Matt Ridenour’s journey into franchising began with a desire to find meaningful work in the senior care sector, motivated by his experience of caring for his own aging parents. After over 25 years in business as an investor and company leader, Ridenour saw an opportunity to bring his skills to an industry he felt passionate about, ultimately choosing to open a Seniors Helping Seniors® franchise in the Los Angeles area. With its support network and resources, franchising offered a practical way for him to quickly establish a strong foundation. Ridenour views the Seniors Helping Seniors® model as “kind of a jump-start,” explaining, “It provides you with all the tools, history and training to launch a business six months to a year ahead of when you could if you were figuring out these things on your own.”

While looking for someone with compassion and dedication to help manage the business, Ridenour was introduced to Kristen Vernon. “A mutual friend of Matt's told me about the franchise he was considering and asked if I might be interested in meeting him and discussing what it would be like to be involved in Seniors Helping Seniors®,” Vernon said. “It sounded promising to me, both on the business side and the ability to make a difference in the lives of seniors.”

The business is currently on track to open in December 2024 and will provide services to seniors in the Woodland Hills and Thousand Oaks neighborhoods of L.A. With Vernon running day-to-day operations as general manager, Ridenour hopes to grow their franchise and reach seniors across the San Fernando Valley. His goal is to add 50 clients within their first year, providing meaningful work for caregivers while offering the highest quality of in-home care to clients.

Ridenour and Vernon sat down with 1851 Franchise to talk about their franchising journey with Seniors Helping Seniors® and their plans for the future. Here’s what they had to say:

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

Matt Ridenour: I’ve been a business person for 25 years, working as an investor and running several different companies. Both Kristen and I have aging parents, and I started thinking about the need for something better and different than just finding a home for my parents to move into. I wanted to apply my business skills to that, so I started researching and found this franchise, which got me excited about the opportunity.

Kristen Vernon: I was an area supervisor for a major retailer over customer service; those were pretty wild hours and just kind of a grueling schedule. A mutual friend of Matt's told me about the franchise he was considering and asked if I might be interested in meeting him and discussing what it would be like to be involved in Seniors Helping Seniors®. It sounded promising to me, both on the business side and the ability to make a difference in the lives of seniors. So I reached out to Matt, and the rest is history. 

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?

Ridenour: I think my perception was similar to what it’s been. Franchising, to me, is kind of a jump-start. It provides you with all the tools, history, and training to launch a business six months to a year ahead of when you could if you were figuring out these things on your own. In addition, you’ve got a community and shared marketing resources. We’ve found that we have all these tools, and we’re trying to learn them as fast as we can. We have people to talk to and a support network, which is about what I expected.

Vernon: I didn’t come from a business background, so I didn’t really know much about franchises from a business perspective. For me, it was more the human interest. Like Matt said, my mom is 88 and aging in her home very successfully with help. Contrasting that with my grandmother, who had a very different experience, was what prompted me to get involved. Now that I’m in it, I am very thankful for all the support mechanisms in place. I really can’t imagine being able to do this without those and without Matt.

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

Ridenour: For me, there’s a coming retirement “tsunami” with the aging population. That’s one side of it, but I also see that many people are retiring and looking to give back, creating a great opportunity to find motivated individuals who want to do meaningful work. These factors make a great fit because you get someone who’s old enough to have shared life experiences, maybe has grandkids, and has been through similar situations as the person they’re working with, rather than someone who’s younger and distracted.

Vernon: I really see the value that seniors provide to society. Their life experience, wisdom and ability to empathize are invaluable. For me, being able to come alongside and offer partially retired individuals an opportunity to serve others and use their gifts to improve lives is one leg of the business. The other leg is those who want to maintain their dignity and age in place, who just need a little extra help. It’s truly a win, and it really does underscore the value of both the caregiver and the care receiver. Great relationships and connections can be formed there, with the opportunity for each of them to give back.

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

Ridenour: We’re so new to this that we don’t know exactly, but we think we can start adding clients in December and grow pretty rapidly from there. A goal of 50 clients within a year seems realistic, then grow from there and create a business that provides work for 50 or more part-time caregivers. It would also be a rewarding career for Kristen. We can then add additional people to support administration and reach a good work-life balance from there.

Vernon: I would love to see us really become a smooth-running operation from the west end of the San Fernando Valley reaching out to Thousand Oaks. Once that becomes a well-oiled machine, I wouldn’t be opposed to branching out, maybe to Santa Clarita or another nearby local territory. I would like to see that eventually.

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

Vernon: I’m a senior myself, so I keep reminding myself that I want to hire caregivers that I would hire to care for myself or my mom. I want to provide a level of care that underscores the value we place on them and the dignity they have. That would be my heart in a nutshell.

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

Ridenour: You have to be willing to invest to do it right. For example, we invested in a consultant to help with the license, and that was expensive, but we probably cut the time to get the license in half and learned a lot from that consultant about how this business works. So if you’re going to invest in a franchise, you just need to make sure you have the capital available to do it.

ABOUT SENIORS HELPING SENIORS®

Seniors Helping Seniors® franchise system was founded by husband-and-wife duo Kiran and Philip Yocom. Kiran, who grew up in India, later worked to advance humanitarian efforts alongside Mother Teresa. After Kiran moved to the U.S. in 1995 and married her husband Philip, the Yocoms felt called to provide loving care to seniors and to cultivate an exchange of gifts at every generational level. Together, the Yocoms founded Seniors Helping Seniors® in-home services in 1998, opening the brand up to franchising in 2006. With a mission to be the most respected and rewarding homecare provider in the U.S., Seniors Helping Seniors® locations stand apart from competitors as the only company that prioritizes hiring active seniors to provide care services to their less-active counterparts. Seniors Helping Seniors® service aligns caregivers and care recipients based on the abilities and needs of both by offering a wide range of care services. Seniors Helping Seniors® network has grown to 200-plus locations, 125 franchise partners in 30-plus states and international markets. For more information on Seniors Helping Seniors® in-home care, visit seniorshelpingseniors.com.