Several home care franchisors have been ranked among 2018’s top low-cost franchise opportunities.
Not all franchise opportunities require tons of cash for an initial investment—and that includes home care franchises, new rankings compiled by Franchise Business Review suggest. The list, released last month, showcases the top 80 franchises with the lowest startup costs.
Franchise Business Review is an independent market research firm in the franchise industry. The firm surveyed thousands of franchise owners from nearly 150 leading low-cost franchises for its annual Top Low Cost Franchises List. To qualify for the list, franchises had to have an initial investment starting under $100,000.
Home care companies FirstLight Home Care, Homewatch CareGivers, Assisting Hands and Home Helpers Home Care are among the top low-cost franchising options for 2018, according to Franchise Business Review.
Boise, Idaho-based Assisting Hands had one of the lowest cash requirements on the list at $38,500. Assisting Hands’ initial investment is at least $70,550 as well. The company operates in 22 states, providing non-medical in-home care support, along with skilled nursing, therapy and other services. The company has increased its franchise fee to $45,000, since the release of the rankings.
Assisting hands is able to keep its cash requirements low because the company is fiscally responsible, Lane Kofoed, the company’s CEO, told Home Health Care News.
“Our approach is definitely long-term,” Kofoed said. “We keep the capital requirements low so they can spend more money getting their business started and they can be successful.”
Assisting Hands’ startup costs are also typically low for new franchisees because corporate takes care of a lot of the back-end work—social media, content and care management systems—so they can focus on taking care of their clients, he added.
The most expensive home care franchise on the list was Cincinnati, Ohio-based FirstLight Home Care, with cash required at $100,000 and at least $99,681 in initial investment costs. FirstLight provides companion, personal and dementia care services across more than 250 locations.
“We strive to keep our initial franchise fee at an average or slightly below our entire industry with much greater focus on owner candidates having more of the working capital they need to open, operate a successful senior care business,” Jeff Bevis, CEO of FirstLight, told Franchise Business Review. “The primary benefit here is to give our new owners an added amount of working capital they can better utilize vs. paying us more upfront.”
Greenwood Village, Colorado-based Homewatch CareGivers provides in-home care services in 33 states. Its initial investment, according to Franchise Business Review, is at least $83,000.
Home Helpers provides in-home and home health care services across 600 communities in North America. Its initial investment is at least $75,850.
The team at Franchise Business Review narrowed down the original 150 brands that have low startup costs by analyzing data and speaking to franchisee owners in a satisfaction survey. Franchisees were asked 30 different questions about their franchise, including ones related to training initiatives and marketing programs.
The 2018 top low-cost franchises list is meant to highlight “the best franchises for your money,” according to Franchise Business Review.
*Editor’s Note: A previous version of this post did not include that Assisting Hands has increased its franchise fee, since the release of the rankings, to $45,000.
Written by Kaitlyn Mattson
