Franchise Focus Mark of quality
Running a Caremark franchise yourself, or with your partner, could be a rewarding experience
INVESTMENT LEVEL: FROM £100,000 H
ave you ever thought about going into business with your spouse or partner? For some couples, this would be a non-starter because they
enjoy having the separation between work and home life and the benefi ts of having diff erent things to talk about. Yet having shared aims and ambitions brings a sense of purpose and reinforces the satisfaction gleaned from working towards and achieving goals together. Caremark’s homecare franchise works well for couples, as it requires a breadth of skills that two people often bring as a pair. The homecare franchisor has a number of successful partnerships in its network with individuals coming from a variety of professional backgrounds, not all of which have been within social care. Having a previous career in care is not a prerequisite to owning a homecare franchise either. Graham and Alison Livingston own and direct Caremark Plymouth, a growing homecare business in the West Country. When setting up their business in 2012, they divided the work so that each had a clearly defi ned role, as Graham explains: “Alison comes from a care background, so it made sense for her to take the role of care manager. Originally, I was working as the care co-ordinator but having subsequently recruited someone to take on that role, I am now able to spend more time on growth and development.” Working as a couple also means that family life does not have to suff er. Richard and Emily Magrath have a franchise in Northern Ireland. When they started looking into franchising, they quickly realised that the care sector was where they should focus. “Given our personal values and involvement in community, we decided that a care business was something that fi tted and ticked many boxes for the type of business we wanted to have,” says Richard. However, it’s not all hard work and no
play. To balance the challenges of running their own business, the couple place great emphasis on spending time together as a family, something which they were both
Graham Livingston
keen to maintain from the outset. They live fi ve minutes from their offi ce, which works very well in trying to manage their business and home life.
Emily says: “Our day starts at home getting our three young boys sorted for school or childcare. Every day in the offi ce is diff erent but busy. Our offi ce hours are nine to 5.30, but one of us is always home for the kids.”
Garry and Jayne Costain were motivated to buy their franchise in Kent because they wanted to do something diff erent together. Now, six years on, they have established a valuable care and support service to adults living in and around Margate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs.
Prior to opening their business, Garry worked in education management and was a senior manager in several colleges, while Jayne came from a nursing background. “My strengths lie more on the business side of things,” says Garry. “My former career gave me excellent management experience and equipped me with good communication skills and business acumen, which is essential to running our business.
“The biggest benefi t is that we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This gives us great confi dence because
we know that if we are working within our spheres of expertise we know things will be done well. “We have always taken the view that,
if we are going to perform well at work, we have to have time away where we can switch off and do other things including spending time with loved ones. Visiting family and meeting up with old friends is one way that we ensure we have time away from work.” The key ingredients here are having a can-do attitude, plus the ambition and vision to see a great future in whichever franchise the couple choose. Certainly, couples can and do work successfully and harmoniously together in running a franchise and, in some cases, manage the challenges of a demanding business regime and raising a family. The key ingredient here is having the can-do attitude, ambition and vision to see a great future in whichever franchise the couple choose.
Caremark Care provider
www.caremarkfranchises.com franchise@caremarklimited.co.uk 01903 266 392
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BusinessFranchise.com | July/August 2018
Investment:£100k+
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