Nathan and Sommer Bradds did not discover Caring Transitions through a franchise expo, an online search or a business broker. They discovered the brand because their own family needed help.
When the couple turned to Caring Transitions to assist Nathan’s parents during a difficult life transition, they experienced firsthand what the brand could mean for a family. The combination of compassion, organization and practical support left such a strong impression that Nathan and Sommer eventually began considering a much bigger question: What if they were the ones providing that experience to other families?
Today, the husband-and-wife team operates Caring Transitions across Greater Dayton, Ohio, after acquiring two neighboring territories within a month of each other. In their first year, they grew the business by roughly 50%, doubled the staff and established relationships with senior living communities, real estate professionals and probate attorneys throughout the region.
But for Nathan and Sommer, the most meaningful measure of success remains the same thing that attracted them to Caring Transitions in the first place: the experience they can create for clients.
Before becoming franchise owners, Sommer built her career in school social work, while Nathan worked in finance. But the couple had long shared an entrepreneurial interest in building a business that could serve their community. Caring Transitions ultimately provided a way to bring all of those pieces together.
“We were actually customers with my in-laws of Caring Transitions and thought it was the most needed service there might be out there for the elderly population,” Sommer said. “We saw firsthand how needed these services are to all of our clients and their families, and when we realized we could combine both of our professional backgrounds to help people, we jumped at the opportunity.”
Rather than starting a new location from scratch, the Bradds entered the system through a resale. As they worked through the first acquisition, an opportunity emerged to purchase a neighboring territory as well.
“We bought two different territories that touch each other, and we did that within a month of each other,” Nathan said. “We were buying the first one and then the other owner that was selling it was interested in selling theirs, and it really made a lot of sense based on where it was located.”
That decision gave the couple a substantial footprint across Greater Dayton from the beginning, but it also meant taking responsibility for an existing team and ensuring they had the right people in the right roles.
“There was a learning curve,” Nathan said. “We bought a couple of existing franchises and were focused on retaining the right employees and putting them in the right spot. We’ve grown tremendously, about 50% growth in year one and we’ve doubled the staff.”
For Nathan and Sommer, entrepreneurship has also become a new chapter in a partnership that already spans nearly two decades of marriage.
Sommer spends roughly 90% of her workday in the field, while Nathan’s strengths in finance, operations and relationship building have helped drive the business forward. Working together has allowed each of them to see new sides of the other.
“My husband has really impressed me so much,” Sommer said. “He is a people person and he is good with people, but he is also a numbers guy. He should be the employee of the month every month. It’s been awesome to see that side of my partner that I didn’t expect.”
The reality of building a growing business while raising two teenage children, Bella and Max, has certainly kept the couple busy.
“We are working even harder than we anticipated, but it’s been way more fun than I anticipated,” Sommer said.
That sense of shared purpose extends well beyond Nathan and Sommer. Their operation has grown to more than 30 employees, many of whom the couple inherited when they purchased the existing business.
“We have over 30 employees, and when you look at their resumes, 70% of them have at least a bachelor’s or master’s degree, so they are in it for the long haul and they love this industry,” Sommer said. “They are just really good humans, and that has made things a lot easier.”
Nathan says the team's commitment is especially important because Caring Transitions often enters families’ lives during stressful, emotional periods.
“We are super fortunate to have a lot of great employees,” he said. “They don’t view this as a job. They take a lot of pride in how the job gets done. That is super helpful for us because we know [clients] are going to get treated the right way. That is really the best part: the satisfaction of the client.”
Caring Transitions provides a range of services designed to support older adults and their families, including downsizing, right-sizing, move management, estate sales and online auctions through the brand’s proprietary CTBIDS platform.
For the Bradds, that breadth of services has helped make their business a valuable resource for both families and professionals throughout the community.
“The reception has been great,” Nathan said. “We had some good branding when we came in and we’ve really grown that by getting some key relationships in the area. The service that we can provide in the community is such a needed thing that typically once people find out what we do, they are very interested and they typically come back to use us again.”
The couple has built relationships with senior living communities, real estate professionals and probate attorneys, creating a network of referral partners who encounter families needing Caring Transitions’ services.
“We have some senior living communities that we have become the primary referral partners on, and [real estate agents] and probate attorneys have become a huge part of revenue for us,” Nathan said.
CTBIDS has become another significant part of their operation. The online auction platform gives Caring Transitions franchisees a way to help clients liquidate household belongings while reaching a large audience of prospective buyers.
“CTBIDS has exploded in popularity,” Sommer said. “The growth is tremendous. They give us all the data and the algorithms to grow our own platform.”
The Bradds now conduct approximately 15 to 20 auctions per month and have established what Sommer describes as a strong presence locally and nationally.
Even after growing approximately 50% in their first year and expanding their team, Nathan and Sommer believe there is significantly more opportunity ahead. “We are really exceeding every goal we have set for ourselves, but there is so much more business to be had,” Sommer said. “We are really trying to stay within the confines of what we can handle.”
The Bradds want to continue growing, but not at the expense of the client experience that originally convinced them Caring Transitions was a business worth owning. “We have seen a tremendous amount of success and continued to grow,” Nathan said. “We are continuing to put people in positions that will help us expand.”
For Sommer, one of the most rewarding parts of the journey is looking back at where it began.
“What I’ve really enjoyed is that we are more than a couple of years out from the time we were introduced to Caring Transitions as clients,” she said. “We got into it because we were so blown away. We acquired a lot of those same employees. And I love that we are only doing an even better job than what we were originally blown away by as clients. I didn’t even realize that was possible.”
The strongest evidence of that success does not necessarily come from revenue growth or the number of auctions the business conducts. Sometimes, it is a former client calling the team long after a project has ended simply because they built a genuine relationship.
“We love helping others fall in love with their services and create an environment where they are calling weeks or months later just because they miss talking to us,” Sommer said.
For two people who first encountered Caring Transitions during a time when their own family needed support, creating that same feeling for families across Greater Dayton has brought their story full circle.
For more information about franchising with Caring Transitions, visit: https://1851franchise.com/caringtransitions.
Caring Transitions
SPONSORED
After experiencing Caring Transitions as clients, Nathan and Sommer Bradds became owners. Today, they are expanding across Greater Dayton with a compassionate team culture.
Nathan and Sommer Bradds did not discover Caring Transitions through a franchise expo, an online search or a business broker. They discovered the brand because their own family needed help.
When the couple turned to Caring Transitions to assist Nathan’s parents during a difficult life transition, they experienced firsthand what the brand could mean for a family. The combination of compassion, organization and practical support left such a strong impression that Nathan and Sommer eventually began considering a much bigger question: What if they were the ones providing that experience to other families?
Today, the husband-and-wife team operates Caring Transitions across Greater Dayton, Ohio, after acquiring two neighboring territories within a month of each other. In their first year, they grew the business by roughly 50%, doubled the staff and established relationships with senior living communities, real estate professionals and probate attorneys throughout the region.
But for Nathan and Sommer, the most meaningful measure of success remains the same thing that attracted them to Caring Transitions in the first place: the experience they can create for clients.
Before becoming franchise owners, Sommer built her career in school social work, while Nathan worked in finance. But the couple had long shared an entrepreneurial interest in building a business that could serve their community. Caring Transitions ultimately provided a way to bring all of those pieces together.
“We were actually customers with my in-laws of Caring Transitions and thought it was the most needed service there might be out there for the elderly population,” Sommer said. “We saw firsthand how needed these services are to all of our clients and their families, and when we realized we could combine both of our professional backgrounds to help people, we jumped at the opportunity.”
Rather than starting a new location from scratch, the Bradds entered the system through a resale. As they worked through the first acquisition, an opportunity emerged to purchase a neighboring territory as well.
“We bought two different territories that touch each other, and we did that within a month of each other,” Nathan said. “We were buying the first one and then the other owner that was selling it was interested in selling theirs, and it really made a lot of sense based on where it was located.”
That decision gave the couple a substantial footprint across Greater Dayton from the beginning, but it also meant taking responsibility for an existing team and ensuring they had the right people in the right roles.
“There was a learning curve,” Nathan said. “We bought a couple of existing franchises and were focused on retaining the right employees and putting them in the right spot. We’ve grown tremendously, about 50% growth in year one and we’ve doubled the staff.”
For Nathan and Sommer, entrepreneurship has also become a new chapter in a partnership that already spans nearly two decades of marriage.
Sommer spends roughly 90% of her workday in the field, while Nathan’s strengths in finance, operations and relationship building have helped drive the business forward. Working together has allowed each of them to see new sides of the other.
“My husband has really impressed me so much,” Sommer said. “He is a people person and he is good with people, but he is also a numbers guy. He should be the employee of the month every month. It’s been awesome to see that side of my partner that I didn’t expect.”
The reality of building a growing business while raising two teenage children, Bella and Max, has certainly kept the couple busy.
“We are working even harder than we anticipated, but it’s been way more fun than I anticipated,” Sommer said.
That sense of shared purpose extends well beyond Nathan and Sommer. Their operation has grown to more than 30 employees, many of whom the couple inherited when they purchased the existing business.
“We have over 30 employees, and when you look at their resumes, 70% of them have at least a bachelor’s or master’s degree, so they are in it for the long haul and they love this industry,” Sommer said. “They are just really good humans, and that has made things a lot easier.”
Nathan says the team's commitment is especially important because Caring Transitions often enters families’ lives during stressful, emotional periods.
“We are super fortunate to have a lot of great employees,” he said. “They don’t view this as a job. They take a lot of pride in how the job gets done. That is super helpful for us because we know [clients] are going to get treated the right way. That is really the best part: the satisfaction of the client.”
Caring Transitions provides a range of services designed to support older adults and their families, including downsizing, right-sizing, move management, estate sales and online auctions through the brand’s proprietary CTBIDS platform.
For the Bradds, that breadth of services has helped make their business a valuable resource for both families and professionals throughout the community.
“The reception has been great,” Nathan said. “We had some good branding when we came in and we’ve really grown that by getting some key relationships in the area. The service that we can provide in the community is such a needed thing that typically once people find out what we do, they are very interested and they typically come back to use us again.”
The couple has built relationships with senior living communities, real estate professionals and probate attorneys, creating a network of referral partners who encounter families needing Caring Transitions’ services.
“We have some senior living communities that we have become the primary referral partners on, and [real estate agents] and probate attorneys have become a huge part of revenue for us,” Nathan said.
CTBIDS has become another significant part of their operation. The online auction platform gives Caring Transitions franchisees a way to help clients liquidate household belongings while reaching a large audience of prospective buyers.
“CTBIDS has exploded in popularity,” Sommer said. “The growth is tremendous. They give us all the data and the algorithms to grow our own platform.”
The Bradds now conduct approximately 15 to 20 auctions per month and have established what Sommer describes as a strong presence locally and nationally.
Even after growing approximately 50% in their first year and expanding their team, Nathan and Sommer believe there is significantly more opportunity ahead. “We are really exceeding every goal we have set for ourselves, but there is so much more business to be had,” Sommer said. “We are really trying to stay within the confines of what we can handle.”
The Bradds want to continue growing, but not at the expense of the client experience that originally convinced them Caring Transitions was a business worth owning. “We have seen a tremendous amount of success and continued to grow,” Nathan said. “We are continuing to put people in positions that will help us expand.”
For Sommer, one of the most rewarding parts of the journey is looking back at where it began.
“What I’ve really enjoyed is that we are more than a couple of years out from the time we were introduced to Caring Transitions as clients,” she said. “We got into it because we were so blown away. We acquired a lot of those same employees. And I love that we are only doing an even better job than what we were originally blown away by as clients. I didn’t even realize that was possible.”
The strongest evidence of that success does not necessarily come from revenue growth or the number of auctions the business conducts. Sometimes, it is a former client calling the team long after a project has ended simply because they built a genuine relationship.
“We love helping others fall in love with their services and create an environment where they are calling weeks or months later just because they miss talking to us,” Sommer said.
For two people who first encountered Caring Transitions during a time when their own family needed support, creating that same feeling for families across Greater Dayton has brought their story full circle.
For more information about franchising with Caring Transitions, visit: https://1851franchise.com/caringtransitions.
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