Called to Care: How EntreGrit Multiplies Retention, Performance, and Growth

Home care is not a hobby. It’s a commitment to dignity, to families, to doing the hard thing when it would be easier to walk away. That’s why the 3rd law in my book EntreThrive—EntreGrit—matters so much. It explains why some owners and teams endure and grow while others burn out and churn. In short: 

Your staying power is fueled by what you feel called to create.  

The Five Levels of EntreGrit (and why they’re so practical in home care) 

You may have heard me coach on the progression of Grit, which is backed by science and parts of it are addressed in Angela Duckworth’s best-selling book, “Grit.” Here are the five levels of EntreGrit:  

Curiosity → 2) Interest → 3) Practice → 4) Passion → 5) Calling.  

Most entrepreneurs want to jump straight to passion, but in real life it rarely works that way. Curiosity and interest create the spark. Practice adds the miles. Passion gives you endurance. And Calling makes the work bigger than you—strong enough to carry you through headwinds you didn’t see coming. 

That’s not theory. In the chapter of my book, I shared stories that map directly onto these levels. Kobe Bryant’s 4:30 a.m. training blocks show what Practice looks like when it’s no longer convenient but still non-negotiable. Colin O’Brady’s “do the impossible” ethos demonstrates Passion that’s been forged in discomfort until it’s second nature. And my own journey—leaving corporate life, starting a home care agency, and ultimately dedicating myself to elevating quality standards at scale (founding Home Care Pulse)—shows how Passion becomes Calling when the problem you’re solving stops being about you and starts being about millions of seniors and the professionals who serve them.  

Why “Calling” changes the retention game 

Here’s the practical translation for your agency: when a person feels called, their grit 10×’s. They don’t ghost a client because the schedule is tough. They lean in. They stay. Imagine 80% of your right-fit team—office and field—feeling called to serve with you. That’s not just culture; that’s a competitive advantage. 

Now lay that vision against the reality of our industry: 

• Turnover is brutal. In 2023, the median professional caregiver turnover hit 79.2%, the highest in years. That’s the figure reported in the 2024 Activated Insights (formerly Home Care Pulse) Benchmarking Report and covered by HHCN and HCAOA. Home Health Care News+2Home Care Association of America+2 

• It’s expensive. Activated Insights’ long-running cost workup pegs the average annual cost of caregiver turnover at about $171,600 for a typical agency, based on per-replacement costs multiplied by expected churn. Activated Insights 

• The 90-day window is where you bleed. Their analysis on first-90-day attrition estimates $136,890/year in avoidable cost if you don’t fix early-tenure causes. Activated Insights 

• For larger providers, estimates run higher; one report pegged annual turnover costs around $423,000. mcknightshomecare.com 

  
  

You can (and should) improve wages, scheduling flexibility, onboarding, and recognition. But if you ignore grit and calling, you’re treating symptoms, not the disease.

Agencies that hire and coach to calling, that build a shared “why,” and that train leaders to model grit, see retention stabilize and revenue follow the stability. Recent industry coverage tied stronger retention to better revenue performance across home-based care; the signal is clear: keep people, grow reliably. 

Translating the five levels into daily leadership 

Use the ladder as your management system: 

• Curiosity → Interest: In recruiting, tell the truth about the work and the meaning. Ask purpose-driven interview questions: “Tell me about a time you did the hard thing for a client or team.” You’re screening for a spark, not just availability. Remember, retention starts at hire and if this will always be a “job” to new hires, their staying power is unstable.  

• Interest → Practice: The first 30–90 days decide everything. Pair every new care professional with a mentor. Shadow the first difficult shift. Give micro-wins (competency badges, notes from clients/families). Kill dead time between application, offer, orientation, and first shift. Every lost day cools interest. (Your 90-day leakage is the loudest cost center—address it intentionally). 

• Practice → Passion: Competence breeds pride. Build a training cadence that is short, scenario-based, and tied to client outcomes. Recognize consistency over time, not just “rockstar moments.” This is how endurance forms. Activated Insights 

• Passion → Calling: Lift the work above tasks. Share client impact stories weekly. Tie KPIs to dignity, reliability, and family peace of mind—not just hours and margins. Promote from within where possible. People step into calling when the mission is visible and their role in it is undeniable.  

  
  

A word to owners: check your own level 

Be honest with yourself. Where are you right now? Curiosity? Interest? Stuck in Practice longer than you want to admit? Already living in Passion and flirting with Calling? 

If you’ve been in Practice for years—grinding, fatigued, still not seeing the compounding you expected—two options: 

1. Refuel your Calling. Revisit your Guiding Truths (Law #1: EntreClarity in my book and if you want access to our free Guiding Truths AI tool, click the link: https://www.breakaway365.com/guiding-truths-access-form ). Tighten your focus. Remove the roles that drain you and double down on your true genius. Invest in a COO/Integrator who can simplify the back stage and free you to lead where you’re strongest. (When owners return to their lane, teams feel it.)  

2. Or, decide to exit with integrity. If you’re honest and realize the work no longer aligns with your Calling, sell to someone who is called. Let them take the mission forward while you pursue the next adventure that fits your purpose today. That’s not quitting; that’s courageous alignment. There is no shame in deciding to pursue your true calling and it’s okay if it’s not home care. No judgment here. You’ll protect the agency, your clients, and your health. If you’re an independent agency and this is a direction you would like to consider, reach out and we can help guide you through this decision.  

   
   

If 80% of your team felt called… 

Retention becomes the natural outcome, not the daily firefight. Client continuity climbs. Recruitment costs fall. Your brand stops leaking trust. And your own work—Visionary work—finally compounds. 

That’s the promise of EntreGrit when it’s applied deliberately: Curiosity to spark, Interest to engage, Practice to build muscle, Passion to endure, Calling to transform. 

Keep going: master all eight laws 

EntreGrit is just one piece of the full system I teach in EntreThrive: The Entrepreneur’s Eight Laws to Eliminating Unhealthy Stress, Flourishing Personally, and Creating the Good Life. If you want the complete blueprint—clarity, connections, keep-the-right-people, culture, and more—grab a copy on Amazon (100+ five-star reviews): https://a.co/d/jd2k3DO. 

Then do the work: 

• Identify where you (and your leadership team) sit on the five-level ladder. 

• Audit your first-90-day experience; close the gaps that cause early exit.  

• Train leaders to coach grit and calling. 

• Recruit for purpose; recognize consistency; promote from within. 

Home care is hard. It’s also holy work. When you and your team feel called, grit will find you, turnover will fall, and growth will finally feel like progress—not punishment.  

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