DON'T buy a home care franchise!

Don't buy a homecare franchise

 

I get approached all the time by people considering changing careers to join the world of home health care.

They see the need and they want to be part of the solution and that's great!

I'm always happy to talk to people like this.  They clearly want to help people, they want to work for themselves, and they want to make some money along the way.  These are all good things!

But when the discussion turns (as it always does) to the question of whether to buy a franchise...I always tell them what I'm telling you here:

Don't buy a franchise!

The reason they're asking is exactly the same reason I was interested in a franchise when I began looking at starting my business: because running your own home care business is scary.

If you come from a healthcare background, then you probably understand the health care system, but the business terms can be really hard to understand.

If you are a business person then you understand the dollars and cents, but the health care terms are an entirely new language.

You start writing down your questions and end up with pages and pages of things you don't know...

  • What is a PSW?
  • What's the difference between an RPN and an RN?
  • What is a wage burden?
  • How does WSIB/WCB work?
  • What's the ESA?
  • What's contribution margin?
  • What's the LHIN?
  • What's a CADD pump?
  • Have you ever heard of a UCP, the CNO, or EBITDA?

As the list gets longer and you start to do your research you can't help but run into page after page of ads offering to sell you home care franchises.

The ads start to look really attractive because they come with many benefits:

  • access to people who've done it before
  • cash flow models to help you plan your growth
  • marketing materials to help you get your message out
  • HR policies and procedures ready-made so you don't have to build them yourself 

Franchises look great at first because they seem like a huge shortcut!  

Why do all this work yourself when you can just have it all done for you?

Of course all they're asking for is a bit of money up front and an "ever-so-small" piece of your pie FOREVER.  They usually ask for something like 5-10% royalty.

Not so bad right?

*****Timeout!*****   Time for a math break!

Let's run a few numbers:

  • let's assume that your business costs the same as ours did up front
  • let's assume your margin level is the same as ours was
  • Let's assume that after the first 5 years you're at the same place as we were after 5 years in terms of revenue growth
  • Let's assume that you want to work in your business for 20 years and that you grow like us for the first 5 years, then 10% for years 5-10 and 2% after that

Want to know how much that "little slice of the pie" adds up to (the one they're taking from you)?

You are paying them somewhere between 3.5 million and 7 million dollars!!!

Ouch.  That's starting to sound like a lot more than a tiny-little slice of pie!

That's a lot of money to pay for some advice and some operations manuals.

That's why Home Care101 exists.

Because we see that money as a resource and we think you would be better off using that resource some other way.

For instance, rather than pay a franchise royalty you could do all of the following amazing things for your business:

  • offer employee benefits to your caregivers
  • offer a pension plan to your caregivers
  • upgrade your office to improve the work environment of your salaried staff
  • run a strong online marketing campaign to increase your growth rates
  • Offer free CPR courses to caregivers looking to renew their certifications
  • Offer free ongoing education courses to caregivers to help them progress in their careers

Here at Home Care101 we believe all of those things are better uses of that resource than paying all that money as a franchise fee.

That's why we built this website to try to offer some of the same materials and peace of mind the franchise companies are offering but at only a fraction of the cost.

 It's also why we never franchised our business.  We think it's a bad deal.

Also, to be honest we came very close to buying a franchise ourselves

Before I started my own home care company I spent a lot of time exploring the franchise opportunities available.

At one point I was so ready to buy a franchise that I actually had the deposit cheque in my hand ready to go.

Then at the very last minute I changed my mind.

The reason for my change of heart was that when I really sat down to think it through, I could not figure out what real value I was actually getting.

Why was I spending money to "buy a territory", when I could start my own business and look for clients anywhere I wanted.

For the policies and procedures, I realized that even if I took a full year or two to create my own manuals it would be well worth my time considering the real price of the franchise.

So I walked away.

And now 10 years later I'm so thankful I did!

Not only do I get to chose to invest that money in better ways than paying a franchise fee, but I have complete control to make my business whatever I want it to be.

Total Freedom.  Capital F Freedom.

It's also why I have the freedom to sell all my hard work at a fraction of the cost to produce it just so that I can set other entrepreneurs free from a lifetime of paying franchise fees.

Do the work!  No shortcuts!  Choose freedom!

Purchase the Home Care 101 Complete Start Up Kit to put you on the fast track to starting your own home care agency!

You can get in touch with us by signing up for our newsletter. We send out freebies to our Home Care 101 subscribers to help you get started!

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61 comments

That sounds great but I would like to ask if you think the same applies to other countries? I’m reading it from the UK thinking about buying one here… Thanks!
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HomeCare101 replied:
Hi Thiago! Great question! Other than the business registration process, the rest of the details certainly apply to other countries. The franchise model is to help you get started and then to earn a royalty on your hard work forevermore! Good luck in your search and feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Cheers! Alyssa

Thiago Ferreira

Hi
Appreciate for useful information, I am interested to set up my own home care business. How could I get starter kit?
Thank you
———
HomeCare101 replied:
Hi Shafqat,

The start up kit is available for purchase on this website. You can click on products in the menu and you will see the instant download available for purchase. I hope that helps!

Alyssa

Shafqat Nasir

Thank you Homecare 101 team!! You inputs have already saved me lots of time and money!
———
HomeCare101 replied:
Hi Alceu, that’s really nice to hear I’m so glad!

Cheers,
Alyssa

Alceu

I need to purchase the kit. But, I don’t know whether I should go home care agency (medical or non-medical) or home care with facility.
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HomeCare101 replied:
Hi Adeniyi,

That’s a tough call! The facility will require a great deal more capital up front than the agency but both are possible!

Cheers, Alyssa

Adeniyi

Hi there – which provinces do you have experience providing service in and do the resources in the kit apply to various provinces? Also curious as to whether you need to be a registered healthcare professional (ex. RN, RPN, NP) to open/run a nursing agency that provides travel/relief (temporary) services in any provinces in Canada and/or if the people selecting the care providers need to have background aligned to provide the best service possible? Are all legal or regulatory requirements for start-up covered in the kit (with the understanding that engaging a lawyer is wise to make sure)? Looking for more resources relating to “who can do it?” Thanks so much for this great resource!
———
HomeCare101 replied:
Hi Sydney,

The kit is applicable to all provinces but keep in mind sometimes provinces have different names from things (care aide vs PSW for example).

You don’t need to be a health care professional to run an agency but of course your caregivers need to have the correct certifications and you’ll need some strong experience on your team!

You don’t need a lawyer at the start-up process, the kit has a checklist and a lot of it is google-able (like how to register a business).

Cheers, Alyssa

Sydney

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