After more than a decade in the rare disease space, Susie Ginsburg , who holds a Master of Social Work (MSW), knew she wanted her next chapter to look different. She spent years helping patients work through the challenges of complex health systems, but the pace and pressure of corporate America began to wear on her. Discovering Seniors Helping Seniors® gave her a chance to bring together her professional experience and her personal drive to serve others, while also making room for more time with her family.

“I’ve always known I wanted to help people navigate the system,” Ginsburg said. “Work was becoming increasingly challenging, and that gave me the confidence to pursue something different. And here I am.” For Susie, franchising wasn’t about building a large business empire. It was about finding a path that would let her continue her lifelong commitment to service while being present for her two young children.

Ginsburg says what excites her most about the brand is its heart. “I don’t want to be part of a franchise that’s just in it to make money or just to grow,” she said. “That is not why I’m here. I could do a lot of things to make money. I want to help people.” By opening her Seniors Helping Seniors® location in Burlington, Massachusetts, she hopes to provide peace of mind for families and a lifeline for seniors who need compassionate care.

1851 Franchise sat down with Ginsburg to talk about her pharmaceutical and health care background, her franchising journey with Seniors Helping Seniors® and her plans for the future. Here’s what she had to say:

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What do you want us to know?

Susie Ginsburg : My background is social work. I have been in the business of helping people my whole life. I had some medical challenges as a child and some challenges with the health care system. I always knew I wanted to help people navigate the system.

I got into health care advocacy and did health care social work for a while. I participated in an internship in case management and wound up in pharma. My last job before this was as a manager in the rare disease space at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. I was there for 10 years and managed a team of 10 patient support managers who supported people with a rare disease called hereditary angioedema. I loved it.

But corporate America got to me and I needed to get out of that space. I was approached by someone from The Entrepreneur’s Source and found Seniors Helping Seniors®. Being a business owner was not even on my radar, but I started learning about it and fell in love with the concept. Over the course of five or six months, it just grew on me. I did an internship in the philanthropy department, and it gave me the confidence to realize I could do something different. And here I am.

1851: How did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Ginsburg : Nobody’s ever 100 percent sure of anything, but I decided it was worth the chance because it seemed like such an amazing cause. Seniors Helping Seniors® is such an amazing concept that brings so much peace to so many seniors.

My dad is 86, and I’m so lucky. I lost my mom 15 years ago to cancer, but my dad is fully independent. He lives in New York City. He was a professor at Columbia and just retired three years ago. He still walks to Columbia and goes swimming at the pool. He got remarried, so he’s not alone. 

He takes amazing care of himself, but not everyone has that. I felt like what a gift it is to give seniors who need help and caregivers who need income a way to support each other. I could be part of that while also being present for my own kids. I have a 4-and-a-half-year-old and an 8-year-old, and I don’t want to miss their childhood.

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

Ginsburg : The person I worked with at The Entrepreneur’s Source helped me see that Seniors Helping Seniors® is different from a lot of franchises in that it provides a lot of support to new franchisees, which I’ve certainly felt and seen. Even when I talk to people, they say, “You’re with Seniors Helping Seniors®, that’s a nice franchise.”

The people at Seniors Helping Seniors® are always kind, and I don’t want to be part of a franchise that’s just in it to make money or to grow. That’s not why I’m here. I could do a lot of things to make money. I have skills and a master’s degree, but I want to help people. I felt like this franchise is geared toward that, and that’s why I picked it.

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

Ginsburg : I have two territories, and that’s where I will stay for now. I would like to help a lot of people in these two territories. I want to service as many people as possible.

As I’ve been talking to people in the community, everyone says there’s so much need for this. They say, “I know this person and that person.” I want to make sure I’m reaching the right people and making services accessible. I want to be there when somebody has that need, both for people who want to work and people who need the services.

I’m not interested in growing a huge empire. I just want to make sure everyone knows how to find us.

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

Ginsburg : I’m not in a position to give a lot of advice, but I think it’s really important to build a solid foundation. I’ve worked hard to make sure all of my foundations are secure before opening.

Rather than rushing to the finish line of opening, I’ve spent a lot of time making sure my policies and procedures are solid, my handbooks are ready, and that once people come through the door as either a client or an employee, everything is in place.

Taking more time on the front end is a really good idea.

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 moving to the U.S. in 1995 and marrying 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 home care 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 400 territories nationwide and over 200 franchise partners in 37 states. For more information on Seniors Helping Seniors® in-home care, visit https://seniorshelpingseniors.com/.