Inside Franchise Business

YOUNG AT HEART

Aged care at home solves many problems in today’s community. Check out these three franchise services helping our senior citizens stay young at heart, at home.

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Aged care that delivers at-home services. franchise

Now more than ever it makes sense to encourage older Australian­s to stay living at home for as long as possible. And that’s the beauty of this trio of franchises - with an ageing population, there’s more and more demand for services that allow senior citizens to enjoy home life.

Inside Franchise Business takes a look at how these franchises have coped with the coronaviru­s crisis, and their plans for growth.

HOME CARING

HOW HAVE YOUR FRANCHISEE­S TRADED THROUGH THE PANDEMIC?

Bill Lockett, franchise manager:

Really well. In fact, the hours of service we provided to aged care and disability clients in their homes has increased by 46 per cent since 1 March when the restrictio­ns were starting to be imposed.

Michaela Brown, operations manager:

Home Caring had a strong infection control policy and procedure prior to the pandemic, we just needed to fine tune our approach. We ensured all clients had access to PPE, including sanitiser, gloves, paper towels and anything specific to their needs that we could source.

We had a thorough, quick and personalis­ed response to Covid-19 changes with clients and staff which has helped us not only to retain our client base, but to grow with new clients as well.

WHAT LESSONS HAVE BEEN LEARNED FROM THIS PERIOD?

Jon Kontopos, managing director:

Be prepared for all eventualit­ies and move swiftly when the world changes. Our range of services increased while the pandemic was growing and is being maintained to this day. Our operating procedures were updated to ensure that our clients and care workers were protected.

We ensured that all communicat­ions were consistent, from franchisee­s and staffing to clients and external stakeholde­rs. This industry is based on reliable informatio­n, communicat­ion and rapport building – it is evident that our franchisee­s display this commitment to clients as our services were able to continue throughout this period.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE HOME CARING/AGED CARE FRANCHISE INDUSTRY CHANGING?

Michaela:

From our experience since the pandemic started, there are more people seeking care in the home, rather than in aged care facilities. Government­s are committed to supporting

the NDIS system and are looking at releasing more Aged Care home packages.

The NDIS has seen that there are other options for people requiring complex clinical assistance, rather than staying in hospitals or aged care facilities – they are able to be provided with appropriat­e accommodat­ion, and clinical care is now included in their funding.

WHY IS THIS A GOOD INVESTMENT OPTION?

Bill:

Whilst the first year of operation can be tough in any new business, the longerterm potential is enormous as the population ages and more disability packages are rolled out across the country. Our franchisee­s enjoy the partnershi­p option which reduces their initial investment by half, offers them 50 per cent of the profits and also pays a salary for the life of the franchise, so that they do not worry about having to pay their bills.

HOW HAS THE RECENT GENERAL APPRECIATI­ON FOR COMMUNITY AND HEALTHCARE IMPACTED YOUR BUSINESS?

Michaela:

This has served us well, as our franchisee­s cover a large range of communitie­s and we can provide care to clients with people who understand their culture and speak their language. Our franchisee­s come such diverse nations as UK, Australia, China, Vietnam, India, Ghana, Nepal and Zimbabwe.

WHAT ARE YOUR GROWTH PLANS FOR 2020?

Jon:

We recruited 19 franchisee­s in the first 18 months of franchisin­g, which is an industry leading figure. Our aim is to continue that growth and with the number of candidates in the pipeline, we look likely to have well over 30 by the end of 2020. We are proud to have made the Top 100 in the AFR Fast Starters this year and are aiming to improve on our 11th position next year.

NURSE NEXT DOOR HOME CARE SERVICES

HOW HAVE YOU TRADED THROUGH THE PANDEMIC?

Matt Fitton, joint CEO, co-founder and Australian master franchisor:

It has been business as usual for Nurse Next Door. We’ve grown from strength to strength, tripling our income from March 2020 to June 2020 with continued growth projected.

We awarded our first franchise to a great couple on the southern Gold Coast earlier this year and they had just opened their doors when we all went into lockdown. We’ve seen no evidence that the pandemic has had any negative impact whatsoever. In fact they’ve hit their six month target in the first month of trading and are projecting continued growth well ahead of expectatio­ns.

WHAT LESSONS HAVE BEEN LEARNED FROM THIS PERIOD?

Matt:

Firstly, the importance of communicat­ing, supporting each other and sharing experience­s across the system. Over the past few months Nurse Next Door franchise partners from Australia, Canada and the US have worked together through the challenges of providing safe and continuous home care to vulnerable clients in the Covid-19 environmen­t.

Secondly the importance of knowing why we do what we do. A franchise system is only strong when franchise partners are engaged in the brand for the right reasons. Every one of us needs to know what our brand is all about and that, from a brand perspectiv­e, whatever we’re doing right now should be aligned with the brand.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE HOME CARING/AGED CARE FRANCHISE INDUSTRY CHANGING?

Matt:

The traditiona­l model of care has remained very much task-based and many home care providers are missing the opportunit­y to meet their clients’ emotional and personal needs.

At Nurse Next Door we are committed to disrupting this traditiona­l model of care and believe that the future of home care is one in which people are empowered to keep living life to the fullest, regardless of age or ability. We also recognise that the

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