Impact Series: Family Matters In-Home Care
Carol Pardue started Family Matters In-Home Care 14 years ago in the San Francisco Bay Area, stemming from a personal passion for the industry. She was a CNA for 19 years prior and personally cared for and developed relationships with many of her clients. Carol’s son, Jacob Laffen, has been involved in healthcare for over ten years through working in hospitals. A few years ago, Jacob and his two brothers, Marcus and James, joined their mother to focus on growing the family business. Family-centric values and providing high quality care have allowed Family Matters to grow and expand. What makes their agency so successful? Jacob shared their story:
ClearCare: What has helped fuel your rapid growth?
Jacob: We focused on building relationships and started aggressively marketing.
Having gained experience working for his father’s marketing agency, Jacob understands the value of marketing and supercharged Family Matters’ marketing efforts. Family Matters Home Care has an excellent reputation and everyone knows that word of mouth is one of the strongest forms of marketing in the home care and home health industries. To start a home care agency, Jacob says “it’s all about going out, knocking on doors and building relationships with referral sources.”
Understanding the importance of building a strong brand, Jacob allocates 8% of gross revenue to marketing via online advertising, upgrading the website, and maintaining strong referral sources. Family Matters Home Care has earned strong reviews on Yelp and Caring.com including an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. The website is full of resources such as video testimonials and a free in-home care guide -- a client resource packet with information on aging. Jacob and his family also regularly attend community events such as local senior fairs, chamber events, and even bring the newest members of the family including Jacob’s young son, Mason. Eventually, your reputation builds itself.
ClearCare: What sets Family Matters apart?
Jacob: We do everything we can for our clients.
Family Matters is family owned and operated, so they incorporate the value of family in their practices. They treat each client’s family as an extension of their own, regularly going above and beyond. Jacob, has personally gone out and picked up medical supplies for a client who had just returned home from rehab. According to a Yelp review from Gerald K, “We love how flexible the hours are and the attention to detail and what needs we have beyond the average request.” Family Matters has positioned themselves as a reliable resource for clients that have needs anywhere from assisted-living placements to meal delivery and transportation.
ClearCare: How have you set your business up for success?
Jacob: We don’t stop until we find a good match.
Home care is a very personal business where relationships between the caregiver and client are extremely important and often deep and meaningful. Jacob gives the example of when his mother, Carol, took care of a woman who, before she passed, asked Carol to take care of her husband as well. Carol took care of him for 10 years until he needed more intensive care. At this point Jacob’s brother Marcus actually moved in and continued to provide care for this man’s final years. Jacob utilizes ClearCare’s CareFinder to match clients and caregivers and ensure that they will mesh well. “It’s almost like a dating service...you’ve got to find that right match.” Jacob goes on to say, “we don’t stop until we find a good match.” Jacob recalls a client who went through five different caregivers in order to find the right match. According to another Yelp review from a client, “Jacob definitely went the extra mile to find the right [caregiver] for us. He took into consideration, all aspects of Mom's needs - not just her need for physical help.”
Jacob and his family have worked together on their commitment to providing quality care and beyond for clients and their families. Their hard work and passion has allowed them to grow 102% in the past year alone and they look forward to future expansion.
Picture: Back row - Marcus, Jacob, James. Front row - Carol.
