Craig Godbold: Shadowing the Blossom head office team is crucial

The new Blossom Poole & Bournemouth franchisee headed to Northallerton to understand the daily operations prior to opening

Investing in a home care business is a big decision and throws up plenty of questions. Will you be commercially minded enough to implement the business model? Do you have the people skills needed to motivate staff and placate clients? Do you have the ambition to stick with the brand for the long term?

Potential franchisees at Blossom Home Care are encouraged to answer these questions for themselves by spending time with the head office team in Northallerton, North Yorkshire.

One person who decided to pay a visit was Craig Godbold, who is planning to open a Blossom Home Care business in Poole and Bournemouth in the coming months.

Here, he explains what the process entailed and why it was useful in confirming that this was a brand he truly wanted to invest in.

Was your shadowing experience useful prior to opening your business?

Craig: My trip to Northallerton really was an invaluable experience. As a brand new franchisee, it allowed me to see and know exactly what to expect as a Blossom business owner.

Although I already had a healthcare background, seeing how everything works operationally day-to-day was extremely helpful. I met and worked alongside the whole team, including registered managers, and seeing what they did, how they did it, and how long tasks took was very insightful. 

Even little things like seeing what went on the whiteboards during team meetings helped allow me to visualise how I will shape and run my own office effectively every day.

What aspects of the trip informed your understanding of the brand?

There were also many valuable things I did that made me get a real feel for running a quality home care business. This included personally meeting clients and carrying out spot checks on carers to make sure quality care is always being delivered.

Everything about the two days I spent both in and out of the office was really important to see how everything works.

How did you find meeting other staff members?

When I first looked at Blossom as a potential franchise option, a lot was made of the training and dedicated support they provide to achieve your targets. So getting to know the team I will be working alongside in this regard was really helpful.

They were all on board during my time in Northallerton which was particularly brilliant. They are fully on the same page as me and have supported me an awful lot since my first call, helping to set expectations for my business.

Where are you in your business journey? And what’s your future goals?

Going through my franchise setup process has been every bit as exciting as nerve-racking, but working on my plans for launch in-person was extremely useful.

I am in the process of recruiting carers and executing our first marketing initiatives – including a launch event – ahead of getting our first clients, which is going to be a really exciting moment.

My vision is to eventually open a second office and be the home care provider of choice for our community, with Blossom’s award-winning brand behind me. Talking through this vision with the head office team and setting achievable goals to reach it was fantastically helpful. 

Would you recommend others to participate in shadowing prior to opening their business?

I would urge all prospective new Blossom franchisees to do what I did and shadow the team before you put your franchise fee down. It’s massively important to get first-hand experience of the business you will be building, and it really helps you to see how you can hit your monthly care hours target.

Ultimately, it will enable you to make a really informed decision before committing to Blossom and starting your journey.