Business & Professional

ENTRPRENEUR

Moving With Ease from page 29

Studio in Birmingham.
Knatz, the business' treasurer, also
works full time selling automotive com-
ponent parts. "I am a people person
and enjoy being involved with the client
throughout the job, making sure every-
thing is to their satisfaction:' she said.
Mutchnick maintains the company's
Web site and a newly created Facebook
page hosts pictures and blogs about expe-
riences with clients. She creates quotes
and invoices and arranges for the dona-
tion of unneeded items.
A high school girls varsity tennis coach,
she said, "My coaching and teaching back-
ground is a good foundation for how to
motivate and talk to people of all ages."
Together, she and Knatz schedule the
movers.

Where To Begin
"Families are often overwhelmed with
the question: 'Where do I start?"' said
Weinstein.
So she begins by asking, "What is spe-
cial to you — what can't you imagine hav-
ing to do without?
"Usually it's china, pictures, other
reminders of a life that was:' she said.
"People moving into senior living, who are
meeting new friends, need to have things
around them from their past. It's like the
story of their lives."

Weinstein photographs and measures
the client's furnishings and draws up a
plan, plugging in as many pieces as pos-
sible. She also will shop with or for the cli-
ent for smaller pieces that fit better.
All four women work on the packing
and unpacking.
At the client's new place, Weinstein said,
"I am the 'decorator' and place all the
accessories, artwork and family pictures.
We all work toward a new home that feels
fresh, scaled down, but familiar."
While decluttering, the women have
found everything from old, expensive,
designer purses to a bar mitzvah cassette
tape from 45 years ago.
"Every single place has buried trea-
sures:' Kovan said. "A client, whose father
died unexpectedly, told us he knew his
father hid money. We found hundreds of
dollars stashed when we went through his
closet and found his mother's silver that
he didn't know was there!'

A New Home
Insured and bonded, Gentle Transitioning
has moved clients from Michigan, to
Michigan and within Michigan.
Kovan has met with administrators and
other staff at dozens of area apartments,
synagogues, senior facilities, hospitals
and agencies to explain the benefits of the
business.

"All I had to do was
stay out of the way."

- Gentle Transitioning client Jim lssner,
commenting on the move of his mother
from her house to a senior living facility.

When Jim Issner's mom, Hilde
Wilzig, moved from a single-family
home in Tamarac, Fla., to the Heritage
of Southfield, he learned about Gentle
Transitioning from the facility's director.
By the time Issner's mother arrived
at her new home, it was move-in ready.
"Gentle Transitioning met the movers
at the Heritage and unpacked all of my
mother's belongings, created a floor plan
that we pre-approved, and completely set
up her apartment including hanging the
pictures, setting up the kitchen, arranging
her chatchkes (knickknacks) and making
the bed;' said Issner of West Bloomfield.
"They did everything in a very effi-
cient, neat and careful manner and were
extremely friendly and pleasant in the
process!'
And his role? "All I had to do was stay
out of the way:' he said.
Living in Hollywood, Fla., Dr. Irene
Molner Schatz and her brother, Bill Molner

of Lansing, relied on Gentle Transitioning
to move their parents, Milly and Bob
Molner, from a Southfield apartment to
an assisted living community in West
Bloomfield.
"My mom needed assistance with activ-
ities of daily living after she was hospital-
ized following a fall:' Schatz said.
"The move to assisted living was a huge
physical and psychological transition for
her and Gentle Transitioning made it a
relatively seamless one. They transformed
what could have been a very stressful
experience into a most gentle one.
"I'll never forget how [they] sat with
my father and painstakingly went through
his closet helping him decide what office
items and clothing to pack and what to
give away:' she said. "It was obvious that
[they] clearly understood how difficult
these decisions were for him and, with
great sensitivity, helped him make com-
fortable choices!'

Personal Experience
Pre-set packages, beginning at $1,100,
include creating a floor plan, packing and
unpacking, facilitating a move, setting up in
the new home, planning estate sales in the
former residence, donating remaining items
and hauling away what is to be disposed of.
The cost of pre-set and customized packag-
es is dependent upon the amount of items

Above: Gloria Hurwitz gets a peck on the cheek from
her daughter Esther Hurwitz.

Far left: Siblings Bill Molner and Irene Molner Schatz

flank their parents, Milly and Bob Molner.

Left: The Meer Jewish Apartments' administator,
Marcia Mittelman

30

March 4 • 2010