Mary Lindewirth discusses the rewards of Touching Hearts at Home franchise ownership
Like so many great businesses in history, Mary Lindewirth got her start through a partnership with a dear friend. After a battle with colon cancer, Mary’s friend Lorraine was looking for a new career. Mary’s marketing background paired perfectly with Lorraine’s experience in operations management — all they needed was the right business to engage their skills. After lots of research, the two chose Touching Hearts at Home, opening their franchise in 2013.
“Our personal experiences with medical crisis made us realize just how life-changing and vital non-medical home care is,” Mary says. “Touching Hearts at Home really is your own business. Aside from reporting to state regulators, we’re completely in control, and I can’t overstate how empowering that freedom is. Add to that the knowledge that this business is meeting a great need and providing great relief to both clients and their families, and I can’t think of anything else I’d rather be doing.”
Connecting with future caregivers
Mary and Lorraine’s franchise is in North Central New Jersey, serving a large territory has helped them reach profitability quickly. Having a large number of potential clients meant the business could grow quickly.
“Within six months of opening our franchise, we broke even,” Mary says. “Within a year, we were profitable, and we didn’t struggle at all financially. Whenever we did have a question or a bump in the road, President and CEO Renae Peterson was right there to help us out. She really is that nice.”
When asked what advice she had for succeeding as a Touching Hearts at Home franchisee, Mary said building relationships with the right people is key. “So much of our success has come from connecting with current and future professional caregivers. One of our first hires knew a lot of nurses, and through them we’ve gotten referrals to nonprofits and families. Over three years into the business, we’re still getting referrals because of this one relationship that we built in the beginning.”
Surprisingly quick growth
Mary says that throughout her time as a Touching Hearts at Home franchisee, she’s always been able to count on the company to help her succeed. “The company has been a huge asset to us in the marketing support they provide. Their support has been invaluable to making our franchise more profitable and less stressful to run.”
Looking to the future, Mary says she plans to continue growing. “We want to scale our franchise, but not at the expense of the quality and attention to detail we provide. We’re very deliberate with every caregiver we hire. We make sure they have both the skills and personality to delight our clients. That being said, we’ve grown quicker than I thought, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”
Touching Hearts at Home franchise provides opportunities for entrepreneurs of diverse professional backgrounds
Mary and Lorraine’s story goes to show you don’t have to come from a home care background to succeed as a Touching Hearts at Home franchisee. Mary says those with a human resources background, for instance, would make great Touching Hearts at Home franchisees due to their ability to make astute hiring judgments. At the end of the day, anyone with a passion for other-oriented service and a commitment to making people’s lives better is an ideal Touching Hearts at Home franchisee candidate.
“We love the diverse backgrounds of our franchisees,” Renae says. “Having people with such a wide range of gifts makes us a more dynamic, effective company. That translates to better service for our clients. What matters more than anything is that you embrace our supportive culture, based upon service, integrity and compassion. We can teach you the rest.”
Touching Hearts is the brand that allows for winning partnerships like Mary and Lorraine’s.
Now is the time to join the Touching Hearts at Home family
Since 2007, Touching Hearts at Home has provided affordable service options such as transportation, meal planning and preparation, light housekeeping, companionship and more. We can be there when family or friends can’t. With the number of seniors forecast to grow to 72 million by the year 2030, the need for senior care is only expanding. Now is the time to join franchisees like Mary Lindewirth, helping make a difference in this booming industry.
We are seeking caring individuals to become franchise owners. Request a copy of our Franchise Information Report or visit our research pages to learn more.
