Duration: 15m 47s
Ken Helmuth’s Right at Home story is marked by rapid growth, remarkable success, and deep personal fulfillment. But it’s also a story of reaching out and grabbing opportunity when it presents itself. Today, Ken presides over an operation that spans three North Carolina offices and five territories across the Durham, Raleigh and Charlotte regions.
But as Ken tells us, his journey into home healthcare actually began in a moment of crisis. At age 45, Ken had more than 20 years under his belt in medical sales, operations, and executive leadership. He concedes that, at the time, “I had no idea I wanted to be a business owner.”
“Then,” he recounts, “I lost my job in 2013. It was scary. It kind of shook me to the core, to the point where I started looking at everything.” As he looked, the one thing Ken knew was that he wanted to have more control over his own fate. That’s when he found Right at Home.
Finding a New Home
“I came across an opportunity to buy an existing Right at Home business that had been around for five years,” says Ken.
The owner of the Durham territory was struggling to get his business off the ground and was looking for an exit plan. It was simply by chance that Ken discovered the franchise, and an owner who was looking to move on. Still, says Ken, “I had to really evaluate what I wanted to do next.”
Though he was uncertain, Ken knew his considerable experience in medical sales and executive leadership had fully prepared him to run his own business. His work in the medical field also gave him an appreciation for the importance of serving a fast-growing population of aging adults.
“I thought, what a great opportunity for the second part of my career,” says Ken, “to have more control over my own destiny, to be in healthcare, but be closer to the end user.”
Completing The Triangle
Ken spent his first five years with Right at Home transforming a struggling Durham office into a thriving operation and a fixture in the community. He also spent that time developing an excellent relationship with his nearest neighbor, a franchise owner in Raleigh. When his neighbor retired, he handed the business off to Ken, who had now expanded his operation into a “triangle” across six counties in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill.
In 2022, Ken added another location, a struggling operation in Charlotte. In its third year under his oversight, the Charlotte operation is now seeing its best numbers yet. Ken points out that the Right at Home model has been a big reason for his ability to expand. Right at Home provides its franchisees with a proven approach, an incredible support system, and meaningful personal relationships. Ken notes that these benefits prove even more effective as you grow your operation.
“One of the keys to the success of this business is your ability to scale,” says Ken. “And that includes not just caregivers and office staff, but also kind of some of the operational efficiencies that you can get by scaling.”
From Legacy to Leadership
Ken acknowledges that as your operation scales, your role does tend to evolve. In the beginning, he recalls, “You’re much more in the business day to day. I had every caregiver’s phone number in my cell. I had every client’s phone number.”
“Early on,” says Ken, “you need to get in front of people to sell your company.”
But of course, there are limits to how much you can grow your business without the help of an amazing team. As Ken added dedicated caregivers and a reliable administrative team, he moved into more of a general management role. His biggest focus these days is helping to make his team stronger.
“I spend a lot more time supporting my team members,” says Ken. “I spend a lot of time coaching and trying to help our leadership team.”
He points out that Right at Home provides some extremely valuable resources in support of this focus. For instance, he mentions the Right at Home Entrepreneur Operating System (EOS). Two years into implementing Right at Home’s sophisticated and user-friendly operations technology platform, Ken reports that “it’s just been an amazing difference to give people that kind of empowerment and ownership. I think that’s been a big change.”
Making a Lasting Impact
For all the things that have changed as Ken has grown his operation, there has been one constant. The home care field gives Ken an opportunity to make a positive and lasting impact on the caregivers, clients, and families in his community.
“That’s what I love about what I do today, and what our company does, and what we represent,” says Ken, “Helping to improve the quality of life of the clients that we serve.”
For those considering Right at Home franchise ownership, Ken strongly advises due diligence. He suggests talking to other Right at Home owners about their experiences first.
“There are so many engaged owners,” says Ken. “If you have an opportunity to speak to them about their time with Right at Home, you’ll really understand how passionate most of us are about what we do and you’ll see the support that the system gives us at every level.”
“And that is why,” says Ken, “we’re one of the largest systems in the home care business.”
Interesting in learning more about owning a Right at Home franchise? Click here for a list of available territories, or learn more in our blog.