After nearly 16 years in the car business, Stephen Fusco decided it was time for a change. Years of working roughly 60 hours a week had left him wanting more time with his children and a different kind of career. Fusco found that opportunity with Right at Home, the in-home care franchise with more than 750 locations in the U.S. and internationally. Now preparing to open his business in Ohio, he is bringing his experience in sales and management to a service his own family has needed.

“I was looking at eight different franchises in total, and the level of support from Right at Home equaled the other seven combined,” Fusco said. “The support and the plan of action that they had for everything was head and shoulders above everything else that I looked at.”

Leaving the Car Business After Nearly 16 Years

Fusco never expected the car business to become a long-term career. After spending five years selling Red Bull, he entered car sales thinking he would do it for a year while figuring out what came next. Instead, he stayed for nearly 16 years, moving from the sales floor into management after about three years. Over time, Fusco said the dealership became larger and more corporate, and the work was no longer as fulfilling. The long hours also meant less time with his family.

“Before the car dealership, I had the first five months of my oldest daughter's life with her, and those were the best five months of my life,” he said. “And then I went right into working 60 hours a week for a decade and a half.”

In January, Fusco left the dealership with plans to take some time off, spend more time with his children and decide what he wanted to do next. A month later, Fusco saw a Facebook ad for a franchise expo in Cleveland and decided to attend. He went both days and began looking into franchise ownership.

Fusco had no previous experience in home care, but advice he heard during the franchise expo encouraged him not to limit himself to businesses he already knew. Instead, he began looking for a franchise where he could focus on running the business rather than providing the service himself.

“They have a plan for everything,” he said. “I haven't really needed to ask a lot of questions because everything's been so well laid out that it's made it relatively easy.”

Now, Fusco is finding more of the family time he was looking for when he left the car business. While opening a franchise has kept him busy, he no longer has the same schedule he had at the dealership.

“There’s still work and meetings every day, but by not being gone from the house 12 hours at a time, I was able to help my kids during the school year and keep homework on track,” he said.

A Personal Connection to Home Care

Fusco's interest in Right at Home also came at a time when his own family was dealing with home care. 

“My grandmother passed away about seven or eight weeks ago. We had to go through four different caregivers to find someone who was a good fit,” Fusco said. “Back in 2018, we went through the same situation with my mom’s mother. Having seen it twice and how tough it is, I thought this work would be a little more rewarding.”

Through those experiences, Fusco saw what could happen when caregivers did not receive enough training or communication from the office. He said some caregivers his family encountered seemed unsure of what they were supposed to do when they arrived. That is something he wants to address in his own business by putting an emphasis on caregiver training and communication.

“The goal is to have better training and be able to actually provide a good service for people,” he said, “helping give them a little more independence and a better quality of life.”

Right at Home Has Room to Grow in Ohio

Fusco joins an established Right at Home network in Ohio, where the brand currently has 22 territories. Right at Home is also targeting Canton and North Canton for additional franchise development, with room for one more territory in the market.

The Canton market includes 53,653 people age 65 and older, including 6,531 people over age 85. The average household income is $75,125, while average net worth is $385,866.

Right at Home provides in-home care and assistance to seniors and adults with disabilities through more than 750 franchise locations in the U.S. and five other countries. Demand continues to grow as roughly 3.8 million baby boomers reach age 65 each year, 70% of adults who reach 65 are expected to need long-term services and supports, and the U.S. is projected to need 4.2 million more home care workers.

No In-Home Care Experience Required

Entering in-home care meant moving into an industry Fusco had never worked in before. But his years in sales and management gave him experience working with people and running teams, while Right at Home provided the process for learning the business.

“For franchisees getting into ownership, start by taking great notes and keeping them all in one place,” Fusco said. “With Right at Home, they lay out the rest for you.”

If you're interested in taking the next step in making a difference in your community as a Right at Home franchisee, visit https://rightathomefranchise.com/.