Keeping Loved Ones at Home

Home care is almost always preferred over placing a loved one in a care facility. With COVID19, if a loved one has to live in a care facility, family members may not be able to visit for an extended period of time, causing stress for everyone. This issue hits home for me as I lost my Father 8 months ago, pre-Covid19; and, It would have been horrible not to be able to see him.

Enter the home care services industry, a $94 billion market. I work closely with many home care services franchises, and there is one that I like most due to how they developed their business model and how they help clients and their families. They provide full-service care in the home to a wide range of people, including the elderly, the disabled, people needing help after surgery, and dementia patients.

We all need to think about recession-resistant businesses, especially now. Regardless of economic factors, daily care is necessary for many seniors. This franchise provides both companion care (“hands-off” assistance) and personal care services (“hands-on" support) to people of all ages. As state licenses allow and as franchisees are willing to invest, offices can also provide some nursing services.

Since 1980, this particular franchise has specialized in the senior care space. Personal care services are provided to individuals who cannot live independently without assistance. Roughly 85% of their business across the system comes from these hands-on care services, which are necessary vs. desired services. Additionally, their home care services provide a huge savings of about 40% to clients overtime vs. the cost of an assisted living facility or similar residency. Clients use and pay for their services as needed vs. paying a set daily, weekly or monthly fee.

Many people think home care companies provide nursing/health care services in the home, or, they believe they provide companionship and homemaker services for their clients. The reality is that they are "private duty home care," meaning their services are very similar to what clients receive in assisted living facilities. This consists of companion care and personal (hands-on) care to help people with their daily living activities. They are a long-term care solution, so, like assisted living, they are not paid for by private health insurance or Medicare. Only 10% of the entire home care franchising market is in the skilled care space, according to IBISWorld. Ninety percent of the market is in companion and personal care.

This franchise Company has more than 200 franchised units across 34 states in the United States and Canada, Central and South America. The franchise was established to provide the high-quality care necessary for residents to remain independent and healthy within their own homes, the company’s services are flexible and customized specifically to blend seamlessly into clients’ day-to-day lives.

The franchise is looking for compassionate, goal-oriented people who desire to help others and make a difference in their communities. Strong management and leadership skills are preferred. They find that people with marketing, sales, or operations experience are well suited for this industry. They also look for individuals with high, long-term income goals who are equally interested in improving others' lives. This often comes from personal experience with home care for a loved one and are willing to follow the franchise model. Medical and healthcare experience is not necessary.

Families see the value/differentiating factors of their business, mainly in the quality and experience of the support team, their focus on education and retention of caregivers, and their unique approach to care. Their person-directed care approach values and celebrates elders in their current stage of life. They focus on building a robust care partner team that includes the elders in their own care decisions and values the simple pleasures in life to make care more meaningful.

This is a customer-service oriented business. Not all agencies train on proper intake and in-home evaluation best practices, nor do they value the ongoing education and retention of caregivers. The agencies that focus on creating positive customer experiences and retaining the best caregivers and matching them to the right clients will win the business and gain the best reputation for quality care in local markets.

There is still a growing need for quality senior care agencies in all major markets. Ninety percent of seniors want to age at home. This franchise model helps to fill the increasing demand for care at home. Twenty percent of the population will be over 65 years old within the next ten years. 70% of those over 65 will need long-term care services in their lifetime. This year, direct care workers will be one of the largest occupation segments. With layoffs during the pandemic, there are many experienced healthcare workers ready to work.

About the Author

Eddie Rodriguez has been a serial entrepreneur for over 30 years and a franchise consultant for over 10. He loves helping people find their best next life. Contact Eddie at 305-460-9925 or at eddie@thefranchisetailor.com.