Why franchising is the wise option after redundancy

Grant Kerns, Managing Director of Caremark (Cheshire NE), started providing in-home care and support to his local community over the last few weeks, having decided that after being made redundant a franchise was the right choice.

Having spent 35 years in the financial services industry, working for the major banks in various senior Management and directorial positions, when redundancy came he decided to leave the financial sector and run his own business: “I’ve always had a desire to work for myself and redundancy gave me the opportunity and means to do so. Also, given the current employment climate, it made perfect sense to put the control of my career completely in my own hands.”
 
Having worked in the finance industry for so long Grant knew how to weigh up investment risks and decided franchising was for him:“It suited my risk appetite as I wanted the comfort of a well-proven model coupled with the support provided by a highly experienced head office team.”
 
So with that criteria in mind he started his search for a business model that suited his needs and on his thorough investigations he describes why he chose a franchise in the care sector: ”I have a passion for improving the lives of others, so a care franchise was the best way of fulfilling this. I chose Caremark as all the staff I spoke too had a real passion for care. The model covered every aspect of leading a franchise and they continually improve it by testing new ideas in their company-owned office.
 
“Meeting with the CEO very early in the process was also pivotal to my decision as his experience and commitment to care gave me real confidence that I was choosing the right care franchise.”
 
Grant has advice for anyone looking to embark into the world of franchising: “Base as much of your research as you can on speaking to existing franchisees and, if possible, service users, as they will always give you valuable insights you can’t get elsewhere”