Seven Ways to Work Happier

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The following is from an earlier publication authored by Amara Rose.


 We spend a lot of time focusing on ways to enhance the reverse mortgage experience for mature adults. Just as crucial, however, is the care of the reverse mortgage professional. The more relaxed, healthy, and well-rested you are, the better you’ll be able to listen and the more thorough and specific the service you’ll provide.

Here are seven ways to improve your workplace, mood, and manner:

 

  1. Order in the workplace! There are people who can pull the precise piece of paper they need from a chaotic jumble on their desk. However, a well-ordered work area makes this exponentially easier. Think about placing your important documents in color-coded file folders, or whatever system suits your personality, available space, and daily needs.
  2.  
  3. Let there be light. Unless you have full-spectrum lighting, sun exposure through windows is preferable to sitting under fluorescent bulbs, which can weaken eyesight with their rapid, undetected blinking. Another health benefit of natural light is improved sleep, which affects the quality of life — and encourages people to get more exercise because they finally have the energy for it.
  4.  
  5. Go for the green. While plants improve air quality by breathing carbon dioxide and giving off oxygen, they also decrease stress and increase productivity by 12 percent, says a new AARP report. Maybe not a huge enhancement, but where else can you get a daily brain boost for the price of a little watering?
  6.  
  7. Vary the sitting. It’s a conundrum: sitting for more than four hours a day has been shown to increase the odds of developing cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease — ouch! — yet standing at a raised desk can lead to varicose veins, knee or ankle problems, and carpal tunnel syndrome. What’s a health-oriented reverse mortgage professional to do? The AARP article suggests (no joke) a treadmill: one study found those who walked during the workday lost weight and enjoyed greater productivity after one year.
  8.  
  9. Of course, you could simply take a tip from one manager who possessed a lot of kinetic energy: he paced his office while talking on the phone, which burned calories, kept him from sitting or standing too much, and dispensed with the need for a treadmill.
  10.  
  11. Trust your animal instincts. A growing number of office buildings permit pets (and if you own the building, you get to make the rules). Pets help reduce stress, boost morale and collaboration, and raise efficiency.
  12.  
  13. Go walkabout for lunch. Give the sad-sack lunch-at-your-desk routine a pass and take a walk in the park; eat your meal while watching the birds. Or call a colleague and suggest you try that new sushi place. On the other hand, if you need to work on a closing or other mental task, staying focused at your desk is probably a better idea. Just try not to make a habit of it.
  14.  
  15. Music to your ears. While the younger generation seems to have earbuds surgically implanted, the AARP story does note that workers listening to music tend to complete tasks quicker and come up with better ideas than their quiet-loving colleagues. If you prefer to save music for after business hours, it still helps reduce stress, so listen to what you enjoy most when you’re unwinding at home, or on the drive there.

Seven Ways to Work Happier

Advertisement

The following is from an earlier publication authored by Amara Rose.

We spend a lot of time focusing on ways to enhance the reverse mortgage experience for mature adults. Just as crucial, however, is the care of the reverse mortgage professional. The more relaxed, healthy, and well-rested you are, the better you’ll be able to listen and the more thorough and specific the service you’ll provide.


Here are seven ways to improve your workplace, mood, and manner:


1. Order in the workplace! There are people who can pull the precise piece of paper they need from a chaotic jumble on their desk. However, a well-ordered work area makes this exponentially easier. Think about placing your important documents in color-coded file folders, or whatever system suits your personality, available space, and daily needs.


2. Let there be light. Unless you have full-spectrum lighting, sun exposure through windows is preferable to sitting under fluorescent bulbs, which can weaken eyesight with their rapid, undetected blinking. Another health benefit of natural light is improved sleep, which affects the quality of life — and encourages people to get more exercise because they finally have the energy for it.


3. Go for the green. While plants improve air quality by breathing carbon dioxide and giving off oxygen, they also decrease stress and increase productivity by 12 percent, says a new AARP report. Maybe not a huge enhancement, but where else can you get a daily brain boost for the price of a little watering?


4. Vary the sitting. It’s a conundrum: sitting for more than four hours a day has been shown to increase the odds of developing cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease — ouch! — yet standing at a raised desk can lead to varicose veins, knee or ankle problems, and carpal tunnel syndrome. What’s a health-oriented reverse mortgage professional to do? The AARP article suggests (no joke) a treadmill: one study found those who walked during the workday lost weight and enjoyed greater productivity after one year. Of course, you could simply take a tip from one manager who possessed a lot of kinetic energy: he paced his office while talking on the phone, which burned calories, kept him from sitting or standing too much, and dispensed with the need for a treadmill.


5. Trust your animal instincts. A growing number of office buildings permit pets (and if you own the building, you get to make the rules). Pets help reduce stress, boost morale and collaboration, and raise efficiency.


6. Go walkabout for lunch. Give the sad-sack lunch-at-your-desk routine a pass and take a walk in the park; eat your meal while watching the birds. Or call a colleague and suggest you try that new sushi place. On the other hand, if you need to work on a closing or other mental task, staying focused at your desk is probably a better idea. Just try not to make a habit of it.


7. Music to your ears. While the younger generation seems to have earbuds surgically implanted, the AARP story does note that workers listening to music tend to complete tasks quicker and come up with better ideas than their quiet-loving colleagues. If you prefer to save music for after business hours, it still helps reduce stress, so listen to what you enjoy most when you’re unwinding at home, or on the drive there.



 

 

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Customer Service: Is it extinct?

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Customer service has waned in the last decade

Actress Andie MacDowell became embroiled in a minor brouhaha. She was on a flight instead of the first class seat she’d paid for, and gosh, it was disheartening to hobnob with the unwashed masses.

 

At least, that’s how the media spun it. Actually, MacDowell insists, she just wanted to receive the level of customer service she’d purchased.>Customer service seems to be going the way of the landline phone, which is unfortunate — especially in a service business. Yet providing stellar service doesn’t need to be a big deal. Consider these contrasting scenarios: 


Heartbreak Hotel?

 

True service is subtle and sincere. Many years ago, I took a colleague who was in town for a conference to lunch at Campton Place, a five-star San Francisco hotel. Lunch for the two of us was $30 before tip (about $55 today). My colleague murmured, “I don’t mind paying $30 for a meal like this; it was worth it.” And while the lunch was scrumptious, she wasn’t referring to the food so much as the five-star service: waitstaff who magically refilled water glasses and bread baskets before we even thought to ask, and presented each course with a flourish. The message was clear: there is nothing we would rather be doing than serving you.

 

Shelley related what had transpired at her own hotel. Her complicated surname was misspelled on her name badge. She asked for a new one. The staff told her, “We’re busy now; come back later.” She did, and the extra badges couldn’t be located. Finally, she took a felt tip pen from her purse and redid the badge herself.

I described a similar experience at the library. (This was before Google and smartphones solved our research requests instantaneously.) I needed a single page of information from a reference book at a different location. My librarian verified its availability. When I drove across town to the other branch, the book was in use upstairs. I asked whether the librarian could fax me the page I needed when it was available if I paid for it now, reasoning that it would just take her a minute and would save me another trip across town. “Oh, no,” she replied with a tinge of amazement, “We don’t have time for special requests like that here.

 

Service With A Smile

 

The loan officer who called my attention to the dearth of service in service businesses said, “The lack of good customer service can be a real detriment to future incoming business, and I have always prided myself on doing things the right way. I also taught this as a topic as an adjunct professor at our local college.

“There is a motto that sums it up: ‘Treat People Right’. It is packed with what should be done to preserve your client relationships and grow new ones.”How do you do this in your reverse mortgage business? It’s easier than you may think. Kissmetrics suggests eight (here are four) fresh customer service ideas that can work for the reverse mortgage industry, such as:


1. Make a video. For senior prospects, seeing a friendly face answer basic HECM questions creates a connection before you or they even pick up the phone. This HECMWorld blog post describes how to create a compelling, service-oriented reverse mortgage video.  

 

2. Publish reports. Take one of our weekly blog posts that focuses on senior topics, such as this piece on eight ways to transition into retirement, or this one on the value of embracing change, create a brief “report”, and email or snail mail it with a personal note, suggesting your prospect may find the material of interest. This builds credibility, with a warm fuzzy: everyone loves getting personal mail, especially seniors — and especially in the form of a letter they can hold in their hands.


3. Send a personal thank-you note. Like the above, hand-written thank-you notes are so rare you’ll immediately catapult to the head of the class. It takes almost no time to dash off a line of appreciation to the senior prospect or client by name, on your good stationery or on a greeting card.


4. Showcase customer support. Just as people have confidence in 5-star reviews, it pays to show off your customer kudos. If you have a Reverse Focus website, let prospects (and clients) see those client satisfaction ratings and testimonials. As the Kissmetrics blog states, “not only does it help potential customers make a decision, it also helps reaffirm the faith existing customers have in them.”

You have the potential to be a Campton Place in every transaction. All it takes is a firm commitment to client care.

 

 

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Segregation Isn’t Just About Race or Culture

Age Segregation in America

–The following article first appeared in HECMWorld in 2018–
Ageism is huge in America — and it may be a result of societal age segregation, rather than specific beliefs, says Brown University historian Howard Chudacoff.

In his book How Old Are You? Age Consciousness in American Culture, Chudacoff writes, “Until the mid-nineteenth century, Americans showed little concern with age. The one-room schoolhouse was filled with students of varied ages, and children worked alongside adults….”

With the advent of the industrial revolution, an assembly-line mentality led to standardizing everything from education to the workplace to retirement communities.

As a result, “Vast numbers of younger people are likely to live into their 90s without contact with older people,” skewing their perception of aging to one that is highly unrealistic, asserts Cornell professor Karl Pillemer, who calls our present societal structure “a dangerous experiment.”

“Silver” Lining

Yet there is a literal silver lining if we look beyond convention. We’ve already discussed the deleterious effects isolation and loneliness can have on seniors and explored myriad innovative solutions, such as:

  • cross-generational home-sharing
  • co-housing communities
  • retirement planning strategies (including a four-footed friend)
  • conscious preparation for the Third Act.

And while seasoned reverse mortgage professionals no doubt appreciate how life experience helps one succeed as a business owner, there’s amusing new data that shows entrepreneurs, like fine wine, improve with age.

According to The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, 40-year-olds (which may still sound rather young if you’re 65+), are twice as likely to succeed in their own venture as someone who starts a business at 25.

But what may astound both Millennials and doubters — and delight Boomers — is this: at 59, an entrepreneur is four and a half times more likely to found a successful startup than someone who is 25! And though 60-year-olds comprise just 1.3% of startup founders, a 60-year-old is 1.5 times as likely as a 25-year-old to found a startup that’s in the top 10 percent.

The message is clear: gray is the way. Once you’ve been forged in and tempered by life’s fire, you can parlay this passion and purpose into a visionary business for the Third Stage.

So how can all ages benefit from the blessings of youth and age?

Becoming Ageless

Fortunately, Chudacoff’s and Pillmer’s pronouncements hold less sway in the Information Age than they might have a few decades ago. The Millennials are writing their own rules for the game of life or tossing the rulebook out altogether. And they’re inculcating inclusivity in the process.

Consider this insight from a 20-something, on the startup mindset: “The thought of age lingers in our minds and floats around us in images on a constant basis. You are always too young, or too old, to be anything. Within the world of business, age seems to be an issue whose presence is constantly ignored. The young battle the old for a place in the market; too early vs. too late.

“The issue lies in the lack of collaborative spirit often created by preconceived notions of age in the western world. But entrepreneurship is a boundary-less system, a territory that expands. It has the capacity to move away from these ideas to create new and improved ones. It is our job, as entrepreneurs, to make sure it reaches that full potential.”

Inspiring, isn’t it?

How can you, as a HECM professional, aging advocate, and entrepreneur, help dismantle the idea that age is something that limits us, instead of just a number?

Reimagining Home — And Travel

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One of the great blessings of being physically and financially fit in later life is the ability to travel. For couples with both partners in good health, the traditional model works: book a travel package or a cruise, stay in fine hotels, take lots of pictures and return to the nest.

For the next wave of seniors, however, this picture is shifting. Among Boomers, there’s a boom in gray divorce. Or someone may be a silver single due to losing a spouse, yet still long to travel, seeking a safe as well as enjoyable experience.

Millennials may have the key: new nomadic ways to live “location independent” (L.I.). Their solutions can work for the silver set.

Hotels Are So 20th Century

A number of emerging sites offer a creative way to travel at a much more comfortable level than couch surfing or hostels. These innovative businesses are a nexus of work, travel, and adventure, providing both connection and potential companionship — an attractive invitation for seniors traveling solo, as well as with friends and spouses.

Though mature travelers may not desire to be fully L.I. like their younger counterparts, living nomadically in spurts is eminently possible with a reverse mortgage. While a senior with a HECM must maintain their home base as their primary residence, extended stays elsewhere are fine; each return to the house ‘resets’ the clock for absences.

And that’s good news for those who own a home and choose to apply for a HECM. Because living as a short-term nomad has never been more appealing — or accessible. Consider these options:

Romancing the Road

Roam provides high-end co-work/co-live spaces in desirable destinations such as San Francisco, Bali, and Tokyo, with other locales in development. Someone retired, semi-retired, or whose work is fully remote, can enjoy privacy and comfort among a diverse community for a week, a month, or longer, then return home refreshed.

Behere describes itself as the platform for women to live in cities around the world, without long-term contracts or obligations.

It might be an older woman’s answer to traveling alone: a foreign living experience that provides carefully curated, fully furnished apartments close to city centers, with a vetted city host, workspaces — even a fitness membership. With this flexible foundation, a senior woman can live in a new city, one month at a time, immersing herself in the local culture and community to the degree she chooses.

Then there’s Unsettled, which, as it name implies, is designed for those in transition. The Unsettled experience offers retreats in locations from Tuscany to Morocco, Buenos Aires to Bali, and features an inclusive global community that includes entrepreneurs, freelancers, or anyone who is seeking new perspectives, inspiration and growth. Since many Boomers fall into one or all of these categories, Unsettled might call to them as a different sort of travel adventure.

Traveling Safely: Wallet Medical Cards

So a senior decides roaming the third millennium way sounds appealing, and proceeds to use some of their HECM proceeds for a grand adventure. Are they prepared for what might happen in a foreign city — even if it’s within U.S. borders?

Don’t be a walking medical mystery, counsels speaker Dick Schaaf, who travels frequently for business. He says, “Anyone who travels may someday find themselves in need of medical assistance. But if you’re alone, and unable to answer even basic questions about your health at the moment of need, valuable time can be lost — and potentially fatal mistakes can be made — while first responders and medical personnel try to figure out what to do.

“For years, my wife and I have carried homemade medical info cards in our wallets. Mine has my name, date of birth, my cellphone number plus hers, a list of all my medications (correctly spelled name, dosage and frequency), plus my blood type, known allergies, insurance providers (no account numbers, though), and the fact that I’m an organ donor.

“I print six business-card-sized cards with all of this information on card stock. One copy goes in my wallet. One of mine goes in my wife’s, with one of hers in my wallet, too. Other copies go into travel carry-ons plus our passports, and we keep a set on our desks, which greatly simplifies updating medical information when we’re talking with our physicians, dentists, etc. I date the cards each time I update and reprint the info so we always know we’re carrying the most current versions.”

“Surbia”: A New Idea? 

Despite the sense most of us have that the homes we inhabit are typical of life in America, the concept is scarcely a century old. Bruno Haid, the founder of Roam.co penned an enlightening read about the evolution of American housing.

Home today is less where one’s mortgage (or reverse mortgage) is, and more about the lives we live in them, regardless of location, he says. This is what’s given rise to the spate of new short-term co-living environments.

Once all the particulars of how we may live are handled with a high degree of efficiency, we can focus on the experience — what it really means to have “the time of our lives”.

This quest to redefine “home” has also given rise to surban communities, a portmanteau of suburb and urban (or just a contracted form of suburban). In an era when cars are much less essential than they use to be, with rides available at the swipe of a smartphone, this form of mixed use living, which weds the best of cities and suburbs, is attractive to many retirees.

And with a surban setting and HECM available, the next adventure beckons.

Reimagining Retirement: Encore Careers At Any Age



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For many people, the seventh and eighth decades of life are a work renaissance, as a recent New York Times piece makes clear. And while older adults, particularly women, do need the money, many members of this seasoned, savvy cohort are having “way too much fun” to retire.

Consider Laura, 71, who’s on the verge of her fourth career. She was a technology pioneer in the 1960s, and after thirty years in the field made a 180-degree pivot to run a retreat center. At 62, she took the Waldorf teacher training and became certified as a Waldorf teacher; she tutors students out of her home. She’s thinking her final career reinvention will be as an editor. But given how young, healthy and unpasteurized she is, who knows?

Look at Erni Stollberg, who became a model and Instagram sensation at 95. That redefines “aging with style” — just like model Lauren Hutton, a Calvin Klein underwear model at 73.

Then there’s Ed, 70, who has been running his high-end wood finishing business for 45 years. He’s tired of the high stress, of customers with 28-room houses bleating, “This shade of stain isn’t quite right…” He’s remodeling his own house and plans to rent it out and live in the granny unit, which will provide an income stream (and there’s always the reverse mortgage option for later on). How will he spend his newfound time and freedom?

“I’m going to sell tamales, either from a food truck or a stand,” he enthuses. It seems like a radical shift, but to Ed, the main ingredient is a lack of stress. “People love tamales, and that’s all I’m going to sell. They’ll come to me because they love what I’m selling. It’s a win-win.” And a retirement plan quite distinct from what a 70-year-old might have done just a generation ago.

reverse mortgage newsThe Not-So-Quiet Revolution 

Several years ago, when encore careers exponent Marc Freedman wrote about how mature adults are navigating the new stage beyond midlife, the idea of pressing the reset button and jumping into a whole new chapter was fairly unusual.

Now the avant-garde has hit the mainstream. Dorian Mintzer, a leading-edge Boomer at 71, created Revolutionizing Retirement when she realized her retirement was very different from that of her parents: a journey, as Laura, Erni, Ed and many others exemplify, and not a destination. Retirement reinvention isn’t static — and it needn’t be serial.

Mintzer has a “portfolio career” as a retirement/money/relationship coach, consultant, speaker, writer and teacher who works with individuals and couples to navigate pre-retirement and retirement transition issues. Too many women are frustrated by a spouse’s loose ends once he or she retires and is under foot all day. Mintzer’s maxim appeals to her cohorts: “I married you for better or for worse, but not for lunch.”

She also founded the first virtual positive aging community, Boomers and Beyond (which has been meeting since 2007), and in 2012, the Revolutionize your Retirement Interview with Experts Series to help older adults create a fulfilling second half. Interest was so strong the calls are recorded for repeat listening.

“Sixty is not the new forty; we are who we are, and we do not want to be called seniors!” Mintzer says with verve. “Grandma” doesn’t sit well with many youthful Boomer women, either. In response, some senior centers are changing their names, to, for example, “Boomers and Beyond”.

Not Who You Were, Who You’re Becoming

“We need to harvest the wisdom of life, not the information,” observes Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi. “The planet is glutted with information today. What we need is the wisdom to know how to use that information.”

Even chronic illness doesn’t have to define us. Aware adults can change their dreams and adapt. Multiplatinum singer–songwriter Linda Ronstadt, 70, can no longer sing due to Parkinson’s. Now she speaks and writes to inspire others, and shares what she’s learned during seven fulfilling decades.

By the end of this decade, 20 percent of women over 65 will be in the workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If a senior is suddenly single (whether due to death, divorce, or some other circumstance), work is a very important social outlet; it’s critical for well-being.

“Work is not a four-letter word; think of it as part of your life plan,” says career transition and personal finance/retirement consultant Kerry Hannon.

The author of Getting the Job You Want After 50 For Dummies and nine other books, Hannon says, “People have a palpable fear of outliving their money. This is the exact opposite of aging in place home retrofits: spend time transitioning!” She outlines a trio of crucial steps:

  1. Financial fitness: downsize, pay down credit card debt. “Debt is the biggest dream killer.” This may be the ideal time to consider/apply for a reverse mortgage.
  2. Physical fitness: You want to “give off a positive vibe” to potential employers — “She’s up for the job!”
  3. Spiritual fitness: Consider a meditation practice or other means to become centered and calm, organized and prepared.

While career reinvention can work really well, as explored above, Hannon advises, “Redeploy, don’t reinvent”. Take skills you already have and see how you can shift them to a new area: a former Naval captain became a manager with the circus, something he loved as a child and relishes in retirement. He merged what he loved with existing skills to transition into a whole new field.

Encore employment isn’t a linear process; more like a patchwork quilt. It’s important that older adults not get stuck in a moment; nothing is forever, and pivoting is not only possible but can be highly rewarding.

Ibasho: Creating Communities by Elders for Elders



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How Elder Living is Evolving Part 2

“The paradigm of creating dependence for elders is so ingrained,” says Emi Kiyota, PhD, even those who work in the field may need to be shocked into awareness.

For environmental gerontologist and organizational culture change specialist Kiyota, the wake-up call was witnessing the way her beloved grandmother was treated in a Japanese nursing home: “sitting in the room, waiting for something to happen.” Kiyota realized, “We’re not giving elders an opportunity to contribute: to share their wisdom in a very natural way, where they are encouraged to be a part of the solution for an aging society, rather than us thinking we have to create it all for them.”

From this purposeful fire, Ibasho arose like the proverbial phoenix. Ibasho means “a place where one feels at home being oneself,” where elders belong, to live in safety, comfort, and dignity, valued as a person of full history and experience, says Kiyota. We have two main fears as we age: social isolation, and loss of respect. By viewing elders as resources rather than liabilities, they can become change agents of their own communities.

Sustainable, Replicable Resources

reverse mortgage newsIbasho operates by 8 guiding principles that promote the value of socially integrating elders, and demonstrates the multi-generational social, economic, and environmental benefits of such a community in traditional, developing, and modern societies. They partner with local organizations and communities worldwide to design and create socially integrated and sustainable communities that value their elders.

“We are transforming the model to independence and interdependence, which is a global desire of elders, regardless of culture or area,” says Kiyota. One of her goals: to have a global network of Ibasho Cafés, where people look forward to being “old enough to get into this club.” (Like the Young@Heart Chorus, which requires aspiring members be at least 73 to join.)

“People have capacity, they have resources,” says Kiyota. With the first Ibasho Café completed in Japan, she has grants to replicate the model in the Philippines and Nepal.

Ibasho in America?

The conversation stateside might be:

  • How can we extend Ibasho principles into existing communities, with elders who want to remain in their own homes as they age, perhaps with the help of a reverse mortgage?
  • How can elders age in place and obtain the services they need, without feeling isolated?
  • If someone lives in a community setting, how can we provide the environment and engagement that everyone would like to have?
  • How can we shift social perception to include elders, reimagining the paradigm of “having it done for you,” while respecting and supporting what elders can and want to do?

Says Kiyota, “The next step for Ibasho is to transform affordable housing communities to be much more livable. We have to sit down and ask elders what they really need and want.”

Beyond Assisted Living

Dr. Keren Brown Wilson’s prescription for the future of aging echoes Kiyota’s. Wilson essentially created the concept of assisted living forty years ago as a graduate student in gerontology, when her mother, a nursing home resident at 65 due to a stroke, asked, “Why don’t you do something to help people like me?” Wilson interpreted her words to mean, “Figure out a better way to deliver long-term care.” She has devoted her career to developing ways for low-income elders to participate with purpose.

Wilson’s vision began with reframing the type of environment that would support an older person who needed substantial care every day. She envisioned a person-centered residential environment with a variable level of service as needs changed. And as the aging population explodes, the need for such models escalates exponentially.

The Silver Tsunami Touches All

By 2050, 80 percent of the world’s aging population will live in developing countries. However, healthcare systems are typically focused on child and maternal health.

“The aging pyramid is now a rectangle. How do we support people regardless of age, and regardless of income? It’s a grassroots effort, and we need infrastructure,” says Wilson. She created the The JFRF Foundation to empower communities in resource-constrained areas to “identify, strengthen and develop assets to support underserved older adults through a multi-generational, sustainable network of resources.” 

Wilson recommends we focus on:

  • Affordable housing with services. Help local communities create settings where people can organize themselves, using joint purchasing power to reduce the cost of a “unit of service” to stretch their dollars (e.g., the Village model). This may be an area where a reverse mortgage can help.
  • Modifying successful models. Adapt the “promotora model” from child and maternal health (lay training to educate others) for older adults, to ensure people who need more attention have their needs met.
  • Build capacity. Encourage elders to use their skills and knowledge (similar to Ibasho), and take an intergenerational approach of mutual support for vulnerable individuals of all ages.

She says, “We must become champions for change who build trust within the local community.”

of Doorways, Time, and New Beginnings



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January’s Gifts

Many people make New Year’s resolutions; few of us tend to stick with them throughout the year. But by tuning in to specific days and events each month, you can boost both your HECM business and senior spirit with intriguing, educational information. For instance:

January is named for Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and transitions, so it’s an excellent month for older adults to consider a reverse mortgage — and for LOs to create new ways of reaching appropriate candidates.

According to the National Day Calendar, January is National Mentoring Month, inaugurated by The Harvard School of Public Health and The National Mentoring Partnership in 2002. This might be an auspicious time to speak about new models of aging in intergenerational communities (watch for our upcoming post, This Treehouse Isn’t Just for Kids!) that are springing up around the U.S. and across the globe.

Here are four January highlights that can serve as talking points and action opportunities with your HECM clients and prospects:

1. January 6: National Technology Day. The chronologically gifted are more digitally adept than ever before, as we’ve noted often. Here are some recent posts about how tech is reinvigorating and reimagining what our later years can look like:reverse mortgage news

You might start a conversation about how technology is helping your elder population — or find out where there’s a need for tech mentoring. Perhaps you can arrange for interested seniors to get tech training at their local senior center, high school, or community college. Bonus: it will connect elders with others, who may also benefit from the interaction.

2. January 19: National Get to Know Your Customers Day (third Thursday of each quarter). A perfect reason to throw a New Year’s open house for clients, past and present, as well as prospects and associates. Ask your current clients to invite anyone whom they think might want to learn about a HECM, but keep the open house itself low-key: a friendly social with healthy snacks and beverages. Have brochures and business cards available, and collect the names and contact information of those to whom you’re introduced. Next week’s outreach will have more warm leads!

3. January 23: National Pie Day. While the calendar is replete with food-related holidays, both official and unofficial, National Pie Day is especially enjoyable because many businesses offer free or discounted pies on January 23rd. If you didn’t hold an open house for Get to Know Your Customers Day, this is another delicious opportunity to connect. Encourage people to bring and share recipes as well as home-baked goodies.

4. January 31: Inspire Your Heart with Art Day. Creativity knows no age, and this day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the artistic elders in your sphere of influence. A few prior posts that address art and well being:

Besides sharing their own artistic creations, some ways to encourage elders to enjoy the arts include:

  • Visiting an art gallery
  • Attending a ballet or concert
  • Playing an instrument (or mentoring someone else)
  • Seeing an inspirational film
  • Beginning work on their own masterpiece.

With resolutions timed to specific days, themes and activities, it will be easier to build momentum and flow with the changes 2017 is sure to bring.