Meet the Family | Tracey Banks
Duration: 11m 13s
Description
Tracey Banks and her husband, Bruce Lewis, purchased a Right at Home Territory in 2019. This was right before the pandemic hit. Working as a full-time OB/GYN for over 30 years and having her own practice, Tracey was getting up in the middle of the night to deliver babies. That was something that she wanted to do less of. So when Tracey got married to Bruce, they decided to purchase a Right at Home franchise. Listen to Tracey as she tells us her experience as a Right at Home franchise owner, what it’s like to be a franchisee, her experiences starting a new business, and the support received from Right at Home Corporate. Jessica Cornelius, Franchise Development Director for Right at Home, joins Tracey for this conversation.
Previous Background
Tracey Banks and her husband, Bruce Lewis, own a Right at Home territory in North Texas with locations in Sherman and Prosper, Texas. They started the franchise in 2019 right before the pandemic hit. Tracey’s day job is as an OB/GYN. She’s been a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist for over 30 years and has her own practice.
Making the Decision
In the early 2000s, Tracey’s great-aunt came to live with her. She was 88 years old and lived with her for eight years. Divorced with three kids and a very busy physician, it was wonderful having their great-aunt with them, but Tracey realized early on she needed help. The wonderful caregivers allowed her to say with them for eight years. So when Tracey got remarried, they were trying to decide on a business and kept this service in the back of their minds. When they came upon Right at Home, Tracey and Bruce thought this was perfect. It has truly been a very rewarding and outstanding experience.
Choosing Right at Home
Tracey has been delivering babies for over 30 years and was contemplating stepping back a bit from the practice. She wanted to stop getting up in the middle of the night. Right at Home has helped her do that as now she is just a gynecologist. The extra revenue stream that Right at Home provided to her and her husband has enabled her to do that. Because of Right at Home, Tracey is looking at fully retiring at the end of the year.
A Typical Day
So Tracey and Bruce split the tasks. She pretty much takes care of the operations, billing, and hiring. Her husband handles the marketing. Before Covid, he would spend most of the day going to referral sources such as nursing homes, rehab places, and physicians telling them who we are and about our services. During Covid, he had to market through emails and missed that personal point of view. Once they started getting referrals from the VA, the business picked up and became profitable after 12-15 months.
Support from Right at Home
Right at Home Corporate provides a “Hub” of information, resources, and tools, which are available at any time you need. The Hub is accessible via the corporate website and broken down into several categories such as operations, branding, vendors, payroll, and human resources. Everything is at your fingertips. Tracey notes what’s good about Right at Home is that you don’t have to build a better mousetrap, they’ve already done it for you. Corporate continues to improve and provide information on best practices. Tracey’s husband likes the support he receives from his Corporate Business Coach, Todd. Bruce calls Todd quite often to find items or get advice. Tracey adds, “Everyone is so supportive, so nice, that we really feel like they really want to help you. They really engage us and help us create ways to grow our business.”
Reaching out to other franchisees in her area has become a once-a-month routine. Regional franchises meet every few months to talk about issues. Everybody is so helpful. Tracey notes that other franchisees in the area have welcomed them and are available for questions.
Advice to a Prospective Franchisee
She says, “Hang in there and persevere. Commit to the process.” Tracey adds, “It’s a great business model, and it’s a great service that we are providing to the elderly and disabled. It’s very rewarding, and you won’t regret it.”
If you would like to listen to other franchise owners’ stories, click the links below:
Meet the Family | Mark Willder
Meet the Family | Pilar Suarez
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