Posted on by Sarah Canny

Bringing Compassionate Home-Help to the Cotswolds: Jinu Gomez’s Story

This week, we’re excited to introduce you to another new franchisee, Jinu Gomez, the proud owner of Extra Help Cotswold.

Jinu launched her home-help franchise business, Extra Help Cotswold, in October 2024, and serves the following areas:

Introducing Jinu

Jinu lives with her husband and two young children. With a Bachelor’s degree in Business & Management and a Master’s degree in Strategic Management, she always aspired to run her own, successful business. Her previous roles include working for Nottingham Trent University as a research associate and in the banking and finance sectors, as well as for the Civil Service. She currently balances part-time work in financial governance with building her own home-help franchise.

Jinu has also volunteered within her local community as a companion for the elderly through her local church. She thoroughly enjoyed making a positive difference to people’s lives.

Why Extra Help?

Jinu decided to explore franchising because it offered the perfect opportunity to bridge the gap between her academic expertise and the practical experience needed to build a business from the ground up. She knew that starting with a franchise would provide the ‘best of both worlds’ – being her own boss while receiving the support and advice from an established business.

After much consideration, Jinu discovered Extra Help. She immediately knew that this was the perfect opportunity to combine her desire to run her own business with her passion for helping others.

“I loved Extra Help as soon as I found it online! There was just something special about it, it felt like such a kind and caring company,” she says.

Jinu was also attracted by the wide range of services she could potentially provide as an Extra Help franchise owner, such as cleaning, dog-walking, gardening, meal preparation and companionship.

“People all have different needs, which can inevitably change over time, especially when you’re providing home-help services for elderly and vulnerable people. Extra Help is ideal because you have more flexibility to respond to all of these evolving needs and tailor services to best suit individual requirements,” she says.

Now, Jinu is proud to bring these trusted home-help services to the heart of the picturesque Cotswolds, a region known for its charming villages and strong sense of community.

How much support does Jinu receive?

Since starting her home-help franchise business, Jinu has been particularly impressed by the amazing support she has received from Extra Help.

She says: “My day-to-day contact is Sarah, who is brilliant and goes out of her way to help me. She and Claire, who is also lovely, have been so supportive since Day 1, providing me with all the training and guidance I needed to get my home-help franchise started.”

Jinu attends a weekly ‘Power Hour’ on Zoom, where she can chat to her fellow franchisees and ask for any advice she needs. She also attended the recent Extra Help Conference, which she found invaluable for getting to know her peers and discovering an ‘even wider support network’.

How’s it all going so far?

Although it’s still early days, Jinu says her business is growing slowly and steadily, which is exactly what she wants. She feels like she’s finally found her niche and describes becoming an Extra Help franchisee as the best decision she’s ever made!

“It’s been perfect since the day I started!” she says. “It’s such a pleasure to meet new clients, learn about their needs and then, seeing the difference we make in just a few visits. It’s so fulfilling and rewarding; I absolutely love it. I truly believe this is what I was meant to do.”

Jinu and her experienced team of home-helpers at Extra Help Cotswold are all trained Dementia Friends, meaning that they have learnt about the disease and how they can provide the best support to those suffering with it. Several team members also have Food Hygiene certificates, as well as experience of looking after children.

Extra Help Cotswold’s services

Extra Help Cotswold offers the entire range of Extra Help’s services, including, but not limited to:

  • Companionship – popping in, spending some time, or providing respite for carers
  • Domestic cleaning, tidying, laundry, and ironing
  • Taking clients shopping, enabling people to still have choices and feel part of their community, or doing shopping for them
  • Transport to doctors, hospital appointments, hairdressers, social events
  • Meal preparation
  • Gardening and DIY
  • Dog walking and basic pet care
  • De-cluttering of homes and maintenance 
  • Household jobs
  • School runs
  • Help for parents and working professionals
  • Spring cleans, end of tenancy/house move cleans

Get in touch

If you’re looking for reliable, compassionate home-help in the Cotswolds, please contact Extra Help Cotswold to learn more about their services.

Do you love helping others, like Jinu? Extra Help could be the perfect franchise for you! If you’re interested in running your own home-help franchise business, please call us on 01752 905790 to find out if your area is available. You can also visit our website for more information on our home-help franchise opportunities.