Comforcare Senior Services - Jeff Lex

March Madness, an exciting NCAA basketball tournament, is just around the corner. But for some of us, our lives are an eternal March Madness, juggling work, family, responsibilities, etc. We do this every day, just to wake up the next morning and start the madness all over again. Our story this month is about an individual that wanted to make a change -- to stop the madness and take control of his future and schedule. And of course, he wanted to minimize the risk of transition from employee to entrepreneur. Congratulation Jeff, and welcome to the world of entrepreneurship!

Jeff Lex

I was referred to Jeff Lex early in 2008 from a former client. He and Jeff were team mates on a cycling team. Jeff had been in pharmaceutical sales for 16 years and it was taking a toll on his life. Government regulations had changed the way pharmaceutical sales people and doctors could interact. A lot of Jeff's time was spent hosting night time educational seminars for physicians on the various drugs that he represented. Although he liked what he was doing, it wasn't a good fit for the life he envisioned. Jeff had been thinking of building wealth and perhaps owning a business for years. In preparation, he had read the "Rich Dad" books and signed up for coaching. He also was involved with Wealth Master's International and owned some rental properties. Multiple streams of income were his goal. He wanted more time for his family, time flexibility to pursue his cycling passion, a feeling of fulfillment and accomplishment in his work and perhaps being able to help out his church congregation's sister parish in Mexico. Through interviews, questionnaires and testing, we worked up a possibilities profile for Jeff and started to explore his possibilities. It became apparent early in our Discovery Journey that it was going to be very difficult for Jeff to make the jump from employment to empowerment. In other words, he had a low risk tolerance and wanted to be highly confident in his future success before he could quit his job and go into business for himself. Of course there is no guarantee of success in any business, although franchising offers a higher success rate than a startup business. This was appealing to Jeff, but he was still looking for a "safety net" that would make him feel more comfortable in making the transition. Did we hit the proverbial brick wall? As in any discovery journey we uncover new possibilities. As it happened, there was a multiple unit franchise owner for Great Clips Hair Salon that was getting ready to retire. At his peak he had owned 48 salons, 30 in Colorado and 18 in southeast Wisconsin and he was now selling them to fund his retirement. This was the perfect solution for Jeff. He could buy several salons that already had employees and management in place. He could keep his job and manage the managers until the cash flow was sufficient to replace his current income. Jeff started his investigation of Great Clips by learning about their systems, training and marketing programs. He talked to owners across the country so he could learn about their successes and challenges. And of course, he spoke to the owner about his particular operation and the selling price. This was also a large funding situation, so Jeff needed to explore his lending options as well. Unfortunately, Jeff was not the only suitor for these resales. During his due diligence, someone else closed the deal and Jeff's dream of business ownership was shattered. Suddenly he lost his mojo for business ownership and decided that we should discontinue our conversations. For now, he would make do with his present job situation. Of course I wished Jeff well, told him to keep in touch and to continue to hold on to the dream of business ownership. In other words, I wanted Jeff to not give up hope. A little over a year later, I received notice of a senior care franchise in the greater Milwaukee area that was going on the market. Because of a family situation, the owner was looking for a quick sale. I immediately thought of Jeff and presented the opportunity. Jeff was excited and jumped right on exploring the opportunity. His experience with the medical community in his present position was an asset and provided him with a lot of familiarity that would be helpful in the senior care business. His wife Susan was a social worker and could provide insight and assistance. But it was a situation with his grandmother that emotionally hit home for him. In Jeff's words, "When my grandmother perished in 2004 while living in a nursing home, I told myself that I wouldn't let another family member endure what she endured. Needless to say, there is a place for nursing home care, but she was miserable, complained about the employees, suffered from depression, bed sores, and really wanted to be at home. Little did I know that 5 years later I would be in a position to literally be the person that could have made the difference and kept her comfortable at home during her last few months of her life." In October of 2009, Jeff purchased the existing franchise office of ComForCare Senior Services, servicing northern Milwaukee and eastern Waukesha counties in Wisconsin. ComForcare is a premier provider of non-medical, private duty home care services for people of all ages. Their caregivers assist people with the activities of daily living in any setting they call home, whether a private residence, nursing facility or an independent or an assisted living community. They are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and provide a wide range of personal services including grooming & hygiene, bathing & toileting, meal preparation, transportation, errands, medication reminders, safety supervision, light housekeeping, companionship and family respite.   Jeff is now an entrepreneur and has been running and growing his business for the past two years. When I asked him if he was happy with his decision to leave Corporate America and about his future plans, here's what he had to say: "I left because I wanted to make a difference rather than just be a number. When Marty presented this opportunity to me, it immediately struck a chord. Many seniors and their families rely on the services we provide and want to be able to stay in the comfort of their own homes, keep their own schedules, and eat what they want when they want. In other words we provide folks with the means to remain as independent as possible. Our plan for the future is to serve as many people as feasibly possible while growing in a responsible manner. We plan to add private duty nursing, transportation services and health coach training in the near future-all opportunities that complement our core business."   If you have a loved one that is in need of extra assistance to stay in their home and live a more normal life and are located in the greater Milwaukee area, please give Jeff a call at his ComForCare office, 262-827-4667 or cell at 414-282-8606. Or e-mail him at MilwaukeeN@ComForcare.com. Jeff will give you and your loved one the same care and compassion he wished for his grandma.

Jeff had a nice job, but wasn't happy with the lifestyle that the job provided. He was living his own "March Madness" and took the steps to overcome it.

If you want to overcome your own "March Madness," do something about it. "Don't hold the ball". If you never take a "shot", you'll never have a chance of scoring the life you desire.