The Back Stage Trap That Silently Slows Home Care Growth
- Aaron Marcum
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
And how simplifying—not adding more—creates freedom and scale
Last week, we talked about how every great Broadway performance depends on a world-class Back Stage. What the audience sees—those flawless performances and perfectly timed cues—is only possible because of a well-orchestrated system running behind the curtain.
Today, I want to go deeper into the Back Stage of your home care business—and shine a light on the one force that destroys even the best intentions: Complexity.
Most owners don’t set out to build a complicated business. But over time, complexity creeps in like a slow-moving fog:
• Decisions must flow through you
• Processes live inside someone’s head
• Tools multiply instead of consolidate
• Tasks get reinvented because nothing is documented
• Everyone is busy, but few things move forward
• You’re drowning in details instead of leading
This isn’t a growth problem. It’s a Back Stage problem.
Complexity Kills Scale
On Broadway, complexity can shut down an entire production. One missing cue can derail a scene. One sloppy backstage communication can cause injury, delay, or disaster.
In home care, the consequences are just as real:
• A coordinator overloaded with 150 clients and 5 open cases
• A scheduler who is the only one who “knows the system”
• A payroll process requiring two people to reconcile one timesheet
• Owners tied to every decision—from client rate changes to PTO approvals
• Teams waiting instead of taking action
Complexity doesn’t grow in a day…but over weeks, months, and years of bolting on things in the name of “improvement.” Complexity turns a once scalable business into a fragile one. And fragility never scales.
A Personal Story: When Simplification Changed Everything
A few years ago, I had the privilege of partnering with an agency owner who was—and still is—one of the most talented operators I’ve ever met. But she was exhausted.
Her phone never stopped buzzing. Evenings and weekends belonged to the business. Every decision, big or small, ran through her.
She didn’t have a Back Stage.
She was the Back Stage.
As we worked together, something powerful happened—not because of what I brought, but because of what she was willing to let go of.
She allowed us to:
• Hire a right-fit COO
• Delegate operational authority
• Simplify decision-flows
• Create clear processes instead of heroic effort
• Build systems that allowed others to lead
The result?
She took back her evenings.
She took back her weekends.
She took back her life.
And her business? It grew 4x in two years.
Not because she added more complexity… …but because she removed it.
Simplification created capacity.
Capacity created leadership.
Leadership created scale.
Scale created freedom.
Your Back Stage Needs Less—Not More
As owners, we often think the answer is adding:
More software.
More steps.
More reports.
More meetings.
More of you in every problem.
But growth doesn’t come from addition. Growth comes from subtraction.
Ask yourself:
• What decisions am I making that someone else could own?
• What processes are harder than they need to be?
• Where is my team dependent on me when they shouldn’t be?
• What would break if my top person were out for two weeks?
• What complexity needs to be simplified—or eliminated?
Your Back Stage doesn’t need more gears.
It needs a cleaner engine.
Because just like Broadway, the audience—the clients, the families—never sees the Back Stage. But they always feel it.
And when your Back Stage is simplified, empowered, and strong, your Front Stage shines like never before.
Ready to simplify your Back Stage and unlock growth? Stay in the know with strategies, insights, and practical resources designed specifically for home care owners. Subscribe to receive updates, newsletters like this, and tools that will help you remove complexity and scale with confidence. Because your team—and your clients—deserve a business that runs effortlessly. https://www.aaronmarcum.com/apply
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