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Home Care Franchise Deep Dive with Bobby Kelley: Inside Home Helpers' 28-Year Playbook

• Jack Johnson • Season 3 • Episode 1

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Home Care Franchise Deep Dive: Home Helpers Franchise Review | Best Healthcare Franchise 2025?


Is a home care franchise one of the most profitable franchises to own in 2025? We break down the real numbers with Bobby Kelley, who's awarded 400+ Home Helpers franchise territories over 20 years.


If you're researching franchise investment opportunities in the healthcare franchise space—or wondering "what franchise should I buy?"—this episode gives you the inside look at one of the top service franchise opportunities in the country.


What we cover:
→ Real Item 19 numbers: $1.9M average, $29.8M top performer
→ Why home care is now a necessity, not a luxury
→ The daily habits that separate top owners from struggling ones
→ Startup costs, ramp timelines, and franchise profitability expectations
→ Exit strategies and acquisition paths for when life changes
→ Why recruiting caregivers is as important as getting clients


Whether you're exploring franchise opportunities with low startup cost, looking for the best franchises to own in Florida, or evaluating healthcare franchise options nationwide—this conversation covers what it actually takes to succeed.


About Us:
The Franchise Insiders are franchise consultants who are all current or former franchise owners. We help people find a franchise to buy based on real operator experience—not broker commissions. Visit thefranchiseinsiders.com to get matched with your top franchise opportunities in 3 minutes.


Subscribe for weekly franchise investment insights. 

 The Franchise Insiders is a franchise consulting firm. We may receive compensation from franchisors when clients invest in their systems. All information is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. Franchise performance varies. Review the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) before making any investment decision. 

Visit www.thefranchiseinsiders.com to subscribe.
Send us your questions for an upcoming episode at 305-710-0050.
From your pals in franchise ownership, Jack and Jill Johnson.

Speaker 2:

Hi everyone. Welcome back to the We Bought a Franchise Podcast. I'm Jack Johnson. I'm Jill Johnson. And today we have an incredible guest. This is this is so rare. We have Bobby Kelley from Home Helpers. Bobby, before I introduce the rest of the group, because I'm going to forget my train of thought here, how long have you been with Home Helpers?

Speaker 1:

You know, Jack, I celebrated my 20th year anniversary on October 5th of this year. So yeah, very blessed, very fortunate.

Speaker 2:

Wow. How many, how many units have you awarded over that time?

Speaker 1:

I've awarded over about 400 personally. We were umbrellaed with a strategic franchising many years ago. So I was actually pulled a little bit from the brand here and there to help other brands. So some of those that you guys have probably heard of that are up and running and striving now, I was kind of on the ground floor at that time because we've had so much success with home helpers. We built a few others under that umbrella than in recent years. Obviously, we're standalone now with our group. But yeah, about 400 personally operating around the country as we speak.

Speaker 2:

There should be a franchise development hall of fame, and you should be in it.

Speaker 1:

I would love that, Jack. Run that by somebody. Let's make it happen.

Speaker 5:

Okay, we'll send you more.

Speaker 2:

And for those of you that are listening to the podcast and you can't see, of course, we have our wonderful franchise consultants. We have Katherine Allen, we have Brian Gross, we have Jay and Carolina Arrosa. Um, so this should be a very, very, I think, entertaining show. Um, and for all of you guys listening, I also want to invite you to go to our website, thefranchiseinsiders.com. We have a new feature where in three minutes you can learn your top franchise match. I'm not kidding. Test it out. Go to the franchiseinsiders.com. And not only that, when you do get your franchise matches, you can actually hit a button that says connect me to the franchise, and we will connect you right to that franchise. So with my shameless sales plug set aside, Bobby, let's dive right in. My question to you is um what makes home care such a powerful purpose-driven business?

Speaker 1:

You know, Jack, number one is that we're dealing with something that we're all going to deal with at some point. So the core mission is built around care, right? And I think it's also what makes it very appealing for a franchise owner or a candidate looking to maybe tiptoe into it. You know, I've often told, you know, anybody who's asked that it's it's one of the rare opportunities that creates a win-win. And what I mean by that is that you're going to be associated in your community with everything that's good. You're providing jobs, you're helping people that are in need, you're becoming a void and kind of a family dynamic. But at the same time, as an entrepreneur, you have this scalable, huge opportunity in front of you. So what makes it, you know, a very purpose-driven business is that we're able to impact communities, you know, tomorrow. We don't have product to sell, we don't have anything sitting on the shelves we got to get rid of. Somebody's in need, you're able to help. And so, you know, we've built something very special here, but it's always been around kind of those core values, that core mission. Because the second you you forget about that and you get wrapped up in the weeds in the business, that comes through to the end user. So it's it's such a purpose-driven business, and and it's something I think anybody in the space needs to always keep top of mind because it is such a high-level scalable business as well. It's very easy to get caught up in that and lose kind of why we got into it for the fr in the first place.

Speaker 2:

You know, and and um just to just to add on to that, let's let's discuss quickly your item 19 to put some context around it. Sure. What what numbers, if people were to look into your FDD, what would they see in your item 19?

Speaker 1:

You know, we captured uh the average franchise owner, the average franchise unit in our system, and that's at about 1.9 million at 12 months and beyond. We also want to capture kind of our top 50 franchises, and those guys are pushing that 10 million mark. And then, of course, you know, our top owner is pushing about 29.8 million, I believe, um, is what they did last year. So, needless to say, it's a very healthy item 19. What's awesome about it though is that, you know, in that item 19, we're also capturing what's the median. We we we we highlight timelines. What's somebody doing at 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months? Because if you're a prospect or you're a candidate, you know, it's not necessarily where can I get to? That that lets you know you're fishing in the right pond. Always tell franchise, and I think Jack, you and I have laughed about this before. I tell so many franchise owners quit selling year three, year five, year seven, year 10 results. We're all starting at zero. So let's get real excited about that. But let your item 19 let a candidate know, hey, I'm fishing in the right pond. I have a scalable asset, I got a timeline where I think I can get here because I'm above average, or I want to push to be in that top 50. But ours is extremely healthy, but it should be after 28 years, right? It should be after 28 years. Um, so not just the numbers that are in there, but deliver the data around it that allows somebody to come up in their head. What's my model? Who am I? Where would I fall? And and you know, what can I expect in certain time frames? Because that's what every candidate's trying to get their hands around. We can tell everybody how much money they can make. I need to know how my life's gonna change next Tuesday if I buy your business. And so we want to give a little bit of that in there as well to help somebody really gauge the opportunity as a whole.

Speaker 5:

I love that. So when you're looking at these candidates, how how do you determine who's gonna be a good owner based on, you know, their empathy, but also their operational excellence? Like because I you kind of have to have a balance of both, right? Um, how do you determine that or look for that?

Speaker 1:

It's it's such a good question, Jill, because I'll tell you that if you miss that, if you miss balancing that, you're in trouble in our space. Sure. Right. And you know, I've always talked about the way you'll attract them is being true to who you are as an organization in everything you do. Everything we do here is built around the core mission and our core values. Everything. So getting back to your question, Joe, look at our awarding process. We're gonna surface right away. Facts are facts, figures are figures. There's certain things that every franchise owner needs to know about a candidate that lets them know, hey, we should probably go to step two here. However, once we're there and we can check those boxes, the majority of our process from that point forward, Joe, is about them. Do you align with who we are as an organization? Do you align with our core mission, our core values? Right? Are you comfortable at being at zero? Because we're gonna be there, right? Is the end user important to you? Right? We attract because of our success and and and our tenure, we attract a lot of high-level entrepreneurs, which I will tell you, I'll take them all day long, my team will take them all day long, but that doesn't necessarily mean because of their past record or who they were leading up to that first initial phone call that they're gonna be an ideal fit for us. I want to be very transparent through that process. So, Jill, building everything around kind of who we are as a brand and our mission and our values allows the right people to surface at the end of that process. Because again, I think in franchising in general, man, there's so many facts and so many figures. Why hold back? Put those in front of people and start really gauging partnership because when you can check those boxes, we're gauging the right stuff now. Are we valuable as a team? So we build everything around that, which allows us to usually work with the right folks at the end of the day.

Speaker 6:

Yeah, that makes sense. Uh this is Catherine. Um, I have a question. What's changing in how families are choosing home care today?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, Catherine, it's a great question because this is where you know my tenure kind of comes into play, and I'm able to speak on like where were we at as an industry 20 years ago. Uh, you know, for those of us who are around, it was that kind of, oh, this is a luxury service. Somebody can afford this, right? And and and and only a certain amount of people can afford it. There wasn't many resources built around it. So I've been fortunate enough to see it evolved to where it's a necessity. And because it's a necessity, the the end user now is is really focusing on who do they want to align themselves with when they start this journey with mom, dad, a loved one, whoever it may be. And I will tell you, Catherine, it's going, you know, fast, fast, fast towards a total comprehensive, kind of holistic approach to care. Right? We remember the caregivers, right? We're gonna have a caregiver, and Betty's gonna go into the house, and for 20 hours a week, she's gonna provide these services. Now it's it's it's more about outside of that, what can you provide me? I may not need everything you offer right now, but boy, am I gonna feel really good and probably choose you at the end of the day if I know there's additional services to come because I don't know what I don't know now with mom. Two years may look a lot different than it does right now. If you can have an answer for the unknown in two years for them, then right now's decision becomes very easy. So, you know, getting back to, you know, Catherine, where, you know, where they're spending their time when they're doing the research, it's around who can check all the boxes, even though I don't need them all checked now. And we build our cared for program around that. And and we're very proud of that. We've put together, you know, a total holistic, kind of comprehensive approach to care because we went out and figured out what are the top four or five things someone in that boat needs that they'll never need anything else. And that's meal delivered and telehealth options and wellness checks, along with kind of that caregiving, to where you fill the gap when there's no family around or a caregiver. So, you know, I would I would look at you know, a package more than just a service nowadays. That's what's going to check the boxes.

Speaker 6:

Thank you, Bobby. And a quick follow-up because Carolina Jay, Jack, and I, we all were in home care for so many years. And I think this is interesting. Um, from I'm curious like where it was when I was in it and where it is now. Majority, and Carolina, maybe it was different for you and Jay, but when we looked across the board across the country, majority of our clients came from assistive living facilities, hospitals, and geriatric care managers. Those were our top revenue, our top client drivers in terms of revenue. Is that true of for you guys or is it different?

Speaker 1:

You know, it it it it still holds true that the referral sources are going to probably become your best friend in this business if you want to scale something quickly. However, let's face it, technology has become a huge, huge component of anything any of us do at any time. Home care is no different. Meaning that the direct consumer, you know, leveraging social media, leveraging the digital space has become, you know, very, very evident in the last, you know, couple of years that people are getting ahead of the curve instead of waiting for somebody to tell them to get care. Right? It used to be the doctor said you need this. You're getting out of surgery on Monday, have somebody there Tuesday. Now it's the children. Now it's the folks that are saying, hey, you know, dad passed. What are we gonna do? So you hear, you know, in our case, we we we want to make sure we always have a presence on every platform the digital space, the social space, but then also become very, very active in our communities because the doctors, hospitals, rehab centers, OBGYNs are referring to people every day. And it goes back, Catherine, to what kind of you're talking about, and I think it's often missed in the space. Understand that the seniors are going to drive this for years and years to come. That's why we're all here, right? Baby boom, front end of baby boom 77, need is now. I will tell you what will make you be around 28 years and have franchisees doing $29 million in revenue. Here's what'll make you or put you in a position to be able to do that. When you understand that there's a 40-year-old man down the street from you that's going to have a stroke, who needs the same services as the 85-year-old that their family's calling for you to come be a long-term or you know, long-term solution. Um, there's a mother being put on bed rest every single day. Maybe for six days, maybe for six weeks, maybe before birth, maybe after birth. Right? What has happened is that all of us have realized that we need care. It's not just necessarily the senior-driven opportunity anymore. It's the backbone, it's the core of the business model. However, what will make you different in your community and make you scale a business for years and years to come is to understand you're just in the business of care. So those referral sources you touched on are key, but they're they're they're broader now. And that direct consumer, the digital space and leveraging social media and everything that we want a franchisee to do opens up a world right to to uh not just that senior community, but all all folks that need care. So I hope that answered your question.

Speaker 5:

Thank you.

Speaker 3:

Hey Bobby, so we've talked a lot about just the growth you've seen over 20 plus years. So how do you preserve the personal touch while growing nationally?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we're fortunate, Ryan. I'll tell you, we're very fortunate because we got a powerhouse leadership team here. And and again, considering the nature of our our business, right? The nature of our business is that when you strip it down, guys, we're gonna put someone behind closed doors with someone's mama. Right? And I know that sounds crazy, but that's the core of it. And that powerhouse brand on the surface doesn't just mean anyone walks through that door. So we want to concentrate from the you know, from the franchisor standpoint or support standpoint, driving all the resources that we've been able to accumulate over time, that national powerhouse brand, national prior powerhouse resources, drive them locally to our franchisees to be able to consistently concentrate on what pays their bills and scales their business, while they can count on us to do what we need to do nationally. And I I you know that's why I brought up that powerhouse leadership team. If you're in the home care space, you you must be living under a rock if you don't know Emma Dickinson, our CEO. Emma's on Capitol Hill, speaking on behalf of home care companies, speaking on behalf of small business. You know, Emma is is is fighting for caregiver pay and everything that goes into this. So a lot of that expertise, a lot of that advocacy, a lot of that meaningful message is what will grow a home care business nationally. Right? It's not gonna be necessarily the raw rodent to look at us and you better use us, because I'll tell you, a lot of people aren't gonna use us until they are in need. People usually make decisions in home care based off either compelling opportunity or compelling trauma. Right? It's not something to shop for. I often tell my franchisees, nobody drives down the highway and looks at a billboard and says, Can't wait for my mom to get old, right? No, right? So count on us to hit this at a national level and those who are looking to become part of the home helpers family now, it's very fortunate because there's 28 years of brand equity, right? That's been built over time. And the reason we were able to build it over time is because of success. So you kind of inherit that and you can feel very, very comfortable to say I am with the right brand, but they're going to make sure everyone locally knows that brand instead of I'm in charge of pushing this thing out to be the next McDonald's or Dunkin' Donuts or whatever it may be that really rely on that national marketing. Home care is a little bit different animal. So hopefully, Brian, that answered your question.

Speaker 2:

I'm gonna uh jump in here and take David's question because it's a good one. Um, and the question is, and I'm gonna add a little something to it. Um, what do top home helpers owners do different than owners that don't perform at a high level? And then the follow-up to that, Bobby, is do you see in your network those high performers then by the low performers, right? Because a lot of times what we share with clients and what we look for as franchise consultants, when we select a franchise for you as the franchise searcher, we want them to have proven acquisition and exit paths. And what I mean by that is if you're really good at this, there's an opportunity for you to grow that $29 million business. I'm sure that's not just one location. But if you're not good at it or life happens and you need to change, we want it to be where you can sell your franchise to another owner in your system so you don't have to go on the biz by sell and you know wait six months. Um, I'd love to get your thoughts on on that.

Speaker 1:

It's a great, great question. And I'll answer the first one first, Jack, because I have this conversation a lot, obviously, with people who are looking at the business, like, what do they do different? Why, why are these guys here and these guys are there? And I and it's it's gonna be somewhat of a simplistic answer, and I'll back into it a little bit. But I've often said if you took 370 of our franchisees and you shoved them in an auditorium, and I said, Jack, go in there and meet 370 owners. I am pretty sure, Jack, you'll walk back out of that auditorium and say, Bobby, I'll tell you who your top 50 are. Guarantee it. And here's what I mean is that they live, breathe, eat the essence of this industry with the understanding that I've got to scale a huge business to make the impact I want. So they're the happiest people you'll ever meet, but they're the most genuine. And what I mean, you know, by by by being genuine is that they take that big-time business idea, that scalable asset, and then they become just like the you know, the local deli in their area, just like the local bakery in their area. I've heard some other, you know, friends that we're talking about, like become the mayor of your city when you when you own this business. It's no different. You know, it's no different. We are again putting people behind closed doors with folks' loved ones. So the best owners in our community understand it. They need to be the best people in their communities locally, right? They need to be the face of home care in their space. Nobody cares necessarily day one about that home helper's on your shirt. What they care about is they're gonna trust you to take care of a loved one. So they get that before they get anything else. And the other piece, Jack, is I heard it said best from an owner, and it's something I often share because I think it's important, is uh an owner at a national conference of ours was on a panel, and we take our top owners and we allow new owners, maybe year one, year two, just to pick their brains. How did you get to 200 billable hours, 500, 1,000, what have you? And I will never forget an owner of ours out in California said, you know, I will tell you when my life changed as a home helper's owner is when a light bulb went off my head and said, wait a minute, I'm not gonna do anything between the hours of Eight o'clock in the morning and six o'clock at night that don't make me money. And if you think about that, new owners, what are they caught up in? My email address is right. I filed this away. I had to call this person back. And what happens is you look up, and two, three, four, five, six months have gone by. And yeah, we feel like we're ready, but all we've been doing is been getting ready to get ready. The best owners, Jack, attack the day to say, during this time frame, this business is about two things and two things only, because without them, you don't have a business. Where are my clients and where are my employees? That drives revenue. Everything else should be working for those two things to run parallel consistently. So, Jack, you know, the best owners, that is top of mind every day. I wake up, I worry about two things, and during these hours, I'm only doing things that are going to benefit my business. I'm not busy just to be busy. And then, you know, you touch on we're we're fortunate to have a large, large franchise system. We're fortunate to be, you know, again, 28 years in the game. So in most communities out there, most major markets, what you'll have, Jack, is you'll have high performers. Odds are you're gonna run into somebody who does extremely well. And that gives a peace of mind for those who maybe things have changed along the way. One year in, business isn't for me. Believe it or not, everyone gets awarded. Life doesn't stop. Things change. Maybe somebody got into it and said, you know what, can't find a light at the end of the tunnel. Um had something tragic occur. You never know. In most major markets around the country, we're fortunate that there is somebody that is in that market that is able to work with that struggling franchise or somebody just exiting for whatever reason to be the first option to acquire that business check or work out some type of agreement that makes that transition a little bit smoother than just I'm so worried I have to shut the doors, or I have to list this, or I don't know the time frame of when I can sell it, because maybe I don't know how long I can hold on. So all those things come into play. But we actually, to your point, Jack, is we work with every new franchisee about what is that exit strategy. And we do that early on. And when we say exit strategy, I think that's a that's a loose term, right? Um but what are my options? Right? What are my options if something does happen? Or hey, I blow this thing up and we're sell-for-profit. It's my neighbor, it's my neighbor the my my my first route. So so we actually got some built-in resources to help individuals understand options when it comes to exiting the business. And a lot of times, Jack, that's the guy next door.

Speaker 2:

And the lesson for all of you listening, because this is, you know, Catherine, I know you know this to be true from our time at home care assistance. We would show someone a territory and they'd say, Oh man, I want to have the whole market. I don't want there to be a neighbor there. I don't want to compete with them. And the message is you're not competing with a fellow franchisee. They've already built brand awareness. Now you're coming in, your job is a lot easier. And like you said, Bobby, now you have a potential exit or acquisition partner. It's like Jill and I just introduced a client to um to an aircraft cleaning uh franchise today. And his concern was, well, there's only one market left or nearly everything else is sold around it. And I said, listen, month 18, you're either going to have plenty of exit partners or plenty of acquisition partners. So for all of you listening, if you can still get a single unit territory, don't worry. Just get good at the business. And then month 18, you can figure out what you want to do next. Catherine, I know you have a question.

Speaker 6:

I do. And I just what you were saying, Bobby, I just, and when I was in the world of home care, favorite thing to say was always be selling and always be hiring. Like that was the motto for home care. Um, but my question is what kind of support systems are most critical for new owners?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and wow, you know, I talk about this a lot, and I know Jack and Jill have probably heard me touch on it before, but you know, we're we're fortunate, Catherine, to where we've afforded ourselves the right to be able to support franchisees where they're at in their journey. Does that make sense? So again, when when understanding that majority of the people that are gonna make a decision to buy a franchise have never owned anything, right? You may have some folks that have diversifying their portfolio or what have you. But again, day six is gonna look a heck of a lot different than month six, and month six looks a heck of a lot different than year six. So, you know, what we pride ourselves on is to have a designated support for where you're at in your journey. We introduced a two-year onboarding plan um for every new franchisee. They're gonna be assigned an onboarding manager for the first two years. Why? Because that first two years looks a heck of a lot different than what it will once your culture's built, when you need a little bit less hand holding. Here's what's crazy about that everybody on that team has owned or operated a home care company. Meaning that, so when you're a brand new owner of ours who is mentoring you, who is dotting the crossing the T, jumping on the phone, flying out to see you, has owned and operated a home care company and been through the exact startup scale, everything that you're probably gonna face. But we also want to be appreciative of someone who's built their culture, someone who needs less hand holding, right? We need to get a little bit more strategic and less operation. And that's why at that two-year mark, now you got some a regionally based ops manager who now instead of saying, hey, here's what happens when someone calls in sick, we're talking about how are we taking it from here to here. And so I think it's key to support owners of where they're at and understanding that it's impossible to do it universally. It's impossible to do universally. In our world, Atlanta, Georgia looks a lot different in Dallas. Dallas looks a heck of a lot different in California. And somebody two years in Dallas is gonna have a heck of a lot different situation than somebody's been operating five years in New Jersey, right? You have to take those things into consideration when you're supporting franchisees, is where are they at, not only in their journey, geographically, what are they facing, what works here may not work here. And again, we're very fortunate because after 28 years, we've afforded ourselves the right to have those resources. But our candidates inherit that day one. So there's kind of this umbrella of support to say, you know what, I know that when I get here, somebody's waiting on me there. That that's what they concentrate on, even up to like having an entire we have an entire ops team geared just for our top 50 owners, and that is a former franchisee of the year, whoever looks that department. So well, hey Bobby.

Speaker:

Um, I love what you said earlier about anticipating um clients' needs and kind of taking this holistic approach around providing care services. Um, I know we experience that as being a great differentiator in a in a sometimes very crowded or busy space. But my question is, you know, with with the rising demand in senior care, um what do you think are the largest kind of growth opportunities on the road?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you know, Jay, I I I still want to strip it down to like a single unit, right? What does that look like for me? And to understand that there's more resources now than there ever has been to support our cause. Saying that, that gives an franchisee the ability, right, to not just scale consistently geographically, but you're gonna be able to scale within, meaning that providing additional services, right? Being able to not just say, you know, we rely on this home care, but the telehealth piece I talked about. I think there's going to be huge opportunity with AI and how it's being incorporated into our day-to-days and how people are going to be receiving care and to be able to leverage communication with family and what have you. So again, the biggest growth options are all, I would say, are within right now. But with the understanding, and this again, I'll just I can only speak for home helpers. What we've recently done is we've actually, from a territory standpoint, we have drove down to who pays for our services, right? So so many franchise owners, rightfully so, population-based, right? Here's your territory. Analytics and demographics play a role, and let's make sure we have this amount of seniors and and this amount of X, Y, and Z. We now have it down to a science of 28 years, 370 franchisees. Who pays for our services? What type of lifestyle of those 65 and above, right, are actually saying, I want that care, or their family says, I want that care. So to get back to your question, Jay, the opportunity is endless because you, with the the way we have access to to data and technology and what have you, we're able to get into the decision makers' living room. And I think there's a huge growth opportunity there instead of a shocked approach with your home care business to be able to say, I can concentrate on those who are going to pay my bills. But then I'm also, because I've been into this, I got into this because of the care piece, I'm able to make a bigger impact here because they're receptive to what I'm doing, right? Which cuts cost of acquisition, which cuts marketing dollars, which cuts a lot of the capital needed to where you can really concentrate on what's driving revenue with less cost associated with it. That's where growth options are. You know, I would love to tell you the international space, and again, that just comes with franchising. Everybody will do that uh the way they need to do it. Our space is a little bit different because different bylaws, different things you got to be aware of in the home care space and other countries and what have you. I would rather concentrate on what are growth options for franchisees and for our brand. And I think they're from within, and I think they're at a single unit level because the resources now really allow you to optimize the territory you own without having to think you, and Jack brought it up earlier, have to own the world. Right? There's uh this thing's growing every day. Remember, there are few opportunities that we're gonna go to sleep tonight that matter what Jay does, matter what Caroline does, matter what Bobby does, matter what home helpers do, we will wake up tomorrow morning and our inventory grew by 10 to 12,000 people without us doing anything. That will happen for the next 20 years. So if you think about that, right, that opportunity is endless, but it all is within. It's right under your nose. So what you bought today is going to look different in five years and seven years and ten years. So there's no reason to reinvent the wheel or think you have to own half the country to be successful. It keeps feeding you and feeding you and feeding you to stay two steps ahead of it, and that's why choosing the right franchise and the right partner becomes very, very important. Thanks, Lord.

Speaker 4:

You know, uh hi, Bob. This is Carolina. You know, listening to you, it brings up, I mean, having been in the home care space, right? And having owned our home care franchise, it brings up a lot of good memories and feelings, you know, just listening to you. And I remember it brings me back to how inspiring and fulfilled I was um when I was running that business. And again, you know, it resonates with me when you talk about the impact on families and communities and you know, the seniors. So for someone who is looking to go into home care, would you say this is a calling or a business?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it it it it better be a calling before it's a business, Carolyn. Here's why. There's not, you know, again, there's not too many industries that the end user will see through you if you're not genuine about what you're doing. Right? We can sell product, we can be the best marketer and and somebody want to work with us. That will stop at the living room door when someone's grandmother's sitting there if they quit believing you're right, right? Your marketing's great, that's why I chose you. But man, now that I've got to know you, you don't ever want to hear that in our industry. So I do believe that it has to be a calling that will turn into a very lucrative, scalable business because it means something to you. And what drives revenue needs to recognize that daily. Again, not to say that there's not an executive model, and you can't put the pieces to the puzzle to drive that down. And we, you know, we want every owner to to eventually get to that level. But at the same time, you know, individuals that are going to utilize you need to feel safe before they feel wowed. Wow them with services, wow them with your approach, wild them with how much you care for who you're taking care of for them, wow them for your accessibility and always being around and being a voice. That's how you'll wow somebody in our space. It won't be because the biggest billboard or the coolest logo on your shirt. So, you know, it's very important that you recognize though you it will not be as warm and fuzzy if you can't pay bills. So, to your point, that's where it bounces out. I get asked all the time, Bobby, who's the best owners you got? So those who understand that the end user is the most important person in the world, and this is gonna be associated with everything good, and it's gonna be warm and fuzzy, and you're gonna wake up and feel really, really great about what you're doing. It will get a little bit less warm and fuzzy, though, if we can't keep the lights on. So we need to find that parallel to where that passion, that calling becomes that business that you want it to be, and let those two things play off each other and run neck and neck, and you can't lose. You can't lose in that case. But if one goes to haywire, and maybe I'm in this for all the rock reasons, but I really, really could see the scale, you know, scalability of the business, but you don't care what's happening on a day-to-day level, there'll be short terms. So calling before business.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, and I can attest to that. You know, when I first entered the space, there was a ton of competition. It's quite intimidating when you think about how many competitors there are in the space. But then as you uh go through the business, you realize that a lot of them really treat their caregivers and their clients like in a very transactional manner, right? It's almost like a caregiver drive-thru and a client drive-through. Um, and they don't make that effort to build that relationship with either the caregivers or the clients. And so, you know, they may have a lot of volume, but again, they're not building these relationships. And that makes a world of difference. And like you said, the clients and the caregivers can see that. They can feel that difference. So if you're not leading with authenticity, you know, if you don't demonstrate that you really care about, again, making an impact in their lives, they're gonna go to the next one who can really listens to them, really is interested in making a difference in their lives.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and you know, Caroline, you you you touch on something that I think it's it's key here, though, is that you know, same thing goes for who's feeding the business, right? We talked earlier about hospitals and doctor's office and rehab centers and folks that are are are placing people in your care. And and you know, what will happen when something goes wrong in the house is you're gonna get one phone call as the business owner. We don't need you anymore, right? The call that's gonna happen though is gonna go to that doctor's office who also sent you 20 other clients, and they're gonna go, who in the world did you put me in touch with? So if you that experience you're talking about could snowball and kind of leak its way through your entire business. So if the core's not there and in the mission and the values and everything that the industry calls for, if it's not important for you, over time it will surface. And it won't just be with the families, it'll be with those who are sending you business, those who are a key piece to you growing and scaling, you know, the opportunity over time. So you're exactly you're exactly right. If it's not genuine, it's not it's not good. And if it's not genuine, it it's probably short term. And it goes back to what Jill asked me very early on in our conversation is that how do you balance, right, and find that right owner, that man, they gotta build this crazy big business, right? That's why we're all here. But how do you find that that kind of needle in the haystack to say, hey, this is equally as important right now, caring for people and empathy. And that's where the magic happens, you know, and so such a great question, but I agree 100%.

Speaker 3:

Bobby, I'd love to kind of tie together the last couple of points you've made. You know, you laid out the really the huge opportunity, the demand, the favorable demographics in the senior care space, the home health space. But then also, you know, you kind of made the point from your 20 plus years of experience. This is probably more of a calling. Um, you know, so what would you say to potential buyers that are interested in really just diversifying into the healthcare space?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you know, first thing, first thing I'd tell them, I'd tell them, go now. Meaning that there's never been a more opportune time than right now. And I can say that because I've been doing it for 20 years. And people say, Bobby, why is that? And again, you can kind of trace it back to COVID, right? And and during COVID, right, there's a lot of change, a lot of a lot of written mystery out there. But what came out of that was that we all kind of learned that we can get what we need at the home, right? We can, we can, we'll get resources in the home. So home care has always been a scaling business, it's always been a growing industry. It got front and center really quick. Really quick. And so the first thing I would tell anybody, you know, is Ryan, is that go now. There's never been a bigger, better time to do it. And the other piece of this is, and it's gonna sound crazy, is that you know, I tell people pack a lunch when you come to it. I think home care can be looked at as an add-on sometimes, diversifying a portfolio, simplistic. It's hard work. It is hard work. And anybody tells you not, they're fooling you. Again, go back to partnering with the right people, somebody who's eliminating risk, streamlining startup, and putting me in a in a position to where then I can surface my skill sets and everyone will benefit from it. So, you know, when you look at it, and I, you know, I joke about packing a lunch, but be ready. It will come at you quick. It will come at you quick. The demand is overwhelming. And when when you know I hear that, you know, I'm worried about clients, I'm worried about how will I get clients, I'll say, walk downside and trip, and you'll fall into somebody who needs it. Right? So, so it's those type of you know, individuals that say, hey, I see it for a scalable business. I'm gonna attack it. It's who we want to align ourselves with because I will tell you it's not no longer a business of just small build or small scale or time consuming. It's hard work, but the demand is now and it's overwhelming. So if you're ready to get down and and and and get at it, it's the right industry for you. But if you think you're going to tiptoe into it and over a course of time everything will fall in place, it'll pass you by.

Speaker 2:

I mean, it I remember my first full year at home care assistance was 2008. Um, and of course, we all know what happened in 2008. Yeah. Uh and people still invested in home care franchises and people still needed home care. I mean, as far as our our home care revenue um in our pilot location went, we didn't it didn't affect us one bit. Um, and then you see COVID, uh, and and Jill and I must have two, three hundred home care clients out there. It felt to me, anecdotally speaking, like everybody's business got bigger.

Speaker 6:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

The need was still way there. Um and what you said, Bobby,'s really important. Uh if you work from home, which a lot of franchise owners do, um if you go walk outside your house right now, if I go walk outside, we're at the home office today, I will see at least five service trucks on my street.

Speaker:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Everything from closet remodeling to renovation to restoration to painting to window washing to what did we see? What was it was that company that was like demolition inside the house?

Speaker 5:

Yeah, like junk, like a junk removal, but yeah.

Speaker 2:

We had a handyman last week. We had a mobile tire repair guy come to our house. We want everything brought to our house. And if we can't, we have a guy come wash our car. You're exactly right. We can have all this stuff brought to the home now. And so for all of you that are listening, the reason that I'm saying this is I think the way you need to look at this is if you're looking at a business, can it bring services into the home? And are those services recurring? Can I in other words, I need it and I need it a lot. And if we look at home health care, when the top line investment, I'm just gonna be say, you know, 150, 200K will get you a single unit home helpers, including franchise B and give you a nice runway for work and capital. And you can grow a great big business. And so we had a client last week who we introduced to home care, and it was something he never thought of, but he scored really well with it. And uh he was shocked at how much he liked the business. But he said, you know, I've always worked with kids. I'm a former teacher. Can we look at some education too? Because I just want to make sure that we do that. And so we were far enough along in the process where I said, sure, let's let's look at some things. And he came back to me and he said, you know what's so interesting is that a lot of these education concepts, I'd have to spend two, three times what I would spend on a home care concept. Yeah. And my revenue potential is really capped. Like you're looking at at unit economics on some of those education franchises that don't even go above half a million dollars. Um, so it it really is remarkable how good a business home care is. And then one last point before we get into our rapid fire, I really love what you said about being revenue driven because I've seen too many home health care franchisees early on become caregivers. Yeah, and I'm sorry, if you're a caregiver and you're a home care owner, you are just costing yourself money. You're costing yourself sleep. That's not what you should be doing. You should never be walking, Carolina and Jay, you probably remember me saying this. You don't need to walk a mile in your caregiver's shoes. Um spend your time on the business. Hire, try and have one and a half to two caregivers to one ratio. If you can have that, boy, you're in great shape. And like you said, Bobby, in home care, it's not a question of getting the business. You'll get the business. Make sure you've got the bench because in January, when that 24-7 case comes in and you can't staff it, boy, you're gonna be kicking yourself.

Speaker 1:

No doubt. You know, Jack, you hit the nail on the head and and you know, I touched you touched on something I think is key, is that be revenue driven. And and and and that's where Brian, you asked me earlier about how things have evolved a little bit. And I think that's it's worth bringing up that, you know, years ago, because of how the industry was set up, kind of being introduced and and the warm and fuzzies we talked about, a lot of attention was around those who maybe had been a past caregiver. Or I'd been an artist, right? I'm in the business of care. And that should be why you picked up the phone and called Bobby. But they were a little bit set back when the first question Bobby had was, have you ever reviewed a PL? And they go, well, wait a minute, I'm not worried about that. I said, Well, you gotta be worried about it, right? You gotta be worried about it. Because the industry's not gonna wait for you, right? If you if you strip down the warm and fuzzies and just looked at it as a business, it is moving, moving, moving, and moving fast. So, you know, you gotta approach it as that I'm gonna run a scalable asset here, which allows me then to get back to why I did this in the first place, and it's to positively impact the community and to be in the business of care. The way you're gonna do that to the masses is by running a very successful business for years and years to come. So that's that balance, Brian, you were asking about is that's how this thing's evolved to where I think it was warm and fuzzy driven a little bit. People realized, wait a minute, we got to get serious to get serious quick because the demand's overwhelming. And Jack, that's where we're at now is you better be revenue driven because there's more out there now than there ever has been. You won't get by with just coming in and hoping things work out. You're gonna have to really concentrate on operating a business, having that bench full, as Jack said, and all those pieces, which is why a good franchise partner makes sense a lot of times, folks.

Speaker 2:

We we thought that too. In the beginning, we were like, let's go get nurses. They should be great owners. And they were way too clinical. And so their revenue was super low. And the high salespeed and were our top performers. So yeah, it's it's that's the beauty of all this for all of you listening is that if you go to a good established home care concept like home helpers, and you talk to Bobby, who clearly knows a ton about this, um, you're gonna find out real fast if if you're the right fit. Hey, let's jump into the rapid fire. Jill, do you wanna you wanna kick us off with the first one?

Speaker 5:

Yeah. So what do you think is the biggest myth about owning a home care franchise?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, Joe, I'm gonna go right to the employee, the elephant in the riddle. I'm never gonna find anybody good to work for me. I'm never gonna I hear it every day. Bye, me. I know the business is great. I got so many folks that I know could use it. I'm so worried about working with caregivers, or I've heard horror stories about caregivers or the liability of remember we talked about having someone behind closed doors, you know, with with with someone's loved one. And again, I it goes back, you know, the the biggest myth is that that all starts from the the who you're gonna partner with and the resources tools that they have to put you at a very safe place. And that's evolved over 28 years. Remember, we have 370 people doing this every day. So when somebody comes aboard with us, like everything we're gonna do is around those two things. I touched on it earlier. Where are my clients? Where are my employees? Those employees are as important or even more important as the clients. So a lot of the tools and resources are built around finding the right folks, paying the right folks, retaining the right folks, which is the key. But guys, there's more employees out there than you think. And I hear it a lot. I don't know where I'm gonna get them. You'll get them, you just gotta get the right ones. So I think it's a huge myth in the industry is I'll never find enough people to support the demand. Yeah, you will, but you need to look it for them as hard as you do, those who are going to need your services. Again, your marketing plan better be geared around two things, not just one. You gotta market to the right employees. And and and that becomes it it becomes a key piece of somebody doing really well.

Speaker 2:

That's great. Catherine, you want to take the next one?

Speaker 6:

Yes. Most rewarding part of working with franchisees.

Speaker 1:

Catherine, easiest answer ever.

Speaker 6:

I know it's hard to turn it down to one.

Speaker 1:

You know, it's it's it's the journey. It is the journey, and I'm sure you guys experience it as well. Is that I I touched on this um uh another, you know, I was speaking with to a group a few months back and they said, Bob, you know, what do you what are you gonna remember about all this? And I said, believe it or not, the first call. That first phone call, and then to see somebody on a platform, to see somebody who, you know, was stepping off the curve with their life savings and had two kids use the house, and then to see them winning awards and and and or scaling their business and buying two, three, four, and and you know, the journey is the most rewarding piece. The results are just a scorecard for that journey. So, you know, to be somebody's first phone call, then to watch them achieve and and to get everything they wanted out of this business and to better their situation, family, you know, self-awareness. It's can't there's no value to it. I mean, it's it's it's something I that's why I've been here for 20 years.

Speaker 2:

Carolina, take us home with the last one.

Speaker 4:

All right. So finish this sentence. The future of senior care franchising is now.

Speaker 1:

And what I mean, it's right now again, it goes back to kind of the question earlier. I know we want this big fancy answer. It's telehealth, it's AI, it's technology, it's this. The future is right now. It will pass you by if you're thinking about it. So let's all go. If you're interested in it, step off the curb because this thing is going to change minute to minute, day to day, month to month, year to year. It's a moving train, and you're either gonna get on board or it's gonna run you over. So when people ask me, Bobby, what's next in home care, I say, what's not next? What should I do? I say go. Let's go. Because you know, there's so many moving pieces.

Speaker 2:

I think what you just said, Bobby, is the best advice-standing entrepreneur. Don't overthink it. Just go.

Speaker 5:

Let's do it.

Speaker 2:

Go to work, speed. I see Cody Sanchez post about speed all the time. Speed over being brilliant. Just go do it. Sometimes you need to build the plane on the way down. Bobby, this has been awesome. You are always such a great person to talk to. Um, for those of you listening, we were at a conference with Bobby and Jill and I had to go on after him. And uh he's a tough ass to follow. Um, but uh, this has been so insightful. And for those of you that want to learn if home helpers is available in your territory, please visit thefranchiseinsiders.com. Um, contact us at 800 445 6382. You can also go to our team page on our website. You there you can find contact information for Catherine, for Brian, for Carolina and Jay, and for Jill and myself. And and thanks again, Bobby, for joining us and for all of you listening. Thanks for listening to the We Bought a Franchise podcast. We'll talk to you next time.

Speaker 6:

Bye.

Speaker 4:

Bye.