Jennie Bardrick and Lisa Cable are directors of Radfield Home Care in Havering.

Jennie and Lisa have both experienced fantastic careers in the corporate world, however they were looking to set up something of their own, and that would make the best use of their experience, yet bring something quite special into their community. Jennie and Lisa both love meeting people and helping others, and for the last few years they have been seeking out the right opportunity to start something new, much more aligned to their own values.

The Inspiration

Jennie commented, “We attended the BFA Franchise Exhibition and met Alex, Hannah and the Radfield franchise team. The clear focus on the quality of care being provided by Radfield was key along with the obvious passion from all of the team really attracted us to the opportunity. Throughout our franchise journey our initial views have been constantly reinforced and Radfield has a clear view of what it wants to achieve which is supported by really strong leadership.”

Why a Franchise Model?

A franchise model, removes the unknown. Jennie adds, “We decided to set up our business as a franchise because of the added value working with an experienced franchisor brings; hence a greater likelihood of business success through the franchise model. The Radfield Home Care franchise package gives us an incredible start with a powerful brand, fantastic website and first class training.”

Why Radfield Home Care?

Lisa commented, “We felt our values were aligned to Radfield’s, as we have a passion for helping other people and want to inspire independence and positivity to this generation. In particular, the Radfield Core Values ‘We are a Family’, resonated with us because we are cousins and have always been part of a very close family. Our ambition is to ensure that our clients and carers all feel part of this happy family.”

It’s been an exciting journey so far, soon after Jennie and Lisa completed the leadership training programme covering marketing, recruitment, systems and the brand, their office was secured in Hornchurch and recruited their first member of staff. In July, they gained their CQC registration and have focused their time on marketing their business through local events, networking and circulating brochures.

The business officially opened in June 2017 and by early August the branch was seeing a fast growth in new clients, supported with an expanding care team.

The Right Marketing Strategy is Key to Franchise Growth

Lisa commented, “In terms of support we have most needed, it would probably have to be developing the right marketing strategy. Although we have business backgrounds, it is always tricky to know what the right approach is to use at a local level and targeting the audience in the right way. To help us with this, Radfield have delivered unique training on the subject of marketing, plus we have worked with the franchise team to develop press releases, marketing and event plans, and social media campaigns.

Overall, the training we have received has been first class, and given that we did not have a background in care, we have felt completely confident in entering the marketplace with our brand, offering and knowing that we have a compelling and competitive proposition.”

Business Ambitions

The Havering Radfield branch has some big ambitions. They first and foremost want to continue to grow their client base, in the local communities and build a care team delivering the highest quality stay at home care. Jennie comments, “We will do this by building networks in the community and with allied healthcare professional and create an open and family culture within the team. Over time, we would like to set up a second office in the Brentwood area, enabling us to spread our service to a wider local community and then over the next couple of years we would look to expand further across Essex to be able to help more people.

Our goal is to work towards achieving an ‘Outstanding’ rating from CQC, which we believe we can do!”