How I Stopped Caring About “Tech” And Focused On What Works — Shauna Sweeney
Home Care Hindsight
Shauna Sweeney, founder and CEO of Tender Care, joins host David Knack to discuss the pivotal mistake that reshaped her approach to building technology for families navigating aging and care. Shauna, a former Facebook executive who entered the care space while caring for her father with Alzheimer’s, opens up about how she initially overlooked a simple, physical solution, the Tender ID, because it didn’t fit the “tech founder” mold. She shares how clinging to the vision of a complex, all-in-one digital platform delayed solving a critical, immediate need: giving first responders instant...
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My Fear of Risks Slowed My Career Down — Michelle Cone
Home Care Hindsight
Michelle Cone, SVP of Industry Engagement at HomeWell Franchising, joins host David Knack for a conversation that spans from marathon running to mission-driven leadership. Michelle opens up about the career mistake that shaped her trajectory: playing it safe early on and not taking enough risks. She explains how saying “yes” to an unfamiliar role in home care as an inexperienced mom became the turning point that led to a 27-year career. Michelle dives into the underrated core of home care: delivering exceptional quality care as the ultimate growth engine. She unpacks why a strong intake...
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My Misaligned Entrepreneurship Approach Burned Me Out — Jessica Nobles
Home Care Hindsight
Jessica Nobles, co-founder of Home Care Ops, joins host David Knack for a powerful conversation about the two mistakes that have defined her 20-year journey in home care. Jessica opens up about the entrepreneurial identity crisis that left her burned out and unfulfilled, living as an “empire builder” when she’s truly a “lifestyle entrepreneur.” She reveals how this misalignment drained her joy and impacted her team, and shares the framework to help every business owner define their own path to success. The conversation then dives into the tactical hiring mistake she’s made “over...
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I Trusted Passion Over Process and It Broke My Business – Kristen Duell
Home Care Hindsight
Kristen Duell, founder of Momentum Healthcare and Technology Consulting, joins host David Knack for a raw conversation about the recurring mistake that has shaped her entire leadership journey: believing that shared passion and purpose are enough to run a successful business. Kristen opens up about the "black eyes and kidney punches" she's endured from moving too fast and trusting that others shared her standards of integrity, without first establishing clear structure and alignment. She explains why "momentum without tension is chaos" and how this hard-won lesson is now the core philosophy of...
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My Failed Acquisition Pushed Me To Do More Due Diligence – Kevin Smith
Home Care Hindsight
Kevin Smith, CEO of Best of Care, joins host David Knack to pull back the curtain on a splashy but failed acquisition that taught him a brutal lesson about due diligence. Kevin opens up about buying an adult day health program's home care arm, a deal that made perfect sense on paper but fell apart at the seams, resulting in a massive revenue shortfall. He reflects on the costly mistake of relying too heavily on his relationship-driven "gut" for a process that required forensic analysis, and how the timing—closing the deal the day before his first child was born—added immense personal...
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On Death and Dying in Home Care Part 2 – Gabrielle Pumpian and Nicole Soares
Home Care Hindsight
Gabrielle Pumpian returns, joined by death doula and end-of-life consultant Nicole Soares, for a profound conversation about the one thing every home care agency deals with but few are prepared for: death. They explore a common operational mistake: failing to align a caregiver's duties with a client's core values, leading to disengagement and a reduced schedule. Nicole shares her powerful personal journey that led her to become a "one-stop death shop," while Gabby reflects on the costly mindset of viewing a client's passing primarily as a revenue loss. The discussion offers actionable advice...
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On Death and Dying in Home Care Part 1 – Gabrielle Pumpian and Nicole Soares
Home Care Hindsight
Gabrielle Pumpian returns, joined by death doula and end-of-life consultant Nicole Soares, for a profound conversation about the one thing every home care agency deals with but few are prepared for: death. They explore a common operational mistake: failing to align a caregiver's duties with a client's core values, leading to disengagement and a reduced schedule. Nicole shares her powerful personal journey that led her to become a "one-stop death shop," while Gabby reflects on the costly mindset of viewing a client's passing primarily as a revenue loss. The discussion offers actionable advice...
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The "Frankenstein's Monster" Team That Forced a Culture-First Fix – Victor Hunt
Home Care Hindsight
Victor Hunt, the passionate CEO and co-founder of Zingage, joins host David Knack for a long-awaited conversation. Victor opens up about the critical hiring mistake from his first startup: prioritizing raw technical skill over team cohesion and culture fit, a misstep that almost broke the company. He explains why this "Frankenstein's monster" approach to building a team fails and how it informed his "culture-first" philosophy at Zingage. Victor shares the only two traits he now looks for in every hire and dives into the underrated genius of home care owners, who are often overwhelmed by...
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The $10,000 Mistake That Forged a Stronger Partnership – John "Moz" Mozdzien
Home Care Hindsight
John "Moz" Mozdzien, a Navy veteran and co-founder of Veterans First, joins host David Knack to share a costly hiring mistake—but not of a person. He "hired" a flawed understanding of VA benefits, leading to a $10,000 loss on his company's very first case. He opens up about the specific rule regarding surviving spouses that they misunderstood and how this "hard fail" became the foundation for a 99.9% approval rate today. Moz reflects on how the crisis forged an unbreakable bond with his business partner, built on pre-existing trust. The conversation also covers the underrated power of...
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Hiring the Wrong Person Taught Me About Building a Better Team – Becky Reel
Home Care Hindsight
In this re-released episode of Home Care Hindsight, host David Knack sits down with Becky Reel, founder and CEO of Reel Home Care Consulting and former owner of a top-rated home care agency. In their conversation from 2024, Becky vulnerably shares the story of her biggest hiring mistake: bringing her nanny into the office during COVID-19. She details how she overlooked numerous red flags, which led to a toxic work environment and significant business disruption. From this experience, she learned invaluable lessons about the importance of thorough reference checks, truly listening to her team,...
info_outlineJeremy Fuller, a digital marketing expert with 23 years of experience and founder of Grow Senior Care Marketing, shares actionable insights for home care agencies.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
1. The ChatGPT Surprise: How a client found their agency through ChatGPT—without it being a marketing goal.
2. The $500 Mistake: Why most home care agencies waste 80% of their Google Ads budget (and how to fix it).
3. Automation Pitfalls: The dangers of over-automating caregiver recruitment and how to strike the right balance.
4. SEO Myths Debunked: Why tracking rankings isn’t SEO—and what moves the needle.
5. AI’s Double-Edged Sword: How AI changes search behavior and the risks of unvetted AI-generated content.
Lesson Takeaways:
1. Stop Choking Ad Spend: A $500/month Google Ads budget is often too small to be effective—either go bigger or pause entirely.
2. Humanize Automation: Use tech to streamline processes (like caregiver nurturing), but keep critical touchpoints personal.
3. Reviews Matter: Agencies with 100+ Google reviews dominate local search—aim higher than the industry average of 40.
4. AI Proof Your Content: Always review AI-generated material for compliance risks (e.g., "fall prevention" vs. "fall assistance").
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:20 - Guest Introduction
01:23 - The unexpected ChatGPT client discovery story
02:47 - AHA! Moments, Learnings and Opportunities from Checking Business Processes in Home Care Agencies
03:17 - Jeremy’s partnership to launch a home care agency in Tulsa
03:45 - Compliance challenges and automation opportunities in home care
05:00 - The problem with sending caregivers back to Indeed
06:55 - Jeremy’s unique approach: Offering prayer during marketing audits
07:45 - The big mistake: Over-automating caregiver communication
09:10 - How to automate wisely (without losing the human touch)
11:06 - The most underrated SEO tactic: Google reviews
12:12 - What SEO actually is (and isn’t)
14:27 - Mistakes Home Care Makes: Choking Google Ads Spend
16:43 - Why small Google Ads budgets fail—and how to optimize keywords
18:17 - Jeremy’s recent SEO breakthrough (the "quarter pickup" strategy)
20:00 - AI’s impact: ChatGPT as a search alternative and compliance risks
23:22 - The danger of AI "slop" and how to avoid it
Quotes
1. "80% of Google Ad budgets are wasted on the wrong places. If you’re spending $500/month, you might as well not run ads at all." — Jeremy
2. "SEO isn’t tracking rankings—it’s taking actions to send Google the right signals. Reviews are part of that, but not the whole story." — Jeremy
3. "AI is like the early days of Google. It’s not replacing search yet, but it’s starting to uptick—and home care needs to pay attention." — Jeremy
Resources:
1. Grow Senior Care Marketing: https://growseniorcaremarketing.com/
2. Jeremy Fuller on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-fuller-marketing/
3. Ultimate Home Care Marketing Session: https://growseniorcaremarketing.com/grow-my-agency/
4. Connect with David Knack on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-knack/
5. Connect with Zingage on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zingage/
6. Powered by Zingage: https://zingage.com/
7. Watch Episode on Zingage’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Zingage