Caring Transitions, the leading national franchise organization specializing in senior relocation and transition services, reveals the secret to rapid success for owners in the expanding franchise system.
In 2019, the Caring Transitions franchise support team refreshed the Training and Onboarding programs and the results have been a game-changer for new franchise owners, especially those without previous business experience and those new to the industry.
“We made a commitment to give our Caring Transitions franchise owners the best possible outcomes in their business, and that starts with our strong training and onboarding program, which allows them to follow a strategic roadmap to launch their businesses quickly and with confidence. Owners who follow the program and utilize the vast library of resources available to them are flourishing,” says Sherrie Henderson, Director of New Business for Caring Transitions, who oversees the brand’s training and onboarding program.
Each franchise owner is assigned a personal business coach who works one-on-one with them through the entire five-week on-boarding process. It starts with walking owners through the basic, yet important, tasks necessary to start the business, including setting up an LLC, EIN, opening the correct bank accounts, and more.
Through the Caring Transitions online self-guided training library, owners then learn about a wide variety of topics from the senior relocation industry to the services that Caring Transitions provides, as well as more granular details about the business, including how to hire and manage employees, sales skills, and even how to pack a box.
Once the online portion is complete, owners are welcomed to the corporate headquarters for hands-on training at a practice franchise facility. New owners also participate in daily virtual Q&A sessions with a panel of existing franchise owners from across the country on the topics covered during the weeklong training.
“The program is very well designed and structured for optimal success. Owners know exactly what they need to do and when to do it,” adds Henderson.
“We stay in touch with the new owners throughout the entire process to make sure they stay on track to meet their launch date.”
The next phase of the onboarding process includes an extended visit to an existing Caring Transitions franchise to allow new owners to get on-the-job training before putting all they learned into action at their own location.
Lee Fulton, the owner of Caring Transitions of the Brandywine Valley, believes the training and onboarding program has been crucial to her early success. Fulton opened her franchise in November of 2020 and is already expanding.
“The support team at Caring Transitions are my biggest cheerleaders. They are an absolute volcano full of knowledge. I could not be more thankful to my onboarding business coach. She was always able to answer my questions or connect me with someone who could help me,” says Fulton.
“When you are starting a new business, you don’t have time to wait for someone to respond to your needs. With the Caring Transitions team, there is always an immediately available person who is super-knowledgeable, willing to help, and securely in your corner.”
The biggest difference Henderson sees between owners that are successful right out of the gate and those who struggle is that the owners who achieve faster success prioritize their training and take it seriously.
“Lee came to us with a wealth of professional experience and a strong skill set that was transferable to being a business owner. But instead of resting on her previous knowledge, she came at this from a position of learning. She was a sponge. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, she followed the process, implemented the knowledge she learned, combined that with her own experience, and she has been able to execute in her market really well.”
Fulton says in addition to the unparalleled training and support, Caring Transitions checked off all the requirements of a solid business model, including ease of operation, quick start, low investment, good margins, and an amazing network of fellow franchise owners.
“Caring Transitions is a great opportunity for people who want to be in business for themselves but not by themselves. There is a lot of flexibility in how the business can be operated in the local markets. Many of our franchise owners come from the corporate world, and they have corporate burnout. They thrive on the fact that they can make their own decisions and breed their own success, but with a strong support system—both with the team at the corporate office and the franchise owners.