What income opportunities exist for a senior care franchise owner vs. a franchise owner in other industries?
Always Best Care offers a variety of care options for seniors, including non-medical in-home care, assisted living referral services, and Alzheimer’s and dementia care. Start-up costs will vary depending on the size of your territory and your initial staffing, but generally average between £43,325 and £74,3001, comparable to or less than many other popular service-oriented franchises.
For example, the start-up costs for a Mathnasium brand year-round math learning center are between £66,650 and £91,5002, while the start-up costs for a business with the popular Massage Envy brand are between £231,600 and £374,3003.
Always Best Care was named one of the "top low cost franchises” by Franchise Business Review. The comparably low cost of starting an Always Best Care in-home senior care business makes this particular facet of the senior care industry a very affordable proposition.
Why is the home care industry a good fit for a franchise owner in terms of business longevity?
With the UK’s aging Baby Boomer population, the senior care industry is growing rapidly. More than 2,000 people in the UK turn 65 every day, and the number of individuals 65 and older in the UK is projected to grow to 29% of the population by 2033. The 85+ population is expected to grow even faster, increasing nearly 150% during the next 30 years, from 1.4 million in 2010 to 3.5 million in 2033. These growing demographics4 make senior care one of the most lucrative and recession-proof industries in the nation.
Why should I invest my money in a home care franchise when the target demographic has a significantly shorter life span than demographics in other industries?
Aging is an inevitable part of every person’s life, and there will always be a need for non-medical in-home care, skilled home health care and assisted living. Seniors are a growing segment of the population, and this is projected to continue well into the future. Ongoing and increasing demand makes senior care one of the most recession-proof industries in existence today.
What sort of marketing and advertising advantages will I benefit from when franchising with Always Best Care vs. other senior care franchise agencies?
Always Best Care provides franchisees with a broad range of marketing materials and training to ensure the best chances of success. Always Best Care provides materials focused on targeting specific market segments in addition to the latest in Internet technology. Each franchisee is provided with a customisable micro-website as well as information about the best search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies and programs. Plus, all franchisees participate in Always Best Care’s National Advertising Fund to help spread brand awareness and generate leads to help them build their businesses. Since 2011, Always Best Care for been honoured with more awards5 for marketing and advertising excellence than any other senior care company!
What are the primary services typically offered by a senior care franchise owner?
Unlike typical one-dimensional home care companies, Always Best Care provides a "continuum of care” with multiple revenue streams and services for seniors. These include:
Non-medical domiciliary care
24/7 round-the-clock domiciliary care
Alzheimer's & other dementia care
Skilled nursing care
Free care homes finder & referral services
Escorted tours of care homes
What operational support advantages will I receive with Always Best Care vs. other home care agencies?
Always Best Care has developed a fully-integrated, web-based system that links customer invoicing, accounting and payroll. This enables franchisees to run their entire operation efficiently and effectively and maintain the highest levels of customer service. Franchisees have no up-front costs for software or disaster recovery, and Always Best Care provides automated updates to the system at no additional cost to its franchisees.
How does the Always Best Care training system compare
to the training systems of other non-medical home care agencies?
Always Best Care is committed to helping ensure the success of franchisees with ongoing, comprehensive training materials and programs. Always Best Care provides a dual level of corporate and field support, with on-site business coaching and field visits, online industry training materials and educational resources, courses for franchisee owners, staff and care providers. Franchisees participate in an extensive training program, including 1½ weeks of intense classroom training at Always Best Care headquarters. They can expect to participate in strategic planning sessions and have access to customisable financial benchmarking and assessment tools as well as structured planning focused on key performance indicators. Franchisees also receive specialised training for staff, including monthly in-service webinars and continuing education units.
You won’t find a more comprehensive franchisee training support system in the senior care industry!
How soon can I expect to see a return on my investment with an Always Best Care franchise?
A major benefit of the senior care industry is that it takes relatively few clients to achieve significant dollar revenues. For example, at Always Best Care, in 2013 an average franchise doing £650,000 in annual revenue had an average of only 59 clients – compare this to a fitness franchise or fast food franchise which may need hundreds if not thousands of clients to sustain the same revenue.
What kind of staffing support does Always Best Care offer vs. other senior care agencies?
Always Best Care offers franchisees an innovative outsourced staffing management service that is free for the first six months. The state-of-the-art system includes 24/7 scheduling and related communications as well as staff management, operations, billing and payroll input tools. Caregivers simply call in from their home care locations, and our telephony system collects their arrival and departure times. The data is downloadable into the Always Best Care payroll and billing system and helps franchise owners manage their caregiver staff.
With Always Best Care’s innovative outsourced staffing management system, franchise owners can focus on revenue-producing activities rather than spending their energy on managing staff.
I’m concerned about the economy taking another turn for the worse. How can I be sure that the home care industry is stable enough to help keep my business afloat?
While every industry may feel some impact in times of recession, the senior care industry is among the most recession-proof in the United Kingdom. Unlike material goods, senior services are simply not dispensable, even in times of economic downturn. Plus, the continuously increasing senior population results in a growing base of people in need of in-home care and assisted living services.
What kind of ongoing costs or royalties does Always Best Care require franchise owners to pay, and how do they compare with other companies that offer franchise opportunities in home health care?
Always Best Care franchisees pay a 6 percent royalty and 2 percent marketing fee, which is comparable to other senior care companies.
Sources:
Always Best Care prospectus and franchise agreement (collectively, our franchise disclosure document, or FDD)
Office of National Statistics
The Spector Agency, Sacramento, CA