Business View - February 2015 87
ling said, and is further based upon a model intended
to emphasize the relationship between the agency, the
care-giver and the care-recipient.
“We like to find care-givers that have experience work-
ing in the industry,” he said. “A part of our system is
that we introduce care-givers to the families, and, in
a sense, the families select the care-giver for use with
their loved ones. That is a predominant part of our sys-
tem.”
That relationship, then, becomes a main differentiator
from competitors.
The average client engagement is 2½ years, which
Ritterling said exceeds the industry average and has
helped the company position itself and its care-givers
to potential clients as very vital parts of the aging
process, enabling seniors to keep living in their own
homes for a longer period of time.
And beyond all that, a little extra exposure doesn’t hurt
either.
“We are the only home-care company that is on na-
tional television every single day of the year and on
radio stations across the country,” he said. “We have
an ad cooperative fee that our franchisees pay, and as
a result of that we’re able to develop a treasure chest
that is focused purely on advertising our services na-
tionwide.”
The franchise has become a mainstay on annual lists
composed by Entrepreneur magazine, including five
consecutive top 100 appearances on the Franchise
500 list, two appearances – in 2012 and 2013 – on
the magazine’s list of fastest-growing franchises and
four appearances among the collection deemed as
FRANCHISE
