
‘Greater than a brand’: how dwelling care franchisees select the correct franchisor


This text is a part of your HHCN+ membership
Potential dwelling care franchisees are confronted with a mess of decisions when deciding which dwelling care firm to affix. As a part of their decision-making course of, franchise house owners use quite a lot of strategies, together with hiring franchise consultants, looking for centralized help and discovering a corporation that matches their values.
“As a budding entrepreneur, I knew I wanted greater than a brand and a handbook,” Brad Haag, proprietor of Kansas-based franchise location A Place at House, instructed House Well being Care Information. “It felt much less like I used to be on an island and extra like I used to be a part of a system that shares concepts and helps one another succeed.”
A Place at House, primarily based in Omaha, Nebraska, is a franchise firm that provides dwelling care and care coordination, amongst different companies. As of August 2025, the corporate has 57 franchise areas.
Haag determined to develop into a house well being care franchise proprietor after pursuing a profession in medical gross sales and seeing “the influence that excellent care can have.” He employed a franchise advisor to assist him analysis firms after contemplating beginning a enterprise, finally selecting the primary one introduced to him as a result of it aligned together with his values, particularly that the corporate was mission-driven and people-oriented. He additionally prioritized an organization that “felt like the correct match.”
Not like Haag, the opposite franchisees who spoke to HHCN stated they vetted a number of manufacturers earlier than making the correct alternative.
Mark Piegza and Bob Danger started franchising Synergy HomeCare amenities six years in the past after private expertise caring for family members and growing a deeper perspective on what good affected person care meant.
“We additionally discovered that folks want to remain in their very own houses as they become old,” the 2 instructed HHCN in a joint e-mail. “The barrier to that is usually whether or not or not they will get excellent care.”
Primarily based in Tempe, Arizona, Synergy HomeCare supplies non-medical in-home companies together with private care, companion care and reminiscence care. It has greater than 240 franchises working in 550 areas in 43 states as of July 2025. The corporate was acquired by Levine Leichtman Capital Companions (LLCP) in 2025.
Piegza and Danger stated it took six months of researching numerous franchisors earlier than they discovered Synergy, and one other three months to acquire the required state licenses earlier than launching their first dwelling care operation. Deciding on the correct franchise firm was the best half, they are saying, as Synergy HomeCare’s management crew supplied classes realized from their numerous franchises and supported the duo’s plans to quickly increase areas.
Consolation Keepers franchisee Jennifer Bauernfeind determined to franchise a house well being care enterprise after private experiences along with her grandparents and former experiences operating a gross sales and advertising enterprise. She vetted three firms earlier than selecting Consolation Keepers.
“House Care allowed me to mix my entrepreneurial background with a caring mission, giving me the chance to make an actual distinction for older adults and their households whereas constructing a enterprise that aligned with my values,” she stated.
Irvine, California-based Consolation Keepers operates a franchise community of greater than 600 areas within the U.S. and Canada. The vary of companies consists of companionship, private dwelling care, specialised care and respite care.
‘Tougher questions’
When choosing which firm to associate with, these franchisees took into consideration the operational challenges that come up when launching a brand new franchise enterprise.
“Like anybody dwelling care in the intervening time, I used to be very conscious of staffing ranges throughout the sector
challenges and the extent of competitors in a market like Kansas Metropolis,” Haag stated of his preparation to affix the house well being care trade.
These trade realities led him to ask “harder questions” when interviewing A Place at House management, he stated.
In the end, Haag stated A Place at House’s “people-centered mannequin” and caregiver help gave him the arrogance to signal with them as an alternative of one other firm he initially thought-about, together with a advisor he employed throughout this decision-making interval.
Baurenfeind additionally introduced in a franchise salesperson to assist her take her first steps and slim right down to a enterprise with handy areas and a “cohesive” model that aligned along with her values. She reported that it took 9 months from inception to opening the doorways at Consolation Keepers and that probably the most tough hurdle was the licensing course of in Minnesota, which she described as “a extremely regulated state with strict necessities” for dwelling care suppliers.
For Piegza and Danger, staffing turned out to be the largest problem at first.
“We positively made some preliminary errors in our first workplace,” the duo instructed HHCN. “We most likely overhired, particularly as a result of we thought we’d increase into different markets shortly. Three months after we opened, COVID-19 hit.”
Happily, the couple stated they had been in a position to make use of the pandemic’s slowdown to unravel a number of rising pains within the operations of their flagship firm — from total staffing to raised explaining the 24/7 nature of dwelling care to potential workers.
‘A significant distinction’
Baurenfeind, Piegza and Danger all famous that Consolation Keepers and Synergy HomeCare headquarters employees present help that’s useful in coping with challenges as a franchisee. All 4 house owners additionally famous the worth of connecting with fellow franchisees underneath their firm’s umbrella.
“That collaboration has been invaluable to the expansion of my firm,” says Baurenfeind, who described hers as an “casual advisory board.”
All franchisees who spoke with HHCN plan to increase their workforce and companies.
Baurenfeind, together with Consolation Keepers, shared plans to put money into progressive expertise as a manner to enhance the experiences of its sufferers in Minnesota, amongst different issues. Piegza and Danger shared the ambition to develop into not solely the corporate of alternative for sufferers, but additionally the ’employer of alternative’ of their 5 markets. Haag famous comparable objectives, together with turning into a trusted referral associate, however famous that the true measure of success for any dwelling care enterprise, franchise or in any other case, is less complicated.
“If households have a look at A Place at House – Overland Park because the company that communicates nicely, treats caregivers with respect and makes a significant distinction within the lives of their family members, then we’ll obtain the objectives,” he stated.
By: Sloane Airey