If you are interested in senior care business opportunities, you may have recently come to the realization that some of the best opportunities in this sector are in franchising. Working with a reputable senior care franchisor, such as Senior Helpers, can give you a head start in opening a home care business that families in your local community trust. If you choose the right franchisor, you can count on receiving comprehensive training as well as ongoing assistance with operations, marketing and recruitment.
As you dive into research about senior care business opportunities and related franchise models, you’ll likely find that you repeatedly come across certain unfamiliar terms. Gaining a solid grasp of these terms can help you make the most of your research and ultimately make the best decision about the path you want to take to become a business owner.
Defining Essential Terms Related to Senior Care Business Opportunities
Below, we’re covering some of the most essential words and phrases you’ll encounter while exploring senior care business opportunities available to you.
Non-Medical Care
As the name suggests, non-medical care covers a wide range of non-medical services offered in the comfort of the client’s home. These services are typically designed for seniors who require assistance with day-to-day activities such as bathing, homemaking, and running errands. Non-medical care can be provided by individuals who are not licensed medical care professionals.
Home Health Care
Home health care is a form of medical support delivered by licensed professionals in the home of the patient. Services often include treatment of wounds, monitoring of health conditions, physical or speech therapy, medication administration, and related medical services. Home health care providers must be licensed to deliver these services.
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
Activities of daily living is a term used to describe the essential tasks that make up our daily routines and can be safely performed by healthy individuals without external assistance. Elderly adults commonly require support with these tasks as they start to deal with mobility or cognitive issues, and this support forms the basis of non-medical care. ADLs include walking, eating, getting dressed, bathing, grooming, and using the toilet.
Companion Care
Companion care is a type of non-medical care that does not include assistance with ADLs or direct physical support. Instead, it covers assistance with other aspects of the client’s daily routine, such as basic chores and meal planning and preparation. It also includes companionship and social interaction, as well as medication reminders.
Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD)
The FDD is a legal document including essential information about the franchisor, its history, and its system. According to the Federal Trade Commission, this document must be given to prospective franchisees before a franchise purchase is made to ensure they have all the information they need to make an informed decision about their investment.
Discovery Day
Discovery Day is a planned event in which prospective franchisees meet with the franchisor’s executive team to learn more about the inner workings of the franchise. This event gives the franchisor and prospective franchisee the opportunity to learn more about each other and determine whether they are a good fit for a business partnership.
Note that Discovery Day may take different forms with different franchisors. For example, at Senior Helpers, we first invite candidates for an in-depth conversation with our CEO before inviting them to what we call “Meet the Team Day.”
Franchise Territory
You can think of franchise territories as service areas. As the owner of a senior care franchise, you will have a specific territory within which you will be authorized to sell your services. This territory will be protected, meaning no other franchisees from your franchise system will be allowed to provide their services to the market within your service area.
Franchise Fee
The franchise fee is the amount of money the franchisee pays the franchisor to enter their franchise system, do business under their name, and receive the training and support as outlined in the service agreement. The franchise fee is a one-time payment per franchise territory.
Royalty Fee
Royalty fees are ongoing fees that the franchisee pays to the franchisor. These fees are typically paid on a monthly basis as a percentage of the revenue of the franchise location. At Senior Helpers, we maintain a low royalty fee of 5% for our senior care business opportunities to encourage growth while ensuring we can continue to provide excellent ongoing support to franchise owners.
We can help you understand other important concepts in senior home care and franchising. To learn more about senior care business opportunities from Senior Helpers, reach out to us online or book a call with our team!