If you’re looking to join the home care industry as an entrepreneur, a franchise may be the best route to business ownership. But to do so, you’ll need to compare different franchise opportunities in the home care sector.

Evaluating franchise opportunities can be complicated, time-consuming work. It also requires a knowledge of the industry you’re researching, and how different franchisors distinguish their franchise offerings from competing brands.

That invites the question of how to evaluate franchise opportunities within the home care industry specifically. To help answer that question, here’s a look at five areas where the best home care franchises separate themselves from the pack.

What to Look for in Home Care Franchise Opportunities

Business Model

By purchasing a home franchise, you can take advantage of a tried-and-tested business model.

With some franchise opportunities, this may be a turnkey model requiring little, if any, customization. But in home care, this is less common than in some other industries. Most home care franchises allow for local customization, giving franchisees flexibility in how they build and operate their locations.

So when you’re evaluating home care franchise opportunities, you’ll want to focus on three things. First, how strongly do you believe in the franchisor’s business model. Second, how well does that business fit your target market. And third, does this model provide the level of flexibility and customization that you’re looking for in a franchise.

Education & Support

Many home care franchise owners start their businesses without prior experience in the home care sector. Meanwhile, they need to learn the ins and outs of their franchisor’s business model.

When comparing senior care franchise opportunities to one another, you’ll want to pay close attention to the quality of training and support that different franchisors provide.

In terms of training, you’ll want to ask what kinds of topics training covers, how much detail it goes into on these topics, whether it’s conducted in person or online (or both), and how effective existing franchisees consider training to be.

Then you’ll want to look at the level of support you’ll receive after training. Who’s providing this support? What kind of experience do they have in the home care industry? What level of responsiveness do they provide to new franchisees?

Licensing Assistance

Another important factor for newcomers to the home care industry is licensing. This may or may not be an issue for your location, depending on which state you’re operating in and which types of services you plan to offer. But if you’re starting a franchise that requires licensing, it helps to have a franchisor who can guide you through the licensing process.

Before researching franchise opportunities, check the licensing requirements in your state. If you’ll need licensing, make sure to ask different franchisors what level of licensing assistance they provide.

And pay special attention to whether they’re familiar with licensing requirements and procedures in your state. Some brands have lots of experience in select states, but minimal experience in others.

Branding & Marketing

When you purchase a franchise, you’re purchasing the image and reputation of a pre-established brand. With the right brand, this can prove invaluable, establishing trust between your agency and local families.

But if you choose a brand with a spotty history, an outdated image, or a non-existent reputation, you might have trouble attracting new business.

So as you look at different franchise opportunities, consider the reputation and image of each. Do they have a reputation for quality care? Are they well-known among seniors and families? Would you trust this brand if a member of your family needed care? It’s also worth looking at how the brand markets itself nationally, as well as any local marketing resources it provides to franchisees.

At the same time, ask whether this brand’s image is a good fit for your local market. Does it speak to the values, lifestyles, and preferences of seniors and families in your area? Or does it speak to another kind of demographic?

Care Offerings

How do home care brands distinguish themselves in today’s market? One increasingly popular strategy is to offer niche caregiving services. Until recently, there wasn’t enough demand to justify these services. But as the market for home care has grown, the demand for specialty caregiving has followed the same trend.

As a result, brands can stand out from their competitors by offering services for things such as transitional care after a hospital discharge, memory care for various types of dementia, or assistance with social technologies.

In comparing different home care franchise opportunities, this raises two important questions. The first is which types of care offerings will be the best fit for your target market. The second is which franchise brands actually offer these services.

Learn more about franchise opportunities with Visiting Angels by calling us today at 800-365-4189 or contacting us online.