Meet the Family | Gulraj Shahpuri
Duration: 14m 18s
Description: Gulraj Shahpuri owns a Right at Home franchise in one of the most prominent territories in the United States, Redwood City, CA. Gulraj had lived in the Bay Area as a child and was eager to come back as he knew the Bay was aging faster than the rest of California and California was aging faster than the rest of the country. His territory extends all the way from Los Altos, Atherton, Redwood City, Palo Alto, through San Mateo. This is a highly affluent area, retired techies, some of the most wealthiest people in the country.
Prior to becoming a franchise owner, Gulraj was a leadership trainer and coach. It gave him experience in helping people navigate difficulties in their own businesses. Gulraj purchased a Right at Home resale opportunity. Knowing it would be a challenge to step into the shoes of somebody who had done a good job already, he wanted to do something from his heart and wanted to do a good job, as well.
Gulraj choose a Right at Home franchise because you get the systems, tons of experience and support. He wanted it to be in healthcare, because that was what he wanted to do. He had lost his parents quite early to cancer, and it was the caregivers who came to their home that helped him and his sister. The caregiver showed us what to do. Gulraj’s father used to tell him to find a way to serve many people. He realized if he owned an agency that provided caregivers, he would be able to serve many people. Gulraj kept nudging his wife towards home care and assistance. After looking at many competitors, Right at Home kept coming up over and over again. In his research, Right at Home had the most family-owned franchises. Gulraj wanted to get a company that was helping other families.
In the beginning, a typical day included a lot of administrative work. After learning how to do that well, Gulraj automated the system and outsourced what he needed to. They also have somebody wonderful in their office that takes care of everything he used to do. Eventually, Gulraj needed to be more on the client facing front, getting out and meeting clients, doing more home visits, and more on the selling front, as well. Once he started doing that, everything started just snowballing. He said they have more than doubled or tripled their business since taking it over. Gulraj still supports the admin folks, but anytime there is a call for somebody to visit with a client, he’s the one who does this.
The support Gulraj receives from Right at Home is invaluable. He loves the weekly coaching calls and knows the coaches are available after the call, as well. He can also call the resources people at the head office anytime they’re stuck with questions. Gulraj also belongs to a support group of franchise owners in California. He can take a lot of his questions to them, too. He loves the software and systems Right at Home recommends to the franchise owners, like the financial software, recruiting tools and ClearCARE software. He would never had been able to find these options, so he appreciates the vetting and research Right at Home has done.
Gulraj would advise prospective franchise owners to know how much you want to put into the company from day one. He wanted to buy a running business that was cash positive. For him, it was the right decision to buy a resale franchise, something that was cash positive and just scale it from there.
Gulraj says he should have taken a deep dive right into the client facing front and marketing, marketing from day one. And, he should have gone to all the assisted living facilities and senior care homes in his area. The facilities gave him a chance, and they seemed to know he was doing it for the right seasons and would work harder than anybody else, because he said it from his heart.
#Franchising #Leadership #SuccessWithSignificance
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