in home care franchise - Senior Home Care Franchise

Success Rate of a New Franchise Business vs an Independent Start Up

If you are considering starting your own business, you must decide if you want to start your own independent start-up business or invest in a franchise. Both types of businesses have qualities you will need to consider carefully when making this decision. Certainly with an independent start-up you are able to make all the decisions on how to run the business, but with a franchise you gain brand name recognition and supportive assistance. One of the main points you will need to look at is the success rate of both types of businesses. Below is a look at the success rate of starting a new franchise business vs starting an independent start-up business.

Success Rate of a New Franchise

A new franchise is associated with a main brand name company. The new franchise owner must purchase the rights to open their business from the main company. While start-up costs for a franchise may be less expensive than an independent business, franchise owners may incur added costs further down the road.

A study by the International Franchise Association (IFA) suggested that at many as 95 percent of new franchises were still in business after five years, and 91 percent after seven years.

As a way to further support IFA’a figures, FranNet completed another survey where it followed 1,260 new franchises from 2006 to 2010 to see what the success rate was. According to this survey, 91 percent of the new franchises were still in business after two years, and 85 percent of these franchises were still in business at the end of four years. Both studies show a very high success rate for new franchise owners.

Success Rate of an Independent Start-up

An independent start-up is a business that is built from the ground up and is not associated with any other brand name company. Typically, the start-up costs for these independent businesses are slightly higher and require the business owner to have an in-depth knowledge of how to manage and operate a business.

Statistics show the success rate for independent start-up are much lower than those for franchise companies. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the US Small Business Administration, 70 percent of independent start-ups are still in business after two years, and 50 percent of still in business after 5 years. This number drops to just over 30 percent for independent start-ups that last longer than 10 years, and 25 percent for those lasting more than 15 years.

The success rate for a new home care franchise seems to be much higher than those for an independent start-up business. This large difference may be because franchises offer a vast amount of supportive services to new business owners to help them start and operate their businesses, which many new start-up owners just do not have.

Learn more about senior care franchising and download our FREE senior care franchising E-book today!

Please refer to our most recent Franchise Disclosure Document for important details.

How to Avoid Franchise Owner Burnout in Your First Year

Have you just begun your journey as an in-home senior care franchise owner? The first year of running your business is going to go by incredibly quickly! But how you look back upon your initial 365 days of franchise ownership will largely depend upon the actions you take right now and the habits that you instill in yourself today. One key thing to remember at this time is that owning and operating your franchise effectively is much more like a marathon than a sprint, so you’ve got to be able to pace yourself properly. Otherwise, you may become a victim of entrepreneurial burnout.

As you look at the road ahead in your role as a new franchise owner, it’s important to keep the big picture in mind so you don’t wear yourself out and put your business in jeopardy.

Here are some tips that can help you endure your first year effectively so that you can ensure that your franchise sticks around to serve your community with terrific senior care options!

Don’t Allow Hesitation to Paralyze You

Have you ever heard of the concept of the “seal of hesitation”? Basically, it describes the scenario in which business owners feel like they can’t take the next step because there’s more research to do, or the business plan needs to be rewritten — essentially, it’s all about employing delay tactics in order to avoid the stresses associated with facing risk.

When you’re in your first year as a franchise owner, it’s easy to get stuck in patterns of hesitation. After all, at this point, your dream of a successful franchise is still perfect in your mind. Taking action requires you to test your vision and come face to face with the associated risks. But it’s what you have to do to move forward effectively.

Take action when the time is right and you will avoid the pitfalls of procrastination. You’ll also give yourself the chance to learn from mistakes you make before the pressure of time has built to a crescendo. It might be difficult to take those first steps, but by doing so now, you’ll build some great habits that will carry your business forward.

One Mistake Is not the End of the World

In your first year, flaws and mistakes can stand out like sore thumbs, and they can seem much more damaging than they actually are. Just keep in mind that although you will certainly suffer some setbacks in your franchise’s first year, it’s highly unlikely that you will experience outright failure. When a setback occurs, take a breath and assess what you can do to overcome it. Chances are, you will not only overcome the setback; you’ll find a way to create new opportunities that would not have presented themselves otherwise.

Be Good to Yourself

The importance of this one cannot be overstated! Your first year in business will be intense and almost completely focused on your franchise. But you need to stop every once in a while to smell the roses and take care of your needs as a human being. Being a workaholic might seem like the correct approach, but overdoing can leave you feeling like a car without any gas in the tank — you aren’t going anywhere!

Learn to treat yourself, and balance your work with time to reflect and recharge. That way, you stand a great chance at avoiding the burnout that so often accompanies the first year of franchise ownership.

Franchise With Always Best Care

Are you interested in learning more about what it takes to be successful as a senior care franchise owner during the aging-in-place boom? Always Best Care is here to help you navigate the industry as one of our franchise owners! Download our FREE franchising ebook today to learn more and refer to our most recent Franchise Disclosure Document for important details.

Three Reasons to Start a Senior Assistance Services Franchise

According to the Administration on Aging, as of 2009 there were 39.6 million people in the US aged 65 or older, which represented 12.9 percent of the population at that time. These numbers are expected to increase dramatically by 2030, to around 72.1 million. The growing demographic of seniors in this country translates to a growing need for senior assistance services.

There are many reasons to consider starting a senior care services franchise. Here we discuss a few:

Fulfilling a Growing Need — With the aging Baby Boomer population, the number of elderly folks in the US is expected to double over the next 15 years, which will dramatically increase demand for in-home assistance. Many seniors would prefer to stay in their homes and maintain as much independence as possible, rather than live in an assisted living facility. By starting an in-home assistance franchise, you will be fulfilling a growing need in this country.

Doing Meaningful Work — A growing number of seniors will need both non-medical and in the coming years and decades. By starting a senior care franchise you’ll make a real difference in the lives of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of seniors who will need help with daily activities.

Working in a Recession-Resistant Market — Unlike many consumer products that people often go without during times of recession, medical and living assistance are essential services. Considering the fact that seniors are the fastest growing segment of the population, and considering the numbers of seniors who will require assistance in the coming years, elder care services is considered to be a recession-proof industry.

As with starting any business, there are many considerations, and careful planning is required in order to be successful. If starting an assisted living franchise appeals to you, considering franchising with Always Best Care, consistently ranked among the top 100 franchises in the United States. Learn more on our website.

To learn more about franchising in the senior care industry, download our FREE eBook today!

Please refer to our most recent Franchise Disclosure Document for important details.

Top Five Home-Care Myths and How to Dispel Them

Most seniors, when asked, respond that they would prefer to remain in their homes as they age, rather than move to an assisted living facility. Often, however, the homes in which they have lived for many years have become too big to maintain, or they begin to have health issues, and their family members can’t always be there to help. Still, many seniors and their family members remain wary of hiring help from a home care business, largely due to a few misconceptions surrounding in-home care. Here are five of the most common myths regarding non-medical home care:

Only very sick people need home care.

While it’s true that very ill people may seek in-home care, non-medical home care businesses also provide simple services, like homemaking, personal care, or companionship.

Home care is too expensive.

Compared to other senior care services, home care is one of the most affordable options. A large percentage of family caregivers over-estimate the costs of non-medical care by as much as $6.00 per hour. Additionally, some clients of in-home care franchises only require services for a few hours per week.

Home care clients have no say about who comes into their homes.

Caregivers are often carefully matched to clients’ needs and interests, and professional home-care workers are carefully screened.

In-home care will reduce the client’s independence.

This is often the top concern of seniors who are considering home care, and it’s tough to convince them that, in fact, the opposite is true. A professional caregiver can help the client remain in the home, while helping to keep them socially engaged, providing transportation to favorite activities, and helping prevent falls and other accidents which can reduce a senior’s mobility.

If a family caregiver is present, there is no need to hire a home care worker.

If a family caregiver is on-call 24 hours a day, this can lead to emotional and physical exhaustion. Burned-out caregivers cannot provide quality care, no matter how much they may wish to. By hiring a home-care worker, families can give the primary caregiver crucial respite and relief, without having to remove the senior relative from his or her home.

For franchising opportunities and information on the senior care industry, download our FREE eBook today!

Please refer to our most recent Franchise Disclosure Document for important details.

Life Experience: How Your Story Can Inform Your Senior Care Franchise

If you’re considering senior care franchise ownership, you’ve probably thought a lot about how your experience qualifies you to operate your own business in this growing industry. For instance, if you come from the corporate world, you probably have a clear understanding of how your franchise should be run, operationally. If you are a skilled networker, for instance, you might be considering the ways in which you can promote your franchise through reaching out to individuals and other businesses locally. Your professional experience will certainly go a long way in helping you to run your franchise effectively, but what about the other types of experience and expertise you possess?

What about your life experience?

As it turns out, your personal life experiences can come in handy as you navigate your way through the senior care world as a franchise owner.

Lessons Learned from the Seniors in Your Life

Everyone has parents and grandparents, and even though each individual’s family experience is different, there’s no doubt that you have learned a thing or two from interacting with older individuals in your life.

Think about your relationships with your parents, grandparents or other older loved ones: is there anything that stands out? Like many family members of older individuals, you’ve probably experienced some of the hardships associated with finding quality senior care.

Now that you’re considering senior care as a franchise opportunity, you have a chance to provide solutions to the issues you’ve witnessed in your own life with seniors. You can take what you know about how your loved ones have been cared for and use those lessons to help make your business a real, helpful resource for the elderly (and their families) in your community.

Empathy for Families of Seniors

Children and other family members of seniors who require non-medical in-home care face special challenges. And for many of them, it feels like they’re doing it all alone.

As a senior care franchise owner, you can show families in your community that you understand what they’re going through. Finding high-quality senior care is not always easy — families need to know that they can trust providers fully. If you’re able to get on the same page with your potential clients by relating stories from your personal experience, you can help them understand what makes your business so special.

Your Life Experience Can Set You Apart

Owning a franchise in the senior care industry is a great way to be in business these days, but it also presents countless opportunities for you to take what you’ve learned in your personal life and apply it in a way that immeasurably helps other families in your area. And when you can combine your professional and personal experience effectively as a senior care franchise owner, you can truly set yourself apart from the competition — there is no one like you, and there is no business that can offer the specific attributes you bring to the table!

Are you interested in learning more about what it takes to be successful as a senior care franchise owner during the aging-in-place boom?

Always Best Care is here to help you navigate the industry as one of our franchise owners!

Download our FREE franchising eBook today to learn more and refer to our most recent Franchise Disclosure Document for important details.

How You Can Help Today’s Seniors Get What They Want

One of the most important benefits associated with senior care franchise ownership is the opportunity to give back to the community and provide a resource.

But before you can provide your community with a valuable resource by offering outstanding senior care, you need to understand what seniors actually want. Seniors have many more options available to them in their post retirement years than ever before, so it’s crucial to be able to offer what they actually want.

Let’s take a look at some of the key desires that today’s seniors have — and explore how you can satisfy them as a senior care franchise owner in your community!

Respect

Seniors don’t always get the respect they deserve in our fast-paced world. Youth culture seems to dominate every facet of society, which can leave older individuals feeling like they exist on the margins.

Seniors don’t need to be treated like royalty, but they should be made to feel that they are every bit as important to society as anyone else.

As a senior care franchise owner, you can make a huge difference in your business — and the way your clients feel about you — by simply recognizing that older individuals deserve respect. As the leader of your business, everyone looks to you for guidance, so treat your clients (potential and otherwise) with the utmost respect, and your staff will follow!

Being Treated As Individuals

It’s all too easy to lump everyone over the age of 65 into a broad category known as “Seniors.” The reality is that seniors are just as diverse and varied as any other cross section of society. Certainly, seniors have a lot in common with each other generationally speaking, but that doesn’t mean that they’re all the same.

One-size-fits-all plans may work some of the time, but if you’re not treating each senior in your care as a unique individual, you risk alienating them. Every senior in your care has his or her own wants and needs; just because two people share the same birth date doesn’t mean they share the same requirements for senior care.

Communication

For most people, a social life is tied closely to professional life, so when individuals retire, they often find themselves missing out on conversations and interactions with others. Older individuals often have a lot to express, so it’s important to be able to truly listen to what they have to say, whether it’s in casual conversation or when they require something critical for their care.

Seniors also appreciate being looked in the eye and talked to directly. Too often, senior care providers speak directly to a family representative without addressing the senior loved one, which can lead to feelings of alienation and a loss of self worth. Of course, it’s important to be able to communicate effectively with family members and other loved ones, but don’t forget the person who’s at the center of it all!

Are you interested in learning more about what it takes to be successful as a senior care franchise owner during the aging-in-place boom? Always Best Care is here to help you navigate the industry as one of our franchise owners! Download our FREE franchising eBook today to learn more and refer to our most recent Franchise Disclosure Document for important details.

4 Ways to Boost Your Franchise Blog

One of your responsibilities as a senior care franchise owner is to market your business effectively. These days, the most powerful marketing is done online, often through various social media platforms, email newsletters and — especially — blogging. Having a blog on your website ensures that you always have fresh content for the search engines and potential clients to find. It also helps you establish your voice as an authority in senior care.

Senior care franchise owners need to be focused on their businesses, so blogging isn’t always in the forefronts of their minds. However, maintaining a blog doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming. And the benefits associated with establishing a strong voice in blogging are tremendous compared to the relatively small effort needed to do so.

If you’re a franchise owner — or are interested in becoming one — in the senior care industry, here are four tips to help you maximize your online marketing efforts through your blog!

Tip #1 — Keep a Content Calendar

To be effective with your blog, you can’t just log into your website and start typing away. Instead, generate some topics and themes that you want to cover. Then organize those topics in a calendar format so you can see what you’ve got coming up. This helps you maintain a consistent schedule while enhancing your ability to cover a wide range of topics.

Tip #2 — Establish Your Voice

Whether you’ll be the one to actually write the posts, or if you have a designated writer, it’s important to establish the “voice” of your blog. It should have a point of view that tells readers that you’re an authority in senior care and the various subjects you are covering.

Tip #3 — Space Is Your Friend

There’s plenty of content on the internet to read, so people aren’t going to waste time with blogs that consist of long blocks of text. Break your posts up into bite-size chunks by adding headings, lists and plenty of “white space” between paragraphs. When you organize your posts this way, they are much more easy on the eyes and more likely to inspire readers to come back for subsequent posts.

Tip #4 — Add Images!

The internet is increasingly becoming a visual medium. Your words are important, but your blog will perform much better if you add some images. Better yet, find a way to include video content to your blog, and you’ll see a significant uptick in engagement.

Consistency Is Key

Getting your blog set up will be the most challenging part of the process, but once it’s set up, all you have to do is keep updating your content calendar and follow it so that your posts get published regularly and consistently. Keep it consistent and be sure to follow the tips above, and you’ll see just how effective blogging can be in effectively marketing your franchise!

Are you interested in learning more about what it takes to be successful as a senior care franchise owner during the aging-in-place boom? Always Best Care is here to help you navigate the industry as one of our franchise owners! Download our FREE franchising ebook today to learn more and refer to our most recent Franchise Disclosure Document for important details.

Franchise Ownership — Amazing Opportunities for Military Vets

Veterans of the United States Armed Forces are some of the most skilled, dedicated, selfless and hardworking people in the country, but they often experience difficulty transitioning back into civilian life once their military service has come to an end. For many veterans, the seeming lack of opportunity can be incredibly frustrating, especially when they have so much to offer. Certainly, there are jobs out there to be had, but what many veterans desire is the chance to operate businesses that allow them to continue to provide service. For many returning veterans, owning a senior care franchise represents the ideal opportunity.

Veterans Have All the Right Traits for Franchise Ownership

As it turns out, the skills required to own and operate a senior care franchise effectively have a lot in common with those that are developed through military service. Let’s take a look at a few of them:

*Focus
Franchise ownership requires people to wear a number of hats, but that’s only done well if a person can prioritize and focus their concentration on what needs to be done in the here and now. Through their training and experience, military veterans are some of the most focused individuals on the planet, making them excellent candidates for senior care franchise ownership!

*Leadership
Military veterans understand what makes teams work well, and they know what it takes to provide excellent leadership. Mostly, it’s all about understanding people and motivating them, which is something with which most military veterans are very familiar.

*Strategy
Seeing the entire “chess board” and being able to plan several moves ahead (while accounting for possible surprises along the way) are traits that are highly developed among military veterans. Strategic traits are crucial when it comes to successful franchise ownership; marketing, accounting for growth, dealing with competition and a number of other aspects require an ability to strategize effectively.

*Following Orders
A successful military operation requires that people understand the chain of command and can follow orders. In franchise ownership, it’s important to be able to lead, but it’s equally as critical to be able to take direction and follow the system. Military veterans are ideally suited for this type of professional scenario, given their backgrounds.

Continuing Service

In senior care, franchise owners work toward various professional goals, but they also experience something rare in the business world — the chance to give back to their communities.

Seniors everywhere are living better lives thanks to the “aging in place” boom, and senior care franchise owners are making it possible. Franchise owners provide options that help families care for aging loved ones, and they act as vital resources in their communities. Military veterans who wish to continue their service can find a rewarding outlet through senior care franchising.

Why Always Best Care?

Always Best Care has been consistently ranked as one of the top franchises for veterans. In fact, Military Times has called Always Best Care one of its “Best for Vets” franchises on multiple occasions. For those veterans interested in franchise ownership, Always Best Care should be at the top of the list!

3 Tips for Stress-Free Franchise Ownership

Owning and operating your own senior care franchise is a great way to take control over your life and career without all of the hassles associated with startups and other such ventures. When you buy a franchise, you buy a certain amount of peace of mind, not to mention a strong brand name and a proven system to help you operate effectively. However, franchise ownership is not completely stress free.

If you are a franchise owner — or if you’re considering the purchase of your very own non medical senior care franchise — it’s important to understand that not everything will be easy. There will be challenging days, but the challenges you face will not be insurmountable. How you deal with stress will have a lot to do with how effectively you move past the hurdles that will stand in your way.

The tools and techniques that you’ve used throughout your life to tackle stress will certainly come in handy as a franchise owner, but it’s always good to add some different tools to the toolbox. With that in mind, here are three great tips to help you make senior care franchise ownership as stress free as possible!

Tip #1 — Remember That You’re Not Alone!

Sometimes franchise owners lose focus and try to do too much on their own. They feel that they have to be present for every decision, and that without their input, nothing will get done. It’s an all-too common trap to fall into as a franchise owner.

Thankfully, franchise owners can always hit the “reset” button by realizing and recognizing that they have the support of experts behind them at all times. As a senior care franchise owner, you will have corporate support available to you to help you through difficult moments. You will also have access to area representatives who have seen it all before and can help you navigate choppy waters.

It’s also important to remember that every good franchise owner assembles a great team. Allow your staff to do what they do best so you can focus on leadership! This will reduce your stress levels considerably.

Tip #2 — Keep an Eye on Tomorrow and Plan Ahead

Senior care is a dynamic sector of franchising where changes can occur rapidly. You won’t always be able to see around the next corner, but if you keep one eye focused on your future, you won’t be taken by surprise when a difficult challenge presents itself. The day-to-day operations of your franchise are important, but as a leader, you need to be able to look past the present and anticipate your future needs.

Tip #3 — Remember Why You Do It

Getting into franchise ownership in the senior care industry represents a tremendous business opportunity, but it also gives you the chance to make a difference in your community. You’re not just running a business; you’re providing a valuable resource for seniors and their families. Whenever things start to get too stressful, it’s always helpful to remember that your hard work and persistence pays off for you and everyone in your care.

The Value of Local Support for Your Senior Care Franchise

If you’ve worked in the corporate world, you understand what it’s like to have the support and structure of the company behind you. But operating within this structure leaves you with very little freedom to make decisions and take risks. That’s why franchise ownership is so attractive — owning and operating your own senior care franchise location allows you to experience the best of both worlds: You are the owner of your own business, with the freedom to make important decisions, but you also have support and structure provided by the company.

One important aspect of franchise ownership that sometimes gets ignored is the presence of support on the local level. It’s easy to view franchise ownership in terms of the relationship you have with the company at the national — or global — level, but it’s local and regional support that often means the most on an on-going, day-to-day basis.

How does local support help franchise owners succeed? Let’s take a look!

Area Representatives Understand the Needs in Their Area

In the senior care industry, a cookie-cutter approach just doesn’t work. Every community is different, and methods that work in South Florida may not be effective in northern Minnesota. People live different lives in different parts of the world, and local Area Representatives understand the regional nuances that give their franchise owners an edge over competitors who don’t have local support.

Area Representatives Are There for You on a Regular Basis

Support from the corporate level is important, but it’s not usually meant to be a daily lifeline. Local support means having someone in your corner that you can call on when needed. They are also there for you to provide planning, mentoring and team building in a way that fits with the needs of your community. Regular in-person visits are part of the Area Representatives’ deliverables to the owners.

The Best Local Support When You Franchise with Always Best Care

At Always Best Care, we believe strongly in a system of support that includes the assistance of experienced Area Representatives. Area Representatives are there to provide support when you need it in addition to helping you hone your business plan for maximum results. Regular meetings provide structure and motivation, and our proactive approach to mentoring and coaching means that you’ll always be on top of your game.

Always Best Care is one of the leaders in the growing senior care industry because we believe in our people. Providing great local support is just one of the ways we help our franchise owners grow their businesses and serve their communities.

Are you interested in learning more about what it takes to be a senior care franchise owner during the aging-in-place boom? Always Best Care is here to help you navigate the industry as one of our amazing franchise owners! Download our FREE senior care franchising eBook today to learn more and refer to our most recent Franchise Disclosure Document for important details.