Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Grondin.
Kate, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
HTR was really born out of a personal experience that I had with my 83-year old parents. They lived in their home in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont for over 60 years. The challenges of downsizing were formidable and was something that my siblings and I were able to help them with but I knew there had to be a better way to help people in this situation. I couldn’t find anything in my area at that time, so I made a better way.
I was actually wanting to start my own business. I loved everything about real estate and staging so getting homes ready for the market was something that was really appealing. What I noticed was that the most meaningful part of that process was getting to know my clients, at that time mostly seniors. When the experience with my parents happened, it made perfect sense to help seniors ready their homes for the market and then actually help them with the move and setting up their new home. Exactly what I did for my parents!
Through my research I learned of the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM.) NASMM became the foundation of my business in terms of the expertise of specifically moving seniors. Once I knew there was a network of senior move managers throughout the country, I started interviewing them and learning about their experience. I knew the idea had momentum and I was determined to make this the next stage of my personal career. My first move after that was to do my website. This was in 2008.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been relatively smooth because we provide a needed service that filled a gap in the market. With the right networking and marketing, I was able to secure referrals in the beginning so the struggle was not to identify investors or convince people that they needed help. People wanted help. Their adult children wanted to help and were not always geographically close enough to manage such a huge project. We work with family members as much as we help the person in transition.
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t without its stresses and challenges, but I was fortunate to find the right professionals to join my team. Every time I needed to add to my team, I was able to find the right people who really believed in what HTR was doing. That was the real blessing; the right people saw what I was doing and wanted to participate.
Home Transition Resource – what should we know? What do you guys do best?
HTR is a full-service professional Move Management company specializing in planning, coordinating, and executing moves. We assist our clients with all aspects of a move, from the physical to the emotional. The company started out specializing in helping seniors move but over time has really become a service that is helpful to baby boomers, divorcing couples, empty-nesters that are moving into a smaller footprint now that their kids are off and running. We also work with suburban families who moving in general or setting up or selling a vacation home. We serve a lot of busy professionals that don’t want to spend their valuable time packing boxes and waiting for contractors to do repairs on their homes in order to get it on the market. We do it all.
Without a doubt, I am most proud of the team members I am privileged to work with each and every day. We all love what we do, and we are so passionate about our work. There isn’t one person on the HTR team that I would not assign to work with my own parents or my closest relatives. They are amazing!
What sets you apart from others?
I suppose I would say that my background in social work offers a different perspective to the work. I got my MSW from Simmons College and I worked at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in my early career. I think where the actual work relates to the significant stressors surrounding this major-life event, being a trained social worker really helps. We also spend a great deal of time and resources on training our team members. We really value teaching and love to do it so our employees are definitely well-prepared.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
That’s a hard one to pinpoint but the request from NASMM to join their board of directors was quite a moment for me. I had such admiration and respect for this organization and it was very inspirational to me when I began HTR. The invitation to join at the director level was really affirming.
The easier moments for me to recognize, are the ones that bring us the greatest joy and personal/professional satisfaction. The happiest moments are when our clients send personal notes or give us a call saying how they could never have made this move without us. Or when they see their new homes for the first time. Seeing the joy in their faces is priceless. Clients start out being completely overwhelmed and end up being completely overjoyed. Those are the moments that mean the most.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hometr.net
- Phone: 617-504-3926
- Email: kgrondin@hometr.net
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/movethisthere
- Twitter: https://spark.adobe.com/video/N08MzEwgTjCG0
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