Business View Magazine
        
        
          
            7
          
        
        
          ling said, and is further based upon a model intended
        
        
          to emphasize the relationship between the agency, the
        
        
          care-giver and the care-recipient.
        
        
          “We like to find care-givers that have experience work-
        
        
          ing in the industry,” he said. “A part of our system is
        
        
          that we introduce care-givers to the families, and, in
        
        
          a sense, the families select the care-giver for use with
        
        
          their loved ones. That is a predominant part of our sys-
        
        
          tem.”
        
        
          That relationship, then, becomes a main differentiator
        
        
          from competitors.
        
        
          The average client engagement is 2½ years, which
        
        
          Ritterling said exceeds the industry average and has
        
        
          helped the company position itself and its care-givers
        
        
          to potential clients as very vital parts of the aging
        
        
          process, enabling seniors to keep living in their own
        
        
          homes for a longer period of time.
        
        
          And beyond all that, a little extra exposure doesn’t hurt
        
        
          either.
        
        
          “We are the only home-care company that is on na-
        
        
          tional television every single day of the year and on
        
        
          radio stations across the country,” he said. “We have
        
        
          an ad cooperative fee that our franchisees pay, and as
        
        
          a result of that we’re able to develop a treasure chest
        
        
          that is focused purely on advertising our services na-
        
        
          tionwide.”
        
        
          The franchise has become a mainstay on annual lists
        
        
          composed by Entrepreneur magazine, including five
        
        
          consecutive top 100 appearances on the Franchise
        
        
          500 list, two appearances – in 2012 and 2013 – on
        
        
          the magazine’s list of fastest-growing franchises and
        
        
          four appearances among the collection deemed as