We pride ourselves on the dedicated support & company expertise we deliver to our franchisees from day one. Our franchise team, including the directors, Claire and Paul all play a key role and are highly experienced in running a domiciliary care business, successfully launching several IHC branches. The combined knowledge and experience of the whole team are essential to support the franchisees growth.
Our own expansion proved what is achievable, our last branch broke even within 11 months, our latest franchised area 150% ahead of target by month 3. Importantly, if you wish to expand your franchised territory, we have neighbouring locations available for you to purchase when you feel the time is right. Indeed, we already have 30% of franchisees buying second areas in their second year.
This business model is not a luxury, but a necessity, in high demand and expandable with profit margins high at around 23% net. Although a management franchise, within the first few year’s management layers will be formed, thus allowing the franchisee to concentrate on the growth of the business rather than the day to day running.
We have an excellent reputation with Social Services, NHS, our own clients, and staff alike. As evidenced by our review platforms, winning awards in this area (see below)
Our company values are the heart of the business model. We believe in providing an outstanding service to all, and we do this by ensuring our staff are paid, appreciated, supported, and trained well.
In Home Care franchise is good value for money with a substantial amount of the £37,560 franchise fee going back to the franchisee. Not only do we deliver the knowledge and support required to own and operate a domiciliary care business; we also supply items such as signage, computers, desks, office equipment, branding, website, leaflets, brochures, stationary, rostering systems, HR, policies and procedures including initial marketing, and recruitment costs etc. The complete franchise package is substantial. (Further details supplied at meeting)
Business planning, financial forecasts and targets will be supplied, and guidance provided to achieve goals.
So if you want to give back to society, have a desire to achieve in a business model that has longevity and good profit margins, we would be delighted to hear from you!
Below we have answered some of the most poignant questions, please read on.
How is In Home Care different from other similar franchises in the UK?
We succeeded ourselves, not once, but three times before we sold franchises!
All three of our own branches started from a standing start. After our first branch, our two pilot schemes launched successfully, breaking even within their first year of trading. Our first three independent companies form the basis of our business model.
We don’t expect more of our franchisees today, than we did of ourselves 10 years ago – and we had no help or experience in the sector!
After we had proved the model once, we wanted to ensure our models success and went on to open the first pilot branch, this was an immediate success, in the first month turning over 13k, and breaking even within 14 months. Soon after we went on to open the third branch, this time breaking even within 11 months.
We had proved the model worked and this is when we began selling franchises.
Everything we expect the franchisees to do, we have done ourselves, nothing more and nothing less. Paul says ‘We want to support our franchisees to achieve the success we know is more possible today than when we first started, and all whilst giving back to the most vulnerable people in our society, what could be better than this? This is the ultimate Win, Win. We are proud of the amazing level of support and the people who provide it.’
No Experience Required!
No previous experience is required at In Home Care, as both founders Claire Simmons & Paul Reynolds can happily testify with proof being in our ‘British Franchise Association’ and high street banks ‘HSBC’ and ‘Lloyds’ approved business model.
Like many successful business ideas In Home Care started out of a personal need rather than any personal or professional experience in the sector.
In Home Care was formed after Paul and Claire had struggled with ‘care,’ and ‘the whole care system’ for family members themselves. They began a new venture in care, with no previous experience in the sector, they believe this gave them a huge advantage in what was then a relatively outdated and blinkered industry. Claire said “we simply had no preconceived expectations of ‘how a care business should operate, we just believed we knew what would work. We knew we could introduce many fresh ideas to care. Designing literally everything from scratch, coupled with our wealth of previous ‘business turnaround’ experience, extensive marketing, and finance acumen, we combined our business skill’s which saw the company go from zero to a million pound turnover within 4 years & 6 months.”
Our franchise model is not restricted, the potential for your future growth is massive – just by expanding the list of services you offer within your own territory!
You can facilitate many other regulated activities adding them to the list of CQC registered services you offer in your own territory, this will expand the potential of your franchise model significantly.
Just a few examples that you can add are nursing care, childcare and other more specialist services such as the long term care of those with brain injuries and supported living; all alternative CQC regulated activities can be explored depending on the interests and ambitions of the franchisee.
Plenty of scope to grow with the brand
Unlike some of the more well-known brands, we have plenty of scope for our franchisees to grow into their neighbouring territories. This is not always the case, for example, Bluebird have only a few territories left available, making it nearly impossible to expand, this limitation restricts growth and ambition for the franchisee.
Our franchisees benefit directly from the many years of experience the Directors have helping failing businesses turnaround and get back into profit
Paul and Claire owned an insolvency company which worked closely with accountants and insolvency practitioners. We provided tailored, strategic business planning and financial solutions for struggling businesses. Paul said “the experience we gained during this time is invaluable for us and our franchisees. Many people make silly business mistakes, but with our knowledge on ‘how to not to run a business’ we believe most mistakes can easily be avoided.”
The proof is in the pudding! Not one, but two of our own IHC staff members bought a franchise from us – including our own Finance Director!
They liked what they saw, they knew it worked and bought in themselves. Not only a very experienced Senior Care Worker from our Chichester branch but also our very own Finance Director saw the potential and invested in an IHC franchise. And we are very pleased they did, they have both achieved amazing results within a very short time.
BONUS: Be your own Health and Social Care Training Centre!
It’s not just a care franchise your buying! You will be advised on how to become your own Health and Social Care Training Centre (this is included for free in our franchise package.) Our own approved training centre will be replicated.
We couldn’t find training centres that trained to our high standard, so we started our own approved Health and Social Care Training Centre. All our own staff and franchisees undergo their training at our centre in Chichester.
We encourage all franchisees to become a social care approved training centre, this saves money and ensures our standards are met. We will support our franchisees to achieve this as part of our franchise package.
Importantly, we knew before starting our company we would grow our business through franchising!
This is very important to the franchisee looking to buy, because they know that every element has been developed with them in mind from the outset. From developing and delivering our own approved social care training programme (most companies outsource their training) through to our strong branding (that staff buy into) with colourful bright lanyards and fun bespoke incentive badges to piloting our business model ourselves, learning a lot of lessons along the way for the benefit of our franchisees. We wanted to develop a complete business model that stood the test of time and worked for the franchisees wherever they set up in the UK and beyond.
0 to 1 million turnovers within 4 years and 6 months!
When we first started out there were 17 other care companies in our local vicinity. All operating with ‘care’ experience, employing approx 15- 30 carers and turning over approx 250-450k per annum. We wanted to smash this, and we did this quicker than we thought possible.
Claire said “Some of these care providers have since closed, due to issues with social services. The once larger care providers began to look much smaller as we grew in size, turnover, and number of staff. One of the larger care providers eventually called us and informed us they had decided to fold their local operation and because of our excellent reputation they wanted to TUPE their business over to us, of course we obliged!”
We have achieved Care Quality Commission GOOD ratings at all locations
We are a regulated service provider, and as such we are inspected at regular intervals by the governing body CQC.
We are proud to have achieved Good to Outstanding Ratings in all branches to date. The knowledge we have is passed on to our franchisees to enable them to be fully prepared for their inspections and in the running of their day to day business.
Our franchise management team attend regular CQC courses identifying new and upcoming changes that take place throughout the year, helping to keep everyone abreast in this ever changing landscape.
All ‘our’ franchise team members support you from day one, and each of them have the experience you need!
Unlike other Franchises in Care here at In Home Care every single individual member of our franchise team has launched a new IHC branch from ground zero. They faced the same challenges franchisees face and ultimately, they turned their branch into a success story.
Claire said “the knowledge and understanding of each franchise team member is critical to our new franchisee’s success and peace of mind, especially in their first two years. Each one of our franchise support team are relied upon to provide guidance from day one, so to have someone who has been there themselves, who fully appreciates and understands the challenges the franchises will face is essential. Not many franchise companies offer the level of personal understanding from the very people who provide day to day support, and we are honoured to give our franchisees this ultimate level of dedication and experience.”
The term ‘In Home Care’ – is organically one of the most searched terms on google for CARE and its our company name! We thought about every little detail before starting out!
We are called In Home Care for a reason, not only because we do what it says on the tin, but significantly because we rank high organically on google with our amazing company name! Other company names are completely irrelevant to care, or the services they deliver, they had not thought about the delivery. We wanted a name that worked harder for us and our franchisees- and In Home Care certainly does that!
Google- high ranking for many key search terms
We have achieved amazing results with our SEO. We consistently aim to remain high on google. Our new franchisees reach levels organically as quickly as possible, often on page one within months.
Unlike many other care providers, we remain primarily Private & we have waiting lists!
Most of our clients are private paying, although now we do provide services to the NHS and Social Services too, but on our terms!
Unlike many other care providers, we do not rely on social services or the NHS to provide our clients, we have a very good track record of generating private business ourselves. The private market is growing exponentially, and we can support the growth in this sector, our business model is based on this market, and we have waiting lists at most branches.
We have excellent relations with NHS and Social Services, and enjoy premium rates with both, which means we are still able to deliver quality care, by well-paid and trained professionals. We do not deliver short calls, with 30 minutes being our shortest call time.
The IHC Directors bought a DUD FRANCHISE themselves!
Paul and Claire had separately bought into an insolvency franchise, this is where they met. However, it quickly became apparent that the franchise was not all it should be. They are painfully aware of what can go wrong, which it did for them when they discovered the franchisor did not own the website all the traffic and leads came through. They received no support from their franchisor and the franchise collapsed.
They certainly relate to how difficult it is to find the right franchise and business partner. Claire said “we believe it is vital you have a connection with your franchisor, and the business has been proven to work. There are many factors that some franchisees may not have even considered. Paul said, “This is the reason we worked so hard on getting every element of In Home Care right before we started to sell our franchise, it had to be water tight.”
High net profit margin of circa 23%
We charge a premium rate yet remain competitive. We aim to ensure we keep overheads low and profits high, to achieve this we draw on our experience of turning failing businesses into profitable enterprises. We have always appreciated low cost efficient business options; we support our new franchisees to find economical ways of achieving all their business goals.
Excellent reviews from Clients & Staff alike
Excellent reviews from staff, please compare our Facebook page to other care companies, and read what our past and present staff say about working for us. This alone speaks volumes- where we currently score 4.9 out of 5 with 75 reviews.
Our clients are very happy with the service we provide, as is independently verified on homecare.co.uk, where we currently score 9.8 out of 10 with 84 reviews.
Winners of Prestigious Awards
We are again 2022 proud winners of the prestigious Top 20 UK Group Awards at Homecare.co.uk – the industries top review site for consumers, some other awards include include CareUK and the Great British Care Awards.
We do not wear uniforms!
Based on our own market research and feedback from our customers our staff don’t wear uniforms. This is to protect our customers dignity, safety, and emotional wellbeing.
Claire says, “this is just another little thing that makes us different, our clients tell us they don’t want all their neighbours and passers-by knowing they are receiving care, this would make them feel particularly vulnerable in their own homes, they would rather have our staff visit them ‘as if they are a family friend dropping in’ rather than a health care professional in a coloured tabard.” Adding “We made the decision early on not to wear uniforms, all staff do wear full protective equipment.”
Unlike many others, we have great success with recruitment:
It has been well publicised that the care sector has been hit by challenges within recruitment. We have always been ahead of the game as far as recruitment is concerned with Claire having designed In Home Cares own S.M.A.R.T.E.R way of recruitment. This plan forms part of our training and is available to all new franchisees on joining.
Claire says “ there are always people coming and going in care, and luckily we will always have people who love to care for others. I believe if people follow our smarter way to recruit they will enjoy the same success as we do. We are proud to enjoy better than average staff retention and recruitment in the sector.”
The IHC Business plan factors in Top industry wages
Our Business Plan Factors in Higher wages for Staff with great incentives.
We don’t want you to fall behind other care companies’ wages, we commit to paying top wages for all staff.
Claire said “To have a good business, you need happy clients, to have happy clients they need to be looked after by cheery, well-trained staff. For this to happen we train to consistently high standards & pay higher than average in any given territory, this is important as is showing our appreciation for what our staff do by way of recognition and awards.”
Marketing and Sales backed experience
Claire has multi-level marketing and sales experience and is adept at most aspects of marketing the company. Claire said ‘when we researched the care sector, we noticed a lot of branding was extremely wishy washy grey, green and blues, this wasn’t for us. We wanted to create a strong, positive brand, one that stood out from the crowd. Our whole journey at In Home Care began life with the end firmly in mind. Our branding is loved by our staff, they appreciate our colours and style and this is often commented on by our clients, who adore our little old lady.’
We set up our franchise model using one of the longest standing franchise consultant companies in the UK ‘Ashtons Franchise,’ they are BFA-affiliated and adhere to the European Code of Ethics for Franchising
We felt it vital for us to invest in the very best when setting up our franchise model. Ashtons and their legal team ensured we did this, the product we sell is robust and has a professionally written and BFA approved franchise agreement and Franchise Information Manuel which is the bible of our business model.
Remaining up to date and modern with systems and embracing modern technology
We are great believers in improving systems as and when necessary. Recently updating a system to embrace our clients and their families helping them keep in contact through technology. We are consistently scouring the market for room to improve, with our main objective to stay ahead of the game and give added value and transparency.
Business Partners, we’ve got you covered!
We have done a lot of the hard work for you, we have sourced and formed long term relationships with many businesses whom you will benefit directly. Such as Accountants and banking systems, phone, internet, printers and CRM systems, PPE and all other products required to run a successful business.
Why our franchisees bought a care franchise ?
Exponential growth in an ageing sector
More now than ever before have we seen the demand for our services reach an all time high. We receive submissions for care daily from private paying clients, Social services and NHS alike. How many other businesses have waiting lists for clients wanting to use their services?
Win Win situation – giving back to society is a great feeling!
Go to sleep at night knowing you and your team are making a positive difference to the most vulnerable of people in our society, and all whilst providing a good living for you and your family.
For example you can hold regular dementia friendly coffee mornings, or activity days and really engage with your local community as you develop the brand in your area. The list of great ideas that can be introduced is only limited by your own imagination.
The Directors knowledge and passion
The directors have such passion and knowledge of business turning In Home Care into the success it is. Already spending time, energy and money on tweaking and improving with the opening of three IHC branches themselves, this ensured the model worked.
Plenty of scope to grow with the brand
Unlike some of the more well-known brands, we have plenty of scope for our franchisees to grow into their neighbouring territories. This is not always the case, for example, Bluebird have limited territories available, making it nearly impossible to expand locally, this limitation may restrict the growth and ambition for the franchisee.
What is your biggest achievement at In Home Care so far?
After launching and successfully operating our first branch at Horndean we went on to open two pilot schemes in Grayshott & Chichester, these were to form the basis of our master franchise business plan.
We went from breaking even at 26 months at our first branch, to breaking even in just 11 months at our third. We pass on all the benefits of our learned experience (successes and failings) to our franchisees, ensuring they hit their targets and breakeven as quickly as possible.
What is the best feedback you have heard about your brand?
Our brand generates a lot of attention. Claire says, “I don’t know of many other companies that have clients walking in off the street to say how they love the brand!” Adding “Clients have kept our leaflets tucked away in a draw because they loved our ‘little old lady’ until they needed us. We have been told many times we have a strong, modern, and distinct look, with colours that attract making our branding &logo stand out.”
Our staff are equally supportive of our branding. They tell us they enjoy wearing their lanyards which are embellished with our pink and green hearts, and they proudly wear our bespoke heart shaped badges which are awarded for passing milestones and meeting certain criteria.
Our branding is used not only in marketing but also forms an important part of our reward and recognition programme.
The offices are adorned in pink and green, from desk pen pots to waste bins, to cushions and leather seating the teams love to bring the colours into their workspaces, as do our franchisees! Even our clients have the matching pink folders sitting in their homes for carers to complete.
Why would you recommend In Home Care to people wanting to open a franchise?
- A business model that has been proven time and again to work
- Step by step guide through start up journey provided at outset
- Exponential growth industry – backed by government investment
- Care is a necessary social requirement not a luxury that can be dropped when money is tight
- The franchise model is not restricted and can easily be further expanded within your own territory with the addition of regulated services free of any additional franchise fees
- Neighbouring territories currently available due to this franchise being relatively new to market
- British Franchise Association Approved
- Large, protected territory – demographically verified base
- Full S.W.O.T analysis completed on each new territory
- In depth training in every aspect of owning and running an In Home Care Franchise
- Franchise Information Memorandum –our professionally written how to operate an IHC branch ‘bible’
- We fully support and manage recruitment of your Registered Manager and initial care staff
- You and your registered manager will receive continuous support from an experienced management team who all have personal experience in opening and running an IHC branch
- We have robust social media platforms with good audience engagement
- Marketing department and social media management
- Introduction to NHS and Social Services Departments
- Our website ranks high organically for many key search terms
- Your own dedicated webpage which will receive the same SEO as the main site
- Advice and proactive help looking to find the right premises, decorate/brand/furnish the new location
- Fully supported CQC registration application
- Policies and Procedures for running a regulated business
- Regular support from your own Franchise Support Manager
- Directors’ day to day involvement and availability
- On site visits to further support with Compliance & CQC Inspection preparation
- A dedicated franchise team on hand to advise in all aspects of the business
- HR advice and support
- Systems and Services sourced for you
What qualities does the ideal franchisee possess?
Individuals need to be dedicated, committed, passionate, possess a hardworking entrepreneurial spirit, be prepared to listen, and take advice from the Franchise Team and the IHC Directors, and most importantly have a genuine interest in supporting those who are less able to help themselves.
How long does the process of starting an In Home Care franchise take?
If needed, finding a suitable property and registered manger are key here as these are required before applying to our regulatory body the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for a licence to practice. Once we have applied for registration with the CQC, we must wait for the interview. Like many other sectors we have seen a slight slowdown since covid hit, therefore, this may take a little longer than usual as CQC plough through their backlog. We hope to have this completed between 3 to 6 months, with our longest time to date being 12 months which was at the height of the pandemic hitting.
It is in our interest as well as yours to have you up and running as quickly as possible, and we will do everything possible to ensure this happens.
How much support and training is offered to your franchisee
We see each of our franchisees as a long term business partner, they should be able to come to us and ask for help whenever they have a need to.
All franchisees are provided with a full support programme. They will be furnished with a step by step plan which will guide them through the whole set up process from signing of agreement through to opening and operating their new business.
A blend of on site, classroom & online based learning forms part of our training programme, as does regular weekly catch up calls with your franchise manager.
We will be visiting the site on a regular basis covering all areas that require further support. This will be guided by what our franchisee’s needs are at any given time, our aim is for them to be confident in their own ability, and we will work with them until this is the case.
We don’t have a cut off time of support, we feel if we are needed, we will be there to provide guidance no matter what.
We use a cloud based system, and all IHC documents and essential items as well as non-essential information is on hand 24/7.
We have an out of hours advice line for emergencies, which is manned by one of our own senior team, with a manager as back up.
Digital on demand training is currently being developed and will come into effect this year, this will enable franchisees to refresh and update themselves on each specific topic again-whenever they need to, with new topics being added throughout the year. This new digital platform came about after asking for feedback from our current franchisees. Paul says, “We are delighted to be able to gauge feedback and use this important information to invest in the exact ways our franchisees want us to -this is healthy collaboration!”
In what ways do you help In Home Care franchisees achieve healthy work-life balance
Starting a new business takes a lot of time and dedication from everyone involved, especially the franchisee. We understand the difficulties in finding the ideal work life balance especially in the early days, and this can certainly take a toll on health and family relations.
We hope our franchisees will reap the rewards of our own experience in setting up a care company from scratch, all the good, bad and ugly experiences are lessons learned that we hope to pass on.
Claire said “We see it as a game of snakes and ladders. When you buy a reputable franchise, from franchisees that actually care, this should be like playing a game snakes and ladders with the benefit of ‘the snakes and ladders guru’ sitting right next to you! We guide you to miss most (if not all) the snakes whilst strategically landing on all the ladders, hopefully rocketing you to where you ideally want to be far quicker that you would otherwise.
This will help you to achieve a healthy work – life balance much quicker!
Is there anything you would like to add?
We are normal people with a super keen interest in business and the people behind the business. We identified a gap in the market for quality private care, this gap still exists, and we feel lucky to have made a great success out of something we feel incredibly passionate about.
We invite others to find the same success by following what we did, and how we did it, minus the mistakes! We enjoy helping others achieve more than they thought possible and hope we can inspire and lead by example.