Husband and wife team growing a home care franchise in Chichester
From different careers to a shared purpose
Andy and Paula Key had never worked together before Caremark, and they came to home care from very different worlds.Paula has spent her whole career in care. She has worked across learning disabilities, domiciliary care, residential homes, Parkinson’s and dementia, and has specialised in dementia residential care. Before joining Caremark, she was an area manager, travelling between homes to carry out quality assurance and make sure owners were compliant with legislation and best practice.
Andy’s background is in engineering with a focus on the Navy. He started in hands-on engineering before moving into management systems and risk. He worked with radar and communications systems and even represented the UK at NATO forums on synthetic training. He is used to looking at risk, quality and checks from a very technical point of view.
.
Together, they now bring people skills and systems thinking into one Caremark office, building a home care franchise with strong foundations
Why a home care franchise and why now
The idea of owning something in care started to take shape around the 2021 Covid-19 lockdown. Andy was looking for a new direction after the Navy. Paula had already begun exploring the idea of buying a care home. On paper, it was a fifty–fifty possibility, but they knew that the fixed size of a building would always limit how far they could grow.
They wanted more freedom than that.
A webinar about a completely different franchise concept got Andy thinking about franchising in general. They went to the franchise exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham to see what was out there and what skills might transfer. Paula’s care background meant they naturally gravitated to the care stands first. That sparked wider conversations with Andy about non-care franchises, too.
Home care kept standing out. The cost of entry felt more accessible and the home care franchise model more scalable than a care home. As Andy puts it, care can be …
“as big as you are brave enough to take it, and to manage.”
Finding Caremark and feeling the fit
Caremark had been on their radar for a while before they ever had a formal conversation. Paula had driven past a Caremark office on one drive to work when she was at the care home. She had seen another Caremark office shortly after, near a nursing home in Worthing.
When Paula later heard Caremark CEO David Glover speak at the NEC, the brand really started to stand out.
For Andy, the appeal was the way David spoke openly about what to look for in a franchise, not only in care but in any sector. He shared both the positives and the hard points and encouraged potential owners to ask searching questions. Andy and Paula used that advice for the rest of the day as they walked through the exhibition and compared brands.
They met existing Caremark franchise owner Barney from Warwick and put those questions into practice. Caremark’s answers were consistent. No one tried to gloss over challenges or make things sound too rosy.
“Other franchises were trying to build something to sell, not something to grow and develop.”
For Paula, the deciding factor was support.
“I wanted to know we were never going to be on our own.”
Caremark’s franchise owners who were present at the exhibition talked honestly about having bumps in the road and how the Franchise Support Centre stood with them in difficult times, which is exactly what Andy and Paula wanted from a home care franchise.
In Paula’s words:
“Caremark is not the only domiciliary care company out there, but for us it was the best fit, and I think for most people it would be.”
Choosing a home care franchise resale in Chichester
At first, Andy and Paula were set on a start-up territory in Fareham and Gosport. They liked the idea of building something from scratch. However, with their existing jobs and the time they knew it would take to free themselves up, Matthew and David at Caremark encouraged them to consider other options, too.
Chichester was available as a home care franchise resale. It was also where Paula had started her career in domiciliary care, which meant she already knew the area and the local landscape. That mattered.
Taking on a resale offered a base of staff and customers to build from. For a couple planning to move into the business gradually, that felt like the right balance.
First priorities when taking over
From the moment they took over Caremark Chichester, Andy and Paula knew that communication and culture had to come first.
They sent clear communications to customers and staff to introduce themselves, explain who they were and share what they were trying to achieve. They wanted carers to know that they were not just new names on the headed paper, but people who intended to be involved and visible.
“We are in it as a team. We are going to work together, improve, and get through the good and bad times.”
Their early priorities were to:
- Rebuild the team ethos so the office felt like a team, not just a delivery agency
- Improve communication between office teams
- Focus hard on recruitment to reduce pressure on the existing workforce
- Increase social media and community presence so local people knew who Caremark Chichester was
They wanted staff and customers to feel that something positive had changed, without losing the good foundations already in place.
Two perspectives, one business
Inside the office, Andy and Paula have a clear split of roles that play to their strengths.
Paula leads the care side of the business. She is responsible for people, culture and quality. Her work covers tenders, looking for new clients, much of the staff side of marketing and making sure the company stays compliant. She is very much “in the business”, seen regularly by customers and carers.
Andy is more in the background, providing an objective and critical eye. He looks after the finance side and the broader marketing and planning. His engineering mind helps him look at problems calmly and logically.
When they disagree, they come back to a simple rule.
“We come to a compromise based on what the outcome we are trying to achieve is and what would be best for the business, not just what we think.”
They look at the outcome they want and ask what is best for the business and the people they support, rather than who is technically right. That willingness to compromise makes for better decisions and more understanding teams.
A good example was around quality targets and feedback from their Regional Support Manager, Naomi. Paula was driven to achieve high-quality standards and was frustrated when a previous care manager did not share that drive. Andy helped reframe Naomi’s feedback to their care manager as early help rather than criticism.
“Naomi is our ally. You want her to pick the issues up now, rather than CQC.”
It reminded them both that scrutiny from Caremark is there to protect the business, not to catch them out.
Keeping carers and customers through the transition
Taking on a home care franchise resale means you inherit people and relationships, not just a contract. Andy and Paula knew that keeping carers and customers through the transition would be vital.
Communication and a shared ethos have been central. They introduced Carer of the Month, raffles and small recognition schemes to show appreciation. They also looked closely at how new staff were onboarded.
They realised many companies were not paying for induction training, which left people out of pocket before they had even started. Caremark Chichester chose a different approach.
They pay for induction training because they understand that people need money coming in and cannot always afford to wait until they are physically delivering care. It is a small change that sends a strong message about how much they value their team.
Today, they have around fifty carers out in the field, supported by a care manager, deputy manager, two care coordinators, two field care supervisors and senior carers. Several new starters are going through shadowing at any one time. Recruitment is still a key focus, but the structure is in place.
Standing out in Chichester and rural areas
Caremark Chichester’s territory is both highly populated and three-quarters rural. That mix makes recruitment and travel planning more complex. Andy and Paula are actively exploring how they can better support staff and build stronger clusters of customers in rural areas, so travel becomes easier for carers.
Their current market is mainly local authorities. They see a clear opportunity to grow their private client base, so they have started leafleting and advertising more directly to local families. They are very aware that care is expensive and want to make it feel more accessible.
One of their distinctive offers is a fifteen-minute welfare check. The idea came from friends who had parents who did not yet need full visits but did need someone to check they were safe and well.
Where some companies insist on a thirty- or sixty-minute call from the start, Andy and Paula offer shorter checks with no hard sell.
These calls often naturally lead to more support later, once families see what is really needed. They also help people take on care earlier, before there is a crisis or injury.
“We recognise that care is expensive. We are trying to offer more to make us stand out.”
Support from the Franchise Support Centre and network
Training at the Franchise Support Centre changed the way Andy saw franchising. He had gone into it with a negative view, based on a poor franchise experience his parents had when he was younger. The contrast with Caremark was striking.
“So much support at FSC. That backup is priceless, especially in the early days.”
He is often struck by how small business owners in other industries have to subcontract lots of services and do not know where to start. In comparison, Caremark provides guidance, tools and a sounding board so owners can avoid wasting money in the wrong places.
Andy and Paula make full use of the wider network too. They attend RSM meetings and weekly catchups, take part in group chats on Connecteam, and look at other franchise owners’ social media for ideas. They have stayed in contact with people from their training group and have a good relationship with the previous owner of their territory, who remains a helpful contact.
Proudest moments and what good looks like next
One highlight so far has been receiving five nominations for the Great British Care Awards, including a team award. It was a powerful sign that their staff and service were being recognised.
“It gives us confidence in the team we have and what we can achieve.”
When they took over, the company needed fresh energy and enthusiasm about what was possible. Andy and Paula feel they have brought that in spades.
Looking ahead, their picture of “good” over the next twelve months includes:
- Both working in the business full-time
- Growth in a positive, sustainable way, with carers actively wanting to join the team as well as new customers coming on board
- A solid foundation that allows natural growth, rather than forced expansion
- The potential to look at another territory once Chichester is firmly where they want it to be
Locally, they want Caremark Chichester to be known as fair, reliable and friendly.
“We want to be that name everyone talks about in a positive way, not a negative way.”
Andy and Paula’s advice for couples considering a Caremark franchise
Andy and Paula are honest that running a business together is not always easy, but they believe it can work very well if you go in with the right mindset. Their advice is:
- Be ready to compromise and really listen
- Do not assume you know what your partner will say until they have actually said it
- Accept that you will not always win the argument
- Be realistic about how much time the business needs, especially in the first six months
- If you can, plan for one person to be in the business full-time from the start, even with a resale
They also encourage new owners not to be afraid to ask questions.
“Even with resales, do not be afraid to ask FSC questions. No question is a silly question with them.”
Above all, they believe that if you commit to the business, trust the model and keep your focus on people, you can build something that is both commercially strong and deeply human.