What Owning a Visiting Angels Franchise Means to Me
At Visiting Angels®, we’re proud to have a franchise family full of wonderful, compassionate individuals who love the work they do. Each of our franchisees has taken the path of franchise ownership for different reasons. Some always dreamed of owning their own business and saw a Visiting Angels franchise as a pathway to financial independence and a rewarding career. Others came to understand the impact of home care through personal experience and wanted to have the opportunity to give back to their own community in a positive way.
No matter how they became members of the Visiting Angels family, our franchisees all agree: Visiting Angels has changed their lives for the better. We are so honored to work with people each and every day who share our vision of compassionate home care and take pride in helping seniors and their family members live life to the fullest.
How Our Franchisees Feel About Owning a Visiting Angels Franchise
For many of our franchisees, owning a Visiting Angels franchise is about so much more than business ownership. In addition to having the freedom and autonomy that only business owners enjoy, these individuals have a chance to make a difference in the lives of their community members.
Amy Ahrens, of Visiting Angels Longmont, CO, explains how running a Visiting Angels franchise allows her to positively influence not only seniors in her area, but also her staff members. “The biggest impact has been the opportunity to give back to our community, to the seniors, and to the caregivers, because it helps them earn a living doing something that they really enjoy, that’s really valuable to them. It’s an experience that not everyone gets, to be able to give back in that way.”
Les DeFelice, who operates Visiting Angels care agencies in Charleston, Morgantown, and Wheeling, WV, as well as Pittsburgh, PA, elaborates on the influence of his business. “The impact of owning a home care business on me personally is that it's the first time in my life, over the last seven years, where we can overserve clients, get paid a fair rate, and have some of the best compensation in the country for office staff.”
For some Visiting Angels owners, operating a care agency has been a crucial and impactful part of their lives. Connie Hill-Johnson, an owner in Cleveland, said this moment came when her mother was in need of home care. “I had the privilege of serving my own mom. At the appropriate time, we had to start small with some aides. And eventually it ended up being aides around the clock with my mother, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Seeing what a huge difference caregivers could make in the life of her own family gave Connie unique insight into the impact her business was having on her community as well.
Becoming a Franchisee with Visiting Angels
Our franchisees come from all walks of life. Some have a knack for business and understand the huge potential of running a care agency. As Les DeFelice describes it, “Change happens daily. I foresee the next 20, 30 years as being extremely strong with the demand for the services and an increasing pool of people who really want to have meaningful careers after they’ve retired or after their spouses have retired.”
He compares this to other businesses “that are being automated, they’re being legislated and regulated out of existence.” If one thing is certain, it’s that operating a home care agency is a sure way to continue helping others for years to come.
The story of Will Bruck, a Visiting Angels owner in Monroe and Adrian, MI, is an excellent example of a franchisee who made a total career change and was still able to run a successful home care agency.
“I went from being a blue collar worker, an electrician, to doing this. If you can go from being a construction worker and an electrician, an army veteran, to running a home care company and being very successful, then I think anyone can do it.”
If you’re an entrepreneur looking for an opportunity to do incredibly fulfilling work while operating a successful business, consider purchasing a Visiting Angels franchise.