Transitioning to a new home and downsizing a life: These two processes often intertwine for seniors, and they can be monumentally stressful. Atlanta business owner Lisa Malvea has made a mission out of reducing that stress with a multi-prong approach.
Malvea is owner of Caring Transitions in Roswell. As a franchisee in a company with more than 200 locations nationwide, she’s leveraged a built-in network with her deep knowledge of the corporate world. The result is nearly 1,000 completed projects over the past five years as she’s helped seniors catalog and sell belongings, move to new homes, and stage their new living quarters.
‘Day One living’
Malvea began Caring Transitions after seeing her parents through Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia. After a 35-year tour of corporate America, she’s now committed to assisting seniors — and often their children and grandchildren — through times of upheaval and change. Gaining understanding in unique situations has turned out to be a big part of smoothing transitions, she said.
“I’m always trying to get that insight because it makes a difference on how I can reduce stress in the move,” Malvea told the AJC. “That’s my big goal is to reduce stress.”
Credit: Lisa Malvea
Credit: Lisa Malvea
Often, the Caring Transitions process includes moving a client in to a new home — unpacking belongings and attending to details like hanging pictures and making beds.
“We basically call that ‘Day One living’ because you go see the Blue Ridge Mountains come back the next day, and here’s your new home,” Malvea said.
The seniors she serves move for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they need to downsize to a smaller residence. Sometimes there’s a medical or cognitive complication involved. Exploring these factors, Malvea said, can help in understanding goals and making an operating plan.
“As an example, if somebody has Alzheimer’s or dementia, which I have personal experience with, I’m kind of operating really simply when I’m in the presence of that person because I don’t want to trigger any additional anxiety,” she said.
In working with each client to establish a functional, safe arrangement, she learns about daily routines, what clients want their new homes to look like and where they want to place the treasures they’ve accumulated over a lifetime.
A ‘national footprint’
Malvea spent years with megacompanies like Proctor & Gamble and Walmart, and she’s applied her knowledge of corporate workings as she’s integrated services into her new line of work. Caring Transitions’ nationwide presence felt familiar and when she began, Malvea felt it afforded extra help — the franchise model can facilitate resources on both sides of a move. That built-in network recently allowed her to assist a couple as they made their way across the country on eight days’ notice in a move from Colorado to Georgia.
“I was able to put together a plan, and then I was able to use the extended arm — my counterpart in Colorado — to urgently make that happen,” Malvea said. “That national footprint separates us from the great mom-and-pop companies, but it also allows us to help people better — more quickly and more seamlessly.”
When Malvea opened her Caring Transitions location, COVID-19 wasn’t far off. She and her team were essential workers, and they continued helping clients make transitions, although they had to adjust their procedures. Malvea has kept some of those COVID-era protocols in place because they served her clients well. While helping seniors auction and ship belongings they don’t intend to keep, she found that an online format benefited everyone. Seniors’ homes are protected from the wear and tear of foot traffic, and items listed online via the Caring Transitions auction platform, ctbids.com, can go to buyers across the country — often drawing higher bids from enthusiasts who wouldn’t otherwise have access to them.
Success in entrepreneurship
Just a few years into entrepreneurship, Malvea has experienced success lots of business owners only dream of. Her business-to-business efforts — networking with local senior living communities and related companies — alongside her reputation among actual customers has brought in 980 projects so far. It took the company two years to begin bringing in seven figures, she said. Clients’ needs have spilled over from Caring Transitions projects, and she’s responded with additional services including a moving company called Allz Done Solutions and a Navis Pack & Ship location. The latter is another franchise business that’s open to customers of all age demographics, but it comes in handy when Malvea needs to ship seniors’ estate auction items.
Among the myriad things Malvea has learned during her time in the aging space, one thing stands out. Respect for clients and their families is paramount, she said, and the resulting relationships are worth the time investment.
“If you’re dealing with seniors, have patience, have respect. Build in that extra time into your business model,” she said. “The care that you provide in that space will reap you a lot of rewards.”
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