It has been over a year since industry insiders predicted that home care franchise systems could experience accelerated growth brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following rising unemployment and widespread business closures, many believed prospective entrepreneurs would turn to more mission-oriented careers, with home care and aging-in-place models presenting lots of upside. While it’s difficult to tell the full extent of how that has panned out, several franchise systems have been touting their recent growth.
Synergy HomeCare, Always Best Care and Best Life Brands are just three examples.
“I think the pandemic has accelerated and even sweetened the pot,” Synergy CEO Charlie Young told Home Health Care News. “Because the trend will continue to grow of wanting to keep people at home for as long as possible.”
Synergy is a Gilbert, Arizona-based non-medical home care franchise that operates roughly 380 franchise locations nationwide. The company offers companionship services, in addition to personal assistance, housekeeping, live-in care and 24-hour home care services.
Economic realities
The public health emergency has had a profound economic impact.
In addition to an overall reduction in general business activity, the spike in the number of unemployed workers surpassed the Great Recession, according to the Pew Research Center.
And even several months after the initial COVID-19 shutdowns, there were still 7.6 million fewer jobs in May 2021 than in February 2020, according to a data analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Yet amid this economic uncertainty, many home care franchises have thrived, as entrepreneurs view them as low-risk investments.
The franchise business model, in particular, offers a relatively safe environment because it allows new owners and operators to enter the space without starting from scratch. New franchisees are often joining companies that have an established brand and built-in systems that set them up for success.
Demographic trends are another reason the home care franchise model is appealing to entrepreneurs. In the U.S., the number of individuals 65 and older will more than double over the next 40 years, reaching 80 million by 2040, according to the Urban Institute.
“If you look at the basic foundations of the business, you’ve got strong demographics, and you’ve got social trends of aging in place that are all lined up to make home care franchising a very attractive space,” Young said.
