Franchisee Stories
Mike Steiner grew his senior care franchise into a family-driven business, inspiring his son’s career while delivering legacy and purpose to fellow veterans.
In America, family-run businesses are responsible for more than half of the United States gross domestic product, encompassing more than 83 million jobs.
For many, franchising quickly becomes a family affair. While a proven system is something that franchisees can place their trust in, so too are those closest to them, with family members further helping to build a business experience predicated upon values, trust and camaraderie.
Navy veteran Mike Steiner has run a Right at Home* franchise in the Chicago suburb of Grayslake for more than a decade, serving portions of Lake and McHenry counties — as well as fellow veterans. The business has also provided a significant opportunity to grow his personal and professional relationship with his son, Zac.
“My son, who graduated college during COVID, was managing HR. But he got so into Right at Home, that he went and got his CNA certificate,” Mike said. “He's still doing some part-time work with us, but he's also branching out on his own.”
Right at Home delivers in-home companionship alongside personal care services for seniors and adults with disabilities in a franchised system that now spans more than 750 locations in the United States.
For Mike, the familial concept manifests itself in ways through his Right at Home business that go beyond working with his son. Working closely with his local VA, Mike extends the family feel to fellow veterans, helping them understand the benefits available to them, often hiring and working alongside other veterans as well.
Veterans tout experience in areas like team management with a heightened ability to embrace both systems and risk, concepts which can aid entrepreneurial ambitions.
For many, franchising also comes to double as a calling following work experiences elsewhere.
While it is a business, a franchise opportunity like Right at Home carries the built-in ability to make a palpable difference on lives at the local level, with the community impact on full display each work day.
Despite his experience in HR, working with his dad at Right at Home helped Zac find his true calling while having a profound impact on Mike’s daily work experience.
“One day he told me, ‘Dad, I want to go back to school and become a nurse. I don't want to necessarily run the business.’ So he went to school, got his nursing degree and he's a registered nurse now. I'm so proud of him,” Mike said. “It's fantastic. I love that he’s not a yes-man. He speaks his mind.”
The ideas of open communication, impartial opinion, honesty and mutual respect have helped the Steiners thrive within the Right at Home franchise model for almost 13 years, melding the ideas of business acumen and personal mission as Mike continues to grow his business.
For Mike, part of the appeal of pivoting to ownership with Right at Home is that it brings things full circle, cementing the family bond through franchising while delivering needed services to veterans and seniors within his suburban community.
“My father was a physician — and here we are getting into the health care world,” Mike said. “He's looking down, smiling at our Right at Home business.”
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