America’s senior population is rising rapidly, and so is the need for health care, whether it’s received at home or through a designated retirement community. Considering these favorable supply/demand metrics, getting into the senior care industry with a franchise could seem like a slam dunk way to make money, writes the Daily Herald, before cautioning that no business strategy is assured success.
A 2012 study on senior care franchises published by Franchise Business Review, a Portsmouth, NH, market research firm that tracks franchisee satisfaction, notes a “highly fragmented (industry) with over 35 franchise brands and many more non-franchise businesses competing for market share.”
[However,] Recruiting, training and keeping qualified caregivers can be a challenge.
AdvertisementStill, says [Rudy] VanDerLaan, whose Comfort Keepers franchise provides nonmedical services in a territory that runs from Oak Brook to Glen Ellyn, “Senior care can be a good business if run properly.”
Because home care isn’t always appropriate, a handful of franchises help seniors transition to assisted living, nursing homes or other specialized housing have surfaced recently.
For example, Rick Graffagna owns an Assisted Transition franchise in Woodridge; Maryann Murnin owns an Always Better Care franchise, Palos Park, that has a transitions component. Their role is to help seniors find alternative housing.
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The two transition-oriented franchises function as referral sources and get commissions once a senior moves into a recommended facility.
The article notes that the franchise owners often cited “compassion” and “calling” when giving background on how they started their businesses. “Sometimes, money isn’t everything,” it says.
Read the full Daily Herald piece here.
Written by Alyssa Gerace
