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Helping seniors navigate life changes
Growing older comes with life changes. Some mature adults downsize their homes and move to senior housing; others age in place or transition to assisted living—there are countless scenarios, and people experience aging differently. Erin DiCarlo and Lauren Watts, co-owners of the Dovetail Companies in Wilmington, MA, are age-well advocates and help older adults transition to their next life stage. The business owners noted that elders are often left out of conversations about their own living arrangements as they age.
"No one's talking directly to the elder and asking what they want, said DiCarlo, the company's president. She emphasized that The Dovetail Companies' business model is built around engaging older adults directly in the process to help them live their best lives regardless of medical diagnosis or health impairment. "We have a whole training called 'Parents Don't Want to Be Parented.' Everything we do is trying to tackle that and work directly with the older adults to say, make a plan for yourself, get excited, and if you can't, we're going to help you." The business owner added that while best case scenario is that a mature adult creates a plan before it's critical, Dovetail Companies can help elders in a crisis.
DiCarlo founded Dovetail Companies in 2017 after working in elder care for over a decade. "After years of handholding families and seniors through the overwhelming process of considering leaving their longtime home and moving into senior living, I decided that I had to create a better way for seniors and families to experience the transition process. People in our culture don't talk about aging. We don't have a plan for it; we don't discuss it. So many people end up at a point of incapacitation or crisis or life change where they have to make really informed decisions with limited information, and it's a recipe for disaster," said DiCarlo.
The business owner shared that there are many professionals in the elder-care industry who support clients with various needs, such as legal, real estate, financial, advocacy, education and healthcare. However, these professionals operate independently of one another, and that can be challenging for older adults and their families. "It's still up to you, the older adult and or with your family to go engage each one of these professionals, tell your story to each professional and pay each one, and it's just too much," said DiCarlo. In late 2015 and early 2016, she conceived her business. Dovetail Companies was born out of a need to streamline the fragmented process of aging transition. The company provides one point of contact for every service an older adult may need when facing a major life transition. "I am a Certified Senior Advisor, a Certified Dementia Practitioner, a Care Manager Certified, a Certified Senior and Specialty Move Manager and a Senior's Real Estate Specialist," said DiCarlo.
Since opening Dovetail Companies, DiCarlo has significantly expanded her team, including bringing on a business partner. She met Lauren Watts, Dovetail Companies' co-owner and vice president, when she placed a client in an assisted living facility. "Lauren was so amazing with this client, just an expert, kind, empathetic. And I said to her, 'One day, when I can bring on a partner, I'd love for it to be you.' And we just started working together. She also got her real estate license when I told her what I was looking to do with seniors, and I brought her on at first as an agent with me. Then I brought her on as a business partner in 2018." DiCarlo and Watts refer to each other as "the senior soul sisters." DiCarlo summed up their business. "We're two women who are passionate about older adults living their best life, and we provide a streamlined resource to help make sure that happens."
Today, Dovetail Companies is a Certified Age Friendly Employer with 39 team members. "My team establishes deep trust and rapport with the older adult and their family. And then we create and execute the plan. So whether it's adapting a home to age in place, bringing in-home care services, or maybe home is no longer the best solution, we need to find an appropriate place to go. Then our team manages the whole process of packing, moving, sorting, organizing, downsizing, clearing out the property, selling the home, getting the senior settled in their new space," DiCarlo said.
Additionally, the founder shared that Dovetail Companies is launching new services, specifically an online-based education and training platform for professionals. It will also be providing “age-well” motivational speaking opportunities.
When asked what she likes best about running Dovetail Companies, DiCarlo said, "It's the best job in the world. If I won a hundred million dollars tomorrow, I'd still wake up and go to work the next day because we love what we do." Dovetail Companies serves clients in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
For more information about Dovetail Companies, check out their BBB profile. To learn more about BBB and read more stories like this, visit Behind the Business Stories with BBB in Eastern MA, ME, RI & VT.
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