Senior Helpers Franchise Sales, Costs & Profits (2023)

With more than 310 franchised businesses across the US in 2023, Senior Helpers is one of the leading senior home care franchises, along with Interim HealthCare, Right at Home, Visiting Angels and the like.

At a cost of $150,000 (on average), Senior Helpers is one of the most affordable senior home care franchise. So if you’re looking to get into the senior home care industry, you may want to consider starting a Senior Helpers franchise. But is this a profitable business?

As per the latest Franchise Disclosure Document, the average Senior Helpers franchise made $1,180,000 in revenue per year in 2022, impressive.

In this article we’re looking into Senior Helpers and its FDD to find out how much it (really) costs and how profitable it really is. Let’s dive in!

Key stats

Franchise fee	$55,000
Royalty fee	5.00%
Marketing fee	1.50%
Investment (mid-point)	$150,000
Average sales	$971,000
Sales to investment ratio	5.0x
Payback period	[franchise_value_investment_payback]
Minimum net worth	$200,000
Minimum liquid capital	$50,000

About Senior Helpers

Headquartered in Towson, Maryland, Senior Helpers is a network of in-home care agencies that provide a variety of services, including in-home non-medical care, personal assistance services, and companionship services for elderly adults.

Senior Helpers was founded in 2001 and began franchising in 2005. By 2022, the company had 313 franchises in the US and 13 company-owned franchises.

The agency provides first-time franchisees with a golden opportunity to become their own bosses and achieve their goals of business ownership while impacting the lives of aging adults in the communities they live in through the Senior Helpers franchise system. 

Senior Helpers franchise: pros and cons

The Pros:

• Training and support: The franchisor offers its franchisees detailed training courses at its Senior Helpers University and on the site for its franchise owners, internal staff, and caregivers to help them run and manage their franchises smoothly.
• Exclusive territory protection: The franchisor grants the franchisees the right to operate in an exclusive territory as defined in the franchise agreement. It does not authorize any other franchises or operate related channels in the designated area.
• Third-party financing: The franchisor offers its franchisees financing through third-party lenders to fund their startup costs, franchise fees, equipment, inventory, and ongoing costs.
• Marketing and public relations: Senior Helpers has robust marketing and advertising systems to help franchisees promote their services and improve profitability. These include national media, regional advertising, SEO, email marketing, and loyalty program apps.
• Multiple income streams: With a diversified mix of services such as personal and companion care, sitter services, nurse, and peace of mind visits, franchisees get access to a variety of income streams to boost their bottom lines.
• Site selection: The franchisor provides its franchisees with site selection criteria to identify a viable business location, as well as designs and the build-out of their clinics.

The Cons:

• Not a home-based business: The Senior Helpers franchise cannot be operated from home or a mobile unit. Franchisees must have a fixed office space to operate from.
• No absentee ownership: The franchise is not a passive investment opportunity. Franchisees are supposed to take part in the day-to-day decision-making and operations of their clinics.
• Not a part-time business: The clinics cannot operate part-time. Franchisees must be open full-time for at least 40 hours per week.

Senior Helpers franchise costs

You would have to invest an average of $150,000 to open a Senior Helpers franchised business.

The investment covers all the start-up costs you may need to open a senior home care franchised business. You must pay the franchisor an initial franchise fee of $55,000. In addition to this franchise fee, the investment also covers:

• Formulation costs: Lease, utility and security deposits, leasehold improvements, business license and permits, etc.
• Equipment: Furniture, fixture, and equipment.
• Initial marketing fees: Promotional items, initial advertising costs
• Operating costs: Travel and living expenses, additional staffing, supplies, legal and professional fees, insurance, recruitment, additional funds for 3 months, etc.

Startup costs

Here’s the full breakdown of costs:

Type of Expenditure	Amount
Initial franchise fee	$55,000
Formulation costs	$5,500 – $23,000
Equipment	$7,000 – $9,000
Initial marketing fees	$5,000 – $10,000
Operating costs	$55,300 – $74,800
Total	$127,800 – $171,800

Senior Helpers franchise fees

Senior Helpers franchise revenue

On average, a Senior Helpers franchise business makes $1,180,000 in sales per year.

This number is the weighted average sales per franchise business for 287 of the 313 franchised businesses that operated in all of 2022.

Here’s a breakdown of the franchised businesses’ average and median revenue for 2022 based on their longevity. Logically, franchised businesses that have been more than 5 years in operations had an average revenue of $1.3 million vs. $536,000 for those that started less than 2 years ago (but more than 12 months).

Is Senior Helpers a good franchise investment?

We estimate that a Senior Helpers franchise, like most senior home care franchises, has an excellent 3 to 4 years payback.

In other words, you would repay investors and any loans or other creditors who invested in your franchise within 3 to 4 years by using the profits generated by the business. This is excellent, and as such we consider Senior Helpers to be a great franchise investment.

Note that we assumed a 10% net profit as well as a revenue ramp-up as you wouldn’t reach the $1 million yearly revenue the first year (as we just saw earlier).

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: This content has been made for informational and educational purposes only. We do not make any representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the information presented in the article. You should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other professional advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, advertisement, or offer to buy or sell any franchises, securities, or other financial instruments in this or in any other jurisdiction in which such solicitation or offer would be unlawful under the franchise and/or securities laws of such jurisdiction.

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