A day in the life of. . . a home care franchisor

Lucy Campbell, CEO of Right at Home

Franchise focus

From her very first job to her current role as a CEO, Lucy talks about rising to the top and delivering more than just profit t.

My very first job, believe it or not, was in a call centre. I was only 14 and we were selling double glazing. It was one of the most challenging jobs you could wish to have but it was a really good grounding because it taught me how to handle rejection, build relationships, and ultimately, a little bit of negotiation as well.

Prior to getting my position at Right at Home, I was the CEO of an organization called FranchisingWorks, a social enterprise set up to support people at transition periods in their lives to get into franchising.

I am absolutely living out my greatest ambition ever. Every job I’ve done previously has always been about delivering more than profit, so delivering a positive social impact. I’ve worked across a whole range of agendas in the past, from homelessness to digital inclusion to regeneration.

I always pictured myself in a senior role but I don’t think I could have envisaged the opportunities that have been provided to me by Right at Home. What’s really exciting is that even in the role of CEO now, I’ve still got so far to go.

Working for Right at Home allows me to know that I am making an incredible difference every day. But I also have the most dynamic role - overseeing compliance, finance, marketing, and recruitment. From one hour to the next I can be thinking about something completely different.

The hustle

Calling herself a “self-confessed workalcoholic”, Lucy opens up about her everyday routine and favourite hobbies.

Everybody laughs but I set my alarm for 6.17 am, so it’s very precise. I like to get up early, have a quick drink and ideally be the first person in the office. I do find in those first couple of hours, and particularly when it’s quiet, I’m really productive.

I am a self-confessed workaholic. I have to say I don’t have set working hours but that doesn’t mean I don’t try and have discipline around having protected time for my family.

My mind never falls far from work. It’s just an extension of my life because I genuinely love what I do. But I still manage to have fantastic experiences with my family outside of work. We love to travel, we get to go on fantastic holidays.

I do try to be healthy, particularly when I’m not working away. Running is something I really only took on board when the pandemic hit, and we weren’t able to go to gyms. It’s something I’ve really fallen in love with.

I’m not at the stage of running a marathon yet, but certainly hoping to set myself some real challenges in the future. I’m sure I’ve written a significant portion of my conference speeches and various other presentations in my mind while I’ve been running.

My husband’s got a really big family and I’ve got a smaller family and we do a lot. I really love to cook and entertain and quite often it will end up with a family karaoke session with everybody getting involved. I’m actually tone-deaf. My husband’s really good, but we do have a laugh.

I do have a guilty pleasure which is the soap, so Coronation Street and EastEnders. I go to bed at about 11 pm, but we’ll normally watch a little bit more telly, so sometimes I don’t get to sleep until midnight.

Get to know…

We get to know the woman behind Right at Home – from her determination and favourite possession to her love for Take That.

What is your greatest fear?
Having an illness or something life-limiting that doesn’t allow me to carry out my job effectively. I overcome it by trying to do everything I can to look after myself and I’ve done a lot of work on my mindset as well.

What is your current state of mind?
Optimistic. I am positive and excited.

Where would you most like to live?
Where I am because I’m very fortunate that I’ve still got both of my parents.

My favourite possession is… a beautiful diamond necklace my mum and dad got me for my 40th.

The quality I admire the most in myself is… determination. There is nothing that I see as an absolute blocker. I’m constantly striving to better every aspect of myself. I don’t think there’s anything, in particular, I’d want to change.

What do you most value in your friends?
Honesty and loyalty.

Which talent would you most like to have?
I’d love to be able to sing because I really enjoy it. I’m just terrible at it.

If you could eat one food until you die, what would that be?
Probably a really good chicken Tom Yum noodle soup.

The film I could watch over and over is… Pretty Woman.

My favourite song is… I’m a massive Take That fan, so there are quite a few to choose from. I’ll go with A Million Love Songs.

You can find a full list of care franchise opportunities in the What Franchise directory.