Member Spotlight: Jessica Dale, A Place at Home
It is amazing to come into the office each day to see various types of businesses operate within our shared office space. We are so proud to know so many entrepreneurs and generous people and be able to work with them. New businesses are particularly exciting to see how a business starts with an idea and flourishes into a thriving business. This month’s member spotlight is on a new business owner Jessica Dale, owner of A Place at Home.
“A Place at Home” is an in-home elderly care service that Jessica officially opened in May 2022. She started the business to address the growing need for the care of the elderly in their homes, while helping both the elderly and their families. With her office in Somerville, NJ, she can serve several towns in the area including Basking Ridge, Flemington, Hillsborough, Berkeley Heights, Chatham, Mendham, New Providence, Bernardsville, Annandale, Warren, Martinsville, Bridgewater, Califon, Far Hills, Gladstone, Lyons, Lebanon, Somerville, Whitehouse Station, Peapack, and Millington.
We chatted with Jessica about her background and how she got started. Jessica discovered her love for helping others while working with families at a nonprofit for 4.5 years. After COVID-19 hit in 2020, she felt called to make a change and find “creative ways to help families” with her own business. The senior care industry came up in her research among many other options and took a certified senior advisor course. After the course, she fell in love with the topic and looked into different senior care franchise organizations. After evaluating different options, she ultimately connected best with A Place at Home and decided to join the growing national network. To anyone exploring a franchise, she recommends “researching, interviewing more than 4-5 franchises, and taking your time” to find the perfect fit.
While planning for her opening and getting started, Jessica mentioned strong leadership was critical. She credits a lot of her leadership skills to the relationships she built throughout her career, friendships, strong networking, as well as support from her family and friends. After several months running her business, she found that her favorite thing about it is the small details that make the clients and seniors happy. She recalls a time she went to visit one of her clients and brought corn muffins because she remembered they loved them. Making her clients feel seen and heard are of utmost priority, and she checks in on them regularly to ensure that.
Similarly, a successful day in the office is hearing back from a happy client and their family via phone call. The key to creating this success is matching the right caregiver to a client – a process that involves getting to know both parties and receiving lots of feedback.’
Jessica has a private office at Office Evolution that serves as her base of operations. She chose it not only because it was close to home, but because it was “homey, welcoming, and affordable for a start-up”. In addition to the private office space she can also access the shared services like the kitchen, reception area and conference rooms. Both Jessica and her services coordinator, Beatrice, work from this office where they can also take advantage of the vibrant downtown Somerville location on Division St. Jessica has been a local for 19 years and loves being able to work in a place she enjoys.
As Jessica’s business continues to grow, she is looking to collaborate with nursing homes and discharged patients or patients recovering from surgery. A Place at Home can help ease their transition back to home. Jessica is also always looking for new caregivers to join her hardworking team. She can also provide certifications and training for her caregivers so they can feel secure in their skills.
You can contact Jessica and her team at jessica.dale@aplaceathome.com or (908) 430 – 9222 for any questions, referrals, or to join her team! For more information about A Place at Home and their amazing services, visit www.aplaceathomenj.com. It’s been wonderful to watch Jessica assist so many families with their specific caregiver needs and we are excited to watch her continue to grow. Thank you so much Jessica!