Taking control by opening a franchise
Husband and wife team, Jackie and Mark Gillen launched their Radfield Home Care office in July 2018. Having previously worked in social housing, providing sheltered housing and hostels for homeless people Jackie decided to join the Radfield franchise to take control of her career.
“Despite already working within the social care sector, I got to the stage where I was tired of working for the benefit of other people.”
Franchise or go it alone?
“A franchise has lots of benefits and is a much safer option. I like the fact that you have all of that network of support and everything is already in place. We have somebody we can go to that we trust, who has the business background.
“Sometimes, you just need that support and it really is worth its weight in gold.”
Why Radfield Home Care?
“At the National Franchise Exhibition, we walked around, speaking to quite a few other franchise companies, but Radfield just felt right. For us, it was about the ethos of the company. There is a shared vision that everyone believes in, to help people. We just felt that the values of Radfield stood out and were going to fit with our own values.”
Why did you launch your business in Wakefield?
“We wanted to work within our local area and build a connected community, a huge factor was that we actually live here and we care about the area. We wanted something local because my husband and I have always worked somewhere that we’ve needed to commute; this way, we can work locally and with a community that we already care deeply for.”
What makes you happiest about your franchise journey?
“We’re genuinely delivering a good service to clients in our local community… it’s exceptional quality and I’m proud of that. It’s making a massive difference to the lives of local people, while also securing the financial future of our own family.”
