About Us
TRAINING AND SUPPORT
In the last decade, one of the of the fastest growing small business has been home health care, an idea which appealed to Lt. Cdr. Shonda Washington, a Navy nurse who is married with three children. As a volunteer home visitor to ailing members of her church community, Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Suffolk, Shonda learned that there were plenty of people in need.
Three years ago, with retirement in sight, Shonda searched online for a franchise focused on home health care, and she found one: Accessible Home Health Care. This region of Virginia was open for a new franchisee.
“It was 9:30 at night when I located their web page, and I decided to call right away, not wait ‘til the morning,” Shonda said. “I was impressed to speak to a live person who gave me all the information I needed.”
While the thought of starting a new business was daunting, Shonda and her husband, Bryan liked the idea that this one already had a structure and offered training and support. She found that the franchise fees and initial investment were not overwhelming, an important consideration for many new business owners. The couple was able to sell a few real estate properties they owned to create the ready cash to start.
During the training period at the company’s main office in Coral Gables, Florida, Shonda said Acccessible painted no pastel pictures of business life.
“They told us we would have to hit the pavement hard,” she explained. Shonda and Bryan started their franchise in January 2006. Four years later, she’s convinced it was a good decision.
“Though someone from any kind of business background could open a franchise like this, my nurse’s training really paid off,” she said. “As the owner, it is most important to me to stay hands-on, hiring staff and being available when clients ask to meet the owner,” Shonda added. “Because I have been a nurse, I understand, and the clients find me sincere and sympathetic.”
Accessible Home Health Care serves adults with chronic illnesses and children with special needs who stay in their homes as they receive medical care following their physician’s regimen. With attentive care, people stay out of the cycle of emergency room visits and frequent hospital stays.
Shonda is a strict boss, she admitted, because her clients want consistency in their care, and she maintains a commitment to providing that through her employees. From a financial standpoint, there have been challenges. But when sales are down, the home office helps out with marketing strategies, yearly meetings, and networking.
Shonda foresees a continuing need for her company’s services. With about one million people in the seven cities of Hampton Roads, about 10 percent are in need of some home health care. That’s a hundred thousand people.
“I figured that 30 agencies couldn’t take care of all of those people, so Accessible Home Health Care is a natural for our growing region,” Shonda said. Her hunch turned into a fine decision.
NATURAL EMPATHY
Out of 58 7-11 stores in Hampton Roads that are owned by franchisees, 25 are owned and operated by women. Joanne Webb Joyce, director of franchises for the 7-11 corporation in Texas, believes it’s a good match for many women with experience in convenience stores and a natural empathy for customers and co-workers.
When Jin Kim moved to the United States with her Korean family in 1976, she remembers shopping in 7-11 stores. In just a few years, Jin started working as a cashier and over a period of twelve years became a manager of a Virginia Beach store. She took a hiatus to get married and start a family.
But Jin came back. What she discovered was that beyond selling coffee and Slurpees, 7-11s build a sense of community in neighborhoods. The longer she stayed in a store, the more this idea appealed to her. At the same time her capacity for business grew.
“It’s a convenience. Customers like the quick service, and it’s friendly and clean,” she said. “And the company has a beautiful business system. As long as you follow their system, you cannot go wrong.”
In 2007 when the corporation began offering franchises, Jin Kim was among the first Hampton Roads women who bought one. In fact, the first five stores franchised in our region were bought by women. Now Jin owns a second store with the support of her family. Her 23-year-old daughter, Tina, manages the newer store at Lynnhaven Parkway and Salem Road, supervising 13 employees. Jin sees advantages to younger employees.
“At any age if you want to be successful, you should start from the bottom. You want to learn step-by step and understand how things work,” she explained.
In another part of Hampton Roads, Jean Riley purchased the very 7-11 store where she worked as a young woman. Located on Newtown Road, very close to one of the Tide’s light rail stations under construction, Jean is excited about the potential for new business, which she welcomes in a sluggish economy. She’s already planning to serve coffee to commuters when the rail service begins.
“We’re not going to wait for them to come to us!” she said with a laugh.
Jean has worked for 7-11 for a total of 23 years in stores all over the region, learning how to manage, hire, and staff stores. Buying a franchise was simply the next step in Jean’s business life.
“When I heard about the franchises, I knew I wanted to purchase this store where I began,” she said. “I talked to my husband, who is retired from the military and owns his own company, and he said whatever I wanted to do, he was behind me 100 percent.”
Employees often stay with the same store for many years, generating a feeling of family among the staff. Lilli, a current employee, supervised Jean in her early days, worked for 30 years, retired, then came back to work when Jean bought the store. Jean is convinced that the long-term commitment of her co-workers pays off—even after a recent storm.
“During Nor-Ida, we kept power on the whole four days when many people had no electricity,” she said. “People were coming in, not just buying a cup of coffee. They were buying boxes of coffee!”
Both Jin and Jean have found strength in their commitment to their customers and are willing to endure the ups and downs of the marketplace in a business that people count on. That makes their customer base fairly universal and the expectations they have predictable.
7-11 franchise owners have one advantage over many start-ups: it is essentially a “turn-key” operation. The new owners don’t have to purchase the land or the building, and the company stays close to daily operations.
THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY
Market research reveals that in a sluggish economy, women buy more lipstick. And women who own businesses that offer skin care and other beauty regimens know this to be true.
Lorie Shaffer, owner of the Merle Norman studio at Lynnhaven North, feels that her business continues to lift women up without straining their budgets.
“It’s a small investment to spend maybe $150 on high-quality skin care and some cosmetics, instead of several hundred on a designer handbag or shoes,” she said.
Lorie didn’t start her career as a Merle Norman franchise owner. She worked for a chiropractor for many years, but when she lost her job in 1998, she found an opportunity waiting: an established business with a stable clientele. One of her best friends owned a Merle Norman franchise, and the couple who owned the Virginia Beach studio was retiring. Unlike many franchises, there was no franchise fee. Lorie walked into a good situation.
“I was able to finance the purchase with the owners, and I paid off the loan in seven years!” Lorie said happily. Her regular expenses now include rent, products, salaries, and taxes.
“I have a good accountant and tax adviser, and that’s the advantage of owning a franchise,” she explained. Merle Norman’s home office in California provides Lorie with guidance on many aspects of her business from how to lay out her studio and place her products to assisting with advertising.
The price of a franchise depends on many factors, including location, community, and the retail sales that a particular store brings in. The average range for buying a franchise is between $10,000 and $100,000. If you scan websites for franchises available in Virginia, you’ll see all kinds of possibilities, including established fast food restaurants, companies that offer services, and chain boutiques. For Lorie, it helped that her company had been around since 1931 and that the products were manufactured in the U.S. She also had the freedom to make her studio unique, offering massages, manicures, and pedicures.
“Merle Norman’s really great about letting us add things like jewelry and services,” Lorie said.
Lorie maintains that the qualitative aspects of her work are as important to her as business success. Giving a facial, explaining the hows and whys of makeup to a group of young teens, or keeping a connection with her clients as they prepare for important life events is fulfilling.
“I can’t imagine doing another kind of job,” Lorie said. Buying a franchise was a way to create connection with many women and provide a good life. And after eleven years in business, she continues to enjoy an optimistic perspective.
It’s never too late to consider a new start, these women say. If you’re thinking about buying a franchise, do your research, look at the successful franchises that have proven records, and take a realistic look at the assets you can liquify to get started. Like Jin, Jean, Lorrie, and Shonda, you may discover a new career. All it takes is a dream and a can-do attitude.
Kathleen Fogarty is a frequent contributor.
