Pros of owning a home care franchise over an independent agency
There’s a plethora of home health care business opportunities across the country and choosing the right opportunity for you is essential for your success over the medium and long term. However, you’ll be faced with the decision of either starting your own independent care agency from scratch or purchasing an established franchise business. Which one is right for you and why should you buy a franchise? Take a look below.
Costs: An independent in-home care business has substantial costs that you will have to finance by yourself. You will often approach a lender for this purpose and, of course, you will also need to consider the interest rates. On the plus side, you will be able to keep all the profits to yourself. But the road ahead will not be easy because you will need time to establish your business’ reputation and brand. However, a franchise typically has a lower investment cost than an independent care agency and often, franchisors help franchisees with the financing due to the pre-established relationships created with lenders. This gives franchisee owners the upper hand because not only will they find it easier to source financing but they will also have much lower investment costs. This is despite the fact that there are ongoing royalty fees to be paid to the franchisor on a monthly or annual basis.
The business model: As an independent care agency, you will need to create your business model which will include financial projections of what you expect your business to earn over a certain period of time. While this affords you a great level of control over your own business, only time will tell whether your business will be successful or not. On the other hand, franchisees who opt to purchase a care business from a franchisor will operate under the business model of the franchisor. This will mean that you’ll be operating based on the guidance and guidelines set by the franchisor as well as work based on a proven and profitable business model. You will not need to reinvent the wheel or try new methods to reach success.
Professional experience: Although both an independent care agency and a franchise business typically don’t require a certain level of experience before you can get started, it is important to know that with a franchise business model, you also get exposure to many training opportunities to ensure your success on an ongoing basis (for more on this, see the section below).
Operational resources: Due to the fact that franchisors have been in the industry for many years and they have built relationships with various suppliers, the chances are high that you as a franchisee will be able to take advantage of a series of discounts from them. These discounts will help reduce your costs and this is also something that an independent care agency will not be able to take advantage of as they will need to negotiate terms and conditions and it takes time to establish relationships with suppliers so that you can take advantage of lower prices.
Control: As a franchisee, you are required in terms of your contractual relationship with the franchisor to follow their business model, rules and regulations. This can mean a loss of some autonomy when compared to an independent care agency. However, it also means that you’re much more likely to be profitable and successful as you take advantage of support networks and a strong pre-established reputation which can take years to build.
Start your own home health care franchise today!
Starting along the road of running your own home care franchise is an exciting prospect but you have to make the right decision for yourself.
For example, you’ll have to make the choice between starting out as an independent business or as a franchisee and this decision will help you go forward.
Although independent businesses do have a lot of advantages, including control, you will also have to ensure that you think about franchising as an option because it offers multiple benefits that shouldn’t be overlooked. In fact, franchising reduces your risk and optimises your investment.
