Home care franchises, especially those that serve seniors, are even more successful when the owner has personal experience with elders—just ask Senior Home Care by Angels franchisee Christian Bullas
By Georgie Binks
For those who provide home care services to older generations, an affection for seniors is a key component of success. Luckily, this affinity is one that Christian Bullas, a franchisee with Senior Home Care by Angels in London, Ontario, acquired as a young boy.
He recalls growing up in a neighbourhood full of older folks. “I used to go from porch to porch having tea and cookies with the seniors. I’ve always been comfortable with older adults.”
Bullas bought his franchise at the age of 33, back in 2003. And from the beginning, he loved it.
“When I first started, there were a lot of WWII veterans,” he says. “I got to meet these guys, and I heard some great stories. Elder care [also involves] a lot of women, and they liked me coming around and chatting with them. That was a great opportunity for me.
Providing peace of mind
Senior Home Care by Angels provides non-medical home care, staffed by personal support workers who visit a client’s home, so the client can remain in familiar surroundings rather than entering a facility. Bullas explains, “We can help them with bathing, dressing, meal preparation, light housekeeping, laundry, making the bed—all the things we call the activities of daily living. It’s anything that someone would need help with to maintain their independence in the home. We can provide care from a few hours a week all the way up to 24/7.”
The franchise also provides care in nursing homes, retirement homes, and even hospitals. “Someone may have a loved one who has dementia and who has broken a hip, and they could potentially get out of bed on their own,” says Bullas. “They would forget that they were ill and further injure themselves—we can provide someone to sit with them all night. Even in long-term care, sometimes the families live out of town. They can hire a caregiver for a few hours a couple of times a week.”
The franchise was co-founded by Lawrence Meigs in 1998 in the U.S. Today, there are 15 Canadian franchise locations with close to 660 south of the border. The franchise also operates in Mexico, the U.K., and South Korea.
Because the franchise has been around since the turn of the century, Bullas says the company has a lot of experience in the industry. “We’ve developed the ‘Select Your Own Caregiver’ [program] … We introduce the caregivers to our clients before service begins,” he says. “We find this really helps get seniors who may be apprehensive about someone coming to their home on board. We let them meet them and conduct the meeting like a mini job interview before the caregiver [starts working with them]. It’s great for the adult children as well, who are usually in the initial stages of seeing who is going to be looking after mom and dad.”
The caregivers that Senior Home Care by Angels franchisees hire come from healthcare backgrounds and are generally middle aged or slightly older. They have previously worked in high-stress fields and are looking to move to a lower-stress job with consistency, which the franchise provides.
Welcoming to everyone
Bullas spent 10 years in retail before he set his sights on owning a franchise. “I looked at potential businesses and I came across home care, and it made sense to me at the time.”
He says that it was a good investment financially and the market was growing—and it continues to. “We (society) are rapidly aging,” he points out. He now has more than 20 years of franchise ownership under his belt, and even though he’s well into his business ownership journey, he sees the rising need for home care services everywhere he looks. And the types of people he sees gravitating toward owning a location are surprisingly varied, especially when it comes to their age.
“We do have a lot of mature businesspeople who come into this, who have started this in their late 40s, 50s, 60s,” Bullas explains. “However, I would hesitate to call it ‘people going into retirement.’ When you first start, it’s a full commitment. You are putting everything into this. As the owner you’re doing 60 to 80 hours a week—that’s not unheard of. It’s not something to dabble in, in retirement. In your 50s or 60s you’re still more than capable to start one of these businesses and successfully launch it.”
Every day is busy for Bullas, and as the business grows, so does his staff. “A typical day depends on how many staff you have,” he says. “Not just caregivers, but a couple of schedulers, a marketing person—you could be doing some team meetings, dealing with a family issue, doing caregiver interviews, running an orientation. There are really a lot of different aspects to the business. When you first start, you’re wearing all the hats, you’re really doing all functions of the business.”
Marketing is integral to the success of the business, both on the customer side and for staffing. “You’re always going to be hiring staff. As you get clients, you start managing [caregiving appointments]. That’s when you start adding office staff, a scheduler. Then you figure out what you like best.”
He notes that a lot of owners do their own marketing, in lieu of hiring outside or inside help. However, he emphasizes that marketing doesn’t involve hard selling the franchise’s services. “It’s the softer approach. You’re going out to community centres, doctor’s offices, hospitals, and [speaking with] discharge planners, telling them about your service and what you can do. As you’re growing, you’re always hiring new caregivers. Your day is full of meetings and talking to a lot of people in different capacities and roles.”
Support at every age and stage
Bullas says franchisees with Senior Home Care by Angels get a lot of personal satisfaction out of the job. “You’re not just helping seniors; you’re really providing a service to the whole family as well. In a lot of cases, you are providing relief to the son and daughter, so they can get back and focus on their family.”
Often the initial visit with families entails dealing with people who are very stressed. After all, they’re facing a critical moment for their family.
“When people come to us, they’re generally in crisis,” he says. “In a lot of a cases, mom and dad have had a fall, or something happened months ago, and the family has been trying to care for mom and dad on their own, and they’re all just exhausted. We get people when they’re in a really high-stress situation and you learn how to navigate that. You are able to deal with other people’s high-stress situation in a reassuring and calm manner.”
While the franchise offers senior care, Bullas has issue with how the term is sometimes used. “I think it is ridiculous that they call [those in the 55-to-65-age bracket] ‘seniors.’ In this business, being a ‘senior’ doesn’t start until you are 80—and I think you earn that title. You see the people who are more successful, health-wise—it’s the people who stay active, slimmer, had an active lifestyle. I have so many clients who are over 100, and it’s not a big deal anymore.”
While Bullas maintains the biggest benefit for franchisees is knowing that you’re helping families, running a Senior Home Care by Angels location is also financially rewarding. “You can make a decent living,” he says. “And, based on how you grow your business, you’ll have a saleable asset.”
And, as an added bonus, you’ll likely hear a lot of great stories.
Learn more about franchising with Senior Home Care by Angels
