Shari Westman. (Darren Brown, OBJ)

Having a franchised brand to back a new business can help an entrepreneur, but it certainly doesn't take the risk out of the startup. Since starting Comfort Keepers in June 2005, Shari Westman has learned a thing or two about running her own business. Even if it meant lying awake at night wondering what she had gotten herself into, in the long run, being her own boss with the support of a franchise to back her up was the right choice for her. It's all about balance, she says.

OBJ: What do you do at Comfort Keepers?

WESTMAN: Comfort Keepers provides non-medical care, primarily to the elderly or those living with, or recovering from, an illness or injury. We help people to live more independently at home. The services we provide are privately paid by our clients.

We have a theme that "a visit a day can help prevent your next stay." People over 80 comprise about three per cent of our current demographic (but) make up about 30 per cent of emergency room visits and admittance into acute rooms in hospitals. So having someone visit you on a regular basis, maybe every day to once a week, can help enable your independence at home. The top three things that we do are meal preparation, light housekeeping and medication reminders, which keep people out of the hospitals. That's the value of what we do.

OBJ: What made you decide to buy a Comfort Keepers franchise?

WESTMAN: It's easy to say you want to be your own boss, but what does that mean? I have always wanted to operate my own business. I come from many generations of entrepreneurs. My background is human resources and (my husband and I) came across this type of industry and the demographics stood out as being smart, prudent business sense. People are living longer than ever and baby boomers are getting older, we have more seniors over the age of 80 than anytime in history. Most seniors want to stay at home (or will) either be admitted into long-term care or a retirement home, but there are long lists. So while they are waiting for care, we are here to help them. It's a growing need and it's only going to grow more.

OBJ: How did your expertise as a former HR professional help?

WESTMAN: It really is about HR applications. We're not providing medical care, we're building a team of caregivers and personal support workers to provide private support to our clients.

I really am a staffing business, so the challenge continues to be finding people to grow our team. We have 60 people working for us now on a consistent basis, but we are always growing. This is an industry that is blossoming and it's very difficult to find staff. We were told that by the franchise from day one. Add to that our hiring standard is high – we only hire people who will treat our clients as they would their own family. So someone may have reams of experience but if I don't feel that I would be comfortable sending them to my grandma's house, we don't hire them. That's the biggest challenge.

We hire mostly part-time casual and some of my best workers are moms who have been at home raising their kids and now they want an opportunity to earn some income and know that they are contributing. They want flexible hours that meet their family needs and help contribute to their income. We have a reputation for hiring fantastic people and I'm really proud of that.

OBJ: Why did you chose a franchise rather than going it alone?

WESTMAN: I know that there is an organization of dedicated professionals who are really invested in my success. It is also a small enough franchise where I can have an active voice and say, "What do you think about this?" and they will listen.

The best part for me working with a franchise is the "Oh yeah" moments. Those moments where I feel isolated in my business and I speak to someone from the franchisor office who says "I know how you feel," or, "I've felt the same way and this is what we did." That alone has been worth an incredible amount to me in terms of knowing that my growing pains and even my successes are shared with other people who are equally committed to my goals. I don't have any problems with the royalty payments, it's worth the investment.

I knew that starting my own business was risky, my husband and I have a young family, and we knew buying a franchise means you have more support and statistically you are going to be more successful than if you were creating one on your own. There are over 500 offices (of Comfort Keepers) internationally and I brought it to Ottawa. I financed it with the help of savings and family.

OBJ: Was it difficult to put it all on the line like that?

WESTMAN: Oh yeah. And it continues to be difficult (laughs). My husband and I would lay awake at night in the first year and say, "The phone's not ringing, we've done everything the franchise has told us to do." We would just think, what have we done? It was absolutely terrifying. But from year one to year two, we grew by over 400 per cent and we are having a record quarter right now. It's month-over-month growth but it's incredible.

OBJ: What would be your advice for people who are thinking of taking the plunge?

WESTMAN: To be prepared to have those nights when you think "What have I done?" But not to second guess yourself because by the time you take the plunge, you need to be committed. I have also learned that I can't be all things to all people all the time. So I made sure I had a team of people close to me that I can count on and delegate to in order to pace myself over the long term. I am still raising young children, I volunteer at the school, I'm an avid runner, my husband and I try to go out regularly. It's all about balance and that's what I am trying to do for my clients as well.

THE EXPERTS SAY

A franchise, at least a well established one, offers a proven business model which has almost everything that you need to run the franchise. There is little the new owner needs to design or decide, other than which accountant and accounting package to use. There is of course much to learn, but training is both available and mandatory.

A franchise needs a full-time manager – that's you, also the investor. The franchisor has a vested interest in your success and typically provides expertise and support if you run into trouble.

If you are starting your own company, every decision is yours to make. Both come with long hours (at least in the beginning), excitement, a feeling of ownership. Both require an investment in time and money. Both require you to hire, train and monitor your own staff.

The established processes of a franchise are of great benefit to everyone, especially those with limited experience in all aspects of running a business: sales, marketing, product or service design, financial and personnel management. Equipment purchases are at the franchisor's volume discount rate, although there is usually limited choice.

Of critical importance, unless you can be fully self funded, is that it's far easier to borrow money to start a recognized franchise and the rates will be lower.

Some may feel constrained by the limited creativity in running a franchise – you can't change the menu or the decor or the processes. But for the most part, you can't fail and you'll learn a lot.

Bonnie Lindsay, member of council for the Eastern Ontario chapter of the Canadian Association of Management Consultants

When you're starting your own company, step one is having a good, marketable idea; that can be very difficult to do. Then you have to invent for yourself through trial and error all the processes and procedures, you have to build your own brand, you have to get market share, all of those things. When you go into an existing franchise system as a franchisee, you're buying into an existing brand whether it is a provincial or national or international brand. You're buying into that brand recognition. You have got at least some element of public awareness even before you open your doors. It starts you further along the continuum to success.

Otherwise, when you go into a franchise system, we say you are going into business for yourself but not by yourself. Both independent business owners and franchise owners have to be entrepreneurial because they are going into business for themselves. They both have to be go-getters who are willing to put in the long hours and hard work. There is a difference between going into a mature or emerging system. With a mature system, one of the things that you need to be able to do is to follow a proven system. When you go into a more emerging system with only a few outlets open, often the franchisor is looking to you as the franchisee to help develop the system. You become more of a development team.

Lorraine McLachlan, president, Canadian Franchise Association