, he comes with around 10 new ideas but only a few among them can become big. For that as well, things need to fall into place. And then comes factors related to time and money. The entire process is riddled with pros and cons. But as David mentions, “Find what you are passionate about and don’t be afraid to step out and step up to do whatever needs to be done to make your dreams come true.”
