Your Mentorship Blueprint for Assisted Living Investing
Jul 04, 2025Getting started in assisted living can feel like standing at the bottom of a mountain without a trail map. You know where you want to go, but the path seems fuzzy.
That's where a mentor steps in.
In this blog, I’ll walk you through why mentorship can totally change your game, how to pick the right coach, and what steps to take if you’re serious about this business. I’ll also give you some free tools to get going right away.
Let’s dive in!
Check out this video, too:
π‘ Why Mentorship Matters
I’ll never forget the moment that changed everything for me…
Back in June 2019, I was deep into Rich Dad, Poor Dad and thought, “I need to get into real estate.” My plan? Do some fix and flips, save up cash, then start an assisted living home.
Then my mentor said, “You clearly want to do assisted living. Why don’t you just do that?”
That one sentence flipped a switch in my brain.
π₯ I stopped waiting.
π₯ I quit overthinking.
π₯ I got started.
A solid mentor helps you get outta your own way and take action quicker than you could alone.
How to Find the Right Mentor
Here’s the thing — mentorship is not a one-size-fits-all type of thing.
You need to find someone who fits YOU.
Look for:
β Real Experience: Have they done what you’re trying to do?
β Coaching Style: Do you want someone who pushes you hard or walks with you step by step?
β Teaching Skills: Can they explain things in plain language and give clear next steps?
β Network: Do they know the right people to connect you with?
β Understanding: Will they take the time to understand what you really need?
The right mentor will guide you, open doors, and pull you forward way faster.
π οΈ Action Steps to Get Started in Assisted Living
Whether you’re learning from YouTube or joining a program, here’s how to move smart and fast.
1. π Do Your Research
Before you buy, build, or convert a home, you need to know:
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Local zoning
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Fire department codes
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Health department rules
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Licensing (can you keep the current license if you’re buying?)
π‘ Tip: Buying an existing licensed facility usually means you're “grandfathered in” under older rules — but double-check with your local team.
2. πStudy Your Market
Don’t guess. Get the facts:
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Who are the other providers?
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What do families in your area really need?
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How much can you charge?
π Use our Business Plan Checklist to get clear on your strategy and avoid newbie mistakes.
3. π€ Show Up at Events
Conferences are a shortcut.
Why? Because you:
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Learn from pros
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See what’s working in real time
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Meet lenders, partners, and support teams
Can’t go in person? Follow industry leaders online, join email lists, and stay active in Facebook groups.
4. π Stay Consistent
This business isn’t an overnight process. But it is worth it.
Keep learning, networking, and taking real steps forward. If you stay consistent, it’ll happen.
π Want Help?
I’ve built two assisted living homes and secured over $1.5 million in SBA loans and $1.2 million in grants.
I know the road — I’ve walked it.
β
Need regular help help?
β
Want feedback on your numbers or plan?
β
Want help getting your first (or next) home?
π Apply for Mentorship Here
π Or grab the free Business Plan Checklist
π¬ Final Thought
You don’t have to do this solo.
Mentorship shortens the gap between “I want to do this” and “I opened my first home.”
Let me help you make the leap.
Drop a comment or question — I’d love to hear where you’re at.
Need help figuring out where to start? Join the next Roadmap Challenge and build your launch plan with me.
Show full transcript π
Transcript
00:00:03 - 00:01:03
hey friend it is Brandon Gustafson with Assisted Living investing happy to have you here with me on Friday morning for a live here on the channel if you're here I'd love to uh see you hit that like button uh And subscribe uh before I jump into the topic today which is uh all around mentoring and how to help you uh find a mentor that's going to help you out through your investing journey I wanted to remind you to get over to the website at Assisted Living invest .n/ calulator you can download your free
00:00:33 - 00:01:39
underwriting calculator get access to that and kind of start on your journey towards uh investing in Assisted Living so make sure you get over to that we'll put a link down in the description below the video here uh and if you're on the live then make sure you are dropping in a few questions and we'll get to a point where I have some Q&A uh before the end of of the video today uh what I wanted to talk with you about today and I'm going to shift over we're go ahead and add my screen on here and do that
00:01:06 - 00:02:06
and see if I get it right okay got the hot keys right um all right let's see so today we're going to be talking about navigating assisted living your mentorship blueprint and I actually have a mentorship program if you go to the link here on the video again we'll have that Linked In the description below the video but it's assisted living. Assisted Living investing. net mentorship application um you can go and apply for that um and and I'll show you what that application process looks like over here
00:01:36 - 00:02:32
uh just your name email phone number I'll take you through a sequence of emails for you to confirm your application and then there's a an application like kind of a survey for you to fill out as you go through that and and give me your information on where you're at in the process and and how I can help you out so make sure you get over there if you're interested in mentorship in a mentorship or in interested in coaching or Consulting um this is the the spot for you to do that with me um here on the channel so let's
00:02:04 - 00:03:04
get back over here to uh the slides uh so if you get over there uh would love to kind of help you out through the process see if see if I can add value to you um and I have this application process just kind of um make it so that we're not wasting our time um so a little bit of background on me and why I qualify as your Mentor why I qualify as your coach um I own two assisted living facilities I purchased them in 2020 um so it's now as a recording of this video been three years since I purchased those
00:02:34 - 00:03:29
facilities and uh it's you know it's it's been a super rewarding thing for me I've learned a lot through that process and I tried to document everything that I did through the process in in acquiring my facilities um I have been able to secure over1 and a half million dollars in SBA funding as well so I can coach you through that process and help you learn how to to go about it um and then because I've owned these facilities I've kind of explored both purchasing and doing a conversion I've gotten
00:03:02 - 00:04:16
really familiar with both of those processes I'm able to help you out through those processes kind of Coach you and hold your hand through that and and help you out uh so you can reach your investment goals now the power of mentorship why do you need a mentorship the really I mean I'm going to share a story about some real life um impact that I had I was I was going through this process um I I I had this uh I I had this Epiphany um in June of 2020 um no 2019 June of 2019 uh as I read Rich Dad Poor Dad and I was
00:03:39 - 00:04:38
reading it and I was like I gotta gota get it into real estate I have to figure out how to do this and uh from there uh had developed this plan I was going to do some fix and flips and then get enough money to start an assisted living facility I was having a having a call with a mentor of mine um and and I kind of laid out this plan for him and he's like you clearly just want to get into assisted living why don't you just do that and it was that simple phrase that just clicked in my brain and and made me
00:04:08 - 00:05:21
realize this is exactly what I want to do I've got enough experience I can figure it out and so I jumped into it and uh the rest is history um was able to to go and figure out how to get in and start a start facilities how to purchase facilities how to run and operate facilities and it was all really just hinged on that tiny conversation that I had with my mentor that said you clearly want to do this why don't you just figure out how to do it and and that's the power of a mentor uh it really helped me just you know make the
00:04:44 - 00:05:42
the change click in my brain to go and and and start doing it and you know I figured it out uh so mentorship coaching extremely valuable it's going to help you out in in making those changes those life changing decisions in in your life as well which is really cool now let's talk about finding the right Mentor something that you want to do is is find somebody you can work with there's key qualities and this is going to be different for for different types of people some people want an abrasive coach that's going to kind of be
00:05:14 - 00:06:09
Hardline with them and and tell them you got to do this and um and some people react to that others are going to want somebody that's going to hold their hand and and kind of Converse with them and and and work through processes what you really need to do is find the qualities that are important to you that are going to work well for you and and then go and and try to find those mentors those coaches and and let them help you through that process identify how it is that that you need to be coached um
00:05:41 - 00:06:41
really what you want though is somebody that has been there um and done it so they can pull you along and help you through the process and help you learn and and help you get through that and then somebody that is um going to be um a good teacher um somebody that that can can explain the way that things need to be done and give you action steps so that you can be successful on your own that's a lot of what you're looking for in a mentor and a coach um and my experience is what I like and and it's
00:06:12 - 00:07:05
something that I would imagine that you'd want to have here as well the other thing is there's an importance here of networking and you're when you're tapping into that mentor and that coach you get access to their entire network as well which is just an incredible thing you think about it uh you're tapping into that and you know even if you don't move forward with with a mentorship with somebody um doing something like a discovery call with me is going to um bring you into my network and and help me have you know keep you
00:06:38 - 00:07:31
in mind when I am talking with other investors and other people that want to get into assisted living that might be a good fit for you to work with as well or I might have a better coach for you in mind um on somebody else that might be better suited to help you out through the process that you're in and I can make introductions networking is huge is so key and something I honestly I'm super passionate about I love networking with people um and uh it's something that's going to really help you out
00:07:05 - 00:08:07
through the process the other thing here is just personalized guidance uh like I mentioned you want that mentor to be where you to have been where you want to go so they can pull you along and guide you through that process and and help you out as as you're trying to reach your investment goals and and get through the process of your journey um that really as a mentor and a coach what I'm here to do is guide you the story is about you the story is what what do I what do you want what do you need and
00:07:36 - 00:08:32
and and then I'm going to guide you there and help you get there and and that's that's the value of having a coach and having a mentor is is doing those types of things now here are some tips just kind of quick tips to help you get started um and assisted living investing just wanted to kind of give you these um to kind of show you um just kind of I don't know explain you know I'm a guide I'm I'm here to to do it whether you're just here on the YouTube channel on Facebook um in in the Facebook group um just on my email list
00:08:04 - 00:09:04
or or whatever it is and you're getting my free content and you're able to implement that and move forward with it awesome like that's great I'm trying to provide you with extremely valuable content that's going to help you along the process here help you along your journey um to investing in real estate and if I do that through just being your online coach Mentor through my videos then that's great um I'm happy for you that's awesome uh however if you want somebody that um that that wants that
00:08:33 - 00:09:33
you want to have conversations with move forward with then make sure you reach out on that application process there on the website now um here here's a few ways for you to get started um number one is to research thoroughly now whether you are going to be starting a facility uh from scratch you know building something or doing a conversion um on on a house um you want to make sure that you're researching things like zoning and um you know requirements with fire department and Health Department um
00:09:03 - 00:10:00
if you're purchasing an existing facility you're going to have similar conversations so it's slightly different because it's already licensed and so what you're going to have a conversation with is can I keep the same license and um can I uh do I need to make any changes to the house in order to do this typically you're going to get grandfathered in if you're purchasing an existing facility so you might not have to be up to all of the current zoning laws but something you just want to definitely want have a conversation with
00:09:31 - 00:10:19
somebody about um I actually talk about that uh you're going to want to get in and and do some market research and I have tools available that kind of help you through that process on the business planning that if you go to the website Assisted Living investing. net um and and just kind of scroll down you'll see the business planning guide and it's going to help you through that there's some awesome Tools in there so just kind of look at that it's going to help you out through the process next is
00:09:55 - 00:10:58
attending industry events now there are conferences throughout the nation um I know the the rala um academy uh I can't remember where it is but the Ginos down in Arizona um just had theirs last month I think in September of 2023 um I wasn't able to go but you know go to those types of conferences go do some networking learn from their guest speakers and and kind of get a feel for um you know who's in the industry and what they're learning and and and just get that information do some networking
00:10:27 - 00:11:27
there with other people and and see what you can do to collaborate those are all just incredible places for you to go if you can if you can afford it then going in person is going to be great if you've never gone to an inperson event like that they are just incredible uh you get to just it's so much fun um to be there and to network and to learn and grow as you get into that so getting to those industry events are going to be big for you um and then staying persistent it you know it just I I I've talked about
00:10:57 - 00:11:50
this this used to be the way that I ended my videos it doesn't take a lot just a little bit just keep going step by step by step and I promise you're going to be successful it's true um if you're just persistent and you just keep going you just keep making those steps and you just keep moving forward to quote the movie Meet the Robinson's then you are going to be successful it's just going to happen so you just need to keep going keep learning keep adding things to your toolkit and you're going to get
00:11:24 - 00:12:17
there and and that's what's really exciting so those are some of the three kind of quick tips that I'd give you uh to help you out through your investing journey and you know if you don't get anything from me we don't work together as a mentor or coach um that's fine um follow these three steps though they're going to help you along your process and really guide you to reaching your investment goals which is exactly what I want to do now here are some of the details on the mentorship program um
00:11:51 - 00:12:48
like I mentioned if you go to Assisted Living investing. net mentorship application and again I'll have a link down below so you don't have to remember exactly that and then we'll have it on the last slide here um just fill in your your information there name email uh phone number it's going to take you through a series of of emails there really quick to just verify that you're a real person you're applying for this and then it will give you the link to do the app the the real application ask a series of questions for for you
00:12:19 - 00:13:08
there um for me to just kind of have it all in a spreadsheet so I'm asking for your name and email and stuff again um but I also want to know where you live um want to know where you want to invest um what kind of help do you need um what have you tried in the past what are your goals um and I want you to be as detailed as you possibly can be because the more information you give me the more I'm going to be able to say you know what um as much fun as it would be to work together you should probably
00:12:44 - 00:13:37
just wait for my Assisted Living accelerator program that's going to come out in January and it's going to probably answer your questions and help you along the way or um you know what I'm going to be opening group coaching here in a little bit and I think that's probably going to be better suited for you to work in this group of people or you know it sounds like you just have a really deep question that we need to dive deep for a few hours and get that thing done for you uh or could just be we need to do one-on-one coaching and I
00:13:10 - 00:14:05
have a few different programs there uh from six months to to a full year um with different options and I I want to see what you've got before I kind of present that to you um but basically you're filling out this application uh giving me this information I'll kind of triage it and then if I feel like it's a good fit we're going to have a disc call and that's free uh we'll go through it 30 to 60 minutes we're going to talk through what your goals are uh kind of review your application um make sure I'm
00:13:38 - 00:14:31
understanding what it is and then um from there I'll kind of uh build out a true kind of presentation for you on on what I can offer you from a coaching perspective and and see if it's a good fit for you or not and that one's also free so I'm giving you two free calls with me where you can just ask me questions um and we'll get into it and see if see if it's a good f for you and if I can just help you out on those free calls and it answers all your questions then awesome that's great but that's
00:14:04 - 00:14:59
kind of what I want to do is is kind of add that value but it all starts with this application that's online um so now if there are questions I'm going to jump over to my live um here in just a second make sure you're commenting those in in the in the YouTube link there um down and and I'll get there and answer a few questions for you if you've got them um otherwise I'll keep a view on this um once the once the video is published and get back to you with all the questions that I can um via U just messaging there
00:14:31 - 00:15:38
in inside of YouTube um so that was what I wanted to get over with you here on the call today so I want to thank you for for being here and and for listening and watching um and just being here with me live I love doing these live sessions uh hoping to continue to do that on a weekly basis and get in front of you um and and just you can chat with me and we can and I can answer your questions here on the Fly um again get over to the website assist living investing. net mentorship application link here um on
00:15:05 - 00:16:06
on the video and then down in the description below as well so I wanted to do that let's shift over here really quick and let's see if I can do this okay um yeah so I wanted to thank you all for just being here and uh for watching with me and and kind of going through the process if you're looking for that Mentor you're looking for somebody to help you out through the process and getting you started or giving you the motivation and the the just the push that you need to be successful and to pull you along the way
00:15:36 - 00:16:24
to get you to reach your investment goals maybe I'm the person for you maybe I can help you out I'd love to to chat with you a little bit about that and see what I can do to help you out through that process does residential Assisted Living investing sound interesting to you but you just don't know where to get started at Assisted Living investing. net we're here to help you through the process from start to finish thank you all for watching have a great day
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