The American Dream

Backstory

It started innocently enough, several years ago.  My youngest sister was sunning in my pool when a friend dropped by on a warm Saturday morning.  Little sister was out-of-work, and was bemoaning her lack of employment.  Our friend remarked, innocently enough, that Little Sister should look to the nursing home industry for employment.  She's smart, educated (which is often not the same thing), and it's a growth industry with our aging population.  We all scoffed, but later that week, Little Sister did her research and enrolled at the local college for some classes preparatory to getting the credentials to administer a nursing home.  Within a year, she was working in a local nursing home as a junior administrator, learning the business.

After a while, Little Sister announced her intention to have her own home. We wished her luck, but somehow the idea of owning and managing a nursing home seemed out of reach, but we started seriously looking into the possibility.  Little Sister did the bulk of the work, and the bulk of the politicking within the family, and started doing the research.

Our family, as are most families, is awash in potential.  We boast cops, teacher, maintenance types, business folk, scientists, nurses and laborers.  A great wealth of talent, if we're properly focused.  Solid, middle-class folks who have done well in our respective fields.  Our individual families are mostly grown, and we're approaching solid middle-age.  I, the eldest, just turned 60, looking toward retirement and approaching my autumn years.

The Plan

One day, after Little Sister had been politicking amongst the family  for several months, we decided that this might be a good idea, so we launched an exploratory venture to come up with a business plan.  If we were going to do this, we were going to do it right, so we pooled a little money, formed a company, and got some good advise while we searched for a property.  We found a place that looked like an opportunity and talked with bankers, accountants, and lawyers.  We signed confidentiality agreements, and began negotiations while we acquired capital.  Negotiations ebbed and flowed, optimism was tempered with disappointment, but we doggedly followed though.  To her credit, Little Sister did the huge majority of the work, enlisting Brother-In-Law to help with negotiations and legal issues.

All this in relative secrecy.  People are talkers, and love to talk about things, and this thing couldn't be talked about.  We had to move slowly, negotiate carefully, and keep our plan close to the vest.  Loose lips sink ships, and some of us had gone all-in on the venture.  We wanted an opportunity to make our mark, and understood that such ventures carry risk, so we kept our traps shut.  (I'm a blogger after all, I talk about everything).

The Announcement

We're launched, and can talk about it.  We are pleased to announce the formation and activation of Steed Care, LLC, a company formed by the family and select friends to manage the first of what we hope are several elder-care facilities.  We believe that this is a unique opportunity to participate in the American Dream, to provide a much needed service, and to profitably expand our horizons.

Wish us luck.  It's going to be a wild ride.