Hospice Volunteer Continues to Serve Seniors as a Right at Home Franchise Owner

Finding success in business is one thing, but finding a business with a greater purpose and meaning is something else entirely. After founding and exiting a successful telecommunications company, Adam Reeback understands this and feels that he has found it in his new venture with Right at Home*, the in-home care franchise with over 700 territories nationwide.

Following a long career in the telecommunications industry, which included growing and selling his ownership stake of a company he helped build, Reeback spent the last few years volunteering at a hospice company and serving as the president of his neighborhood’s homeowners association. In both of these roles, he was often helping the seniors in his community. All the while, Reeback was in search of his next business venture, and in Right at Home, he found an opportunity that perfectly suited his needs.

“I was looking for a business that I felt had a soul and that I could jump into and feel good about, but also one that would give me the opportunity to build stability for my future,” he said.

The brand came highly recommended by a good friend, Right at Home franchisee Andy Cohen, who has been suggesting the brand to Reeback for quite some time. Along with business partner Jack Pochardt, Reeback is excited to start serving his community in northern Scottsdale in late January of 2024. 

1851 Franchise spoke with Reeback about his journey into franchising with Right at Home and his plans for the future. 

PROFILE QUESTIONS

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

Reeback: I was in telecommunications for 22 years, starting with my first job out of college and later, I helped build a telecom business with two partners. After building the company from two employees to 130, I sold most of my stake to them in 2018.

Since then, I became a hospice volunteer because I wanted to help build a sense of community. I've been doing that for almost four years now, and I also began teaching chess to elementary school kids after school.

I also became the president of the homeowners association here in my neighborhood, and in doing so, I realized how nice it felt to be helping some of the older folks around here who live in my condo complex. This, in combination with my experience with the hospice patients that I had been seeing for several years, gave me a better understanding of senior care. Additionally, I have a good friend named Andy Cohen, who bought two territories with Right at Home, so he kept encouraging me to consider it. I was looking for a business that I felt had a soul and that I could jump into and feel good about, but also one that would give me the opportunity to build for the future. For all of those reasons, I chose Right at Home.

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?

Reeback: Previously, I had a generally negative opinion of franchising. That was shaped in part from the opinion of my business consultant Bill, who always told me that franchising was a one-way street. However, after talking to several Right at Home owners and the company itself, I have gotten the feeling that they really do give a lot of guidance and support, and it's not a one-way street.

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

Reeback: I'm most excited about being an owner. I am also really looking forward to interacting with and helping people.

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

Reeback: I hope to be cash flow positive within the first six months. Other than that, I want to maintain employees and have a high retention of caregivers and clients. I think that's the number one metric that will help me run a good business.

I don’t currently have plans for expansion, because if I'm running a good, clean, tight business, I might just be happy to stick with what I have, and not try to over complicate my life, because I really appreciate the value of free time.

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

Reeback: Everything good that becomes available to you in life or that you create in life stems from your internal fire or energy, and feeling of excellence and goodwill. If you don't have that, you don't have anything. You have to start with a good feeling, and that can be as simple as good nutrition, exercise, family, relationships, sleep or health. Then you build out from there, and I'm a strong believer in that.

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

Reeback: I can only speak for my experience with Right at Home. ??Consider getting a partner because that provides you with synergy. If you don't have a business partner, you do have a substantial business partner in the corporate office, so that's also fine. But if you have an opportunity, look at going in on it with somebody. Also, be sure to ask a lot of questions. 

ABOUT RIGHT AT HOME:

Founded in 1995, Right at Home offers in-home care to seniors and adults with disabilities who want to live independently. Most Right at Home offices are independently owned and operated and directly employ and supervise all caregiving staff. Each caregiver is thoroughly screened, trained, and bonded/insured before entering a client’s home. Right at Home’s global office is based in Omaha, Nebraska, with more than 700 franchise locations in the U.S. and five other countries. For more information about Right at Home, visit https://www.rightathome.net or read the Right at Home blog at https://www.rightathome.net/blog/.