Franchising with Right at Home opens a door to the highly regulated care industry for Jen Magdhachian
Published: 18 September 2020
Looking back on her first 18 months in business, Right at Home owner Jenny Madghachian recalls how the long hours she put in were driven by the thrill of building her own future. Reflecting on her rapid growth and the changes that were forced by the Covid-19 pandemic, she attributes her success to the support network around her, saying “There’s no way I would have done this without being part of a franchise.”
Jen Magdhachian’s drive to help others saw her career move from nursing to managing a large care agency. But she attributes her entrepreneurial spirit to her father and knew from a young age that she would one day run her own business.
“The more I researched, the more I came to like the concept of franchising,” she said. “You invest your own money, work hard, and get to profit financially from your success – basically it was exactly what I was looking for, I just hadn’t realised it was an option!”
“The first year I just found this energy and dedication to do whatever it took. Some days I was putting in 14-hour shifts, leaving the office at 8pm to meet with a prospective client at 8.30pm. It was exhausting yes, but it didn’t ever feel difficult or daunting because I loved every bit of it – the thrill, at long last, of building something for myself.”
Right at Home’s model, built upon the principle that quality drives growth, resonated with Jen’s moral code and she was reassured by the rigorous selection process for new franchisees.
“From the first contact I felt like everything just clicked. But far from feeling like anything was being handed to me on a plate, it was very clear that their franchise territories weren’t so much for sale, but rather they were awarded on a very exclusive basis.
“I looked at it from the perspective that if I got through, I’d be joining a group of seriously capable and impressive people – that was the kind of network I wanted to be part of.”
As she reflects back on the challenges and the thrills of her first 18 months in business, it’s clear that Jen hard work was underpinned by an absolute determination to succeed, backed by complete trust in her franchisor.
“There’s no way I would have done this without being part of a franchise – maybe in a different sector I might have flown solo, but not in care. It is so heavily regulated, and compliance can be so complicated. No matter how hard I worked at it, I couldn’t have a business that performs like mine, to the standards required, without being part of Right at Home.
“We grew really quickly, and I have to thank the support from National Office for much of that. I had a wonderful Business Support Manager, and as franchisees we all have access to COO Lucy Campbell, who to this day has never failed to find an answer or a solution to whatever I’m calling about – she really is incredible. And that’s without even mentioning Ken Deary (Founder & CEO Right at Home UK) whose knowledge and passion for this industry, care and franchising, I would say puts him in a league of his own.”
Jen is the first to admit that she’s been daunted by the challenges she’s faced as a business owner – none more so than the Coronavirus outbreak.
“I would never in a million years have survived this whole Covid and lockdown situation as a stand-alone independent business,” says Jenny. “So, whilst no franchisee enjoys having to share a percentage of the profits every month, my goodness, I know why I’m paying them and I appreciate what I get in return.”
Ken adds: “The Coronavirus outbreak was certainly a testing time for everyone, but I was really moved by the commitment that we saw, at every level across the network, to ensuring we could deliver our services safely and protect our Clients and our staff. The result of their dedication was that Network Sales actually increased, month-on-month, at a time when many businesses simply couldn’t operate.
“The resilience of our business model has been proven – first by the 2008-2013 recession and then again by a global health pandemic – and we can face the future feeling confident that there will always be a healthy demand for premium quality care and companionship.”
