Duration: 9m s59
Description
Right at Home franchisee Regi Mathews, and his wife Geetha, currently own two territories in New York and have been working with Right at Home over the past 10 years. Nathan, their son, joined them in the business eight years ago. Listen as Regi tells his story to Jessica Cornelius, Franchise Development Director at Right at Home.
Background and Intro
Regi Mathews and his wife Geetha have been in business for over 10 years. They initially started off with two territories and bought a third territory after two years in business. They most recently sold the third territory to a fellow franchisee. Regi was in corporate America and had spent 30 years as a director of tax compliance with a large Wall Street company. He needed to do something on his own, so he quit his job. Serendipitously, somebody told him that Right at Home was a great company and he should check it out.
Choosing Right at Home
One of the things that really attracted Regi and Geetha was the fact that they were helping people, especially the elderly. Regi said they had some experience taking care of Geetha’s mother while she had brain cancer, and the help they provided helped them understand what kind of care our elders need. Regi adds, “It’s really a very passionate and very satisfying line of business.” He feels very fortunate to be in this line of business and they have grown the business exponentially. So far it has been good.
The Compelling Reason
Regi says that he felt Right at Home was the right company to partner with because the corporate office was very personable and helpful, and they could connect with them. The corporate team had a passion for what they were doing. Regi had looked at other franchise businesses but they didn’t seem to have checked all the boxes. Right at Home is, to some extent, a recession-proof business, and a business that is growing.
A Typical Day
It’s busy in the sense of keeping in touch with referral sources, clients, and our aides. One of the key pain points was trying to hire good aides, but we have gotten it down to a science. Now we get referrals from our aides themselves, their friends, and their families. It shows that we treat our aides well and provide certain benefits that have really helped and says that Right at Home is a great company to work with.
Support from Right at Home
Regi notes that if they have any problems, they can pick up the phone and contact corporate for support. It could be a question about operations or some other pain point. Corporate also helped with the licensing process from the start. It is a two-year process, but corporate helped throughout the whole process. The support is so valuable. Nathan adds that being part of Right at Home’s performance groups brings a wide variety of knowledge from all the other owners. The other owners all believe in the Right at Home business model, so that helps build a common image across the United States. The mindsets of the owners are very similar, so that is very helpful.
Performance Groups
You have to be voted unanimously into the performance group. They look for people who have similar strengths or people who bring a passion or love for the business. The members are from all over the United States, coming together to talk about their experiences, operational aspects, ideas, and pain points. It has created a buddy system in which I can email the other owners and ask if they have had a similar problem. The camaraderie within the performance group has been excellent. We also share our financial statements, review our KPI’s and hold each other accountable.
Advice to a Prospective Franchisee
Regi notes that he had just spoken with a new prospective franchisee. Regi noted he told him that if you are coming into Right at Home, you are coming into a very robust, passionate group of people that you will be working with. They will not allow you to slack off. They will back you up. They will work with you from the get-go. The two weeks of training in Omaha are wonderful, and you will hit the ground running. Corporate is there with you from every aspect of your success and helps you sort out what to focus on.
If you are interested in franchise opportunities in New York, click here.
If you would like to listen to other franchise owners’ stories, click the links below:
Meet the Family | Renee Concialdi
Meet the Family | Vishal Patel
Meet the Owners: Claudine & Scott Dein
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