An age old way to invest (Daily Mail franchise story)

An age old way to invest 

By: Linda Whitney 

OUR AGEING population means the care sector is growing fast, and a franchise could be the way into it.

The sector is commonly reckoned to be worth £12billion a year, and now that the people entitled to care have the right to buy it wherever they choose, it could get an extra boost.

The main growth area is in home care, and there are management franchises that involve providing in-home carers, while some also supply nursing and care staff to institutions, such as hospitals and care homes.

But it's rightly hedged around with regulations, which is where an experienced franchisor can help.

'You do not need a background in care to invest in a care franchise but if you come from another sector, you will need to put in a manager who has,' says Simon Dalziel of Bluebird Care.

The company, the manager, its operations and training must meet standards set by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI).

'With 21 offices operating, we already have the procedures in place to meet the standards, so using a franchise saves you the time and cost of doing it yourself,' says Mr Dalziel, who is looking for more franchisees with £25,000 to invest. You might not be managing the operations but you must be skilled in handling people.

'Bear in mind the implications of a care sector business,' says Dominic Rothwell of SureCare, which provides home care services and is looking for more franchisees with £60,000 to invest.

'Our initial ten-year franchise term brings far-reaching obligations to the community. You will be caring for very dependent and vulnerable individuals.' Some service, health or social care sector experience is preferable, but not essential, but you will need people-handling and management skills, to recruit and motivate staff.

Even though the market for home care is growing, social services are cutting down the number of agencies it uses to provide care, so competition among them is set to increase.

'You need to be caring but also commercially-minded. A customer service background can help,' says Jonathan Bruce of Prestige Nursing, where franchisees provide nursing staff for hospitals and care homes as well as domiciliary care staff to individuals.

The franchise head office recruits and vets all the staff that are sent out by franchisees to employers, and checks their training, and references to maintain standards..

Investment is from £30,000. The CSCI will interview both the franchisee and the manager, and both will be checked by the Criminal Records Bureau,' says Paul Edden of care agency Home Instead Seniorcare.

Its franchisees aim to provide the same carers to clients at the same times daily, so customers can rely on them and are more likely to confide their needs. Investment is from £29,750.

BLUEBIRD 01730 260 026, SureCare 01244 321199, Prestige 0208 254 7533, Home Instead 01244 852 693..

CAN YOUR FRANCHISE SELL?

YOUR business will succeed only if potential customers have heard of it. Before you choose a franchise, look at how it markets its brand and helps franchisees in marketing their own businesses.

'The strength of the brand and its marketing first attracted me to Gymboree,' says Joanna Cairns, 40, who is now the Gymboree franchisee in Somerset.

Gymboree franchisees offer arts, music and gym classes to preschool children.

Former paediatric nurse Joanna (pictured) says: 'I wanted a franchise working with children, and the Gymboree website was very lively.' The franchiser provides help with local marketing such as supplying templates for leaflets, posters and flyers, and each franchisee gets a space on its main website.

'I have got inquiries from the U.S.

that have resulted in customers bringing their children to my classes when they are over here.

'I could not have done such broad marketing without the franchiser's help,' says Joanna.

Gymboree includes marketing help in its franchise fee, which starts at £8,800.

Check the marketing help you get and how you pay for it.

Look at a franchiser's marketing record.

GYMBOREE 0207 258 1415

FOR lists of previous award winners for innovative branding campaigns, visit www.franinfo.co.uk/awards..