The Great Franchisee: Joel Herdzina, Right at Home, Oklahoma

After college, Joel Herdzina set out on a career path in transportation, joining a trucking company in Omaha, where he worked for five years. All the while, Herdzina says he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was “something else out there” for him, so he started learning more about a business that was already close to home. Herdzina’s mother and her two sisters owned two locations of Right at Home*, the 500-plus unit in-home senior care franchise. 

As Herdzina learned about the brand, he started to see an opportunity for expansion, so he joined his mother and aunts and got to work, eventually opening up additional locations with the fast-growing franchise brand.

We spoke to Herdzina to learn more about his journey to franchising and his experience with Right at Home.

1851 Franchise: Tell me your story – what did you do before franchising?

Joel Herdzina: I graduated college and immediately started a career working at a trucking company. After some time, I knew there was something else out there for me. I began to ask my mom and her sisters more questions about it. I spent nearly five years working in the trucking industry before I eventually came and saw the Oklahoma office for the first time. After my visit and as I learned more about the company, I eventually joined the team in 2012 and began working out of our Edmond office. 

1851: How did you initially find out about franchising? 

Herdzina: I knew about franchising from years of watching my family handle the Right at Home business. When I initially came down for the job, I didn’t come with the intention to continue to expand our presence and open more locations, but as time went on, I felt like there was a real need to continue to grow Right at Home in more communities and meet the spike in demand. 

1851: Why did you pick franchising over starting your own business?

Herdzina: Starting my own business didn’t really ever cross my mind. I got involved with Right at Home pretty easily, since my mom and aunts were already in the business. I didn’t necessarily pick franchising, it just worked out this way! 

1851: Why did you pick Right at Home? What excited you most about the potential?

Herdzina: Since Right at Home was within the family, I would have been a black sheep had I tried to open any other home care franchise. But I quickly learned my family made an excellent choice in choosing Right at Home. Joining the team and realizing how much I can give back to others was very exciting. 

1851: What trends are you seeing in your local community?

Herdzina: As the population continues to grow at an increasingly rapid pace, people need in-home care more than ever. The hard part isn’t attracting new clients to our services, it’s finding enough qualified staff to help meet this growing demand. 

1851: What kind of growth has your business seen since you opened? 

Herdzina: Overall, I think there is a huge need for senior home care, especially in this current post-pandemic moment. COVID propelled this trend a lot faster than previous years, and things picked back up quickly after initially being hit. Now, to meet the demand, we are putting plans in place to open a location in Stillwater in the coming months, but until then, we are still able to serve residents in that area from our Edmund office. The demand is there for these services, which is how we have continued to expand to new territories. 

1851: What are your dreams with the business? What does the future look like?

Herdzina: It is exciting to take on the challenges of this job. The connections I have made, and will continue to make, have been invaluable and it’s validating to have a job that I enjoy, and look forward to, with the knowledge that I’m also making a real difference in my local community. I can’t imagine doing anything else, and I love getting to be an employer and providing employment opportunities to people in the area. As we continue to grow and become a more familiar name in the area, I hope to continue to hear people say how much they love Right at Home.

1851: What do you do in your personal time?

Herdzina: I like to keep busy! I love to cook and work out, and I spent a lot of time keeping myself active through yoga, tennis, basketball, volunteering, and sailing. I also love to read to gain knowledge on how to continue to better myself and my company.

ABOUT RIGHT AT HOME

Founded in 1995, Right at Home offers in-home companionship, personal care and assistance to seniors and adults with a disability who want to continue to live independently. Local Right at Home offices are independently owned and operated and directly employ and supervise all caregiving staff, each of whom is thoroughly screened, trained, and bonded/insured prior to entering a client’s home. Right at Home’s global headquarters is based in Omaha, Nebraska, with more than 500 franchise locations in the U.S. and seven other countries. Right at Home was the highest-ranked senior care franchise opportunity on Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 list in 2018. That year, Forbes Magazine ranked Right at Home the No. 1 franchise to own under $150,000. For more information on Right at Home, visit About Right at Home at http://www.rightathome.net/about-us or read the Right at Home franchising blog at http://www.rightathomefranchise.com/blog/. To learn more about franchising opportunities, please visit http://www.rightathomefranchise.com/.