Emma (00:01.026)
Hi, Laura, thank you so much for joining us on the Conscious Success podcast.
Lorri Bernstein (00:06.176)
I'm so happy to be here with you, Emma.
Emma (00:09.666)
So for those listening, are a very, very special person in my life. You are my best friend's mother and a surrogate mother to me and basically adopted me into your family. And there's so many reasons that I wanted to have you on the pod today. You're just such a light in everyone's life. You are an amazing mother, but you also started a business later in life at age 58, I think it was after raising.
for kids, and not only did you start a business, you grew it to be a very successful business. And I think that's just such a unique and inspiring story. And there aren't a lot of women who believe in themselves to start a business at any age, much less 58 and see the success that you've had. So I'm just so excited to share you as a person and share more about this story with my community. So thank you for being here.
Lorri Bernstein (01:02.826)
And thank you for having me. are absolutely my daughter. thank you so much. warms my heart. You warm my heart. Everything you do warms my heart.
Emma (01:08.043)
thank you.
Emma (01:13.294)
Thanks, Laura. Okay, I want to go way way back to your childhood growing up. Tell us a little bit about little Lori. Like what were you like as a kid? Tell us a little bit about your childhood and I'm particularly interested in what was the model of success that you had modeled for you, particularly as a young girl? What did what did success look like for you as a girl and as a woman that that you saw in your childhood?
Lorri Bernstein (01:40.384)
That's a very good question. So I was raised in a Midwestern home, very conservative. My parents were extremely frugal. They were extremely hard working. Education was everything. And so that's what the emphasis was, is just educate yourself as much as you can. We will support that in every way. The fun stuff, didn't, not as much, but it was all about education and working hard and giving back to the community. They were extremely generous.
of their time, of their resources, and when a lot of other people around them weren't, it was always a very, very important value for them. And so for myself, I would say I was motivated by that, and that was kind of what guided me to always work my hardest. School wasn't easy for me, but I always, I worked probably harder than most people because I had to in order to succeed. And my...
Emma (02:22.874)
Hmm
Lorri Bernstein (02:38.718)
height, very short, and so I had to be a little feisty to make sure that I was heard. But I did that.
Emma (02:44.557)
In what ways were you feisty? Like I think of you, I mean, you're feisty, but like the sweetest also. So tell me a little bit about that, how that feistiness worked for you.
Lorri Bernstein (02:51.31)
I'm little bit of a competitive nature, but I'm quiet about it. so, you know, so I'm like, you know, watch it, watch out because this, you know, I'm, I'm short, but a little bit mighty when it comes to that, but you might not know it's coming because I do have that Midwestern style about me, but I'm watching what's going on.
Emma (02:57.521)
Yeah.
Emma (03:07.277)
Haha
And that probably really works for you in business as well. So did your mom work outside of the home? Was she a full-time caretaker? What did that look like?
Lorri Bernstein (03:14.358)
Yes, I think so. I think so.
Lorri Bernstein (03:23.746)
So my mom stayed home with us. I'm the youngest of three. And my mom stayed home until I was in end of elementary school. And then she went back and got her finished getting her teacher's degree. And she went back to teaching. And then she became an administrator to a daycare. And most of her friends did not work out of the home. They were stay-at-home moms. So it was a little bit unusual in my neighborhood at that time.
Emma (03:47.15)
So then you had this model where a lot of your friends had stay at home moms. You had a mom who stayed home for a while but then was working outside of the home. What did you think about for your own career? Obviously education was important, but did you have big career ambitions? Did you have ambitions to be an entrepreneur at the time? Or were you thinking, just also want to build a family? What did that look like in terms of how you saw your own life playing out?
Lorri Bernstein (04:12.702)
So I don't think I saw a career as number one for myself, but I always did have an entrepreneurial spirit. I was always coming up with ideas for fundraisers and for volunteering and for summer activities of starting a camp in my neighborhood and things like that. So I did always have, and even when I did outside sales, like flowers, tissue making flowers and stuff outside my house. So I always had a little bit of an entrepreneurial spirit.
more drawn towards social work and really working in the community and that was really my my bend and so that's what my education was in as well psychology and social work.
Emma (04:53.451)
Yeah, so you went to UC Berkeley. Was that for undergrad or grad school both? What did that? Okay, okay.
Lorri Bernstein (04:59.106)
So I started out at Penn State University. I have a funny story about that. But I started out at Penn State, but my boyfriend at the time from high school was at Stanford. And so after a year, I ended up transferring out to Berkeley. The minute I got to California, we broke up. So who knows about that? that's what got me to Berkeley. And then I finished my undergraduate degree there, and then I got my master's in social work degree right after undergraduate school.
Emma (05:15.629)
you
Emma (05:26.765)
So these values in your home of giving back and being of service and getting your education, all of that clearly comes through getting your master's in social work. And I mean, I know you say school didn't come easily for you, but that's a pretty impressive to get your undergraduate and graduate degree from Berkeley. So tell me more about that. Was that a truth, a fact that you weren't good in school or was that a story you told yourself?
Lorri Bernstein (05:50.55)
No, I was good in school. My testing was a little bit on the lower side. But the truth is it was much easier at that time to get into the schools like UC Berkeley than it would be now. couldn't even get my toe in now. But because I always worked hard, my grades were always really good. My test scores were not, but my grades were always really good because I did work really hard. So that's probably what got me towards there. And I also worked with the deaf. And so Berkeley was appealing to me because they had the Berkeley School for the Deaf right there.
volunteer work and my internships there.
Emma (06:25.142)
So you graduate and you get your master's in social work, is that correct? And then what did you do after graduate school? What did that look like?
Lorri Bernstein (06:34.208)
So while I was at Berkeley, worked in, my emphasis was working with the deaf community, but I also started working in catering and restaurants to help put myself through school. And so I really enjoyed that as well. So when I went home to Chicago, this is how I was a little bit all over the place. I went home and I applied for jobs in deaf education and working with families and...
of deaf children and then also I applied in restaurants and management and I said whatever job comes up first that's what I'll take and so I ended up in the restaurant business and event planning business for many years.
Emma (07:16.48)
Wow, okay, I don't think I ever knew that about you. So tell us a little bit about that chapter. What did that look like?
Lorri Bernstein (07:22.316)
Well, I worked for an organization called the Levy Organization. It's a large organization in Chicago, because I had gone back to Chicago, my hometown, after graduating, getting my masters. And I went back and I worked in one of their, they had like 17 different restaurants at that time and event spaces. And I went and worked at one of them. then I,
I thought of the idea that they weren't working together. If someone went to do a party at one restaurant, if they couldn't accommodate them, they weren't recommending them to their other restaurants. So I noticed that. So I actually went to the owner of the company. I actually used to roller skate. So I roller skated into his office. And I said, I think I could do this for all your restaurants. So I actually created my own position there.
Emma (08:02.891)
Ha ha!
Emma (08:09.608)
my goodness. Okay. That is like so entrepreneurial of you to be just seeing problems and thinking, okay, I can solve this and let me create my own position. And yeah, and just, I love that visual of you roller skating up to the head of the company and creating your own position. So he heard this and was like, you're right. That's like this like tiny little blonde woman who rolled in and rolled.
Lorri Bernstein (08:18.818)
think I was thinking it at the time, but looking back,
Lorri Bernstein (08:29.454)
Yeah, you should have seen his face when I rolled into his office. He was a little surprised, I think.
Emma (08:39.472)
Okay. Yeah. it's, you you say you didn't think about that at the time, but I think this is core. It sounds like to your nature from a young age where you would just see an opportunity or a business idea, or you would just take your hand at something and try it and be willing to see if it would work. Does that feel true? And that theme you can see kind of throughout your life.
Emma (09:06.966)
So at what point in this did you meet Ted, your husband?
Lorri Bernstein (09:12.49)
So I met Ted while I was in Chicago while I was working for the Levy organization. I met Ted and we had a very fast and furious romance and we were married within a year of meeting each other. And then I was pregnant with Nicky with my first three months after we were married. So it was all very quick.
Emma (09:26.54)
Wow.
Emma (09:34.124)
And so how old were you at the time?
Lorri Bernstein (09:36.79)
I was 20, 25 when I met Ted, I was 26 when we got married and when I had Nicky I was 27.
Emma (09:44.374)
Wow, okay. So now you're 27, you have Nikki, you're newborn. At this point, are you working still and you have a young child? Did you decide to quit? Why did that?
Lorri Bernstein (09:56.014)
So, yeah, actually this is amazing because I haven't thought about these things in so long. But I actually left my job because the restaurant business, I was doing catering events until like 2, 3 in the morning. So once I had my child, I decided to not do that anymore. So I took a leave of absence from there. And then I, and funny story,
well, I don't know if you want this story. so I took a leave of absence there and then I started a business out of my home with my girlfriend called Oodles and we had personalized gifts and stationery and we did it out of our townhouse and I did that for a few years and I sold it actually after that for after a few years because we ended up moving then to Pennsylvania.
Emma (10:45.024)
Wow.
Emma (10:49.004)
So amazing. Tell me more about that. Like what was the need or the opportunity that you saw with personalized gifts and stationery and how did you go about building that business?
Lorri Bernstein (10:58.636)
So there was one company that did it out in the suburbs that I used to order all my gifts from. And then I thought to myself, they don't really have anything in Chicago like this. So I think let's start this in the city of Chicago. So that's how it started. so I worked on that for a few years while I had Nikki as a little baby.
Emma (11:19.476)
And how are you finding customers? How are you sourcing the inventory for this? How are you figuring all of that out while having a newborn child?
Lorri Bernstein (11:29.89)
Well, it was in our loft. had a townhouse and it was in a fourth story loft. you had to go up, every customer had to go up four stories and go through our bedroom. Sometimes if we were sick, we were lying in bed and they were going through our bedroom to get to the top. And we had just all samples. We sourced through stationary companies. We got a lot of books for people to order, baby announcements, wedding announcements, bar and bar mitzvahs, that kind of thing. And then we also found local artists.
and things to do personalized gifts as well. And in terms of our customers, we didn't advertise or anything, so I don't know how we just word of mouth pretty much. I mean, there was no internet even then, so I'm not sure how we did it.
Emma (12:08.843)
Well...
So you had no website, people weren't at the time like going on a website, seeing a gift, doing direct to consumers, coming into your bedroom and walking up four flights of stairs. And so, I mean, you've always been someone who I think is a pillar of your community and you have such deep and warm relationships. So it sounds like you leverage that kind of as a superpower that you have and recognized.
Lorri Bernstein (12:15.694)
Yeah.
Lorri Bernstein (12:20.204)
So, right.
Emma (12:35.893)
people in your network are looking for this and there's an opportunity or there's a need not truly being filled. And then you offered this to friends and family and they were all too happy to take you up on it.
Lorri Bernstein (12:48.47)
Yeah. And corporations, I mean, I went to the place that I had worked and stuff. And also I did it with my girlfriend from growing up, my childhood friend who growing up and she had a lot of connections as well. So between the two of us, we leveraged it.
Emma (13:04.939)
So then when did you exit the company? You said you sold it. What did that look like?
Lorri Bernstein (13:09.27)
well yes all that for never much but i sold it when we move when i knew we were moving to let me decide to move to pennsylvania from a husband to take a job with his family business that's when that's when i sold it as we were leaving because i think my girlfriend didn't really want to continue doing it without me
Emma (13:27.583)
Got it. And so you moved to Pennsylvania and did you find a new job there? At that point, did you decide I'm going to stay home? What did that look like?
Lorri Bernstein (13:38.946)
So at that time I was pregnant with my second and so I decided that I was going to just kind of acclimate myself in the community and I was going to do more volunteer work and for a while and see and then I ended up staying home with my kids for many years. But I did a lot of other projects and things. Always with an entrepreneurial spirit, honestly.
Emma (14:02.123)
So talk to us some more about like what those projects looked like. I mean, you had four children, so you're raising four kids, which is a lot. I mean, I have two, I often think of you. I don't know how you had four. And if I understand it correctly, yeah, yes, but I also have full-time childcare. And as I understand it, you didn't have childcare, you didn't have a nanny, you were the full-time childcare.
Lorri Bernstein (14:12.366)
But not twins, no twins, not two at the same time.
Lorri Bernstein (14:25.942)
Well, as the kids got, as I had four, I think I had no pair for one year. I did have some part-time support there. Yeah, and my mother, my in-laws, and my parents were helpful when they could be. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Emma (14:32.395)
for one year. But it was you.
Yeah. Okay. So even despite that you were doing like some projects on the side, what was the main motivation to doing other projects and what did those projects look like?
Lorri Bernstein (14:53.07)
it was when I saw something that wasn't there that I thought that would be nice for the community to have, would work towards it. I didn't think much about it, but now looking back, that's kind how it happened. one of the things that I did was I started the Jewish Film Festival in Harrisburg that actually is still going on today. It's stronger than ever, not because it's the people there are amazing who are doing it, but it was, I always loved film and I always have been proud of being Jewish and so I kind of put that together and I thought it'd be really nice for the community.
Emma (15:10.827)
Wow.
Lorri Bernstein (15:23.094)
to have and I wanted to bring different topics that sparked conversation, different conversations.
Emma (15:31.017)
Hmm, that's beautiful. I mean, that's no small undertaking to start a film festival. And so I'm kind of just getting this theme where you just see it something, you have an idea and you're like, yeah, sure, I'll do that if it's in service of the community. And I think that that would be helpful or interesting. What do you think it is about you that just takes action and is willing to just jump in and try to figure something out? Because I don't think that's necessarily like every person's orientation towards
problems or opportunities.
Lorri Bernstein (16:00.878)
in
Totally, and you know it's interesting though because as I find as I'm getting older these last few years, I have a little less of it. I'm a little more trepidation. I don't know what it is, if it's age or what, but I think I was kind of in those times and I was supported by my husband and my family so I was very lucky in that way. I just kind of didn't think about obstacles, I just thought about going forward and seeing what happened.
I wasn't afraid of failing with it for whatever reason. I think I have that more now.
Emma (16:32.97)
And where do you?
Emma (16:37.835)
Where do you think that comes from? Because I feel like all of my clients, or not all, but so many, it's such a theme to be afraid of failure and overcoming that and allowing yourself to try and fail and learn the lesson. And it seems like you didn't have that burden, so you were just able to keep learning the lessons and growing and iterating really fast to ultimately get to success, but not carrying that same burden in terms of that fear.
Lorri Bernstein (17:02.934)
I was actually fortunate that I had the luxury to do it, that I didn't have to work, that I didn't have to, I think that was part of it too. So I had my mind was a little more clear for that. And so I know that I was, I had the entitlement to do that as well. But I don't know because my parents were the most conservative things, they would never take risks. They thought I was nuts, you know? So they would never take those kinds of risks. So maybe that actually spurred me even more to take risks.
Emma (17:25.801)
You
Emma (17:32.991)
And what did Ted think about your risk taking or your taking on these various projects?
Lorri Bernstein (17:36.3)
He was always extremely... He would kind of... I think he was amused by it, honestly, and he was always very supportive of it.
Emma (17:47.061)
So, okay, so you raised four kids and I do just wanna ask and dive in here too, because to me, like your family feels like the definition of familial success. You're so close with each of your kids. They all genuinely want to come home. They enjoy spending time with you. You're the person that they turn to in good times and in bad. So for those of us who are hoping to create the same dynamic in our own families, like what is...
what has been, what have been the biggest ingredients in creating that dynamic or what's your best advice for those of us earlier in our parenthood journey?
Lorri Bernstein (18:23.948)
well i think that every every family has its has its things and we have ours as well so you know it it might look a certain way in some but that but we also have friction sometimes and we have to get through that but i think that
I really believe love conquers all. that's, no matter what my kids were going through, no matter what obstacles they were having, we were having, I really, really believe if I could dig deep in my soul and remember that love conquers everything, I really believe that's the success.
of staying close and in relationship with those you love.
Emma (19:12.722)
And so when you're, let's say one of your kids was having a challenge or was going through a hard time, with that belief, love conquers all, like how would that show up? How would you parent them? How would you love or guide them through that?
Lorri Bernstein (19:28.174)
Well, I'm not sure what I say would be exactly what my kids would say, but...
Emma (19:34.12)
I'll interview your kids after this and snip it in.
Lorri Bernstein (19:35.489)
Yeah, exactly, exactly. You might get a totally different story, but I mean, it would keep me up at night. There's no question that that's what that was probably the hardest thing for me because I was a fixer, you know, so I was so used to going into ideas and making them happen. And if there was issues, I would just fix them. But with humans, it's a little more difficult with your own children. It's even more challenging because you have to and especially as they become adults because you because
they're yours, they're lent to you, but at some point you have to let them go and make their own choices and be what they may. So I think acceptance is something that I think I've had to learn as well. Accepting that maybe they handle things differently than I would and there's no right way.
Emma (20:22.954)
It always.
Emma (20:29.524)
Hmm. It always struck me being in your home though, that like love was unconditional and you accepted that your kids were gonna be different people and they... sorry. No, that's okay. I'll go back. It always struck me in your home that like the love was unconditional. It's like you could bicker and you maybe you see things a different way, but like, I feel that...
Lorri Bernstein (20:41.07)
I'm sorry, I missed your connection. You lost connection for a second.
Lorri Bernstein (20:52.046)
Thank
Emma (20:57.93)
at least from observing it and being loved by you, that it felt that you saw their core, you saw their goodness, you loved them unconditionally, whether they got good grades or didn't, or whether they were struggling in a relationship or not. And that to me, especially now having coached so many women who didn't receive unconditional love from their parents, has one of the biggest markers of...
success in terms of how we feel about ourselves and our own mental health and our orientation towards things like tolerance for failure and our own inner voice. And to me, that was something that came very naturally to you perhaps, where you saw the good, you believed love conquered all, and even if things were challenging, like that always shown through. Does that feel true?
Lorri Bernstein (21:52.515)
think so. think so. think that, I don't know, again, I don't know if my family would say the same thing, but I think that I just, I hold so much regard for every single member of my family and whatever they've done and whatever road they've taken and whatever difficulties they've had.
Emma (22:12.231)
And so being a fixer though, how have you, because this is a question I'm asking genuinely as a mother of two almost two-year-olds, like their problems at this point are pretty easy to solve, but it's not always going to be that way. And especially when you think, I have more perspective from life or I could save you from heartbreak or hardship. How do you keep from jumping in too much or from fixing like, especially if that was your natural orientation.
Lorri Bernstein (22:18.819)
Mm-hmm.
Lorri Bernstein (22:41.23)
Honestly, had my in-laws and my parents and they were all pretty wise. They didn't do things exactly like I did and they raised their kids differently than I did. But I really loved some of the things and the adages that they gave me, like my mother-in-law used to say, this too shall pass.
Just breathe, this too shall pass. And my mother used to say, just take one thing at a time. You know, when I was overwhelmed with the four kids and everything that they had going on, she would just say, just focus on one thing at a time. It'll be OK. And I think they really calmed me and gave me confidence as well. Helped me have confidence as well. Also counseling was helpful. I believe in counseling. And it was helpful as well.
Emma (23:16.553)
Mm.
Emma (23:21.907)
Well, it's nice to hear that you felt.
Emma (23:27.081)
Both. Yeah. Yes. Well.
Lorri Bernstein (23:30.146)
to have a place to put it.
Emma (23:34.281)
Absolutely. Okay, so did you wait until all four kids were out of your house before starting your business or talk to us a little bit about how this came about and how at age 58 you decided to go into the senior living space?
Lorri Bernstein (23:50.337)
So my kids had left the house and they were actually all in different cities and we had a family business that we closed and so I was at this juncture in my life and I really wasn't ready to stop. I really wasn't ready to retire or stop and probably because I hadn't really had a career. I had done a lot of projects and things but I think maybe in the back of my mind maybe I wanted something for myself
something that I did and my girlfriend another childhood friend who was also going through a transition when started going in the senior place and she senior space and she called me and she said Lori you're a social worker I've always loved seniors I've always volunteered with senior she said you should
this because she had just started working with families, helping them navigate, finding senior living options. So I was living in the suburbs of Philadelphia and I thought, oh, sounds kind of interesting. Let me see. And I kind of started going around in my community. um, I.
Spent like no money open opening up. I just got business cards. It's basically how I started and I got a website I kind of did it myself and you can tell I did it myself And and I just started going around to communities getting contracts because and and I didn't I don't own the car I mean the company is owned by Paul Markowitz in Dallas, Texas But he allowed me to be an independent contractor and started in Philadelphia. So that's what I did. So it's my I'm the founder
Emma (25:08.617)
But
Lorri Bernstein (25:28.118)
in Philadelphia and then I subsequently started it in Chicago. But basically I have a free service that helps families navigate finding senior living options, independent living, assisted living, and memory care. so I use my social work skills in there. I use my love of seniors. I absolutely checked all the boxes. I didn't even know that I wanted to check. And it seemed like a really natural thing for me to get into.
Emma (25:56.772)
So the business existed but didn't have branches in these other cities. And so you are able to.
Lorri Bernstein (26:00.717)
Yes. No, no. just started it. I mean, Paul is now only 41 years old. He started it when he was 26. He actually was in graduate school and he went home in New York and went home to Dallas where he's from for Thanksgiving and saw something was amiss with his mom. Sure enough, she had early onset Alzheimer's. And so that's how he got into it. And he used an online service at that time to help him navigate it. And he thought I could do this a little more personally.
So personally, so he graduated went home to Dallas and opened senior living specialists And he's now the largest in Dallas and then my girlfriend my closest girlfriend from growing up lived in Houston Her father lived in Dallas had Alzheimer's because she used Paul's services So she actually worked with him directly and thought it was a great service and so when she was making a transition shortly before myself she Approached him and she said what do you think if I do this in Houston? And he said I'm not a franchise, but you can try it as an independent contractor contractor and then
she vouched for me when I was starting in Philly.
Emma (27:04.403)
So what did that business agreement look like if you're using his company name, Senior Living Specialist? Did you have to pay him a percentage of revenue or anything? What did that structure look
Lorri Bernstein (27:15.566)
Yeah, it's a new contract and he owns all the contracts with the communities and so he does the billing and things to the communities and I do the rest of it.
Emma (27:28.189)
Got it. did you, because this existed, you could kind of like see how the model worked. You understood like how, how it would make money and you're able to kind of learn from the existing blueprint. Is that right?
Lorri Bernstein (27:43.434)
Exactly, even though the markets are different. So Texas market was different than Philly market, which I shortly learned, you know, as I went along. So they were different, but I absolutely was able to get the foundation and foundational pieces from what he's done.
Emma (27:59.517)
So tell us about, so you're saying you're kind of like going around again to the community, which seems like a theme first, like with, you know, gifts in stationery and now, you know, senior living placement, but tell us, so obviously it was a different market in Philly than it was in Dallas and in Houston. And I mean, you had been volunteering in kind of the senior living community. So did you already have kind of contacts, but what did you do?
Lorri Bernstein (28:24.11)
No, I had been volunteering with seniors just because I love seniors. I used to go to nursing homes and visit them with my kids when they were younger. So I was always interested in it, but I had no idea what I was doing. I meet people now that when I started, they said, I remember you came in, you had no idea what you were doing. But I was passionate.
Emma (28:28.667)
Okay.
Emma (28:42.312)
So what did that look like? Like walk us through the early months. Like how do you even, you're 58, you haven't ever built a website before, you don't really understand this like space. I mean, that would be enough to stop most people from getting started.
Lorri Bernstein (28:54.868)
All of hip-hop.
All of the above, but thank goodness I had my friend who was doing it kind of at the same time. So we would talk, we would motivate each other to keep going because it took a while to get going. so, you know, it felt like I used to call my volunteer company for a very long time because it took a good eight months to a year to really get it going. But my kids encouraged me, my husband encouraged me, you know, Lori doing it at the same time was good. And so that's how, that's what kept me
And I would just go out there and contact communities, see if they would set up contracts with me. And it did help having Paul's company because otherwise I didn't really have anything. But they could look at the website and see that it's legitimate. It's legitimate.
Emma (29:30.184)
And I think it's so important for people to hear that.
Emma (29:48.041)
So you would go to like senior living homes and ask if they would establish a contract with you so that if you referred people to move in, then you would get, what was it, like a flat rate or a percentage of the first year? What did that look like?
Lorri Bernstein (30:03.85)
Every community had its own thing. sometimes it was a flat rate and sometimes it was a percentage. So depending what the community did, community's roles were.
Emma (30:10.906)
Okay, so you start first by like walking into these places being like, hi, I'm Lori. And can we essentially like set up a relationship? And if we do, then I will refer people into this care facility. Yeah. And
Lorri Bernstein (30:24.896)
Yeah. And the other thing that I... Yeah, go ahead.
Emma (30:30.278)
No, no, please.
Lorri Bernstein (30:31.522)
Well, the other thing that I did was I really had the philosophy that I was going to help everybody. So even if people had low funds and they couldn't afford senior living, I was going to help them find the resources that they needed because I really believe, first of all, I was doing this at a late age and my LLC is named Never Too Late. I thought that was cute because Never Too Late, it was Never Too Late to start a new venture and Never Too Late to go into a community because I get a lot of pushback of people not wanting to go into community.
they have to work their way into it.
Emma (31:05.608)
Hmm. And I think, you know, what you said before about it took eight months to a year and it felt like a volunteer business for a long time. think that's really important for people to hear. And the same was very much true for me that the first year you're just trying to figure it out. You're setting up all your systems and agreements and you're learning as you go and you're building the relationships. so oftentimes I think it can be hard to hold the belief or stay in the
keep the momentum through that time and not feel like, I'm failing. It should be happening faster or this isn't a real business. But, you we talked earlier about not really having that fear of failure. Did you think at the time when it was, you know, taking some time to get going, did you always believe you were going to get there or were you like, I don't know if this is going to work?
Lorri Bernstein (31:52.887)
No, wasn't 100 % sure. And I have to say, my one son was living at home at the time. And I would kind of whine to him, saying, I just don't know what's going to happen here. And he'd say, keep going, mom. It's going to happen. He was really a big cheerleader for me as well. He's now actually working with me, so that's great. But I think.
I think it did take a leap of faith and I think it took all the support. And the other thing is that my belief is that good begets good. Okay, so you put this good out in the world, it's gonna come back to you. That is my belief and it's really, it works.
Emma (32:31.014)
Hmm. And I think that, you know, when you serve like that, when you build relationships like that, when you believe, Hey, I'm just gonna put goodness out there. I'm going to be heart led. I'm going to help people even if they don't have money, using your social work and your values that you got instilled in you from childhood rather than just being so like revenue or profit or relate short-term networking focus. think so often times people get networking all wrong where they're like,
going to networking events or meeting people to see what they can get out of them to further their own career. But you have never taken that orientation. It's always been like, let me understand and help and serve these people. And in doing that, you build real, trusted, deep relationships. And that is actually a strong business model. And it actually comes back around. Would you say that you've seen that to be true?
Lorri Bernstein (33:25.876)
Absolutely, and my teammate, one of my teammates, I, when I met her...
The reason that I really pursued her is because when I met her, I met her at a networking event, but she wanted to know how she could help me. And it was unbelievable. I was like, this woman is unbelievable. And then she ended up getting furloughed because of, in her current position, because it was COVID and it was a tough time in the senior world. And she got furloughed and she took some time off, but I pursued her because I really loved the fact that she wanted to know what she could do for me, because that just seemed like exactly my philosophy.
Emma (34:03.439)
Hmm. So that also, when it came to hiring or bringing on team members, you were also looking for people who shared those same values.
Lorri Bernstein (34:12.622)
kind, kind people.
Emma (34:15.921)
So what was some of the biggest learning curves or when things went sideways or what stories can you share from those that early like first or second year of business while you're still figuring it out and you have the hope and the belief but not necessarily all of the proof yet.
Lorri Bernstein (34:34.478)
I'm trying to think back. What was our biggest? Well, one of the things is that
There is an online source who does what? Oftentimes we would come into Once they're involved with people go online and they put it they bought every single word It seems like I'm in the senior world on the computer So if people go on looking for senior something they seem to catch it and they send it out to all the community So I find that it's it's our biggest competitor even though they don't really have as much human contact and they aren't like concierge like we are you know in terms of real
really walking with the family on the journey. So that was sometimes frustrating because sometimes we'd work really hard with the family, but the communities would have it in their system already under this other source. that was sometimes very, those were difficult lessons for us to learn. But you know what, we just kept going. And I just had the belief that the more people that we worked with, that more would come out right than
and once in a while we would come across this.
Emma (35:44.368)
And was there anything where you're like, okay, this isn't working. So I need to take the feedback of what isn't working and go learn how to like do search engine optimization ourselves. Or was it like, let's just stay laser focused on what we do best and not worry about that and trust that if you build enough relationships, you would be able to find success.
Lorri Bernstein (35:59.031)
Yeah, we tried a couple different marketing things.
Lorri Bernstein (36:05.836)
Yeah, believe, I mean, honestly, what feels more comfortable is organically growing, you know, from past clients and from, you know, networking and things like that. I do know that search SEO does work. I haven't been as successful with it. I'm not that patient with it. I don't really understand it. So I know how will we bring more success if I utilize that more. I haven't really gotten there consistently yet.
Emma (36:32.775)
But you built a website, you said yourself, is that right?
Lorri Bernstein (36:36.014)
Originally, we did it ourselves. We did it through Go Daddy or something. And it was like step by step. It was very basic. I've since gotten some help. We've gotten it done a little. It's a little bit sharper now. But it doesn't really matter. It's just ourself. Yeah, I think it's great because.
Emma (36:41.639)
So.
Emma (36:49.777)
But I think it's so important.
Lorri Bernstein (36:57.238)
It's a very forgiving industry for people my age. have to say that. mean, often time I'm talking to clients and I'm like, excuse me, I can't remember that. I'm having a senior moment myself. And I think I would be embarrassed if I was in a younger field. You know what mean? But the truth is I am in a forgiving business for our industry.
Emma (37:14.769)
But forgiving or not, think that so often with the clients I work with, they're getting started to get, they're getting ready to get ready or get it, you know, they're on the starting line and they want to have the perfect website before they can launch. And I know that was true for me. It's like the amount of time I wasted rather than just doing the thing because I was trying to make sure I had all my ducks in a row. I probably could have saved myself close to, you know, six months to a year if I had just been willing to take messy action.
And it sounds like that's something you're always willing to do. It's like, okay, this is an imperfect website, but it's something, let's just get it out.
Lorri Bernstein (37:51.115)
You don't need the fancy stuff to get started. You need your heart, your soul, and your time, honestly. I really do.
Emma (37:58.427)
Were there any moments that you questioned whether the business would work or doubted your ability to get it there?
Lorri Bernstein (38:10.902)
Yeah, I think the first year there was doubts on a daily basis, then we'd have a little success or a little win and it would be exciting and then I'd have hope again. Everything always, it kept, there always were those hopeful moments that came in between that kept it going.
Emma (38:30.48)
So at what point did you realize that it was working and that you'd built something real?
Lorri Bernstein (38:36.674)
Well, it's interesting because there was a woman who actually started with me kind of in the beginning of Philly. she was a friend who I actually met at a wedding. And so she said, I'd like to do that with you. And she came on for a little while. And she said, I don't think you do so much for free. I just don't think you're ever going to do anything. She was actually a lawyer and stuff. So she actually went back to her doing law. And I think she's surprised now because it has grown. And I think she could have, it did do well. But I think probably towards in my second year,
I started seeing momentum. And the truth is it's growth over growth. So even when you're growing from very small, it's still hopeful when it even grows to a little more than that, you know?
Emma (39:18.086)
So what can you speak to in terms of like the financial success of the company? Like you don't need to give numbers, but was it like a six figure business, a seven figure business, an eight figure business, like whatever you're comfortable sharing? think just understanding that like you could build something from nothing and then what you were able to turn it into.
Lorri Bernstein (39:39.449)
Well, I...
Honestly, when you do a business like this, and probably for most people starting businesses, it doesn't have limits. So you do get tough with yourself. My husband always reminds me, Lori, because sometimes I get a little frustrated. I didn't grow as much as I did the first couple of years, because you tend to grow a lot when you start growing in the beginning. And then it levels off at a certain point. And then you kind of got to get it to the next level.
You just have to stay steady, I think. I think staying steady is probably the most important thing and just not getting too ahead of yourself and just keep doing what you're doing right and keep looking at what you're doing to make sure that you don't want to shift a little bit here and there. I think just being true to yourself, can just keep growing in a beautiful way.
Emma (40:37.51)
And, and was your business model, like when you brought on team members, were they like commission-based? Were they just like, or were these full-time employees? Like, how did that look like? Cause in some cases, if I understand it correctly, the more people you bring on, the more maybe people that you can funnel to your contracts if they're having those conversations. But then that's also a cost to the business. So it helped help me understand that.
Lorri Bernstein (41:02.316)
Yeah. So it's interesting. In the beginning, I was able to more get people who were commission-based.
partially because COVID came shortly after I started, the year after I started. So it was a little tricky in terms of that. But I was, they're all independent contractors. Everybody working for me is an independent contractor. As of late, because the job market is so different, I have found that I had to invest more in employees and I've kind of worked it out. So everybody wins, but it's been a little bit of a different arrangement I find going forward.
I think it's probably going to continue that I won't be able to just do independent contractors because I think it's hard to live when you're when you're trying to build it up.
Emma (41:49.039)
And so were you very much like looking at the numbers and looking at your margins and figuring out when you could afford to hire or to grow? Cause you expanded from Philly to Chicago. I mean, this is, there's a lot of business acumen in this too. So can you speak to us about how you figured this out or how you made sound business or financial decisions that allowed your business to grow in a stable and healthy way?
Lorri Bernstein (42:14.324)
Well, the business part isn't my forte. I'm not sitting there looking at the numbers all day long. I do look at the numbers generally, but I'm not dissecting them. My husband helps me a little bit on the side, and he's very into looking at those things. So he's actually helped advise me as I bring more people on. And Chicago, it's just kind of crazy how that happened as well. after about a year.
a year into doing it in Philly, my father passed away in Chicago and we're Jewish, so we were sitting shiva and another childhood friend was there and I said, you know, I'd like to spend a little more time in Chicago now because my mom is there by herself now and at that point I had two sons living in Chicago. So I said, how about if we start?
start this here as well and she had just retired from doing furniture sales and she said I'll you get started or whatever and literally this was February 26 2020 and the world shut down on March 15th so you know and we had so we had just started so we took the first year and really just did our homework and did our due diligence and got our
got everything together and then we started because we couldn't even go into communities to tour in Chicago. So we started it slowly in Chicago. So I am in Chicago once a for a week.
Emma (43:39.622)
So how many people now work in Philly and how many work in Chicago?
Lorri Bernstein (43:45.324)
So there's six of us in Philly and there is three full time in Chicago and a couple part time in Chicago.
Emma (43:55.91)
Wow, wow. So you have nine full-time plus some part-time folks now working for you. And you started Senior Living Specialist Philly in what year?
Lorri Bernstein (44:07.765)
at 2019.
Emma (44:10.361)
Wow. Okay. So we're what is that seven years in you have, you know, nine full time plus that. mean, that is amazing. And how does it feel to employ and provide, you know, opportunities for people to make their livelihood in this way? Like, is that something you envisioned when you started the business and how does that feel to shift from being kind of
Maybe more of a solopreneur in this to like employing people.
Lorri Bernstein (44:42.478)
Yeah, I didn't have that vision. had no vision when I started. I was just doing it when I started. I have to say it's kind of come gradually. But I love the people that we have. I'm thinking of Philly in particular. It's women who, some of them have young kids at home. They have kids at home, so they have flexibility. So it kind of works. they're not totally full time, but they work hard. But they can do it. I see they're on their computers in their car.
Emma (45:09.349)
Thank you.
Lorri Bernstein (45:12.432)
while they're dropping them off for baseball practice and their kids here and there. It's really lovely to see how they can do something that brings in income and makes them feel good and passionate and like they're contributing and doing something for themselves as well. So it's really gratifying.
Emma (45:34.477)
And what motivates you at this point in business? Like what makes you keep going? What are you really, what gives you energy?
Lorri Bernstein (45:45.133)
Well, I do have goals, know, yearly goals, I'm out, you know, and I do have that quiet competitive spirit, so I'm always trying to, I'm always seeing if I'm getting close to those goals, if I'm gonna make those goals, so that's part of it that motivates me. And the other part is that I just, feel, I feel so passionate that we are helping ease the burden of a very difficult journey for people. You know, so we really haven't talked about that, but it really, working with these families, it just, at a time that's really difficult for them
to help them, just help ease it a little bit is very, very gratifying. And that does motivate me. And I'm not working as much with clients because as it gets a little bigger, you do end up doing more managing. But I love seeing the families that are working with my coworkers. And they just treat everybody with such integrity. And that makes me feel really good.
Emma (46:41.733)
Yeah, and it's amazing how you, you know, have been able to bring together this Masters in Social Work where you're, you're helping people and that's really like core ease the burden you talk about. It's like, yes, they're not paying you to be a counselor necessarily, but you are counseling and you are helping them go through really challenging decisions for their loved ones, while also partnering that with this like,
entrepreneurial spirit and just figuring it out and then wanting to build these heart-based relationships and just put good out there in the world and see what comes back to you. And it sounds like doing this in a very authentic way to yourself and leveraging your background and your, as I call it, zone of genius, your unique gifts and skills has allowed you to do well while also doing good.
Lorri Bernstein (47:38.612)
Right, exactly. I mean, I have clients, honestly, I've been talking to for five, six years. They're not moving, but I keep in touch with them because I really, really do care about them.
Emma (47:48.293)
So when you look back at what you've built, what are you most proud of?
Lorri Bernstein (48:00.303)
That's a really good question. I think I feel proud that I'm doing something that is rewarding and also brings me personal fulfillment and also financially. It's wonderful. The financial security.
Emma (48:18.661)
And what would you say to someone or tell someone listening who maybe they feel called to start something of their own, but they're scared they've missed the window or it's too late. I mean, I often talk to women in their thirties who are like, it's too late for me to switch careers or do something else. And yet here you are this proof pointed almost 60 and building a really successful business that employs, you know, over 10 people. So what would you say to
somebody who feels that desire, feels the call, feels that urge, but is scared or feels like they don't know enough to get started.
Lorri Bernstein (48:56.686)
It's the name of my business. It's never too late. It's never too late. And if you feel passionate about it and you feel like you can put the time and the energy towards it, why not?
And if you, know, I really do, I really do believe that good begets good and that hard work will move it forward. And if you are passionate about something and you've done your, little bit of due diligence, you know, that there's a need out there, I think I would say go for it. Because even if it doesn't go exactly the way you think, a lot of companies start going one way and then they ended up, they end up pivoting towards something a little bit different. But I,
But I think go for it. That's what I think.
Emma (49:45.123)
Yeah, and I think that when you have, when you can identify a need and you have a real passion or you feel energy or you feel like it's really aligned with your gifts or you feel just intrinsically motivated by doing it, when both of those things come together, and yes, you may have to iterate your way to success, but like that's a winning formula oftentimes. And I think when you don't have that intrinsic motivation and you're trying to just fight yourself to show up every day or fight off the Sunday scaries and you don't even want to be doing what you're doing, it's really hard.
to be successful over the long term and to stick with it when business gets hard, which it does even when we love what we're doing. finding, yes, there needs to be a business problem, a solution that you're providing, but when you're also motivated by it, you'll stay with it. You'll keep learning. You'll keep tweaking the business and finding the path, the way to flow with the river at some point as the path kind of reveals itself.
Lorri Bernstein (50:21.567)
Exactly.
Lorri Bernstein (50:41.182)
Absolutely, and the other thing is it's not a, when you start something like that, don't expect to get rich quick. It's a process. It's a process. You have to have patience and you have to hang in there and you have to have the belief that it can grow if you just work hard and work steady and you're really listening and watching what, know, how people are reacting and being open to shifting a little bit here and there, tweaking things.
Emma (51:07.736)
Hmm. And you also have this intimate window into aging in our culture. I'm curious how that has shaped how you personally feel about growing older.
Lorri Bernstein (51:21.934)
Thank
So, well, interestingly also, because I'm also dealing with my aging mother. And so I do have to say that that gives me another little window that I can empathize with my clients so much more. Because I'm dealing with my clients and I'm kind of removed. I'm a little more objective. I'm kind of removed. I can give a lot of advice when it comes to dealing with my own mother. It's like I'm a little girl again. You know? And it's been, it's very different and difficult. So I can really empathize with my clients.
because I'm also going through it myself. In terms of my own aging, yeah, I mean, it's, I haven't gotten there yet. Thank goodness that I have the ability to continue physically healthy and.
My brain isn't quite as quick, I do have to say. Even in the seven years I've been doing this, I notice a little bit of a shift because I'm aging as well. So it'll be interesting to see how it goes forward. But for right now, I'm just grateful for what I have and I'll just continue to keep an eye on it.
Emma (52:31.908)
What do you think is important to stay connected to a sense of purpose and vitality as you age?
Lorri Bernstein (52:42.43)
I think keeping physically active no matter what, because I think that honestly keeping physically active, mean, is something that really helps your emotional well-being as well as your physical well-being. And I can't say enough about just keeping active. Keep moving. It's really important to keep moving.
Emma (53:05.06)
And beyond just movement and staying active, do you think that having a sense of purpose or something that you're working towards, I mean, I think there's been studies of like people in the happiest countries on earth or the longest living and oftentimes whether it's like they have a vegetable garden or they're contributing to their community in some way, having a sense of
purpose is also one of those key ingredients. Have you felt that and have you seen that in the aging population that you worked with?
Lorri Bernstein (53:41.039)
Absolutely, absolutely. When we're helping placing individuals, we talk to the communities and we tell them who these people are. mean, because they might not look like they did when they were a lawyer or when they were a welder or whatever, and when they had passions of reading and writing.
You always need a purpose. People need purpose. Everybody needs a purpose to feel alive and to be connected. And so it's very important for these communities to understand who they're having come into their community and to try to tap into it so that they can give them purpose.
And I think it's really, really important to stay relevant as much as you can.
Emma (54:31.053)
Hmm. And what do you hope that your kids or maybe someday grandkids take away from watching your own career journey?
Lorri Bernstein (54:44.898)
I don't know, I don't really think of it in terms of that, but I guess that you're never stuck. You're never stuck in one place. If something doesn't bring you joy and something doesn't bring you fulfillment, what's it about, Alfie? Think about, do the work to find out what would...
bring you joy and purpose and fulfillment and go towards it. can't do it in one day, but move towards it because it really is, we're in this life, we don't want to be stuck in doing something that doesn't make us feel good. I don't think so.
Emma (55:31.94)
And I love what you're saying about going towards it. It's like, you don't even need to know exactly how it's all going to pan out or turn into a viable business or revenue stream. But even moving towards that and moving towards what gives you a sense of purpose or energy, that's like a trail of breadcrumbs and you follow the breadcrumbs and that leads you, I believe, into alignment in your life. But when you cut that off or override it or reason your way,
why that's not a logical next step. That's very often when we get in the most trouble.
Lorri Bernstein (56:07.136)
Exactly, and I think that even if you, you know, you can't do everything so quickly because you might not be able to afford it, you might have to keep your, you know, job that's a little more secure, but if you can move towards it in a hobby or something else, it'll somehow lead you to something that makes you feel better.
Emma (56:25.621)
Absolutely, I couldn't agree more. And I think it's so important to invest in our hobbies. I I put myself back in school like nights and weekends when I still had my full-time tech job because I was so interested in learning more about personal and professional development and coaching. And then from that, it kind of led to one thing, which led to the next. But I don't think I ever enrolled with the anticipation that I would like.
leave my tech leadership career and go and start a business or, you know, go full time into coaching. But when I allowed myself to honor that little king of excitement and follow that, you know, inner guide to just go sign up, right, one thing led to the next. And it sounds like that's kind of how you lived a lot of your life as well of just listening to that and following that and seeing it through and putting in the hard work. It's not that you just like
sit back and it all happens for you. But when you listen to that and meet it with hard work and taking action, you've seen great things come about.
Lorri Bernstein (57:29.834)
Yeah, would also advise you like you said to have hot to have other things so like not to put you know not to Put yourself a hundred percent into something because you can really burn out, you know So you do need you need to do other things. I mean because I am aging I am interested so I'm terrible languages But I am learning and I'm on a Duolingo and I'm doing it every day for ten minutes you know just to keep myself going, know and
I won't ever be able to speak another language, but it's fun, you know, and it just, to keep doing different things to broaden your mind and broaden your horizons, I think is really wonderful.
Emma (58:04.579)
and
Absolutely. Yeah. And I think growth and learning our core to what makes us feel alive as humans. mean, we're meant to evolve, right? And when we feel like we're learning and growing, even if it is something like Duolingo, it provides us with that sense of, yeah, energy and vitality as well. So even if it's not for, you know, money making purposes, it's just an important, like intrinsic need that I think we have as human beings.
Lorri Bernstein (58:34.528)
Exactly. Exactly.
Emma (58:36.555)
Okay, so I'd love to close with a rapid fire final five questions, if you will. What does conscious success mean to you?
Lorri Bernstein (58:42.478)
Mm-hmm.
Lorri Bernstein (58:50.51)
Conscious success to me means waking up with intention every day, doing diligence in your work, but also taking care of yourself.
So it's more of a whole picture of success.
Emma (59:17.411)
You have to take care of yourself and you have to tend to your well-being, not just the external success that you see.
Lorri Bernstein (59:23.978)
Exactly. Exactly. It's not all about the numbers.
Emma (59:31.029)
Absolutely. Yeah. And you know, you can have the numbers and not feel successful at all, or you can, you know, just tend to your wellbeing, but maybe that doesn't lead you to a very good financial position. And that's also important to be able to kind of cover your fundamental needs and live into your values. And so when both can actually be factored in, that's when we're truly successful.
Lorri Bernstein (59:52.502)
Yeah, having the balance is really part of the conscious success, I think.
Emma (59:56.983)
Yeah. So even the people that we admire most are always growing and evolving. What is one area of your life where you're currently being stretched or learning something new? I know you mentioned Duolingo. Is there anything else in areas you feel you're being stretched right now?
Lorri Bernstein (01:00:12.846)
Well,
Because I do think I'm at a point in the business where I'm looking at things like, okay, what does growth look like from here? And so it is stretching me to think about some changes. It's a little bit scary and it's a little bit exciting and it's a little bit daunting because now I am 65 years old also, so I am aging. So it's interesting to think about, but I'm being stretched in that way.
Emma (01:00:46.582)
Hmm. Is there a book that stuck with you over the years, one that you often reread or recommend to others?
Lorri Bernstein (01:00:56.002)
Well, it's actually not a business book. It's a book I read every year on the Jewish holidays.
It's called, it's here and I'm completely unprepared. And I really, it's kind of a Buddhist look at, a Buddhist look at life and about the seasons and about year after year. Because basically it says that every year we try to get it right and we try to do better. And we do succeed in some ways, but we never totally get it right because everything shifts and everything looks different depending on where we are in our life and we're at different places as life of us.
And so we always have to look at it again in the year and evaluate what we've done and what we could do better, but knowing that it's never going to be perfect and that we're not moving towards perfection. We're just moving towards being maybe better versions of ourselves or more honest versions of ourselves. I don't know. I love reading it every year.
Emma (01:01:56.182)
And what is that book called?
Emma (01:02:01.002)
Okay, well, that's such an important message. And I think not striving for perfection or feeling like you're falling short if you haven't reached it, but just striving to learn and grow and, you know, focus on certain areas a little more than enough.
Lorri Bernstein (01:02:13.48)
Because we all fall short. We all fall short. It's the way it is, right?
Emma (01:02:22.346)
Absolutely. Who is someone in your world today who you admire for how they live, lead or succeed and what is it about them that inspires you?
Lorri Bernstein (01:02:45.304)
you on that.
Emma (01:02:46.907)
Of course. If you could give your...
All good. If you could give your 10 year old self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Lorri Bernstein (01:03:02.872)
Keep breathing, all will be okay.
Emma (01:03:07.734)
Such good advice. We can all, we all need to remember that at times. Keep breathing, all will be okay. And you know, when you're taking on big challenges and going fearlessly in the face of, you know, new territories, that's probably a mantra that's really important to overcome any fear of failure or when things go sideways and to just keep, keep it on. Yeah.
Lorri Bernstein (01:03:32.692)
Exactly. I did think of someone that I do admire. Julie Dreyfus, she started a podcast called Wiser Than Me. And she interviews all older women who have been badasses in whatever industries they've been in. And she has such a great style about her. And I just admire her so much in terms of doing this. I think it was a great idea.
Emma (01:03:36.298)
go for it.
Emma (01:03:43.306)
Wiser than me, yes.
Emma (01:04:00.962)
Absolutely, and I mean, she's such a...
Lorri Bernstein (01:04:01.519)
industry, she's just so herself and I love that.
Emma (01:04:08.866)
Totally, she's such an expander for me thinking about starting this podcast and I'm speaking to women of all ages, but definitely some of these women are older than me or certainly wiser than me and being able to have conversations like this. And I've found in each and every one, you find snippets and take tidbits that are exactly what you need to hear in that moment and sharing our stories and being vulnerable and imperfect and authentic and just...
sharing our personal and professional journeys I find is so powerful. so yeah, Julie Louis-Dreyfus, absolutely, it was an expander for me in thinking about this own venture.
Lorri Bernstein (01:04:46.998)
I really admire that. I don't know if you've listened to her podcast, but the best part is she calls her mother afterwards. And she zooms with her mother. She's like, hi, mommy. Did you know that I just interviewed Jane Fonda? And what did you think? And her mother's fantastic as well. So I love the exchange between them. And like you said, it brings out a vulnerability as well. It's fun, fun and vulnerable at the same time.
Emma (01:04:53.922)
Hahaha!
you
Emma (01:05:05.313)
So fun.
Emma (01:05:09.986)
I've got to redownload it. haven't listened to it recently, but I very much enjoyed the episodes that I did. Okay, so where can our listeners connect with you if they have maybe a parent or a grandparent that they're looking to have to put into senior living care? Like how can they connect with you or learn more?
Lorri Bernstein (01:05:29.728)
You can either go on our website at www.seniorlivingspecialistsfilly.com or you can call me at 717-648-6319. And also we have, I do this in Philly and Chicago, but I have vetted people all over the country who do what I do on more of a concierge level and are complementary to families. So if you have loved ones around the country, I can help lead you to the right people to work with.
Emma (01:06:01.268)
Amazing. Well, thank you for being here. Thank you for doing what you do. Thank you for providing just a model and an example of it never being too late and of just leading in such a heart led and authentic way. think it's just, it's so inspiring. So thank you for joining us.
Lorri Bernstein (01:06:17.857)
And Emma, you inspire me with all that you do and the changes that you've made in your world as well in doing this. It's amazing. So can't wait to see how it continues to grow. Love you.
Emma (01:06:27.34)
Bye.
Thank you, Laurie.
