A Note from the VP, Jim Greatorex: March 2024

Published in Home Modifications on March 13, 2024

By Jim Greatorex, VP, VGM Live at Home

Happy March, VGM Live at Home members! We have a lot of information to share and will jump right in!

Industry Survey

We are reopening our industry survey. We wanted to wait for companies to get their year-end financials finalized before asking members to complete the survey. This is an anonymous survey that will allow us to capture key data on where our industry metrics are at since we currently have no metrics. This survey will allow us to capture data on revenue streams, product categories, number of staff, and number of projects. From that, we will be able to create metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) for home access. We cannot do this without 50-70 submissions. Click here to complete the survey, and watch our video below to learn more.

Website Updates

Our new website has undergone several edits and changes since it first went live. Here are some of the updates:

Dealer Locator

We have a new company policy regarding our dealer locator. In order to be listed on the locator, you now need to opt in. Please take 30 seconds and use this link to opt in: https://www.vgm.com/communities/live-at-home/locate-provider/locate-a-certified-provider-optin/

The dealer locator is the second most viewed page on our site, and we have visits there from people searching to find a Live at Home member in their market. We apologize for the inconvenience, but the locator will be back up on the site soon, so please opt-in ASAP.

Discussion Board Adds Job Listings and Business-to-Business Marketplace

If you haven’t taken the time to go to our discussion board, you should. There have been some great topics in which discussions have started, and you can follow them or jump in and share your insights.

If you want to be in all discussions after you enter the portal, go to your settings button in the top right-hand corner and click "Account Profile."

Account Profile

You will see a box to click to get all discussions as they happen. You can also opt out of any discussion you want while in that discussion tab.

Discussion

Also new to the discussion board is a job postings category, so if you are hiring or looking for work, you can post in that category. Currently, Harmar has job postings there.

Job Postings

If you have an overstock item or have an item you would like to resell, or are looking for an item, put a post in the B2B online marketplace category.

B2B

Social Media Update

We are moving away from posting to Facebook and will now have a LinkedIn presence. We will be posting to that page regularly, so be sure to follow us here.

Update on Building Opportunities Summit

We will soon be announcing the dates and venue for the 2024 Building Opportunities Summit. We are staying the central time zone and will again look at an early November date.

Building Opportunities Field Tech Summit 2024 in Ohio

If you would like to get a technician trained by as many as six different manufacturers in four days, then sign up for our Building Opportunities Field Tech Summit in Ravenna, OH, at Access to Independence. They have a 9,000 square-foot showcase of all the products with a classroom attached. To learn more and to register, click here.

Heartland Conference

Live at Home will not have education specific for home access at the Heartland Conference this year. However, there is general education around business operations, leadership, and marketing. Additionally, if you have an HME division, there will be plenty of excellent content there for you. We will miss being at that fantastic event as there is nothing like the midwestern VGM hospitality. Instead, we are working hard putting all our resources in having our Building Opportunities Summit bring you two days of relevant education, content, and vendor engagement.

Lowe's Potential Discount Program

Lowe's has asked us to collect data on products that you might buy on a regular basis from them and if you could get a price break. Answer this questionnaire to participate. The first 25 companies to submit will receive a Starbucks $10 gift card.

We hope that your 2024 is off to a great start! We have a lot of projects in the works, and we will report progress on them in the coming months. We will also have a new vendor to announce soon.

We want to thank you all for all the great work you continue to do in transforming homes to safer environments for your clients. Your passion and motivation to help people is why we work every day to give you and the industry tools to scale the business and make you be the “go-to” home access companies in your markets.

Jim Greatorex
Vice President
VGM Live at Home