Pittsburgh Market is Ripe with Opportunity for Senior Helpers, and There Are Successful Pennsylvania Franchisees to Prove It

Pennsylvania is a mature, established market for the Senior Helpers brand, which is why the in-home senior care company wants to specifically expand within the Pittsburgh market.

The brand currently has six available territories in the Pittsburgh market, and there are more than 300,000 senior citizens within those territories, Senior Helpers Vice President of Franchise Development Rob Cantrell said. He noted the relative lack of competition in Pittsburgh.

“We have 10 owners managing 16 territories in Pennsylvania, plus we have two owners just east of Pittsburgh in Greensburg,” Cantrell said. “No one competitor has a dominant market share in Pittsburgh, so there’s plenty of room there.”

Prospective franchisees looking to join the Senior Helpers brand in Pittsburgh can rest assured that the brand enjoys name recognition. Not only does the brand have a presence in nearby Greensburg and New Kensington, but Pennsylvania includes some of the brand’s most seasoned franchisees.

“Our territories are very large compared to national competitors,” Cantrell said. “When you get a Senior Helpers territory, you have excellent opportunities for success based on the current and growing population of seniors. Our number one franchise owner is in eastern Pennsylvania. Out of 300 locations, that owner has six territories. They’re our largest revenue producer and most of our owners in Pennsylvania have been with the brand for over 10 years. There’s a mature market for Senior Helpers in Pennsylvania, so it made sense for our brand to continue to migrate west.”

To stay competitive, Senior Helpers has developed several programs and services that allow the brand to serve in different areas of senior care.

“We’re one of the leaders in Alzheimer’s and dementia care,” Cantrell said. “We’re one of the only senior care companies with a designated Parkinson’s program.”

The brand also offers certain incentives to both veteran seniors and veteran franchisees.

“We are part of the VetFran program and offer a discount for veterans,” Cantrell said. “We also offer a senior veterans care program.”

Tom and Carol Trent were among the brand’s first franchisees. They opened their Greensburg, Pennsylvania franchise in January of 2006.

“They really allow you the freedom to do what you want to do in your market,” Carol said of Senior Helpers.

One way in which the Trents have been able to customize their franchise to fit their market’s needs is by providing the Senior Helpers’ proprietary program, Senior Gems. Senior Gems is a tiered program in which the brand celebrates seniors’ capabilities in an industry that often focuses on their challenges.

“There is a great need in our community for Alzheimer’s and dementia care, so we’ve been able to take that unique Senior Gems program and grow our client base,” Carol said.

The Trents enjoy how Senior Helpers allows them to partner with families to care for aging seniors, and they’ve never had a problem getting clients for their franchise thanks to the marketplace.

“We are in an area that has a large senior population, so there is a huge need for anything related to senior care,” Tom said. “Plus, I think in our area, a lot of extended family members have moved out. Pittsburgh is a place where kids leave and don’t come back. They take jobs across the country and their elderly relatives still live here because they have a strong connection to their local communities. Since their family support structure moves very far away, those seniors benefit from using a service like us.”

The Trents noted that opening a Senior Helpers franchise requires a serious commitment. Carol, for one, has a “circuit” of senior centers and independent living apartment complexes that she visits on a monthly basis to give talks to residents. The Trents and their center have received major recognition within the Greensburg community.

“We have had really consistent growth over the years,” Tom said. “2018 was our most successful year. We were also recognized by our local Chamber of Commerce as the Business of the Year, which was a fairly big deal because it was in the category for large businesses. e were up against big employers, yet we were recognized for what we do.”

Between Pittsburgh’s large aging population, plus an established and respected presence within Pennsylvania in general, Senior Helpers certainly offers prospective franchisees a great deal of opportunity.

The startup costs for a Senior Helpers franchise range from $103,300 to $142,300. The franchise fee is $49,500. To learn more about franchising with Senior Helpers, visit https://www.seniorhelpersfranchise.com/.