A Day in the Life...Finding the right franchise
by Scotty Falk, Franchisee, FirstLight HomeCare franchise
FirstLight HomeCare franchisee Scotty Falk shares the personal reasons behind her decision to buy a senior care franchise.
My husband Jason and I were fortunate enough two years ago to be able to start our own business, and after tossing around different ideas, eventually decided on the non-medical in-home care industry. There were several reasons this is the route we ended up taking, but I’d have to say, that the main reason was our personal experiences with our grandparents.
Jason’s only surviving grandmother (maternal) spent her last months in an assisted- living facility. Prior to this, she had moved in with his parents after they paid her a visit in Florida and realized how she was living. She had developed dementia, and her condo was disheveled and dirty. There were clothes strewn about and weeks of dirty dishes lying around. The condition of her home was highly unlike her, usually meticulous and tidy (to a fault), and also a tell-tale sign of dementia. She could no longer live alone. Jason’s parents moved her in with them in Louisville, KY, with his mother becoming her primary caregiver 24/7. They absolutely did not want to move her in to a nursing home. So, for 2 years, she lived with them, completely stripping away their previous life and independence. This was especially hard on Jason’s mother, sending her into depression. Occasionally, an outside agency came in to help with her care, but the Falks did not have a good experience with the company, due to untimeliness and dishonesty. This, coupled with my grandparents all receiving round the clock care at home, we realized the great need for this service.
Friends of mine in Knoxville, TN. are in this business and were nice enough to discuss the industry with us and what it was like for them their first year in business. Additionally, they got us in touch with the right people to start talks about opening a location in Nashville. [For us, buying into a franchise system was the only way to go. Jason and I had minimal experience in health-care and would need all the support we could get.] At this point, Jason took it upon himself to spend months researching the industry and different franchise systems. (The one in Knoxville is GREAT, but we didn’t want to jump right in without doing our homework.) We narrowed it down to three companies. After our Discovery Day visit with FirstLight HomeCare in Cincinnati, our minds were made.
The reasons we decided on FirstLight (and thankfully they decided on us, too) was, what Jason and I like to say, just “the people.” Everyone at corporate is so genuine and nice, truly getting to know us. FirstLight’s Culture of Care, our belief system, is an ideology that we strive to live by each day. These people sincerely cared. It’s all about “doing the right thing.” Their wealth of information and decades of combined industry experience is priceless. To corporate, it’s not about how much money we can make, it’s more about how can we provide exceptional, top-notch, highest-quality care to our clients.
For Jason and me, finding the right fit for us was not taken lightly. We interviewed and were interviewed for many hours--both on the phone and in person-by three different companies. After deciding on FirstLight, we jumped in head first and are thankful every day for the decision that we made.
Scotty Falk
Franchisee of Franklin, Tennessee
FirstLight HomeCare franchise company
Learn more about the FirstLight HomeCare franchise opportunity.
The FirstLight HomesCare franchise understands both the challenges families face when seeking quality service for their loved ones as well as the great need for our franchisees to find the right kind of people to provide exceptional care to their clients. All FirstLight caregivers are direct employees – not contractors, are state licensed, screened, and background-checked, and must complete our unique, rigorous, and highly detailed "Culture of Care" training and orientation process before ever providing any services.