Fiona Harrall started her Home Instead Senior Care franchise in March 2010. She is married with 2 children and her previous career was as a Chartered Surveyor.

She came to a stage in her life when she really didn’t enjoy the pressure and the long hours, she wanted a new way of life. Running a franchise business seemed the perfect opportunity, particularly in the care sector which is notoriously difficult to set up from scratch due to legislation, etc.  Fiona wanted the back up and the continued support which a Home Instead franchise provides.

Fiona explains why:

We had been touched by relatives who needed care services due to dementia, at that time my husband’s Aunt and Uncle would have loved to stay at home with support, but they were only offered residential care and sadly ended up in separate care homes. As no other options for care was then available in my area, I wanted to change things, I wanted to make sure that I could give back to my community and provide fantastic care as it should be, allowing older people with help, to remain in their own homes.

It appears that this is exactly what people are looking for, the majority of new clients come from recommendations from existing clients or care professionals who see the standard of care we provide. From the end of Yr 1 to Yr 2 we have seen our turnover increase by 550% and in Yr 3 by 71%. We have expanded our original premises from one small office to four offices which has allowed us to increase our team and to add additional training and meeting rooms.

Due to our phenomenal growth my husband has now joined me in the business giving up his job in the City.

We are not only passionate about the care we provide, but about the caregivers and office team who provide the care. We doubled our team in 2012 and we are looking to recruit over 100 people in 2013.

We are proud to say that in 2012 our Registered Care Manager won the Great British Care Awards, Registered Care Manager and Hertfordshire Care Providers Association Registered Care Manager award.

I have also encouraged four of my friends to become franchisees with Home Instead, I have enjoyed it so much and found it so rewarding on so many levels, and I haven’t even expanded yet into the Southern part of my territory , all part of this year’s business plan.