~by Haley Lynn Gray~
As part of my Entrepreneurship and Innovation concentration at Duke, I put together a business plan for a new kind of home care business. While researching it, I came across a company called Care Patrol.
Care Patrol is a national franchise that helps families find the right senior living and care options — independent living, assisted living, memory care and in-home care. Its advisers review facilities’ care and violation histories, then tour with families, helping them make one of the hardest decisions they’ll face.
Its values matched ours closely. So we asked ourselves: why not pursue it alongside the home care company?
That August, we bought the Care Patrol franchise for the Triangle area of North Carolina, joining around 55 other franchisees across the country.
How it ended
I later sold the franchise. It was the right decision at the time, and I don’t regret either buying or selling it.
What I value most is what it taught me: a great deal about how franchises actually work, from the inside. That’s knowledge you simply can’t get from reading about them.
What anyone considering a franchise should understand
Franchising looks like a shortcut. You get a proven model, a recognised name and a playbook. In many ways that’s true — but it’s a very different thing from building your own business, and it’s worth going in with your eyes open.
You’re buying a system, not just a brand. The value is in the processes, training and support. The trade-off is that you follow their rules, even when you’d do something differently.
Read the disclosure document properly. In the United States, franchisors are required to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document before you sign. It covers the fees, the obligations, the franchisor’s history and the experience of other franchisees. It’s long, and every page of it matters.
Talk to existing franchisees — and former ones. Current owners tell you what’s working. People who’ve left tell you what isn’t. You need both.
Understand the ongoing costs. The initial fee is only the start. Royalties and marketing contributions come out of revenue, every month, whether it’s a good month or not.
Check your territory. What exactly is protected, and what isn’t? Your market is only as big as the boundary drawn around it.
Know what you’re really good at. A franchise rewards people who execute a proven system well. If what you love most is inventing the system yourself, you may find the structure frustrating — and building something of your own may suit you better.
And as always, have a lawyer who understands franchising review the agreement before you sign anything.
Would I do it again?
I’m glad I did it. Owning a franchise, then selling it, gave me an understanding of how these businesses really operate that has been useful ever since — including when I advise other owners weighing up the same decision.
Like most things in business, the lessons were worth more than the venture itself.
