Home and Senior Care Industry Report

🕒 Estimated Reading Time: ~8 minutes

The Canadian Home and Senior Care Industry

The home and senior care franchise industry is growing at an amazing rate. Heightened by the aging Baby Boomer generation and an increase in average life expectancy, the need for senior care will only continue to grow.

For several years now, Canada has had more people over the age of 65 than under 15 – and the spread is continuing to grow. As of July 2022, 18.8% of the total Canadian population is aged 65 or older, while 15.6% of the total population is aged 0 to 14. By 2027, an estimated 22% of the Canadian population is projected to be above the age of 65. By the end of the 2030s, that percentage is expected to hit 24%.

While a significant number of the population over 65 will eventually move into a facility built specifically for the needs of aging people, there has been a push from Canadians to remain at home as they age. The desire to “age-in-place” has been a key contributing factor to the growth of home and senior care franchise industry, as more of Canada’s Baby Boomer generation nears the 65+ age range.

Age-in-place is exactly how it sounds. Seniors prefer spending their twilight years at home where they can be surrounded by friends and family and maintain their independence. According to a 2014 Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) survey, nearly half of Canadians aged 55 and older have considered supportive living, residential care, or home care in their old age.

In many cases, aging-in-place can be achieved. However, as aging occurs, occasional outside help will become necessary to aid in seniors maintaining their independence. And when a family member needs care, the whole family is affected. Canadians spend an estimated $33 billion a year caring for aging parents, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce estimates. Six billion of that number is attributed to out-of-pocket costs. The rest, an estimated $27 billion, is in lost income or foregone vacation time.

Assistance from home and senior care franchises can help Canadians save part of that lost income and vacation time safely, as well as keep senior citizens in their beloved homes. This means plenty of opportunity for prospective franchisees to start a both professionally and personally rewarding business.

Home and Senior Care Franchises

Home and senior care franchises provide medical and non-medical services that can include the following:

• Companionship
• Respite care
• Therapy services
• Chronic disease management
• Escorting to doctor’s visits, etc.
• Running errands (e.g., grocery shopping, picking-up prescriptions)
• Grooming assistance
• Meal preparation and feeding
• Housekeeping and laundry
• Assistance in caring for pets and plants
• Medication reminders and administering
• Incontinence care
• Nursing intervention
• Live-in care
• End of life care

However, while it is the most prevalent mode of franchising in the industry, being a caregiver is not the only way to be a part of the industry.

Other examples of non-caregiver senior care franchises include franchises that help guide seniors and their families through the process to make the best choice for them when the need arises for the move to a live-in facility.

Also available are franchises that help seniors and their families deal with their estates. “Senior-focused businesses are booming for the simple reason that with the increase in aging population, people need solutions to problems that they have never faced before,” says Christopher Seman, president of Caring Transitions. “Whether [it’s] rightsizing, aging in place, or cleaning out an estate, the need for services has never been higher and is continuing to grow.”

In addition, many healthcare and senior care franchises can be run by CEO model, meaning you run the company administratively while your employees go out into the field to service clients.

Important Note: Home and Senior Care Isn’t Just Limited to Seniors

While seniors do make up a large percentage of the home care market, they aren’t the only ones served by home care franchises.

Non-senior home care covers adults aged 18-64, assisting with several kinds of non-medical and support services. Care is provided to people with chronic conditions such as ALS or paraplegia, as well as to those with learning or physical disabilities. More temporary help is provided to those who are recovering from surgery, illness, or injury. Home care providers have also been known to assist mothers pre- and post-natal too.

Why Own a Home and Senior Care Franchise?

Lower investment cost: Senior care and home healthcare franchises typically cost less than $200,000, and the majority fall somewhere between $50,000 and $75,000 to start. Owning a home-based franchise can significantly cut your overhead expenses. Primary costs include business licenses, employee hiring and training, and office space.

High revenue potential: There will always be people who want quality homecare for their aging family members, and there will always been seniors who want to maintain their independence while they age. Demand continues to grow, thanks to the baby boomer generation. The UN estimates that the number of people over 60 worldwide is set to triple to 2 billion by 2050. This coupled with the low investment cost means a high return on investment.

Doing good: Home care and senior care is more than just a business, it’s a community service. When you invest in a home and senior care franchise, you’re investing in a franchise that provides better lives. Senior care franchises make caring for a loved one easier and less stressful for the entire family. Home care franchises help people of all ages keep their independence and make their lives happier. It is a service that people feel good about providing because it helps others and it makes a difference in people’s lives.

Considerations for Investing in a Home and Senior Care Franchise

Who Does Well as a Home and Senior Care Franchisee?

People skills are a necessity in this industry. Networking, personal referrals, and customer service skills can make or break a senior care business. Luckily for franchisees, they’ll have assistance from the franchisor to help guide them through these aspects.

Medical vs. Non-Medical

When choosing a senior care franchise, you’ll need to decide whether you want to pursue medical (sometimes referred to skilled care) vs. non-medical. Medical/skilled care will obviously require more licensure than non-medical. In addition, non-medical typically has a lower cost of entry and liability.

Insurance and Licensing

In Canada, senior care services are governed by federal, provincial, and municipal laws, and regulations can vary by area. It is important you research what is required for your business before you start operating your franchise. These items include permits and license for starting and operating your business; your privacy obligations for collecting, using and disclosing personal information about individuals; your responsibilities as an employer; and what workplace and safety regulations you must follow.

Your franchisor should be able to guide you in the right direction to get the appropriate licenses, as the brand should be familiar with the rules and regulations yourself. Ultimately, the responsibility falls on you to ensure everything is in order, so it’s imperative that you do your due diligence.

Keep in mind you and your employees are required to have specific skills, and you may need training in CPR, first aid, dementia care, palliative care and medication management before you can start your business. These skills may be required to qualify for your license, and most business permits require renewal each year, along with an annual fee.

The Investment

When it comes to investing in a franchise, finding the right concept is dependent on not only the type of the franchise, but also the investment required to start the business. The amount necessary to open a franchise varies depending on the unique business system and execution requirements.

Prior to investing, if their province requires one, prospective franchisees should do their research as well as carefully review the franchisor’s Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) for more detailed information on all systems, procedures and costs associated with that franchise. It’s important to note that while many initial and ongoing costs are detailed in the FDD, there are some costs inherent to business ownership, like employee wages or utility costs, that aren’t.

Initial costs associated with opening a franchise include the franchise fee, training expenses (such as travel and living expenses, not the actual training courses), marketing costs, and more. You’ll notice that, in general, home and senior care franchises tend to cost less than franchises in some other industries because of being a primarily mobile-based field. The real estate requirements are usually not as high.

When setting your franchise budget, don’t forget about the ongoing fees. These fees are costs for being part of the franchisor’s business system that are paid throughout the length of the franchise agreement.

The most common ongoing fee is the royalty fee for the continued use of the franchisor’s trademarks and patented processes. Other fees include advertising, software and technology costs, as well as fees charged on an “as needed” basis, such as audit fees and non-mandatory training. Prospective franchisees should review a franchise’s FDD for more detailed information on the system and costs before investing.

Outlook

As Canada’s growing population continues to age, and as advancements in medicine and quality of life help people live longer, the need to for home and senior care will only rise.

Because many Canadian seniors are becoming more independent in their later years and are looking to age in the comfort of their own homes, this will open up a lucrative opportunity for home care franchises.

Home and senior care franchises are perfectly poised to meet the needs of Canada’s senior population, and luckily for potential franchisees, these types of franchises are lower cost and have support systems put in place to help the businesses thrive.

To view home and senior care franchises, visit our healthcare and senior care franchise opportunities listing.