01752 905790
info@extra-help.co.uk
As mentioned in our last blog, several new franchisees recently joined Extra Help, having all been searching for a low-cost, recession-resilient franchise with high earning potential.
This week, we’re delighted to welcome Rachel Brown to the Extra Help family. As of 1st May, Rachel joins us as the proud new owner of Extra Help St Albans, covering postcode areas AL1-AL10, including St Albans, Harpenden, Welwyn, and Hatfield.
Rachel lives in Hemel Hempstead with her partner and chocolate Labrador and has one grown-up son. However, as she currently works as a part-time, private carer in St Albans, she is very familiar with the area, along with the growing gap in the local market for home-help services for the elderly.
Rachel brings a wealth of relevant experience and knowledge to Extra Help. Upon leaving college, she worked in hospitality, at Champneys in Tring, among other places, which she really enjoyed. However, in 2001, she made the decision to join Hertfordshire Police, where she worked in various roles in response, case investigation, family liaison, assessing, community safety, executive support and public protection. During this time, Rachel received ongoing training in safeguarding, considering the needs of the community and assessing vulnerabilities. She also qualified separately in counselling, childcare, nannying, paediatric first aid and food hygiene.
Having risen through the ranks to become a detective sergeant, Rachel decided to leave the police force, after 21 years, to work in adult safeguarding.
“This was when I first realised how many services that people need often aren’t available, such as a bit of cleaning, support when they come out of hospital, or even just some companionship,” she says.
As mentioned, Rachel currently works as a carer and her services are very much in demand, so much so that she often has to turn work away. She had always known the demand was there but, as she had never run a business by herself before, decided to look into care franchises. However, when she found Extra Help on an online franchise directory, she realised that this was a lower-cost, easier alternative to the care franchises she’d originally considered.
Rachel says: “Extra Help is ideal for me as I have access to the business model, support, training and the benefit of Claire’s knowledge and experience she’s built up over the years. It seems ideal as a first business, as the business model is easy to follow and your home-helpers are self-employed, so there’s no PAYE or National Insurance to manage.”
Since Rachel chose to invest in an Extra Help franchise, she has been trained by Denise Cooper, a fellow franchisee and Extra Help’s official trainer and has completed her Dementia Friends training. She has received help from Head Office with her web page and marketing and has also been in touch with a few other franchisees, who she says have been really helpful. Rachel has already found her first, regular client and is currently in the process of recruiting three new home-helpers.
Extra Help St Albans offers a wide range of home-help and cleaning services to many types of people, including the elderly and new and working parents.
Services include:
- Companionship
- Transport to/from appointments and social events
- Meal preparation
- Gardening and household maintenance
- Domestic cleaning, including end of tenancy, spring and deep cleans
- Laundry / ironing
- Shopping services
- Help and support for busy parents, e.g. school runs and helping out after school and during holidays.
Find out more about how Rachel and her team at Extra Help St Albans can help you with everyday tasks or call 01727 221202.
Extra Help is always looking for kind and caring people who would like to run a successful business, offering a flexible range of home-help services to their local communities. If Rachel’s story has inspired you and you think Extra Help could be your ideal franchise, give us a call on 01752 905790 to find out if your area is available. You can also visit our website for more information.
