Alex English's Journey to Purchasing a Right at Home Resale

What does it take to transition from a healthcare leadership career to successful Franchise ownership?

In this episode, we sit down with Alex English, owner of two Right at Home territories in Southern Illinois, to discuss his journey into home care and the experiences that led him to choose Right at Home.

Before becoming a Franchise Owner, Alex spent 17 years building and leading healthcare teams across home health, correctional healthcare, addiction medicine, and pediatric dentistry. His unique perspective deepened while working with a business brokerage firm specializing in-home care company sales, giving him an insider's view of the industry and Franchise landscape.

Alex shares why Right at Home stood out among other home care brands, how attending the company's annual conference reinforced his decision, and what his first few months of ownership have been like. He also discusses the importance of building strong relationships with caregivers, clients, and referral partners, as well as the support he received throughout the onboarding, training, and licensing process.

Most importantly, Alex reflects on the meaningful impact home care can have on families and why a people-first mindset is essential for anyone considering Franchise ownership.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How Alex's healthcare career prepared him for business ownership
• Why he chose Right at Home after evaluating multiple Franchise systems
• What it's like to acquire and transition an existing home care business
• How Right at Home's onboarding and support teams helped him get started
• The rewarding moments that come from serving clients and families
• Why culture and people matter when choosing a Franchise
• Advice for prospective Franchise owners exploring the home care industry

Join us for an inspiring conversation about leadership, purpose, and building a business that makes a difference in others' lives every day.

Thank you for listening to Franchising with Right at Home. 

Ready to explore ownership? Start here.

Learn more about our available territories: https://rightathomefranchise.com/available-territories/

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Questions? Email franchising@rightathome.net

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Okay, hi, Alex. It's so nice to have you joining me today for this 15-minute franchisee interview. I'm Julie Simon. I'm the director of franchise development here. And I'm so excited to just talk to you a little bit about your experience as a ride at home owner.

SPEAKER_00 0:17

No, I'm excited to be here. It's been a great transition so far and has exceeded my expectations on what serving my community and owning a business can do.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

That's good to hear. So let's just go ahead and start. Introduce yourself and share your location. When you became an owner and the number of territories you have.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Yeah, so I'm Alex English. I am uh the owner of Right at Home in Southern, Illinois. I uh located on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, right across from St. Louis. I currently own two territories.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

All right. And when did you become an owner?

SPEAKER_00 0:50

I became an owner on March 8th of this year. So I just crossed my three-month mark.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Oh, congratulations.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Yeah, I think I know it all by now.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

That's awesome. You're well on your way. Um tell me a little bit about your background before you became a franchise owner.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Yeah, so before becoming a franchise owner, I worked in corporate health care for around 17 years. I worked in home health, correctional health care, addiction medicine, and uh pediatric dentistry and orthodontics. Most of my time was spent uh building and leading recruitment teams, although I did also have a short stint of four or five years of business development and client relations. Um that kind of prepared me for uh stepping into this role as a franchisee with Ride at Home.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

Wow. And what made you choose Ride at Home?

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Um so my last position before I took the plunge into owning my own business, I actually worked for a uh small business broker group that sold home care companies. So I got to really learn the ins and outs of the business and the ins and outs of all the different franchise oars. Um I always told myself that if something came available in my home territory, because I can't relocate, that it'd be something that I would jump at and well would have it when it became available.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Well, that's that's really interesting, and that it's funny how you put it out there and it happened for you. I mean, that's great. And obviously you chose Right at Home for a good reason. You knew enough about us to know it would be a good fit for you.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

No, absolutely. I actually had um a little uh ability to see the franchise over before I even went down this path as with my old company. I intended the Right at Home annual conference in 2025 and got to meet a lot of the franchisees and a lot of the uh franchise over staff and was just blown away by how mission-driven they were to taking care of seniors and the support behind the scenes for franchisees and just the camaraderie with the franchisees as well. Um so it really was this kind of a match made in heaven.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

That's lovely. So walk me through what a typical day looks like for you.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

I wish there was a typical day. No, um, I mean, home care is just such a fun environment because every day I go home knowing that I'm helping people. So, you know, some days I'm in the office strategizing on scheduling and kind of where we're gonna get our next client. Other days I'm out in the field meeting with clients. Uh on Wednesdays, I'm always in the office so I get a chance to speak with our new caregivers during orientation. Um, but really, I'm you know, because I'm my own boss as a franchisee, I can kind of dictate what I like to do and delegate what I don't like to do. And luckily for me, I have an amazing staff that I inherited with this resale that have really jumped in and uh you know, jumped in with both feet to make this transition as smooth as possible for our clients.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

Awesome. Now, when you think about the support that you receive from Ride at Home, I know the camaraderie has been powerful for you and that the collaboration. When it comes to the support you receive uh from Right at Home operationally, which part would you say is the most most valuable for you?

SPEAKER_00 3:50

Uh well Stacy, my onboarding and right start coach, um just uh everything about our interactions made the made the uh process a lot smoother. I mean, as you can imagine, buying a business is a very complex ordeal with a lot of moving parts, but you know, Stacy was the point person for me and you know, not only with learning the operations and learning what I needed to do prior on, but just kind of being that shoulder to kind of talk to and and that kind of rock of uh you know resiliency, because again, it is a tough it is a tough thing going through a resale. Um but you know the operational support that we received at the residence week was great. Getting to meet all the subject matter experts, you know, and forming relationships with them so I know who I can go to if I have a problem has been instrumental in taking the stress so I could focus solely on kind of growing the business. Um then I would you know I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't shout out to the business of senior care because it wasn't for Marcus and his team, um the licensure process would have been a lot more stressful than it was. Um but they were able to walk me through everything and and make sure that everything was uh in place because in the state that I operate in Illinois, there's some nuances there that make everything a little bit more complex. So um without their support and kind of guidance, um, I don't know if I'd be sitting here today.

SPEAKER_01 5:06

Really is powerful to have that support you need, especially when it comes to licensure, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

So thanks for that. Can you share a story um just about a really good feel good moment? Have you had any bills yet where you feel like you've made an impact?

SPEAKER_00 5:21

Oh, there's uh there's actually too many, which is you know something of you like you like you hear this, you're like, oh, it can't be that great. But you know it is. Um, you know, we've had just quite a few clients that you know I've had um either their sons or daughters um or their other relatives reach out after they passed and just told us how well our caregivers did and the comfort that they brought their family throughout this really difficult time, and just the care and compassion and consistency and communication that they received from us uh was just top-notch. Um so just hearing those stories is great. And you know, you have those fun clients where you have someone who's a little bit more involved with the care than others, and they're always calling you and giving you updates, and sometimes those are good updates, and sometimes those are well updates. Um but just having that constant communication with families and seeing the impact that we're making, um, it's fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

Thank you. That that is important, and for anyone out there who's looking to become a franchisee with Right at Home, can you share one piece of advice that you would give to them?

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Um, you know, home care is a people business. So if you're looking to you know join a franchise, or um, you really want to make sure that the right people are a part of that franchise, or and I've definitely seen that with Ride at Home. Um, you know, given my experience of 17 years of healthcare recruitment for physicians and leaders, you know, I really think that my radar when it comes to finding mission-driven individuals who are really caring about their clients and not necessarily the numbers behind their clients, that's what I get from Ride at Home, and that's why I chose to go with Right at Home.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

I love that. And it sounds like you're a very involved owner and things are going well. And I'm so appreciative of your time today to sit down with me and answer a few questions. And um, I know you're busy and you've got a busy day. So I want to say thank you for taking your time out to meet with me and wish you continued success in the impact that you have on your community there.

SPEAKER_00 7:22

No, thanks. And you know, being a part of Right Home is a big part of that success. Again, all the support and training and guidance that I receive, you know, you know, every day from from different members has been a big part of that. So happy to be here and uh I couldn't imagine doing it anywhere else.

SPEAKER_01 7:35

That is so wonderful to hear. Thanks again. We appreciate you.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

Yeah, thank you. Have a great day. Bye.