These successes are not limited to a single place, they’re spread across the UK from Mansfield to Suffolk and beyond.
Walfinch CEO, Amrit Dhaliwal, has a unique experience because he used to be a home care franchisee and he also built his home care franchise from zero to a £1m turnover in, you guessed it, under three years!
But getting to £1m turnover doesn’t just happen, franchisees must be valued and nurtured by franchisors to deliver high quality support to their clients and carers. To do that, they need franchisor support that focusses on more than just the bottom line.
The Walfinch franchise family support initiative
Becoming financially successful starts with getting the right support. It’s the kind of support that you would aim to give a member of your own family if they were starting a business. The Walfinch family of franchisees deserve support that goes much further business development, sales and marketing.
What’s needed is ongoing support that takes account of the needs of franchisees as people with lives outside of the business, because the personal and professional are intertwined.
Ian Thompson, Managing Director of Walfinch Welwyn and Bishop’s Stortford, left behind a job in the financial sector in London to buy a Walfinch franchise. Many conversations before Ian joined were about wanting to spend more time with his children. The Walfinch Franchise Family Support Initiative enables Ian to get the support necessary to reach his financial goals, built around his family life. Ian opened his business in 2021 and he’s now supplying over 800 hours of care a month and on track for turnover over £1m this year.
“Going into this sector with no care background would be hard without support,” Ian says. “I couldn’t have come so far so fast without help from the support team, and I’ve learnt a lot from the whole team, especially Richard Stanfield, who has many years of care sector experience.”
Unique challenges for care franchises
Home care is a massively rewarding business where you can transform people’s lives while making a good living.
However, running any business is tough, especially in the early days. The regulations are demanding, and you may only get one day’s notice of an inspection. A ‘Needs improvement’ rating can destroy your reputation, and your business, overnight.
That’s why many of the UK’s most successful care providers are franchises, where local offices get franchisor support to develop the best services and business revenue possible. You get a dedicated Compliance and Quality Manager when you buy a Walfinch franchise who’s job is to make sure you achieve “Good” or “Outstanding” ratings to make sure clients continue to choose you instead of other providers.
100% of Walfinch franchisees inspected in 2023 have received a “Good” or above rating!
Support
Bunmi Ganiyu, Managing Director of Walfinch Edinburgh, opened her business in 2021 and is going from strength to strength.
“I don’t think I’d have got this far so soon without Walfinch’s National Support Office team,” she says.
She cites help from Compliance and Quality Manager Amanda Keeler. Bunmi says: “She built a support platform that helps you comply with all the necessary standards and if you need help you can call her, and she’ll call back even if she’s busy.
“I’m running this business by myself, but I never feel as though I am on my own. I can get help from the National Support team with anything that’s bothering me,” says Bunmi.
Creating time for family life
Amrit is a dad to two young children, and he tries hard to maintain family time every day, so he’s adamant that Walfinch franchisees should be able get to £1m turnover and spend enough time with their families.
Tiffany Meachim, Managing Director at Walfinch Mansfield, recently had a second son, while running a franchise that will top £1m in 2023!
“Walfinch’s National Support Office team meant I got the time to enjoy my new baby,” says Tiff. “Amanda and the operations teams worked together with my care manager, so I did not get any calls from the office for the first few weeks.
“That back-up was invaluable. If I was running the business on my own that time with my son it would not have been possible, because the business would have been on my mind 24/7.”
When she was eight months pregnant, she got just two days’ notice of a CQC inspection. “It was my first inspection, so I was very anxious,” says Tiff. “Compliance and Quality Manager Amanda rushed down to me the next day, checked everything and reassured me that we were doing the right things. In moments of crisis the support is there for you.”
Supporting confident business building
Strong emotional support builds confidence, especially for those taking a step into a new career. The Walfinch Franchise Family Support Initiative is creating strong, resilient business owners who can feel confident that they will get the support they need in starting and growing their business – while growing as people too.
This article comes courtesy of Walfinch, the UK’s most innovative home care franchise. Walfinch provide home care services across the UK.
