How to Build a Successful Assisted Living Business with the Right Management Team

As a business owner in the assisted living industry, managing your time and resources effectively is key to achieving financial and time freedom. In this post, I’ll walk you through how to build a successful assisted living facility with the help of a solid management team.

The Key to My Success: Management Team
I own and operate Platinum Resort, a luxury assisted living and memory care facility in Georgetown, Texas. Despite consistently making $40,000+ per month, I only spend 2-4 hours a week on the business. My wife, Laura, works around 4 hours weekly as well. This freedom has been made possible thanks to one key factor—our exceptional management team.

Having a great team is essential in this business, and today, I’ll share the strategies I’ve used to build and maintain a strong management structure.

How Much Should You Pay Your Managers?
The first question many business owners ask is: “What’s the lowest I can pay to get a good manager?” Let me tell you, that’s the wrong approach. You don’t want to focus on minimizing costs—especially when your goal is to create financial and time freedom.

When I look at salary data from major job boards like Indeed, a manager’s salary in central Texas can range from $60,000 to $100,000 depending on the size and scope of the facility. However, it's important to note that those managing larger facilities, like 60 or 100-bed facilities, often make closer to the $100,000 range—especially if they’re executive directors. These directors oversee multiple teams and managers.

But that’s just the base salary range. Experience, job responsibilities, and skill sets play a significant role in determining the right pay.

The Importance of Defining Roles and Responsibilities
Before diving into pay, you must first define what you want your manager to do. The scope of responsibilities will vary depending on your type of facility. For example, in a large, multi-bed facility, the role of the manager will be much different from a smaller, boutique facility.

At Platinum Resort, my managers are responsible for nine key areas:

Staffing operations: Handling all aspects of hiring, training, and firing staff.
Resident operations: Overseeing the day-to-day care of residents.
Family communication: Keeping families informed about their loved ones’ care.
Medication management: Ensuring proper medication protocols are followed.
Kitchen and chef management: Overseeing the menu, food preparation, and ordering.
Marketing and networking: Promoting the facility and building relationships in the local community.
Tour management: Conducting facility tours and handling the sales and follow-up processes.
Building maintenance: Managing any maintenance needs within the facility.
If you can find a manager who has experience and skills across these areas, they are absolutely worth a six-figure salary.

Training and Developing Managers
In practice, it’s unlikely you’ll find one person who is an expert in all nine of these areas right away. So, the goal as an owner is to hire people with the right attitude, train them, and promote them within the company. I’ve taken a two-pronged approach to building my team:

Hiring Experienced Managers: I’ve occasionally hired managers with extensive experience who command higher salaries. They bring expertise and can handle multiple responsibilities right off the bat.

Promoting Caregivers: I’ve also promoted caregivers who already work at Platinum Resort. These individuals know the residents and the day-to-day operations, but they may need additional training in areas like marketing or HR. We start them at a reasonable salary and offer opportunities for growth and pay raises as they expand their skill sets.

The Two-Manager System
One of the best strategies I’ve implemented is the two-manager system. Initially, we had just one manager, but I quickly realized the limitations of this approach. There were too many responsibilities falling on one person, and in case of any emergency or time off, it left a gap in leadership.

Now, I have two full-time managers. This ensures that at least one manager is always on-site, and for half the week, we have two managers present to ensure continuity of operations. This system allows me to focus on growing the business, knowing that my managers are in charge of the day-to-day.

Balancing Pay and Responsibilities
The key to success in this business is creating a balance between your budget and the responsibilities you expect from your management team. Smaller facilities may not be able to pay $100,000 salaries, but you can still provide a good work environment, offer room for growth, and ensure that your managers are compensated fairly based on their roles.

In my experience, paying higher salaries for experienced managers in a luxury model like ours has paid off. But even in smaller models, promoting from within and giving caregivers a clear pathway to managerial roles is an effective way to build a strong, dependable team.

Final Thoughts
Creating a successful assisted living business is not just about filling beds—it’s about building the right team to provide high-quality care and managing your time effectively. For me, achieving financial freedom and time freedom has been possible thanks to my exceptional management team.

​By focusing on hiring the right people, training them, and offering a clear path for growth, you can build a team that helps you achieve your business goals while maintaining a manageable workload. If you want to scale your business and enjoy the freedom that comes with it, investing in the right management structure is a must.