Category: Industry News

Hey Live at Home members, Here we are at the end of July, and before you know it, our VGM Heartland Conference will be here. Besides celebrating our 20th anniversary of the conference, this year’s conference will be a major opportunity for Live at Home members. 2021 is our industry's turning-point year, and we will have much to share with you. New opportunities are happening very rapidly, and we are finding that after learning about our network,  many companies want to...

Serving one’s community with compassion and integrity is a value that Tammy Robert, owner and operations manager of Louisiana Special Needs, pursues every day.  “My passion has been, and still is, to provide quality goods and services to the people of our community and throughout the state of Louisiana,” said Tammy. “My team and I work hard to improve our processes, productivity, and efficiency in providing these needed services.” Tammy’s family owns...

Summer is here and it looks to be a crazy next three months for home access contractors and manufacturers. We are seeing a lot of members have business pick up to pre-pandemic levels or better, but with it is coming price increases and an alarming amount of product being damaged in shipping.  The Good News  In April and May, we’re getting reports that the slight lulls in business in the first quarter of this year is a memory and that many members are seeing...

Originally featured in “VGM Playbook: Growing Your Business in Today’s Environment” by VGM & Associates, Vice President of Live at Home Jim Greatorex lays out how those in the home accessibility industry can grow their business within the aging in place market. You can download the playbook here. Within the last five years, we have been hearing a lot about Baby Boomers and the aging in place market opportunity. Depending on what you read, there are anywhere...

Home Access Legislation Starting to Move Forward The month of May has seen much activity on the home accessibility federal legislation front! The HomesRenewed Coalition has been working very hard to get a bill introduced that would provide tax incentives for homeowners on defined home modifications and safety upgrades. Rep. Tom Swuozzi from NY has agreed to draft a bill that would allow people to use retirement funds on home modifications. HomesRenewed will allow members...

In the last month, we have seen many more businesses open at a greater capacity, and with it has come a feeling in the air that both our professional and personal lives are about get much better. This week, many of us here at VGM were able to return to the office and I got to escape my space in the bedroom office at home! Seeing co-workers in person and having personal interactions never felt so good. We will have several new opportunities to talk about in the next few months as we see increased...

The Longevity Revolution: Getting Good Housing Prepared for Seniors Through Legislation Allowing seniors to age in place has become even more important due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. However, homes are not necessarily built for aging adults. VGM Live at Home is working with HomesRenewed Coalition to introduce and hopefully pass legislation allowing for tax incentives that influence homeowners to update their homes in advance of a health crisis, allowing them to age in place...

As we come to the close of the first quarter, I have a few thoughts to share and two announcements to make. Spring is in the air, and even though we are still having crazy weather, renewal that Spring brings is coming at us in many ways! Many of you have communicated that business was off in January and February and for some, including yours truly, it was somewhat surprising. Here is what we believe contributed to the lackluster results. A very distracted senior market. People over...

From mid -October through mid-January, VGM Live at Home worked with an outside agency to measure the Google Review activity of 18 Live at Home members. We learned much about how engaged the industry is in pursuing online reviews and how it can affect business growth. Much of what we learned also translates and applies well to HME businesses.  Online Reviews: A study as how it relates to home accessibility contractors and HME companies In a former life as president...

Originally featured in “VGM Playbook: Forecasting 2021” by VGM & Associates, Vice President of Live at Home Jim Greatorex discusses the evolution and opportunity of the home accessibility market in 2021. You can access the full playbook here. In the last three years, we have seen the beginning of the evolution of the home accessibility market. Many new entrepreneurs are entering the market, aging in place is gaining significant consumer awareness, and the global pandemic has increased...