Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

It doesn’t seem like the holidays are upon us. I think we all understand that most retail indexes are pointing a bit south, meaning that retail sales as of, this day and date, are not on pace with last year. And most big box retailers (Walmart, Best Buy, etc) have been positioning their Wall Street performance in the best positive light considering these circumstances. People do not appear to be in the shopping mood, yet, until it’s too late.

If you think about, Christmas day is in exactly one week. Do you have all of your holiday gifts bought yet? I don’t. I have a couple things to buy, but I promise I’ll get on it soon. Really.

I was out at one of the local malls the other day in the evening and I expected it to be busier than it was. Wow, what a surprise as it was actually pretty quiet!

As I was shopping that evening, I asked one of the store managers who was helping me with a gift what she thought the reason was for the delayed excitement and climax of all the holiday shoppers coming out in troves. She thought a minute, smiled and said: ”Oh that’s easy, it been 45 degrees this past week and sunny, and it’s December, in Minnesota!” How right she was.

That scenario begs this question in a similar context:

Why do we wait until the last minute to get help to take care of a loved one in need?

You can picture this as well as I can…”This is the last straw! I’m calling someone, I don’t know who or where or how I’ll do it, but I will find someone/somewhere who can help me take care of you but, all I know is I can’t do it anymore.” This is when it appears to be too much stress at one time.

We wait for various reasons, but the number one reason is our pride and that we think no one can take care of our loved ones like I can. There is help out there.

For those of us who have been down this path, it’s a tough path to walk down. Do you try to take care of a loved one when you know deep in your heart you are doing a disservice to them as well as yourself when you know your heart is not in it? No, not because you do not want to do it, but because you just cannot physically do it anymore. Or do you try to find a company who can help you with home care? Points to ponder as we all grow older together.

It’s important to know, don’t wait until it’s too late, there is a plethora of resources at your fingertips to help with home care.

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

I couldn’t believe it. There I was, searching for ‘it’ on www.eBay.com as their advertising proclaims. I was looking for some deals on some merchandise that I really did not need but thought I did, and I found them. I really found them. I had only heard of them but had never really seen any before. They were pulled from being sold last year due to a cease and desist order and potential future litigation of being sued by another organization for any further sales. I wasn’t fast enough and this auction ended early.

I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t think there were any around. At the height of their popularity, they were actually, legally available for sale for about 3-4 months. Which does not sound like a lot of time in the first place and in the non-profit, dot org world, it’s not. Once a ‘cause’ is founded and established it can live on for years and years.

I couldn’t believe it. What I am writing about is the Alzheimer Association’s (www.alz.org) MINDSTRONG wristbands that were available for a brief few months during the summer of 2004. They are identical to the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s (www.livestrong.org) LIVESTRONG yellow wristbands except they are purple and say MINDSTRONG on them.

The Lance Armstrong Foundation is a nonprofit organization located in Austin, Texas. Founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist, Lance Armstrong, the LAF inspires and empowers people with cancer. Their yellow wristbands came to life soon thereafter at $1 a piece.

Here’s an amazing statistic. Approximately 55 million people today across the globe wear a LIVESTRONG wristband in support of people living with cancer.

Think about it…at a buck a band that’s $55 million dollars! Impressive indeed.

So, here’s where my story picks up…

With my mom having Alzheimer’s, I wanted to support the Alzheimer’s Association by purchasing some of their wristbands. I contacted the national level association to inquire about purchasing some and was told they were informed by the Lance Armstrong Foundation to stop selling their wristbands because their MINDSTRONG wristbands were too similar to the LIVESTRONG wristbands. That’s what I couldn’t believe.

They said I could contact each individual state association to see if they had any left and for a ‘donation’ I could receive a wristband as a gift. After a few calls, I tracked some down in Florida and for a ‘donation’ I finally received my wristbands. Finally.

I couldn’t believe it. I know our attention for the dollars we donate is being fought for everywhere. But that one non-profit group could do that to another non-profit group, just didn’t seem right.

It’s important to know, you should be STRONG in whatever you believe is important to you.

Author

Thomas Wiest

CEO, Aspirience Home Care

PRESS RELEASE – Shakopee, Minnesota, December 4, 2006 – A1 Health Care recently completed the re-naming and brand platform development of its company into Aspirience Home Care, a Twin Cities-based and Minnesota state licensed provider of personal care assistant services.

“Health care consumers place a great deal of trust in the provider, making this brand positioned for success”, said Ecra Creative Group Principal Jason Voiovich, whose company was retained for the massive naming and branding project.

“The name ‘Aspirience’ communicates instantly a positive, hopeful, and clear message to the home care service buying audience that this company can turn aspirations into experiences” remarked Voiovich.

The move positions the company to become a dominant player in the estimated $600 million local Twin Cities market for personal care services. National estimates put the market opportunity at over $50 billion with growth prospects in the 10 to 15 percent per year range.

While most personal care service companies focus their brand position on the geriatric market, Aspirience Home Care has strong experience with clients along the entire age and health spectrum: Younger children with physical or mental disabilities, disabled adults, elderly, those recovering from injury and so on. This broader focus and market specialty is reflected in our brand name and position.

Aspirience Home Care launches the new name, logo and brand strategy December 1, 2006. The company was previously known as A1 Health Care.

About Aspirience Home Care:

Shakopee, Minnesota based Aspirience Home Care provides services to people who need help with activities of daily living and health-related functions through Personal Care Assistants (PCAs).

Aspirience Home Care also publishes the weekly column the State of the Home 2006 (http://www.aspirience.com/blog), a weekly column reviewing and analyzing current home care topics and trends.