Suzanne McNeely, founder and owner of Senior Planning Services, has won the 2009 Spirit of Small Business Award for best woman-owned company.
Senior Planning Services, at 1811 State St. in Santa Barbara, is celebrating its 20th year. McNeely received the award Aug. 6 at a Pacific Coast Business Times luncheon at Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort.
“There is just not another agency in town or perhaps in the country like it,” McNeely said of her company. Senior Planning Services provides elder-care solutions tailored to the unique needs of each situation; a comprehensive array of services that allows seniors to remain safely and securely at home; and certified geriatric care managers and trained home-care professionals.
When she started her company in 1989, McNeely said her experience with nonprofits, insurance and publicly funded programs convinced her the only way she would be able to see that all her clients’ needs were addressed comprehensively was to offer herself as a privately hired, professional “rent-a-daughter,” without the limits of those environments and funding sources.
Even though the firm has become widely recognized in the community for solving problems, bringing peace of mind to long-distance family members and literally saving the lives of many of the people it serves, Senior Planning Services has had to overcome the perception that as a social service agency it should not charge for its services or there should be some source of funding that simply did not exist.
“Today, we are known as leaders in the community, called upon to train other professionals on issues of aging, as experts on preparing for the coming age wave, and teaching others how to develop successful businesses in the growing fields of elder care,” McNeely said. “In looking back over the past 20 years, it is hard to believe we have done so well while doing good.”
Click here for more information about the company.
— Barbara Burger is a media specialist for Senior Planning Services.