Waller Gets In-Home Care Franchise

Stressed out, dissatisfied, anxious and sick of working for someone else – described the life of Jackie Diaz while working as a general manager at a local fast food restaurant. Unhappy with the direction her professional career had taken in the past2years, she was ready for a change. One day her daughter, home on spring break from Chicago, gave her Mom the same advice she had gotten from Jackie, “Do something about it or quit complaining.” This reminder was just what Jackie needed to take action.

Remembering Comfort Keepers from research for her own parents yrs before she decided to investigate Comfort Keepers®; an in-home care service provider known for its reputation of on-going support to its franchisees in a booming industry. “What really grabbed my attention was their Interactive Caregiving® philosophy,” Jackie said. “I became inspired and fell in love with what they believe in.”

Of course Comfort Keepers wasn’t her only option. During her research and throughout the decision making process, Jackie investigated several other organizations in the in-home care industry as well as other industries. However, for Jackie the decision to invest in a Comfort Keepers franchise became obvious. “I especially enjoyed working with the Comfort Keepers recruiting team,”, Jackie said, “They helped make it a comfortable, natural decision that we felt great about once everything was said and done.”

Just four months ago Jackie was a general manager at a fast food restaurant. Now, she is an owner of a Comfort Keepers franchise, making a difference in the rural area she calls home by providing local residents with professional, compassionate and loving in-home care. In this very brief period, Jackie has completely turned her life around as a proud and successful owner of a Comfort Keepers office in Waller, Texas.

Comfort Keepers is pleased to announce that Tim Purcey, COO of CK Franchising Inc., the franchisor of Comfort Keepers, has been elected as the NPDA president-elect.  In his role, he will help guide the NPDA and will assume the role as president following the 2012 NPDA Annual Meeting / Conference.

NPDA, National Private Duty Association, is the nation’s first association for providers of private duty home care, which includes non-medical home care services.  The NPDA is the recognized resource for information and definition of private duty home care practice, supported by a strong national membership of providers.

 Aging of America – The Facts

• In 2011, more than 8,000 people will turn 65 every day. By the end of that year the senior population of America will reach almost 49 million. By 2025, it will grow to nearly 72 million.  (Source: The Department of Health and Human Services and the State Department)
• Several studies have found that the overwhelming majority of seniors – 89 percent, according to an AARP survey, for example – want to age in their own homes for as long as possible.  (Source: AARP survey) 
• The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the population age 85 and over could grow from 5.3 million in 2006 to nearly 21 million by 2050.  (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
• Persons reaching age 65 have an average life expectancy of an additional 19.0 years (20.3 years for females and 17.4 years for males).   (Source: Administration on Aging)

The NPDA currently represents more than 1,200 member organizations throughout the United States that provide private pay in-home care services for the elderly and disabled.

Tim has been active on several NPDA committees for the past eight years and has served on the Board of Directors for two and a half years.

The winter season is a great time to catch up on some reading. Whether you plan to bring a few books on your Florida vacation – or you’re snowed in at home – I’ve compiled a few great titles that will help you keep your business sense sharp.

So What? How To Communicate What Really Matters by Mark Magnacca
In this book, sales consultant Mark Magnacca answers the “So What?” questions and shows you how to answer them. Use it to help you refine your communication skills and accomplish what you’d like to achieve. If you can’t answer the “so what” questions in business gracefully, then your goals will be significantly harder to reach.

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
This book has some surprising new ideas about what really motivates us. Pink uses recent scientific discoveries about the mind to discredit traditional beliefs that claim people can only be motivated by the hope of gain.

Strength-Based Leadership by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie
Strengths Based Leadership is full of firsthand accounts from some of the most successful organizational leaders in recent history. The founder of Teach For America, the president of The Ritz-Carlton, and many others talk about their strengths and how they used them to craft success in business. More than personal anecdotes, this great read has plenty of research and ideas that you can put into practice.

It’s 2010 and it’s time to set your goals for the next year, both professionally and personally. We came up with a few for entrepreneurs and franchisees, and also found a great list from Entreprenuer.com worth sharing. Please comment and tell us what YOU plan to do to kick off a new decade of business success!

Great 2010 Goals for Franchise Business Owners

• NETWORK.
  
  Devote 30-45 min a day to networking and marketing your business. This can just be updating your profiles on social networks, attending luncheons or setting up coffee meetings with other potential business leaders.
• MAKE the ASK.
  
  Use the new year as an excuse to set up meetings with potential clients you haven’t talked to in awhile. Create a template email and just personalize with the client name and relevant info. Always remember to make “the ask” – Get them to give you 10 minutes to give a presentation about your business, to meet you for lunch or more information to build into a formal pitch for their specific business.
• MOTIVATE your employees for 2010.
  
  If the holiday season got crazy, take the time to lay out a roadmap for future growth in 2010. Share your goals for the company for the next year, and give real numbers, like a benchmark from 2009 that you’d like to beat this year. Solicit their opinions of what could be improved or their own career goals. Don’t be afraid to get personal. Sometimes helping an employee with one of her goals, like giving flex time so she can spend an extra hour a week with her grandkids, will engender deep loyalty to you and the company.
• Give yourself DEADLINES and break into achievable milestones.
  
  If you goal is to cultivate and bring on three new franchisees this year, set a deadline of one a quarter. Make yourself set two meetings a month with potential franchisors. Keep a fresh calendar specifically for this goal, separate from your day-to-day To Do list.
• DIVEST yourself of 2009.
  
  Part of starting anew is getting over the past. Though 2009 was a rocky year for many, check it off your list. Take a day off just for you – not family time, spouse time or catch up at the office time – actual mental time off for you to regroup. A business is only as strong as its leader, and your positive mindset will encourage others to set off in pursuit of an awesome 2010.
  –

Last year, Entrepreneur.com featured wise words from business leaders. Many still work today, so we thought we’d share a few… Check them out:

Don’t lose your optimism and opportunism. Someone has to be opportunistic in this market and if entrepreneurs can’t do it, who can? There’s still room for optimism.

Startup Financing
Asheesh Advani

Get more traffic. Convert more traffic. Sell more to existing customers. Put everything you can on autopilot.

E-Business
Derek Gehl

Focus on planning as management. It’s not just a plan, but a planning process including regular plan reviews with course corrections. Note changed assumptions in order to steer your business through constant change without losing sight of the long-term goals; which is, in a nutshell, getting back to the fundamentals of planning, or “plan-as-you-go” planning.

Business Plans
Tim Berry

I think mompreneurs should make just one resolution in 2009: Be present in whatever you do. When you’re working, don’t answer the home phone, change out the laundry, etc. When you’re with your children, truly be with them. Don’t answer e-mails, sort through your mail and check your phone when you’re spending time with your children. And when the best plans fall through, just laugh.

Mompreneur
Lisa Druxman

Resolve to make 2009 the year for building relationships with customers and influencers as well as offering the best value–because in a tough economic year, we’ll all choose to spend our limited dollars with the people and companies we know and trust.

Marketing
Kim T. Gordon

If you’ve been thinking about buying a franchise, make 2009 the year to stop pondering and start researching. Read everything you can about franchising, make lists of what concepts interest you, get Franchise Disclosure Documents, talk to franchisees and franchisors, look into your financing options and start taking legitimate steps toward buying the franchise that’s right for you. Many franchisees are succeeding even in this economy and will continue to succeed in 2009, but risks are arguably higher and preliminary research is more important than ever. Resolve to start this year by launching into your own in-depth, full-force franchise research.

The Franchise Insider
Janean Chun

*Get your conversation started. Sign up and learn by doing. I’m talking about Twitter and Facebook. Using social media can be the biggest impact for your business in 2009.

Search Engine Optimization
Jon Rognerud

HAPPY NEW YEAR from the COMFORT KEEPERS BLOG TEAM!

Do you sometimes find that you’ve spent hours of your business day working hard yet seemingly accomplishing nothing? It may be that you need to restructure how you spend your work day hours. Here are some tips for getting the most out of your time.

1. E-mail on a schedule. Resist the temptation to check your e-mail incessantly. Instead, plan to check 3 or 4 times a day. Set aside a small chunk of time when you check to respond to urgent e-mails.
2. Take a break every hour. If you stare at your screen too long, you’ll start to get drowsy and work slower. Plan to get up and walk around the office or the building every one or two hours.
3. Don’t keep comfortable chairs in your office. Beware of having extra comfortable seating in your office because your co-workers will likely come in often to sit down to chat. Try keeping a small side chair or folding chair in your office. People will be much less likely to stay and shoot the breeze if they have to sit in an uncomfortable chair.
4. Keep cool. If your office is warm and stuffy, you’re more likely to feel tired and work more slowly. Keep the office temp cool or bring a fan if you need to.
5. Avoid the afternoon sugar crash. Around 3 p.m. when that morning coffee has finally worn off, most of us experience a sugar low. Bring an apple to work to stave off the afternoon slump.
6. Send calls to your voicemail when you’re working on a big project or when you’re working on a deadline.
7. Prioritize your tasks. Many times, we choose the easy & unimportant tasks first because we don’t want to deal with the bigger ones. Instead you should make a list in the morning of the most important things to get done and then work on them first.
8. Allot segments of time for each task. Allotting a specific amount of time will help you to stay on task and motivated. If you have a competitive nature, you may enjoy pushing yourself to accomplish your timed tasks.
9. Take a real lunch break. Don’t work through lunch. Get out of the office and take a break so that when you come back you are ready to make the most of the afternoon work hours.

Franchise opportunities are becoming more and more plentiful. But with more opportunities comes added confusion. As a potential franchise owner you need to think through some of the most important factors in order to become business-savvy. Here are some questions that any franchisor should be able to answer.

1. What fees or royalties are involved with the start-up and ongoing development of my franchise?
2. What are my parameters for individualizing my business?
3. Is there a marketing team in place to help me sell my service or product?
4. What penalties are involved with any sort of violation of franchise parameters?
5. How strong or well-known is this brand?

Make sure your potential franchisor can answer these questions satisfactorily before you agree to go into business with them.

Are you considering a switch from corporate employee work-life to entrepreneurship or franchise ownership? Many people who are considering this change face doubts about whether they’re prepared to handle the demands of entrepreneurship. There’s no denying that this is a big step, but there are actually some good reasons why your work experience as an employee has prepared you to own a franchise.

• Communication skills. Your work experience has probably helped you build good communications skills – a trait that will be invaluable to you as you become the leading person in your organization.

• Connections. If you choose to stay in the same area, you are likely to have a lot of business connections that you’ve made through your previous job. These people could turn out to be potential business sponsors or simply a network of people who can give you good advice as you embark on this venture.

• First-hand observations. After years of working as an employee, you know what qualities you would want to see in your future employees. And you know what qualities your employees would want to see in a boss. Better than any business school can offer, you have had years of opportunities to observe different leadership styles at work. What worked? What didn’t work? Use this knowledge as you start on your own.