2025βs Top Book for Assisted Living Investors
Oct 13, 2025
Starting an assisted living business can feel overwhelming. Where do you begin? What steps should you take?
Good news—you don’t have to figure it out alone. In 2025, a powerful new resource was released that breaks everything down for beginners: The Profitable Assisted Living Facility.
This comprehensive "how-to" book is a step-by-step roadmap built on real-world experience, designed to help you launch your assisted living business in the next 12 months.
Check out this video, too:
Why This Book Matters
Most beginners struggle with the same problems:
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Confusion about funding π°
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Overwhelmed with licensing π
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Uncertainty about finding the right property π
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Fear of costly mistakes β
This book simplifies everything. It teaches a proven five-phase process called the FOCUS Framework, so you know exactly what to do first, next, and after that.
The FOCUS Framework
The book is built on a five-step process for launching a profitable assisted living facility:
1. Foundation First
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Write a strong business plan π
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Do your market research
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Use underwriting to make sure the numbers work
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Set up your business entity the right way
π Pro Tip: Grab this free business plan checklist to help you get this right.
2. Optimal Property Selection
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Decide whether to buy, lease, renovate, or build
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Understand zoning rules
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Work with the fire department early
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Avoid HOA headaches
This step saves you from choosing the wrong property and wasting thousands.
3. Capital & Funding
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Learn how to talk to lenders (and handle the “no’s”)
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Prepare the right documents to impress banks
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Explore SBA loans and other funding options
This section also shows how to build strong lender relationships so you can get funding, even after hearing “no” multiple times.
4. Understanding Licensing
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Find your state’s licensing department
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Fill out applications correctly
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Build policies and procedures
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Learn about Medicaid
Medicaid can be a game-changer, but it can also be confusing. The book explains how to make it work for you.
5. Strategic Launch
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Hire and train the right staff π©βοΈ
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Set up meal planning and EHR systems
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Put strong financial systems in place
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Market your facility using the “GENEROUS Marketing” method
This is where your business goes from idea to reality.
Bonus Resources Inside
When you grab the book, you also get:
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Over $300 in bonus resources (courses, tools, and downloads)
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Access to free tools like the underwriting calculator
This book is a full starter kit for your assisted living business.
Ready to Get Started?
If hiring a coach feels out of reach right now, this book is the next best step. It gives you the proven framework, tools, and clarity to launch with confidence.
π Grab your copy of The Profitable Assisted Living Facility on Amazon.
Want More Support?
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Step 1: Download the Business Plan Checklist to start planning.
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Step 2: Need help figuring out where to start? Join the next Roadmap Challenge and build your launch plan with me.
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Step 3: Follow this guide, take action, and bring your vision to life!
Got questions? Drop them in the comments below! β¬οΈ
Final Thoughts
Launching an assisted living facility doesn’t have to be complicated. With the FOCUS Framework laid out in this book, you’ll have the exact roadmap you need to build a business that creates both time and financial freedom.
Take the first step. Grab the book. And start building your future today.
Show full transcript π
Transcript
00:00:07
Welcome to Assisted Living Investing. I'm Brandon Gustafson. I help beginners like you launch their assisted living business in the next 12 months. Excited to have you here with me on the channel today. Today we're going to be talking about um the best book for investing in assisted living and uh came out here in 2025. Actually, I wrote it. Um so, it's exciting. Uh we got the book here. We're going to talk a little bit about it, um, what it is, uh, how it can help you as you are trying to launch your assisted
00:00:35
living business and everything that you need to know about it. Um, so you can be successful in and what you're trying to do here. Um, my goal, um, as I stated at the beginning, is to help beginners like you launch their assisted living business in the next 12 months. Um, I love helping and coaching people and would love to help you out and and now I've got a book to help you out uh as you're going through uh this process and trying to figure everything out um on your journey to launching your assisted
00:01:03
living business. So, with that, I also want to remind you to go and grab the free business plan checklist. You can get access to that at assistedlivinginvesting.net/vpch checkcklist. Um we'll have links for that down below. And if you go over here, I think it's over in this corner, I'll have that up um throughout the video today uh to just remind you where that's at. Uh so you know where to go to to get access to that. Uh so make sure you go grab that free checklist. And with that, I think I think I got
00:01:33
everything posted on all the social media feeds. Um it's always always a chore to get this up here. and uh so let's go ahead and dive into this. Share my screen and um let's talk about it. So uh for those of you who don't know me, well first off, if you are new here to the channel, welcome. Thank you for for watching. Uh type in newbie down below. Uh love seeing all the new people that that join us uh here at Assisted Living Investing. Uh for those of you who don't know me and why I'm qualified to help
00:02:07
you launch your assisted living business. My name is Brandon Gustafson. I have owned uh and operated assisted living facilities since 2020. I have secured over $1.5 million in SBA funding. So I know that process very well. I operate out of state. I've operated in Colorado and I operate in Idaho and I live in Utah. So have a lot of experience just kind of doing that uh doing this remotely. And I've have a masters in healthcare administration. I worked in the healthcare industry for a long time. Um 2011 2013 somewhere in
00:02:37
there is when I started uh in the healthcare industry. I think it was 2011. Uh so have a lot of experience in in the industry in general. So um as I mentioned I wrote a book. Um so this this thing I have a typo on there but this this teaches my proven fivephase process for launching an assisted living business. So book looks like this. You can get access to it on Amazon. Um the profitable assisted living facility. I teach five-phase process. That process is one you have to build a foundation. Uh that's your business plan, your
00:03:10
underwriting. Uh you have to uh do market research. You got to understand um how to how to do those types of things. From there, you got to find the property, find your perfect property. Uh you're going to leverage your market research. You're going to use that and understand zoning and fire department. uh getting those approvals and making sure that you have everything in place so you can move forward with it. I also talk about HOAs in the book. Um phase three is all about funding and working
00:03:35
with lenders. And I know talking to a lot of you that is one of your biggest um things like you just don't you don't understand the funding process. You're not sure how to go about it. Uh funding is a concern and I address that a lot here in the book. So this is going to be a really good resource for you. Phase four is all about licensing, navigating the rules and regulations of the healthcare industry, which can be very confusing even for people that uh have worked in the industry for a long time.
00:04:04
Uh healthcare can be confusing. It can be overwhelming and I'd really try to distill that for you. make it a simple process to know where to go to get your license, how you are going to fill out that application to learn how to do your policies and procedures, and also if you're interested in working with Medicaid, I break that down in the book for you as well. And then phase five is all about just launching and scaling the business, doing the things that you need to do to run a successful and profitable
00:04:32
business. That includes uh hiring the right people, uh finding and hiring the right staff, uh meal planning, uh getting the right insurance in place, using an EHR system. Um all of those types of things that you need to have for you to be successful cover those in the book. Another thing that I find um that a lot of people don't know and and are confused by when they start looking at assisted living is just how to get started. And that is what this book is intended to do is to help you know,
00:05:02
okay, I I got to do these five phases. How am I going to do it? And I start you off with some very basic exercises. Um in addition to the book, there is um a companion workbook. Uh so it's going to look like this. It's the same cover. It's just white. And uh that one is also available for sale on Amazon. If you search for the profitable assisted living uh facility, it should pop up. Both of those should should pop up for you. I've got links down below for you as well. Uh so you can go and grab that.
00:05:32
The I'm really trying to make this as simple as I can for you uh in a way like I I would love to coach you and work with you, but I understand like sometimes I I'm too expensive to work with and and that's fine. Um but if so, if you can't work with me, go get the book. Uh it's going to help you out and and help you move things forwards. You can't work with another coach uh because they're too expensive. go get the book and especially the workbook and do the exercises and you're going to make
00:05:57
incredible progress on your path to launching your assisted living business. Uh something that I'm super excited for for you to to get into. So that um that framework, the five phases, I call that my focus framework. Um it's an acronym. I'm actually going to go through that here in this video so you can see exactly what that looks like. Um we're going to go through uh FOCU um and and those five phases a little bit deeper. Um also with the book, if you get into this um early, I have some
00:06:27
special bonuses. Um so if you are if you get in there, you buy the book um here in the first um 3 weeks. Uh so this will this will end by about you know, I'm going to I'm going to extend it out through September 2025. Um I've got some special bonuses for you. So, if you email me a copy of your receipt um at [email protected], I have a special bonus for you. Plus, in the book, there are um bonuses in the back. Um you can scan it, you get free courses from me, a bunch of other free
00:06:58
resources. I'm going to be adding more stuff in there for you as well. So, an extra $300 value just with the book. Uh so, make sure you go grab that. Um again, links will be down below. So, let's get into the focus framework here. Again, this is my five-phase process. It's the first thing you got to do. Foundation first. This is your business plan, your market research, your underwriting, and your entity setup. Those are the four main things that you've got to do as you are trying to
00:07:23
get started. Um there's actually a secret one in the book. So, make sure you go grab that um that I say it probably goes before the focus focus framework. So, make sure you grab the book and um go through some of the exercises there. uh because that's going to help you get some extra clarity and help you really make some some progress, some uh a good way to accelerate things. But when you do these things first, it makes your life so much easier. You are you'll you'll have a plan uh which gives
00:07:51
you clarity. Uh it helps you know what you're going to do, but also it's something that lenders are going to be asking for. Uh city planners sometimes are going to ask for it. The state when you do licensing, they they may ask for it. um not all the time, but I've I've had interactions with them and and they have had I I've seen those types of questions before. So, uh you want to make sure you have that uh in place. Uh you want to do your market research. Make sure you uh know uh what you're
00:08:16
getting into and are there enough residents in in the location for you to uh for it to be sustainable as assisted living. Underwriting, you got to make sure that it's actually going to make sense financially, that you're going to make money and you're not bleeding it. This is super important. I cannot stress it enough. You can actually go to assisted livinginvesting.net. The big blue box in the top right corner will get you access to my free underwriting calculator. Uh because I I I know how
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valuable that is. So, I give that away for free. Other people charge for theirs. Uh mine is more robust and I give it to you for free. Um so, make sure you go and grab that. And then you got to set up your entity the right way uh to protect yourself, protect your assets. Make sure you're doing that. The O in the focus framework is optimal property selection. So, this is the type of property. Are you going to buy an existing home and renovate it? Are you going to lease a home and and do some,
00:09:06
you know, some improvements to it? Are you going to buy an existing facility and and just hit the ground running? Or are you going to build something from the ground up? Which of those four things are you going to do? Uh you got to make that decision. And I try to help make that very clear for you which option is going to be best for you in in the book. Uh, also zoning, understanding how to work through the zoning process, make sure you have the the proper um variances and permits in place so you
00:09:33
can move forward with that and working with the fire department, which is something that's very often overlooked, but absolutely crucial if you're going to obtain your facility license. Even if you're going to go unlicensed, you're going to need to do these things. It's going to help you out a ton. The C in the focus framework is all about capital and funding. So, as I mentioned, this is something I know a lot of you have concerns with and and you don't understand like just the complexities of
00:09:58
it. You're a little confused by it. It's overwhelming. It really is. Um, but I go through different funding options in the book. Um, how to prepare documents as you're working through um through that process with lenders, getting everything ready to go so that you can impress lenders and even if they say no um that they're still going to want to work with you. um how to talk to a lender, which is really important. Uh working with lenders uh and and building a solid relationship with them is one of the
00:10:27
most important things you can do and it's it's often overlooked. And so I teach you some of the things that I have learned uh in securing $1.5 million in SBA funding directly in the book. It's going to help you out a ton. And then I want to encourage you to get your first no from a lender. You're going to get a ton of them. Like it's okay. I have been told no literally dozens of times. And um if if you've been told no by a lender, type in no down below in the comments. If you haven't, type in not
00:10:55
yet. Um cuz it's going to come and and that's fine. Uh you're you're going to get nos. You you need to get nos. You need to get comfortable being told no and that's going to lead to more yeses. And I'll talk about that more in a in a future video. But that's something that I want you to do. So if you have been working with a lender before and they've told you no, type in no in the comments down below. If you've been thinking about doing this, you haven't been told
00:11:19
that, type in not yet. Um, and for those of you that have been blessed enough to get that uh get that funding, just go ahead and like give me a thumbs up on the video. Uh, lets me know that that you've got it. Um, give me a thumbs up on the video anyways. Uh, but that I'd love to see that uh from people. So, the U in the focus framework is understanding licensing. This is another thing that I I I hear you as you're in in my ecosystem. You're in the Facebook group. You're you're in uh you're you're
00:11:51
filling out my quiz on on assisted livinginvesting.net. Uh you're you're in YouTube. You're in the comments. Licensing is hard. It's confusing. You don't know how to do it. And the book really kind of distills that. Uh it's how to find the right licensing department. Filling out the application, which is not as hard as you think it is going to be. It's it's not I promise you it's it's not that bad. Uh but the policies and procedures, you got to build those and those are timeconuming
00:12:17
and and can be difficult. So you got to make sure you understand what you're getting into when it comes to that. And then for those of you that want to get into Medicaid or learn more about Medicaid, type in Medicaid down below. Um but the book talks about Medicaid as well. it's going to help you out and understanding exactly what that looks like, how to go about it, and help you make some some good progress if you want to be working with a Medicaid population. I believe Medicaid is the
00:12:41
best kept secret in assisted living. I uh my facilities have been about 90% Medicaid. Uh I love working with that population. You can be successful working with them. You just kind of have to understand it and it is confusing. It adds some extra complexity, but you can do that and you can be successful. And the S in the focus framework is strategic launch. So, um that's your finances. Uh you got to understand that get good financial systems in place, operations, you know, how to find and hire the right staff, ehr systems, all
00:13:13
of those things uh that go into operating the business, which is a ton of stuff. So, you're going to need to figure that out. And then marketing, um as well. Uh so, you're going to need to understand how to do that. And I I hear you all on that one as well. It's a big concern. I how am I going to fill the beds? Marketing is is a huge part of that. I uh I have a concept that I I'm I'm calling generous marketing. So, if you're interested in learning about what generous marketing is and how it works
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and how how it can help you fill beds in your facility, type in generous down below and I will do a separate video on generous marketing, what it is, how it works, and how it can help you uh get your beds filled in your assisted living facility. All right. So, that's the focus framework. Again, it's foundation first. Then you got optimal optimal property selection, capital and funding, understanding licensing, and strategic launch. Uh, those are the things that you need to do. That's my five-phase
00:14:08
process. It is the focus framework. It will help you launch your assisted living business. If you want the book, the link is down below for you. Um, so go and grab that. Um, I put a ton of time and effort into it. It is um uh 500 pages of just like this is how you do it. Um so make sure you go grab this thing. Um there's uh a Kindle version. Uh there's a soft copy and there's also a hard copy um available as well. The hard copy is just it's awesome. Um so I cannot encourage you enough to go and
00:14:41
grab that to help you along along your path. If you can't get the link, doesn't work for whatever reason, you can also go to my website, the alibook.com. It has proven step-by-step processes, learn how to get started, and then teaches you and helps you understand funding and licensing, those things that you I know you need help with because I hear you um in the comments. I I see that that's what you need. That's what we're teaching here inside of the book. So, go grab it. The alibook.com.
00:15:10
um go make sure you get access to that and help you launch your assisted living business. So with that, I want to thank those of you who have been here with me live. Make sure you like the video, subscribe, and ring the bell as well so you get notified every time we put out content like this. We have uh lives on Tuesdays. We also put out content on Thursdays. We have the Facebook group. We have a bunch of ways to help you out along your path to help you launch your assisted living business. So, make sure
00:15:35
you are paying attention to everything that's going on inside of the ecosystem so I can help you launch your assisted living business. Uh, and you I'd love to do it. You can also fill out our application uh to see if my mastermind program is a good fit for you. Go to aliimastermind.com. 30 second quiz uh points you in the right direction for where you should be going to get the right type of coaching for your specific situation. Does residential assisted living sound interesting to you, but you don't know
00:16:03
how to get started? At Assisted Living Investing, I'm here to help beginners like you launch their assisted living business in the next 12 months. I love helping and coaching people. It is my favorite thing to do. I I absolutely love it. I would help love to help you along your path and along your journey. But remember, it doesn't take a lot, just a little bit. Just keep going step by step by step. And I promise you if you do and you are consistent and persistent, you are going to be successful. Thanks for watching and have
00:16:33
a great day.
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