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ComForcare home care franchise owners Hayley and Ryan Murray share their experience opening a home care franchise in Indiana. Like most ComForcare home care franchise owners, the couple wanted to operate a business that makes a positive difference in people’s lives and offers a much needed service for their community. In this excerpt from an interview with Indystar.com, Hayley Murray opened up about their experiences and success thus far: A month before the birth of her son, Hayley Murray quit her job as a full-time physical therapist and opened a ComForcare Home Care franchise with her husband, Ryan. With aging grandparents, the Murrays saw a need to offer non-medical help that allowed seniors to stay in their homes longer. "It was important for us to make a difference in people's lives," Hayley Murray said. Murray knew as a child she wanted to be in the medical industry. While pursuing her bachelor's degree at Butler University, she decided to specialize in physical therapy. After two years in the industry, she realized she wanted more. She wanted to help people who were returning to their homes from rehabilitation centers. The husband-and- wife team pursued the ComForcare franchise, which specializes in placing caregivers that provide house cleaning, cooking and companion services. "In my line of work, I saw a need where people are going home from rehab, but there may be necessary things you need done at home that you can't do yet, and family can't be around all the time to help," she said. Murray continues to work as an on-call physical therapist, but her main focus is growing ComForcare -- and learning to balance family and work life. Why did you want to transition from physical therapy to running a home care agency? We were just getting ready to start a family. It's a nice way to control your life a little more and have a little more flexibility. When I worked in physical therapy, I had a set schedule. Owning a company gives us a little more freedom. It's always something we talked about doing. We decided to stop talking and just do. What has surprised you the most about owning a business? I think probably the time commitment. We knew it was going to be a lot of time up front. We are available 24-7, so we've been on call 24-7. Sometimes people need home care services starting at strange times of the day. Why choose a home care franchise, as opposed to a lone startup? We got a jump-start because they've already made the mistakes. They know what works and what doesn't. They are continuously doing research for us on home care trends. We can get ahold of someone anytime for support. I think that was the big thing. Just starting out, we didn't know everything we needed to know, and they've been able to help us out and answer questions. What problems have you overcome as an elderly care business owner? Balancing family and work. We had our son a month after we opened the business. It was stressful. I had just quit my job as a full-time therapist. That was tough initially, but once I got back to work it started taking off. But there are nights when it's late and I'm out visiting clients. That's tough for me to do, but I know the next day I might be able to take off early. I'm reminded there is that constant balance, and you need to figure it out. What advice would you give to other young people trying to get started in the home care industry? I think the first step is going to be taking the risk. A lot of times people talk about it but never do it. If it's something you really want to do and have a passion for it, you have to give it a shot. I think what holds people back is the fear of not succeeding. There are going to be some failures along the way, but learn from them and keep going. About ComForcare Home Care Franchises ComForcare began in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in 1996 as a company dedicated to establishing a new standard in the quality of non-medical home care. After perfecting the winning formula, ComForcare began franchising. They are one of the fastest growing franchises in the country with more than 135 franchise owners who operate 150 territories throughout the United States and in Canada and the U.K. Each independently owned and operated ComForcare office offers elderly care services including personal care, homemaking, transportation, companionship and family respite services to improve the quality of life and level of independence for every individual and family receiving our services. ComForcare Home Care 2510 Telegraph Road, Suite 100 Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302 248-745-9700 http://www.comforcare.com
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