Namrata Yocom-Jan’s Passion for Quality Senior Care Drives Franchise Success
People listen when Seniors Helping Seniors President Namrata Yocom-Jan shares insights about franchising. She has 17 years of experience with the franchise her mother founded in 1998. Their brand hires mature caretakers to help aging clients continue living in their homes, part of the senior care market valued at $872.1 billion in 2022 and expected to top $1.9 trillion by 2032, according to Data Horizzon Research.
Yocom-Jan is obviously a franchising fan but cautions entrepreneurs to do their homework before investing. Study brands to learn about their support and performance, Yocom-Jan advocates, and “look for franchises that align with your interests, skills and values.” Clearly understand all financial commitments such as franchise fees, royalties and operational costs, she adds.
Setting Priorities
Female franchisees, in particular, must be able to juggle personal needs with professional responsibilities. Her method involves prioritizing work tasks and keeping to-do lists with deadlines. “I ask myself, ‘Am I being busy or am I being productive?’ This helps me to prioritize tasks that are truly strategic and important. I encourage all of our franchise owners to ask themselves the same question every day.” In addition, Yocom-Jan schedules breaks to recharge throughout her workday.
Learn to say ‘no’ to requests that don’t align with your priorities or contribute to your well-being.
To carve out personal time, she recommends “prioritizing self-care — doing things that bring you joy — and establishing boundaries to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Delegatetasks when necessary and seek support from family, friends and employees. Build a supportive network of family, friends, fellow franchisees and industry professionals. Lean on them for advice, encouragement and assistance.” That’s how Yocom-Jan assures quality time with her husband, Daniel Jan, and their 12-year-old son. Her free-time fun includes pickleball, snow and water skiing, and golf.
Regarding boundaries, Yocom-Jan says, “I am selective about taking on additional commitments that may detract from work-life balance. Learn to say ‘no’ to requests that don’t align with your priorities or contribute to your well-being.”
Pursuing Mentorship
She further suggests that women find mentors among successful female franchisees, stay informed about market changes and technology, and persevere against obstacles. “Then celebrate your successes and milestones… no matter how small.”
Yocom-Jan finds rewards daily when her franchise helps older clients live independently at home and when caregivers supplement their retirement incomes. Beyond that, Seniors Helping Seniors “empowers franchise owners to achieve their financial dreams and grants them autonomy and the freedom to pursue rewarding work, which adds another layer of satisfaction” to her job.
“I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to do good while also generating income.” Yocom-Jan gives this example: “We have a franchisee team who quit their jobs, sold their home, moved states and started a Seniors Helping Seniors franchise. In one year, they’ve completely settled into their community and financially are doing way better than they did in their previous jobs. Granting them a franchise was rewarding for them and for us. I’m driven by the desire to make a positive difference every day.”
Franchising has helped Yocom-Jan “build lifelong friendships and welcome people into our family, and have them welcome us into theirs. When Dan and I got married, 90% of our Seniors Helping Seniors franchise community attended our wedding, and that speaks to the type of relationships we have.”
Yocom-Jan says her brand built its community by communicating regularly, virtual networking, sharing knowledge, personalized training and development, celebrating achievements, encouraging collaboration, and leading by example.
Looking Ahead
Namrata Yocom-Jan, president of Seniors Helping Seniors, foresees these factors as shaping the franchise world:
- The growing emphasis on diversity and inclusion, which expands opportunities for women.
- Flexible business models such as home-based and mobile franchises. These let women more easily handle work and family commitments.
- Socially conscious brands (focused on the environment, senior care, community service, etc.) that woo consumers.
- The boom in health and wellness brands, which often appeal to women.
- Technology integration that upgrades customer experiences, streamlines operations and improves franchisor-franchisee communication.
- Increased networking that boosts support and collaboration.
For more information about the Seniors Helping Seniors franchise, visit https://seniorshelpingseniorsfranchise.com/.
