After 13 Years of Serving Salt Lake County, This Utah-Based Right at Home Franchisee Is Expanding

Frank Barton's journey with Right at Home* began in 2011, after he left a corporate job where he had spent over a dozen years traveling extensively. He wanted to open a business that would allow him to serve his community while remaining local.

At the time, his mother was suffering from Alzheimer's, having been diagnosed a few years earlier. During his mother's last appointment with a research neurologist, the doctor emphasized the importance of in-home care and even mentioned it would be a great business to get into due to high demand. This coincided with Barton's discussions with a franchise consultant about potential business opportunities, leading him to explore senior care.

Barton found that Right at Home was a good fit for him, both personally and professionally. He thought that his experience would enable him to connect well with the families he would support, which has proven true over the years. He frequently relates his own family's experiences to those of the families he supports, fostering a deep understanding and empathy in his work.

His mother passed away ten years ago in September from Alzheimer's, but Barton continues to honor her memory through his work at Right at Home. Over the last decade, he has maintained a meaningful connection to his personal caregiving experience and the broader community he serves in Salt Lake County. Now, he hopes to extend that same experience to the people of Davis County. 

1851 Franchise spoke to Barton about his franchising journey with Right at Home and his plans for the future. 

FEATURE QUESTIONS

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Frank Barton: I got into Right at Home in 2011. I had left a corporate job that I had worked with for over a dozen years where I traveled a lot. I  lived in Canada, California, Utah, and was looking to have a business where I could impact my local community and stay local. 

My mom had Alzheimer's at the time — she had been diagnosed a couple of years before — so we were on a caregiving journey for her. I actually went to an appointment with her — it was her last appointment with a research neurologist — and he was actually kicking her off of the research because of her decline. She had declined so much that he couldn't do research anymore on her Alzheimer's. And during that visit, this neurologist made mention of how important in-home care was and he also said something like, “You know, that would be such a good business to go into because so many people need it.” 

At the same time of that appointment, I had been talking to a franchise consultant about different opportunities to go into and have my own business. And so it seemed the more I looked into it — the more I looked into senior care — it seemed to be a good fit. And at the time, I thought that it would be helpful for me and my support of my own mom. I also thought that I would always have a good connection with the families I would potentially be supporting in the senior care industry — and that has been proven true. I still can relate quite well to many families. I still, at times, see myself, my own family and the families we support. 

My mom passed away 10 years ago this September from Alzheimer's, but I still get to think of her and honor her on a regular basis through the work we do and through the families we support, and have now supported for over a dozen years. 

1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?

Barton: I thought of franchising more along the lines of McDonald's and those sorts of businesses. I also knew there were some brands like IKEA in the franchise system, but I think it cost millions of dollars to open up an IKEA franchise. Without my franchise consultant, I probably wouldn't have moved very far forward because I really had no desire to be involved in the food industry. 

1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?

Barton: A big part of why I chose Right at Home was because, when I was doing my validation calls and interacting with anyone at corporate, they all seemed knowledgeable about what they were doing. Some people you talk to who are selling franchises give you answers that are obviously probably not very realistic. 

When I talked to Right at Home, their corporate team was pretty reasonable. They told me there's great potential, but there's also a lot of hard work, so I always thought they were fairly well grounded and realistic. But then, especially as I did my validation calls, I really felt good connections and often had a similar background to a lot of the owners that I talked to. So that was partly what really made me choose Right at Home over one or two other senior care franchises. Everyone ultimately made me feel comfortable that, not only was it a fairly well run system, but also within the system itself, my fellow owners would be people I would get along with and I would work well. 

1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth? 

Barton: We're looking to support those in the Davis County area. We've been supporting Salt Lake County now for over a dozen years, so we're looking to provide that same support into Davis County. We've had many requests over the years and haven't been able to support people in Davis County, also including our veteran community. We've been serving veterans now for the last few years in Salt Lake and we know there's a lot of veterans in Davis County, including an Air Force base, so we're also looking forward to supporting veterans throughout that county just like we have the last couple of years in Salt Lake. 

1851: What is the one thing about your story you want us to know?

Barton: I got into it because of my mom and providing care to families in a way that I would want my own family to be taken care of. Also, having done this for more than a dozen years, we work very hard to take care of our clients and we very much focus on taking care of our caregivers. If we take care of our caregivers, our belief is that we'll be able to take care of our clients and fully support our families in a way they want to be supported. 

Everything we do is customized, and it isn't standardized. We provide customized care to families in Utah, with large families being particularly important to us because they still want to be involved. We can work around their customized situations. Also, with large families, there is constant change, such as having children and grandchildren helping or not helping, moving into the basement, etc., over time. As an agency, we are very well-equipped to adapt to their changing needs and the abilities of the family to support them. We pride ourselves on being able to adapt and help them through their good and bad times as they get older. 

Like I said earlier, we now focus much more on our caregivers. We have a 401(k) plan, PTO and mental health benefits these days to support our caregivers because if we support them, they will be able to take care of our clients.

1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming a franchise owner?

Barton: Make sure you’re willing to work hard and get your hands dirty. My other advice is, when you do your validation calls and talk to other owners, remember that you are typically going to be talking to the successful owners. The people that weren't successful aren't doing it anymore. They're gone and they'll have lots of complaints, so keep in mind that when conducting validation calls, you're speaking with successful individuals. There's a purpose behind the franchise setup, which often involves financial considerations and the necessity for a local presence. You need a local person to take responsibility and accountability for everything. That's why it's set up as a franchise rather than a standard corporate system. This local person is responsible for everything in their market, under their roof and in their area.

ABOUT RIGHT AT HOME:

Founded in 1995, Right at Home offers in-home care to seniors and adults with disabilities who want to live independently. Most Right at Home offices are independently owned and operated and directly employ and supervise all caregiving staff. Each caregiver is thoroughly screened, trained, and bonded/insured before entering a client’s home. Right at Home’s global office is based in Omaha, Nebraska, with more than 700 franchise locations in the U.S. and five other countries. For more information about Right at Home, visit https://www.rightathome.net/ or read the Right at Home blog at https://www.rightathome.net/blog/.