Meet the Franchisee: Ryan Naegele

Ryan Naegele has operated his Right at Home location in Chattanooga, TN, for the last decade. As an established member of our franchise network and a co-chair of the Strategic Leadership Council, he has a lot of wisdom to share with prospective owners.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Well, uh good morning, Mr. Ryan, and happy new year. Happy 2026.

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Yes, it is. Uh, thank you so much for joining me today uh for this franchisee interview. Um, my name is Jenna. I am the uh franchise development director here for Right at Home, and candidates love to hear from franchise owners to get a balanced perspective of what it's like to be an owner with Right at Home. So I appreciate your time today. Um, so let's get started. Uh, why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself, uh, where you are located, when you became an owner with Right at Home, and the number of territories that you own.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Sure. So my name is Ryan Nagel. Uh my I have a business partner, Brian Hensley, and he and I actually opened doors to our uh first Right at Home territory in August of 2016. So this uh later this year will be will be our 10 years uh in the system. And then uh we own three territories total now at this point.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

Well, congratulations. Thank you. Um 10 years, that's pretty awesome. Uh so uh what was your background before you became a ride at home owner?

SPEAKER_01 1:21

Uh prior to ride at home, I uh was raising money in nonprofits. Uh that's actually how I met Brian, my business partner. Uh he had a similar role. Um, and then prior to that in sales of various types in uh some tech companies, and then uh also branched out on my own several times doing doing other entrepreneurial things. And uh that's that's pretty much my background.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

Okay. And so what caused the pivot to this industry?

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Um well, when Brian had approached me about uh looking at opening a business, I of course had the itch to to get back at it again and um really looking for something that was gonna cement us in the community a bit more. I'm not originally from Chattanooga, but but I had I had been here a while. Um at that time, my wife and I had one kid. We now have three. Um, but uh just looking for an opportunity to to build something that I would do for a longer period of time. At that point, I was kind of build it and get out, um, and looking for something a little bit more steady in that way. And then um with the nonprofit background, uh, as I learned about Right at Home, the opportunity to help people really stood out uh among you know, kind of the other opportunities we had to start businesses. This one was had a very clear impact, and and that that would you know help sleep at night, you know, and uh and that was really kind of what tipped the scales towards home care and and right at home for sure.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

Okay, and um thank you for sharing that. And I know over these 10 years, I'm sure your roles have shifted quite a bit. Um, so why don't you talk to us a little bit about those beginning stages and what that typical day looked like and then compared to now and and how you've been able to shift your role in the business?

SPEAKER_01 3:33

So when we opened our first territory, it was from scratch, it was not previously owned. Um, and so we had zero hours on the calendar and zero employees uh that first day. And so um it was all about trying to figure it out and navigate what selling uh a service like this would look like. I mean, we obviously prepared prior to open day, but it was uh it was very, very new. And uh we were young guys in in an industry that was uh we were still kind of before the big wave of new ones and after the initial wave of the the ones that had been open, the home care agencies in our area that had been open for several years at that point. And and so we were kind of the end of one era and the beginning of another. And so it was very uh it was very confusing in that way. However, uh we had a couple early wins in uh the elder law, elder attorney space, um, with uh kind of some complicated clients. Uh, we had trouble selling to healthcare referrals at first, and so that was really where we ended up finding our niche was was in wealth managers, elder law attorneys, trustees, and uh and and just kind of a different uh different market for us for a long time. And so it was it was tough, it was slow for us. Um, I think it's much more uh ripe for for faster growth these days than it used to be. We were still kind of doing a lot of education, what is home care 10 years ago? Um so uh that I think has changed quite a bit now. Uh and so I think people can get up and off the ground quite a bit quicker than we were able to. Um but yeah, those early days were a lot of just hiring people for work that didn't exist yet, and then uh just scrambling to do our best to backfill and and give them that work.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

So, how would you say that shifted to now? Three territories later, right?

SPEAKER_01 5:44

Yeah, yeah. So we we have a a large office team. We have three, we rent three offices um in each one in each territory, and we manage the uh that office team. Most most of those operations are centralized in Chattanooga, but we have sales in in each territory. Um the way we structure things, we tend to have the outlook of unless we get paid to do it, we're gonna pay someone else to do it. So we we we've made the decision not to offshore, although people do. We we do outsource, but we don't offshore. And so uh recruiting, we we work with a vendor, our HR, uh and benefits administration, we work with a PEO, um or a professional employer organization. And then uh after hours on call, we work with a vendor and bookkeeping, uh, even office staff hiring. We work with a vendor for that as well. So we do our best to assemble our team in in such a way that anyone that's uh working directly in the office is really focused on caregiver retention and caregiver satisfaction and client satisfaction, and then of course sales, uh getting people in the top of the funnel and and closing closing those clients.

SPEAKER_00 7:11

Wonderful. Thank you. And you know, when you think of the support structure that that right at home does provide to our owners, uh, which part would you say is the most valuable or well, what have you found to to to you in in value?

SPEAKER_01 7:27

Yeah, uh over the last 10 years, um, I I think the the resounding kind of uh through thread that has always been true is is generally the coaching staff, right? So um they're really the point person between the owner and the rest of what corporate offers. And and they're all in our experience very responsive, very knowledgeable, um, and probably probably the best resource if you're looking to connect to other owners as well. Because we we don't really expect right at home corporate to always have the answer of running a home care company, but we do expect a a knowledge base of what owners are doing in the system that's working, and I want to be connected to those owners. Um, and and that's uh that's just an invaluable part of the system and has always been is just the transparency of of the ownership groups um and the owners is just we never expected it. This is my first experience with a franchise uh in in my you know kind of entrepreneurial background. And uh and truthfully, I didn't really know what to expect, but it definitely was not the amount of transparency and and access that we have to each other is has just been really, really amazing.

SPEAKER_00 8:57

Yeah, that's wonderful. Thank you for sharing. And you know, I hear a lot as I take candidates through this education process that um, you know, they are always curious as to how we collaborate within the network. So um when you think about your role uh in the strategic leadership council, I'd love for you to give a little bit of insight to um other ways that we're able to collaborate within the network on an intimate level, if you will.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

Sure. So um there's a strategic leadership council, or we call it the SLC, which is made up of eight elected positions that are owners from each of the eight regions that the country's broken up into. And then um there's four appointed seats for a total of 12 franchisees or owners that are helping represent the the other owners in their regions as well as just the ownership uh as a whole, and representing those owners' views and uh you know challenges or you know, things that they're doing right, kind of best practices, and bringing those to the corporate team, uh as well as helping pilot and facilitate task forces under kind of big things that that not only corporate but the system and home care in general is trying to tackle, you know, uh hiring enough caregivers, keeping the good ones, finding new sales funnels uh for clients, looking for partnerships to uh to pursue, and you know how different types of technology, especially emerging technology, uh can kind of weave itself into our home care businesses and how we can make uh you know not just help more people, but as an owner, make more money. I mean, that's that's why we're that's a big part of why we're doing this. There's a lot easier ways to do it, right? But uh and and so we want we want to push the corporate team and we want the corporate team to push us to to all be better uh together.

SPEAKER_00 11:08

Uh wonderful. Thank you for that. And um, I know you shared you have a lot of different types of referral sources you found your you know, niche in the community with those different referral partners. So you're getting a lot of different types of clients, and um, this is a relational business, right? So those relationships mean a lot in this business. So I'd love for you to just share a recent story of one of those clients um where you know it was a sort of a feel good moment, if you will.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Yeah, so I think probably one of the there's I'm gonna tell two, I'll keep them short. Um, one is on the referral source side. So um a friend of friend of mine uh sent me a message one day and said, Hey, I I you should you need to meet this person. Uh they're uh one of their kids actually is in your kids' class at school. And it turns out they're an executive director of a big uh home health in the area that that has recently grown pretty significantly, and they're going to be opening up new branches. And now I see them at school sports games and things like that, and you just never know who who is around you that can have a big positive impact. I mean, that's that's an easy one. I think from a client standpoint, um I got a call one day uh actually from an existing client. They had been a client for several months, and I typically am not the first line of defense for those, you know, where where the complaint goes straight to me. So so I was ready for I was ready for something big. And uh, and it turns out uh they they saw um they saw an ad in our church bulletin where uh because I'm a parishioner at at the church and they saw my name and uh and he called me to to quiz me on whether or not I really go to that church because he he's unable to go every week uh unless our caregiver takes him. And so uh and so he he called to uh to quiz me on on that and was extremely delighted to hear that um that I that I am a parishioner at the church and and uh and we we've been able to connect. I I had no idea he went there uh until this phone call. And so now we've been able to connect and and uh we see him we see him at mass uh every weekend. So there you go.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Yeah, those personal touches, you know, they they make a world of difference in this business. So um, and you know, as we come to a close, uh, as I shared, candidates look at these interviews really to um, you know, consider right at home as an as you know a home for them, if you will. So, what would be a piece of advice that you would give to someone who is currently looking um at ownership with right at home?

SPEAKER_01 14:08

Well, I think everyone needs to ask as many questions as as they can. And I know I I believe when I went through validation, the recommendation was speak to three to five owners. Well, we we ended up speaking to about 35 owners, and um and every single one of them offered uh offered their time because if they're if they're in the system and they're and and that they believe in it, you know, and and I think one one thing that I could say is it's definitely not easy. There's no automatic button or magic wand. But it's it's been very clear that the work that goes in, there's a benefit that comes out. And and it's it's hard to stick through it sometimes in the beginning, but but like I said, it these days so many people are familiar with the brand, and so many people are familiar with home care in general. And and don't uh don't assume that you know the answers. Go ahead and pick the brains of people that you have access to, because everyone's just so willing to help. It's it's just that's uh uh truthfully been the most uh uh pleasantly surprising part of this whole journey. Um and and I still every week I'm on the phone with other owners asking questions because somebody's been there and done that. Um and there's new people coming in with new ideas all the time, and I want all those ideas. So be a sponge and and and know that that other people are are in the same boat, which which is always helpful. And and and don't yeah, just don't be intimidated by by other owners either. Uh sometimes when you once you're in the system and you're and you're going, uh you'll see you know some big time folks that that own these big home care businesses, and they are the most kind and and welcoming people that you could that you can imagine, and they're all very happy to share uh some advice and and you know some cautionary tales as well, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_00 16:38

All right. Great advice, thank you. And um, thank you again for taking time out of your day to meet with me. I know how busy you are. Uh congrats on your success and your commitment to doing good in your community. We are so happy to have you in our right at home family, Ryan.

SPEAKER_01 16:55

Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 16:57

Uh huh. Thank you.