Get Rich in 2007

By: Jessica Miller - Staff Writer for RedHotFranchises.com

 

Article reposted with permission from Synergy Home Care

Hourly, daily, weekly and 24/7 service is available 365 days per year to clients that include seniors; individuals afflicted with Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other mobility-affecting disease; individuals convalescing from strokes, injuries and surgeries; disabled children and adults; and individuals undergoing chemotherapy or battling other diseases that sap their strength.

Services are divided into three categories:
Daily Living Companions—They provide independent clients social accompaniment, companionship and mental stimulation through such activities as playing games, going for walks or working on crafts. Companions also provide assistance with such things as letter writing, morning and bedtime preparation, help with reading, organizing mail and much more.

Homemakers—Homemakers provide all the same services as a daily living companion plus such things as meal preparation and clean-up, light housekeeping, laundry washing and ironing, grocery shopping and errand services.

Personal Care Assistants—In addition to providing all the services of a Daily Living Companion and Homemaker, Personal Care Assistants also render limited physical assistance to clients who are minimally dependent for their personal care. Services include help with wheelchairs, walkers and canes; feeding assistance; transferring to and from bed or shower; toilet use; hair combing and setting; dressing and undressing; accompaniment on doctor visits; hospital pick-up and more.

Synergy HomeCare serves both private and clients from a variety of city, state and county agencies. Potential caregivers must pass an extensive background check that includes thorough checks for felonies, incarcerations, driving violations. Caregivers must be state-certified in first aid and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and undergo an extensive health screening that includes Tuberculosis.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the home health care industry is expected to increase by more than 55 percent between 2002 and 2012, fueled by the aging of the nation’s 76 million baby boomers. The centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services say spending for home health care will surpass $90 billion by 2014.

Unlike other home care providers, Synergy HomeCare does not limit its services to seniors. Anyone needing help with routine daily tasks in order to stay at home could benefit from Synergy HomeCare services. This includes working adults who are injured on the job, working parents who need help caring for a disabled child, expectant mothers, individuals requiring post-hospitalization assistance, those recovering from sports injuries and more.

Synergy HomeCare founder Peter Tourian began his post-college career in law enforcement, working primarily as a jail officer within the Maricopa County (Arizona) Sheriff’s Office. Tourian returned to Arizona State University where he received a bachelor’s degree in human resources with an emphasis on small business and entrepreneurship.

In 1999, Tourian founded Synergy Staffing, Inc., which provided healthcare staffing for permanent and contract positions both in Arizona and nationwide.

During routine visits to nursing homes, Tourian became dismayed with the lack of dignity and respect shown patients and sought a way to ensure that they were treated with the respect and compassion they deserve.

Tourian founded Synergy HomeCare in Mesa, Arizona in 2002 to provide high-quality, non-medical home care services to not only seniors but also anyone who needed assistance at home. The company experienced rapid growth and Synergy HomeCare quickly became one of the largest home care providers in Arizona. Franchising began in 2005.

Synergy HomeCare expects to sell up to 300 U.S. franchises within the next five years. A small core of regional developers—who recruit, develop and support franchisees in their designated territories—is expected to spur aggressive growth and market penetration in seven states including Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas.

Synergy HomeCare has several targets areas for growth as it expands to 300 franchises nationally. International growth through master franchises is being pursued in Canada and Japan and is also being considered throughout Europe, the Middle East and Australia.

Synergy HomeCare currently has offices  Mesa, Phoenix, Sun City, & Tucson, Arizona; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Sacramento, CA, Denver, CO, Kansas City, KS, Schrewsbury, NJ, Raleigh, NC, Dayton, OH, Sioux City, South Dakota; Austin, Conroe, Woodlands, and Houston, Texas; Arlington, VA,  Bellevue & Yakima Washington with more new markets to open during 2007.

The estimated initial investment ranges between $42,240 and $99,540 including a $35,000 franchise fee. The franchisee fee is reduces to $30,000 for each additional territory. Franchisees pay five percent royalty on monthly gross revenue, along with a two percent monthly contribution to a marketing fund. Exclusive territories are based on a population of 217,000 (based on zip-code boundaries) and are among the largest in the industry.