One Year Later

Expect the unexpected, and have enough working capital to make it through the tough times. So says Wendy Murray, who, along with business partner Randy Stuart, opened No Place Like Home Senior Care and Affordable Cremation in North Fort Myers last year. Her venture contracts with those who offer seniors at-home non-medical services such as companionship, light housekeeping, laundry and transportation to doctor's appointments. Stuart handles the reduced-rate cremation side of their business. Both services are housed at 3323 North Key Drive.

"[Stuart's] background is as a licensed funeral director in four states," Murray says. "We both brought a different group of skill sets to the business. We joined up because we've been friends for a number of years."

Murray previously worked as a group manager for The Breeze newspapers, where she handled marketing and advertising duties, gaining valuable experience. "Part of the success of the senior-care business is getting out and marketing to a lot of the doctors, a lot of the assisted-living facilities," she says.

But Murray wasn't able to do much with her skills when the string of hurricanes hit, effectively choking revenues. "For the first three weeks after Hurricane Charley, you couldn't very well go marketing to the doctors," she says. "Their practices were affected, too. They were either moving because they lost their building, or their lights were turned off. And their employees had issues of their own."

In the midst of the hurricane chaos, Murray's business helped organize a drive to bring seniors much-needed supplies. In the process, Murray and Stuart marketed themselves to potential clients. "We got our name out," says Murray. Which was essential, she adds, because even the most routine networking lunches for businesses were canceled due to the storms.

Murray said she picked North Fort Myers to open her new business because that is her home and she felt the demographics were perfect. She is confident she picked the right town.

-John Francis