Assisting Hands Home Care

Assisting Hands Home Care is a franchise company that does exactly what their name implies – assists people within their homes. They emphasise exceptional customer service and highly personalized in-home care to meet the needs of seniors and others who need assistance, and who want it within the safety and comfort of their own homes.

One of the founders of Assisting Hands, Dr. Gail Silverstein, comes from over 25 years of experience coordinating and leading health care programs in both the public and private sector. It was her firsthand understanding of the industry – along with the personal experience of trying to find assistance for her father at home – that led her to realize there was a serious gap in services.

In 2006, Silverstein teamed up with Cline Waddell of Boise, Idaho and formed Assisting Hands Home Care. A year later, they started franchising the business and providing a better alternative nationwide for the elderly and disabled to receive a little extra support and assistance to stay at home.

A franchise family

Assisting Hands Home Care provides opportunities for franchise owners to live their dream of owning their own business while also giving them a chance to help seniors and others with limited physical abilities. Assisting Hands franchises give their clients a chance to live an independent life with dignity and respect. The opportunity to make that kind of difference is one of the main factors that bring potential franchisees to the brand.

Another factor is the company culture, says CEO Lane Kofoed. “Both of our founders care about everybody and want to make sure everybody succeeds,” he explains. “When they started franchising, they started helping each new franchise owner really get a feel for the business and helped them to grow. That created a culture where everybody helps each other, and everybody wants to see the other succeed.”

Assisting Hands Home Care fosters that culture of cooperation with monthly meetings, wherein their franchise owners discuss their businesses and trade ideas, and the founders provide first-hand insight into the operation of a successful home care agency.

The brand calls their culture their FOFO – their Family of Franchise Owners. At Assisting Hands, everybody cares about each other like a family. “Everything is based on everybody helping the other grow and become successful. That is really the founding principle that started the company,” Kofoed says.

Kofoed himself comes from a diverse background in public accounting, financial auditing, systems integration and management consulting. He joined the organization in 2009, when he was personally approached by Silverstein and Waddell to help them grow the business. He came on board as the Chief Operations Officer, and two years later moved up to his current role as CEO.

As the leader of the business, Kofoed has organized and facilitated new and exciting programs that aid Assisting Hands Home Care owners to be more efficient in their franchise operations. His expertise – along with the expertise of co-founders Silverstein and Waddell – also attracts owners to the brand.

Most importantly, the industry itself is an attractive one. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over the next 20 years there will be 10,000 persons on average turning age 65 per day. Two-thirds of those people will need some type of long-term care in the future, and the majority of them will age at home. This makes the need for in-home senior care franchises significant – and it’s a need that will only continue to rise as Baby Boomers reach their senior years.

“It’s a great demographic, it’s a great service,” Kofoed says. “Our business model is very strong. A lot of people have been very successful in this business already, and we’re looking forward to a next 20 to 30 years of growth.”

Compassionate hearts

“The biggest quality we look for is compassion,” Kofoed says, explaining what the brand looks for in their new family members. “We know that most people can run this business if they have a compassionate heart.”

Once somebody has joined the Assisting Hands family, they are provided with a “pre-training checklist” that helps them get a good start on setting up their business and preparing for the upcoming challenges. When that’s complete, they come to Arizona, where they are trained for a week in how to run a successful franchise by co-founder Gail Silverstein herself.  “She wants to make sure everybody knows what she’s done to be very successful,” Kofoed says.

After that point, a new owner returns home to commence their business. Before long, the brand’s Director of Franchise Operations is sent to spend a few days with them to ensure their operations are running smoothly and care is being provided to the brands standards. From there, Assisting Hands offers ongoing training support in the form of marketing, advertising and promotional meetings and monthly owner meetings.

Pushing forward

Currently, Assisting Hands Home Care has 44 franchises. According to Kofoed, the plan is to grow that number by roughly a dozen a year. They could potentially grow faster, he says, but they want to make sure every franchise is successful and providing the highest level of care possible. “We’re pushing forward with growth at a nice steady pace, with a desire to see everybody succeed.”

As a young CEO, Kofoed is well positioned to lead the company into the next 20 years of growth and success. “The way that we’ll be successful is with every franchise succeeding. We have the potential to grow across the map of the entire United States, and then we’ll grow internationally as well.

“As we grow over the next 20, 30 and 40 years, we hope to always live up to our motto: Quality Home Care you Can Trust®.”