Right at Home Is Where Her Heart Is

In-home care is one of the fastest growing industries in America. Opportunities abound for those wanting to make a difference in their community.

If you’re considering investing in a franchise, it’s important to know what exactly you’re getting into. You should talk to people who’ve thrived in the industry over the long term, and that’s because in-home care is not just another business.

“We’re caring for people; we’re not making hamburgers,” said Rosalen Doherty, a franchisee with in-home care company Right at Home, one of the leading home care franchises in the country.  

Doherty should know. She and her husband and business partner Jay Kenney have been with Right at Home for nearly 19 years in the Boston area and are still going strong.  

Today, they have more than 300 employees across their three territories in Massachusetts and are still finding opportunities to expand their existing business. It’s been quite a journey for these two Dot-com refugees who opened their first franchise in 2002.

After the Dot-com bubble burst, they realized their high-flying Go-Go ‘90s jobs weren’t as secure as they imagined. But it was really the 9/11 attacks that spurred them to rethink the kind of internal fulfilment they craved from work. They wanted work that had purpose. 

“I loved working, I loved management, but I really had a community-service bent to me. Somehow, I had just kind of ended up in a career where I was doing business-to-business work,” said Doherty. She and her husband wanted careers where they could put their business and management skills to work helping people, while still making a great living.

They soon found their answer: in-home care. Doherty and Kenney realized quickly that there was a huge, growing market of people who fit the homecare demographic, but not a lot of homecare agencies to serve that community. From there, working in home care “just really gelled” with their interest in a more fulfilling career.  

“It helped us be part of our local community rather than me working all over the country. It allows us to do what we love, which is being part of the community and making a difference in somebody else's life,” Doherty said.

But moving from the tech world into health care seemed like a big leap to the couple. “We were creative, high-energy managers, but we really needed some business partners to help us,” she said. 

So after doing a ton of research, including participating in discovery days with various franchises, they decided to invest in Right At Home. Doherty and Kenney were impressed with what they saw in terms of support and knowledge from the brand.

“One of the things we loved about Right at Home is that founder and chairman Allen Hager had a full-blown background in this. He had been a hospital administrator. He really understood how the care worked. That was really what was important for us. So, in the end, it was truly the upper management of the franchise. I saw their willingness to work with the franchisees,” she said.

After nearly 19 years, that investment is paying off — both financially and personally. This year, not only did she along with her business partner and husband earn the highest revenue of multi-franchise owners, but the pair also took home the prestigious National Allen Hagar Spirit Award. “They give it to one franchisee, out of the entire system,” said Doherty. “As a franchisee, that award represents the spirit, integrity, and truth of the Right at Home brand.”

What does it take to achieve this kind of success? She says you need two built-in traits. You need to be business-minded because there are a thousand moving pieces.

The second trait: empathy “You have to have a genuine desire to help people,” she said. She tells those interested in opening a franchise, yes, they have the ability to make a good living with Right at Home. However, if money is their only concern, she has another bit of advice. “I would say, ‘Go make hamburgers.’”