Message from Paragon CEO Joseph Morabito
In our never ending process of improvement, Paragon is exploring using video technology to allow our Relocation, Immigration and Mortgage Consultants, Account Managers and Sales team to better communicate with our customers, clients and prospects using both telephone and visual technology to better display information. While we already have video capability to connect our offices for conference calls, this desktop concept, perhaps a first for the relocation industry, will forever change the way we do business. The goal is to enhance the ability to build relationships by turning an often distant call into a face-to-face interaction. In a people-to-people business, the more we can develop our relationships, the more successful we will be in providing complex relocation services. This is an exciting development for Paragon as well as for our clients and customers.
At the same time, we are moving to expand our mortgage business, perhaps through a series of acquisitions in addition to organic growth, to increase GenEquity Mortgage’s presence in the marketplace. Our current emphasis on corporate mortgages in the relocation space is being expanded to include retail mortgages and will grow dramatically in the next five years. This will include licensing in additional states to expand from our current 16 states to 35 or more as we see business opportunities. In addition, we are rolling out the PGR Home Caregivers real estate services to support Senior adults, allowing them to stay in their homes as long as possible. These services include property management, reverse mortgage, dealing with household goods to prepare for a move, if necessary, and home marketing assistance to sell the current home if and when it is time to go into assisted living. In 2014, we will expand this subsidiary to include actual personal home care services to reflect the needs of the 78 million Baby Boomers that are retiring in the United States at the rate of 10,000 a day.
On the international front, we continue to explore better ways of doing business. We are currently supporting expatriates in more than 70 countries, though our reach extends to more than 150 countries through our company locations and affiliates. In doing so, we are implementing money transfers to provide expatriates their benefit reimbursements and supplier payments around the world and often in multiple currencies. This is no easy task; but, we do it efficiently and with few errors thanks to the audit processes we have in place to ensure accuracy.
Standing still is the equivalent of going backward. One thing is for sure – no matter what external challenges we face, Paragon never stands still. We are always focused on the future, process improvement and moving forward. Change is inevitable. Making change happen is a Paragon trademark.

Filed under: Blog Post, Paragon Press, The Best Thinking... | No Comments »


At the same time, we will roll out the first phase of services for senior citizens in the United States under our PGR Home Caregivers banner. This new business will focus on providing both real estate and home care services for the 75 million Baby Boomers in the U.S. that began turning 65 years old last January at the rate of 10,000 a day. If you think about it, many of these people may have been our relocation customers in the last 25 years and we now will follow them into retirement as a natural extension of our service business. Whatever happens in the economy, or with factors beyond our control, it is never boring at Paragon. We are very focused on providing outstanding services to foster the growth and development of all of our subsidiaries around the world. Though change is inevitable, our mission will never change.
Recently, Paragon’s Management Team, gathered from all over the world, revisited our mission statement to provide refinement. We together determined that Paragon is in business to provide an extraordinary customer experience, one family at a time. The key word in this statement is “extraordinary.” What does it really mean? To better define the word “extraordinary,” I have asked all Managers at Paragon with direct reports in every department, division or subsidiary of our company to meet with our staff members to heighten awareness of our mission statement and to define the word “extraordinary” related to their particular company function. Once done, I have asked that all definitions be submitted to me. We are doing this to make our mission statement not just something we say in proposals to new prospects, or to our existing clients, but to have all employees at Paragon internalize our reason for being. Words in a service company matter, particularly when they turn into actions and deeds. The fact that one word can make such a huge difference in our mission statement is in and of itself pretty “extraordinary.”


GenEquity 
Though the global economy is weak and unpredictable, Paragon is still working diligently to extend our reach around the world. Based on client request, we have put the mechanics in place to bill in multiple currencies. While we have the ability to support moves to more than 150 countries with various destination services, we are currently working with expatriates in 70 of those countries. To do so, we are expanding our boots on the ground operations in strategic countries where we have major volume like France, Spain, the Benelux Countries, Britain, Switzerland, the Americas, China and other countries in Asia Pacific. While our U.S. domestic volume is constant, and no doubt we will continue to add new clients requiring services in the U.S., future growth in years to come is likely be in 

