Things to Consider Before Buying a Senior Care Franchise

Things to ask a franchisee
Because of its highly lucrative nature, you may have given a lot of thought to starting a senior care business. This is a multi-billion pound industry that’s continuously growing and this is not expected to stop anytime soon. While the financial prospects are certainly appealing, you need to consider the whole picture before proceeding to buy your homecare business franchise. In this article, we’ve prepared eight areas for consideration you should think about as you embark on your entrepreneurial journey. Let’s take a closer look. 

 

8 Factors to consider when buying a home care services franchise

A care franchise can be your route to independence. It can free you up to do the things you’ve always wanted to do. It can offer you that work/life balance that you’ve longed for. It can provide you with the financial resources you need to live comfortably. But it takes research and preparation to get started. Here’s what you need to know.

1: The diversity of sector: A care at home franchise may sound like a one-size-fits-all solution but in actuality, this is not the case. Why? Because home care franchises are so diverse. There are those that offer palliative care, 24-hour live-in care, dementia and Alzheimer’s care, post-operative care and a whole combination of these services. All this in addition to the fact that you can offer care to individuals in their own homes or to even to nursing homes, assisted living facilities, GP surgeries and more. Therefore, you can either become a Jack of all trades by offering a wider range of services or specialise in one or two.

2: Its lucrative nature: As mentioned above, the home care industry is worth billions of pounds. And this figure is growing. The UK’s population is ageing, yes, but it is also growing. This means that in the next decade and more, we’re likely to see a higher ageing population. And this presents a business opportunity that you can take advantage of. Therefore, when considering the nature of the industry, you need to ask yourself if you’re ready to commit to it for the long haul. Doing so is likely to be highly rewarding both from a personal, professional and financial point of view.

home care services franchise in the uk

3: Ability to offer consistent care to the highest standards: Due to the growing demand for home care services and individuals choosing to remain in the comfort of their own homes in familiar surroundings, home care services are becoming highly competitive. Your care services need to be on par with the industry standards and even go beyond if you want to compete effectively with other service providers. If you’re ready to give it all that you’ve got, then a home care franchise is for you.

4: History and leadership of the franchise: When you’ve made the decision that you want to go all in with a home care franchise, you also need to perform some due diligence beforehand to know exactly what you are getting into. This will mean carefully studying the history and leadership of your chosen franchisor. If you have the opportunity, there are also questions to ask a franchisee of the business or even multiple franchisees to discuss their experience with the parent brand. Getting first-hand information will stand you in good stead when moving forward with your decision.

5: Consider the territory and location: You may find the perfect home care franchise opportunity only to discover that it’s in a location that’s not well suited to your needs. Remember that most franchisors operate on the principle of dividing up postal code areas after doing market research and demographic profiling, which ensures that all franchisees have a relatively equal number of potential customers. This enables them to offer the best services possible without having to compete and compromising the parent brand. Therefore, look at opportunities near you so that you don’t have to up and move your entire life and family in order to pursue this opportunity.

elderly care business innovation

6: Be ready to continuously learn: As a franchisee, you should also be prepared to embark on a continuous learning process. This will start off with training from the franchisor, which is usually very detailed and comprehensive, enabling you to get started in a matter of a few weeks or even months. But this process is continuous. As the legal and regulatory landscape is always changing, you also need to stay abreast of these requirements. This is something that should be done through ongoing support from the franchisor as well. Therefore, consider checking whether ongoing support is provided for you when starting out.
 
7: Do you have the financial resources? An elderly care business, just like any franchise opportunity or even startup, will require a financial investment. You need to consider whether you’re capable of funding your operations. In some cases, franchisors are able to connect you with lenders who can finance up to 70% of your capital requirements. However, bear in mind that you will most likely be required to fund some of the proceeds yourself as well as have some working capital to cover your expenses until you break even and then start turning a profit.
 
8: Dispute resolution: Finally, we reach the point of dispute resolution. We are humans and it’s human nature for conflicts to arise. However, there must be effective dispute resolution mechanisms in place to ensure that your working relationship with your franchisor is as effective as possible. The commitment to a franchise business is usually a long-term affair. It’s in the region of five to 10 years. While some disputes are likely to arise, you need to ensure that there are open channels of communication with the franchisor so that these can be resolved. Therefore, check their offering in detail and see how they’ve resolved previous conflicts with other franchisees.

 

Wondering why to buy a senior care franchise?

As a home care franchise owner, studying the market, the franchisor and the existing structures and systems in place to ensure a smooth flow of business is essential. You need to undertake thorough and careful research when embarking on this process.
 
Whether you start out by studying the market or examining the fine print of a franchisor’s Franchise Agreement, be sure to consult the services of an experienced professional who will be able to translate complex legal and financial jargon into plain language for you.
 
After all, you need to be aware of all the intricacies of the home care franchise business you are getting into in order to provide the most effective service to your clients. 
 

Get started with your very own franchise business!

Fill in the form below to request more information about running your own home care business.