How to Capitalize on the Booming Senior Industry Outside of In-Home Care

TruBlue Total House Care, the franchise that provides subscription-based home maintenance and handyman services for seniors and families, saw significant growth in 2021, doubling its revenue for the second straight year. That momentum continued early in 2022, keeping the brand on pace early to reach its year-end goal of opening 40 new locations for a total of 100 units in operation. With the senior population growing, the industry is also keeping pace. And while many concepts operate within in-home or medical care, TruBlue offers entrepreneurs the chance to invest in something far less complex: home maintenance.

“The real missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to helping seniors aging in place is keeping up with the home environment,” said Sean Fitzgerald, TruBlue’s President. “With TruBlue, we say aging in place starts at home. There are a lot of medical, in-home care agencies out there that help seniors, but very few options outside of traditional handyman businesses to keep up with their home maintenance. We’re virtually alone in this segment, and we’ve seen tremendous growth as a result. I don’t know if there is a better franchise opportunity out there right now with such high demand and so little competition.”

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, more seniors are choosing to age in place, preferring to stay in their familiar surroundings. According to the National Council on Aging, 90% of seniors say they plan to remain in their homes for the next 5–10 years. Second, as the senior population grows, the expense of senior and assisted living communities grows along with it. The cost of care is quickly becoming out of reach for many seniors, and staying in their homes becomes their only option.

TruBlue services help seniors remain at home by performing safety assessments before modifying the space accordingly. The modifications made to the home make a safer and more comfortable space for seniors, reducing the risk of falls and other health hazards. Whether that means changing a lightbulb, raking leaves or making large-scale adjustments to the home to ensure senior safety, TruBlue provides house care services that seniors and busy families can trust. 

“We are looking for ways to prevent falls, organize medications, whatever our clients need,” said Fitzgerald. “Also, we can keep up with the ongoing list of chores and maintenance. All of these services are less complex than medical, in-home care.”

For TruBlue franchisees, the brand’s differentiated consumer offering translates to a loyal and repeat customer base, as well as a robust pool of referrals. Because seniors require ongoing help around the house, maintenance is not simply a matter of installing a few key modifications and moving on to the next job. That’s where TruBlue’s recurring service offering, House Care Plus, provides a key differentiator from other brands in the home services industry. For TruBlue’s growing roster of franchise owners, House Care Plus offers a lucrative recurring revenue model, offering maintenance services and reminders about routine maintenance scheduled regularly throughout the year. 

Best of all, TruBlue franchisees can tap into this lucrative model with competitively low startup costs — ranging from $65,000 to $91,000 — and a simplified operational model, which requires no brick-and-mortar location. 

“The senior care industry is highly-regulated with medical care, so it requires more complex operations,” said Fitzgerald. “We also require less employees because we are not there eight hours a day, seven days a week. We need far fewer employees to generate that same revenue, which means higher margins. It is a simple business to operate and manage compared to others in the senior care industry. That is why many franchisees already in the senior care industry are moving to TruBlue. It is also a scalable concept, with relatively low overhead.”

And this simplicity also opens up the opportunity to more entrepreneurs. “I really believe everyone should look into the business because once you look at the metrics and lifestyle benefits, it is really exciting in terms of where we are going,” said Fitzgerald. “Plus, it is not a difficult business to run. It requires passion and determination, but you don’t need to know how to build a wheelchair ramp to run the company, making it one of the few entryways into the massive senior care industry that doesn’t require a medical background or specialized training.”

Now, as awareness around aging in place continues to increase and TruBlue makes waves in the industry, Fitzgerald says the brand is continuing to partner with other senior care companies across the country. And while TruBlue doesn’t offer in-home medical care, the brand does partner with other companies that do, acting as their preferred source when a client needs handyman work done around the house. 

“The national partnerships are key because we help keep seniors in their home longer and safer, which brings increased revenue for the companies we partner with,” Fitzgerald said. “Coming from the in-home senior care industry myself, I know that the wrong home environment can result in many lost clients. If the family can’t keep up with maintenance, they will move the senior to a nursing home, which results in lost revenue. Or, worse, if a senior fell and was hospitalized, that is also a lost client. The senior care companies we work with are motivated financially to work with a program like ours because we help them in every way.”

Fitzgerald says the TruBlue team aims to leverage this emerging national presence for major franchise expansion, especially as awareness around the importance of aging in place continues to increase. Since the start of 2022, TruBlue has added 10 new franchise locations, keeping the brand on pace to reach its goal of 100-plus locations by year’s end. With its handyman services, preventative maintenance and the growth of its senior-care offering, TruBlue shows no signs of slowing down.

“With this offering, entrepreneurs have a rare chance to capitalize on the booming senior industry without the complexity of in-home care,” said Fitzgerald. “We are looking for qualified, passionate and community-driven professionals to help us expand our footprint and establish ourselves as the leading provider of home maintenance services for seniors.”

TruBlue is actively seeking new franchise owners in markets across the country and has identified Orlando, Miami, Jacksonville and Naples, Florida, as well as Dallas and Austin, Texas, as key development markets.

The total investment estimate for a TruBlue Total House Care franchise ranges from $65,050–$91,400. To learn more about franchising with TruBlue, please visit https://trubluefranchise.com/.