“There’s no question I made the right choice to do this”

As a consultant who specialised in finding people their perfect business, Christopher Tansley knew the benefits of franchising. He explains how in 2013 he found his own calling: to deliver outstanding rated homecare services with Right at Home

When I was 19, my father bought a specialist cleaning franchise. He turned it into a really great business, so with no other specific career path in mind, I joined him. We built two businesses in the end that we sold after getting a very good offer.

I decided to put my franchising knowledge to good use and became a franchise recruitment consultant, matching great people to great franchise opportunities. This was perfect for me because I’m definitely a people person. That was when I first discovered Right at Home. You might say I was in an excellent position to recognise a really great franchise when I saw one.

Perfect opportunity for me

I introduced two people who went on to become Right at Home franchisees, but it wasn’t long before I realised that Right at Home was actually the perfect franchise opportunity for me too.

Once I approached the team, things moved quite quickly because I already knew so much about the business. However, I know that in normal circumstances things move at a very controlled pace; Right at Home will only allow someone to join the network if they are 100 per cent the right person to take the territory on. It’s actually quite flattering when they say yes.

The training was great - it’s a very serious process, but they try not to make it too pressurised. I suppose when you consider the service we provide, there really isn’t any room for mistakes, so they won’t let you loose on your business until you’re absolutely ready.

Getting the message out

The next stage is promoting your business and I loved that bit, as it played to my strengths. The first few months were all about networking locally and getting the message out about what I could offer the community as Right at Home Nottingham.

I think it’s important that you’re the kind of person who’s confident enough to be a real ambassador for the brand - after all, you’re asking people to buy into you, as someone competent enough to care for their family member or even themselves, so you need to be able to convincingly get across the message of why they should choose Right at Home.

You’re also focused on recruitment from the beginning. It’s just as critical for me to pick the right care manager and CareGivers as it is for Right at Home to pick the right franchise owners. As much as it’s a challenge, it’s also incredibly rewarding when you get it right and testimonials for your team start coming through from the clients.

Thanks to the amazing calibre of franchise owners around the country, word gets around that Right at Home is a great employer, so we get some fantastic people looking to move to us from our competitors.

There’s no doubt that getting the business off the ground was incredibly hard work, but I set myself high targets and I know a lot was expected of me because of my business background, but I genuinely smashed my year one target and I’ve continued to grow at pace each year since.

A whole other level of job satisfaction

The biggest reward though has always been the serious difference you can make to people’s lives. I think it was near the end of my first year that I took one of our clients to a football match and that was the first time he had been out of his house in three years. I don’t think I’ll ever take those kinds of moments for granted - it’s a whole other level of job satisfaction.

The other great thing is how much you get to evolve personally.

In the beginning, you’re very much buying into the training, the proven business model and day-to-day support, which is indispensable for anyone planning on succeeding in this industry.

But for me now, it’s the power of working in numbers, surrounded by people who share the same vision and work together to make the business into an even greater force for good in the industry.

Right at Home has always been committed to understanding and raising awareness about dementia and several franchise owners in our network have had an incredible individual impact on how dementia care is viewed and discussed nationally.

Inspired by that, I now chair the Nottingham Dementia Action Alliance, which means not only am I able to bring the very best practice to my team and our clients, but I can help drive a commitment from our local community to become more dementia-friendly.

The ultimate acknowledgement of quality in our business is being awarded a CQC rating of Outstanding and we’ve now achieved that. I couldn’t possibly be prouder of our whole team, because to operate at this level takes complete commitment from everyone. It’s the combination of so many individual efforts that ultimately leads to providing that outstanding care to our clients, who of course deserve nothing less.

There’s no question I made the right choice to do this. I’ve built a very successful business, developed an incredible team of people who love and excel at what they do and I can help shape the industry I work in for the better, as there will always be lots more to do. I’m not sure you can ask for much more than that from a franchise, can you?

At a glance Right at Home UK

Established:

2010

Number of franchised outlets:

67

Location of units:

England, Scotland and Wales

Investment range:

£120,000-£130,000, including working capital

Minimum required capital:

£40,000

Contact:

Kate Dilworth franchising@rightathomeuk.com 0151 305 0755