Shaun Reed is building himself a new life - and a new business - after years in the construction industry.
With his partner Emma, Shaun’s bringing premium-quality care-in-the-home to people in a territory stretching from Middlesborough to Hull.
The couple are Blossom Home Care’s latest franchisees and are offering people in the predominantly rural area a level of care-in-the-home they’ve never previously had access to.
With almost no local competition, Shaun and Emma and their Registered Manager offer 50-minute appointments instead of the whistle-stop visits most home-care companies provide, plus they pay their care staff industry-leading rates.
“That gives our staff a chance to really get to know the people they’re caring for,” says Emma, who’s worked in the care sector since school.
“We can deliver a much better service and give our clients the care they deserve by getting to know their needs on our longer visits.
“As someone who’s worked in the care industry all my working life, I know it’s almost impossible to deliver proper care if you’re in and out in 15 minutes and hardly have time to say hello and goodbye.”
That determination to deliver high quality care was what drew Shaun to Blossom in the first place.
“I’d become disillusioned with the construction industry after being in it for so long,” he says. “The money had gone down and people were fighting over jobs, and it just wasn’t for me any more.
“I looked into all sorts of businesses I could start and then I saw a listing about franchising which caught my eye.
“I knew about McDonald’s and Subway and read about some other care companies, but Blossom stood out for me, and Emma, because their approach was so different.
“The other care companies kept talking about the money you could make, but Blossom was all about the quality of care you could deliver.”
Emma’s experience in the care sector meant she could appreciate the difference Blossom’s approach makes, so the couple signed up for the Malton franchise.
Blossom Home Care Malton is delivering care already and has a queue of clients keen to use its services.
Shaun’s complete lack of experience in the care sector means he’s benefited especially from the wraparound support offered by Blossom’s husband-and-wife co-founders John and Fiona Leggott, and their Franchise Manager, Carri.
“The support’s been wonderful,” says Shaun, “and we know we can call John at any time of day or night and talk to him if we need him.
“The software package we have from Blossom makes it so much easier to administer the business and lets us - and clients’ families - see at a glance when a carer arrives and departs and what care has been delivered.”
With Covid behind them and their CQC registration in place, Shaun and Emma are looking forward to a very successful first year with the hope of eventually opening two more offices in their territory as demand for their services grows.
They financed the purchase of the franchise from savings and with funding from HSBC and can look forward to a high return on their investment if the success of other franchisees is anything to judge by.
Blossom Home Care prides itself on putting people before profit, though franchisees find their businesses particularly lucrative as clients tend to be people who travel First Class through life and can afford the more personalised and attentive service they offer.