Deciding between a BrightStar Care franchise opportunity or another franchise, like A Place At Home, in the home care industry? We don’t blame you, as 10,000 people turn 65 every day. So, let us help you compare two franchises in this growing senior home care industry.
Side-By-Side Comparison
While many of BrightStar Care’s services overlap with A Place At Home, the main difference is that BrightStar Care uses a Registered Nurse (RN) for every client, even when the state doesn’t require it. This element is important to note because RNs cost more to employ.
Here’s a look at how the startup costs compare for the two franchises.
| BrightStar Care | A Place At Home | |
| Franchise Fee | $50,000 | $49,500 |
| Initial Investment | $111,008 – $191,108 | $84,185 to $148,517 |
| Liquid Capital Requirement | $100,000 – $150,000 | $50,000 |
| Royalty Fee | 5.25% | 4.5% -5.5% |
| Ad Royalty Fee | The greater of $500 or 2.5% | 1% |
| Franchise Growth | 2020: 325 units 2022: 365 units | 2020: 13 units 2022: 20 units |
Is BrightStar Care Franchise the Right Choice?
BrightStar Care opened in 2002, then began franchising in 2005, and as you can see, it has now grown to hundreds of locations across the country.
Owners can earn a variety of revenue streams. Locations can offer medical and non-medical services like in-home and companion care for seniors, medical staffing for facilities, and childcare. The company has two other franchises that run hand-in-hand with senior in-home care, BrightStar Senior Living and Bright Star Care Homes. These both offer assisted living and memory care living options for seniors. But, again, both will require medical professionals on staff and have their own initial investment costs.
BrightStar Introduces Call Option
The franchise system its now taking some heat in the press for introducing a call option. The call option gives the franchisor the power to buy back or terminate the franchise agreement at a predetermined price. That price could be less than the fair market value.
In addition to this call option being introduced, the president of the BOA told Franchise Times that Shelly Sun, the BrightStar founder, is talking with strategic partners that she would use the call option. For example, CVS recently announced it’s buying the home healthcare provider Signify. Shelly told Franchise Times that the call option is necessary for the brand to evolve.
The BOA president says many franchisees are trying to sell their agreements, which is decreasing value of the franchise itself. Others that have their livelihood in the franchise are concerned it could be ripped from them in the next couple of years.
While the franchise provides two weeks of initial training for owners and the director for your director of nursing, sales director, and branch manager, it’s very difficult to move past the idea that you could be investing in something that could be gone before you really get going.
Build More Than a Business with A Place At Home
A Place At Home prides itself on the family environment we’ve built. Other franchise owners are an extra layer of support you can lean on by joining the franchise family. However, that’s not all that makes us a unique franchise. We focus on non-medical care, which requires fewer hoops to jump through when opening compared to a medical franchise.
We guarantee our territories have enough clientele for you to thrive. All our base territories have approximately 40,000 people living in that area that are 65 years or older. That number increases every day!
Just like the BrightStar Care Franchise, we offer several home care revenue streams. As an A Place At Home owner, you can provide the following:
- In-home senior care
- Care coordination
- Assistance in searching for senior living alternatives
- Staffing solutions for senior care facilities
We have dedicated our time to perfecting a proven business model and training plan that can help our franchisees flourish. We built the CARE Track™ business process, which will take you from signing your franchise agreement to becoming a CARE Pro. A Place At Home guarantees that if you commit to CARE Track™ 100%, you will serve clients in the first 60 days post-launch. If not, you’ll have your first six months of royalty fees waived. That’s how confident we are in our business model.
Before that, you’re paired with a business coach. With their help, you’ll go through comprehensive sales, recruiting, and retention training. Then, you’ll attend 40 hours of in-person training to experience operation in action at our flagship location in Omaha, Nebraska. You’ll learn procedures, operations, and marketing during that in-person training. We won’t ever leave you hanging. After you open, we’ll reconvene on additional training if you’re still struggling to meet your KPIs.
Another benefit to our franchise is our de-escalating royalty structure. That’s right, the MORE money YOU make, the LESS money WE take.
While we are a young brand, opening in 2012 and franchising five years later, our commitment to supporting you and providing compassionate care pushes us above the rest. You can join us at a great time with immense growth potential.