What’s the appeal of a home care franchise?

Amrit Dhaliwal writes:

The big attraction of a home care franchise is the opportunity to make a genuine difference to your community while making a good living. Few businesses offer this combination of rewards – and putting smiles on people’s faces is fun!

There’s also a large, growing, and under-served market for home care. The number of over 85s – the group most likely to need health and care services – was 1.7 million in 2020. By mid-2045, this is projected to have nearly doubled to 3.1 million (ONS). Demand is increasing. Requests for support were 6 per cent higher in 2021 than in 2015-16 and among working-age adults, they increased by 15 per cent (The King’s Fund). You’ll be helping plug a care gap. More than half a million people were waiting for adult social care in May 2022 (Home Care Association).

A home care franchise also benefits from year-round demand, which generates consistent cash flow and more predictable costs, and home care businesses usually offer a wide range of specialist services, so you have multiple sources of income, which reduces risk.

However, despite the high demand for services, franchisors in this sector are not looking for franchisees who seek it as only a rocket to riches. They seek prospective franchisees with a genuine commitment to high-quality care and the diligence, resilience, people skills and patience needed to build a solidly growing business.

Of course, you could set up a home care business on your own, but this is a highly regulated sector where the utmost attention to quality of care is essential, so starting your business with the aid of an established franchise run by experienced people is a much easier route to reaping the rewards of home care.

Amrit Dhaliwal is a former home care franchisee who is now the CEO of home care franchise Walfinch.