Meet an Owner: Stacy Hepinger

In 2022, Stacy Hepinger found herself in an unusual position; having worked her way up from caregiver to office manager, she was asked by the previous owner of Right at Home, Northwest Pittsburgh to take over the franchise as the new owner.?

Although it might have seemed far-fetched at first, the more Stacy thought about it, the more she realized that she already handled much of the day-to-day operations of the franchise as the office manager and had a strong handle on the administrative side of the business. Eventually,? she decided to forge ahead and officially purchased the territory in November 2022.

“If someone had told me as a caregiver that I would own the franchise one day, I would have told them that they were crazy!” said Stacy. “It’s been a very interesting experience and a great process to get where I am now.”

From Stay at Home Mom to Right at Home Caregiver?

Stacy, who graduated with a business degree, had chosen to become a stay-at-home mom to care for her children when they were young. And when her grandmother got sick, she volunteered to care for her too. Stacy and her family quickly learned, however, that they needed more hands on deck to manage her in-home hospice care.

“Right at Home was recommended to me and my family. When we contacted them, they sent fantastic staff out to talk to us about the services they provide and how they could help our family,” Stacy recalled. “Ultimately, they sent the most amazing caregivers to work with us. Through that process and being exposed to the agency as a family member and client, it was an easy decision for me when I finally felt ready to transition back into the workforce. I chose caregiving, but really I chose Right at Home.”

In 2018, Stacy sent a job application to Right at Home and was hired and onboarded seamlessly. Although she had experienced being a caregiver to her grandmother, she knew she still had a lot to learn. Right at Home proved to be a wonderful place to do it.

“The staff was so supportive and knowledgeable. Our field supervisor brings so many years of experience to this particular agency, and she was always fantastic about answering my questions–she never makes you feel like you’re asking a dumb question, and I had a lot of questions at the beginning!” Stacy said. “She always treated me with respect, and it cemented caregiving as the right career path for me. I found my home here as a caregiver.”

Learning The Business of Caregiving

Eventually, the opportunity arose for Stacy to transition from caregiving into an administrative role within the franchise, which provided her with the chance to utilize her business degree.

“I really fell in love with the industry when I was working as a caregiver, seeing how important it is to provide the services we provide to people. So when I had the chance to learn the business from the administrative side, I felt it was important to my growth and development. Little did I know that it would ultimately lead to me becoming a franchise owner!”

As the office manager, Stacy had a variety of duties to help the day-to-day operations run smoothly. From handling payroll to billing to overseeing the scheduling for caregivers and clients, Stacy learned how to manage it all.

“Being able to take my passion for the work and switch it over to the administrative side was a unique challenge, but it allowed me to harness old skills that had been dormant for years,” Stacy said. “And to be able to do it with an agency I really love, in an industry I care very much about, was an incredible experience.”

A Learning Curve For Becoming the Boss?

When the original owner of Stacy’s franchise was planning to retire, he offered to sell her the business. While the transition was relatively seamless, Stacy realized there was still a lot more she had to learn to run the business successfully. She credits corporate support for helping her thrive in her new role.

“My performance coach is always there to answer all of my questions,” said Stacy. “He sort of acts as a quarterback, directing me regardless of the challenge. If he can’t answer my question, I always know that he’ll be able to point me in the right direction.”

Most of Stacy’s questions have been about all the new tasks she’s had to take on as an owner, including marketing and HR support. In addition to her business performance coach, Stacy has also leaned on her fellow Right at Home agency owners to help her troubleshoot issues that arise within the business.?

“We have four sister agencies near us, and we all lean on each other for extra support. Being able to reach out to them to figure out best practices for recruiting or operations questions has been an immense resource,” Stacy said. “It’s very collaborative and cooperative. You never feel like you’re alone, especially if you’ve never run a business before.”

With all the years of experience behind her, Stacy recommends that before diving into the decision to become a Right at Home franchise owner, you examine your intentions behind wanting to own the business.

“It’s a fantastic industry and an excellent franchise system, but at the end of the day, it can’t be about wanting to make millions of dollars. You have to be in it for the right reasons, making sure that you as a person want to see your agency provide a high level of care for all of your clients and fostering a quality environment for all of the caregivers you employ.”

According to Stacy, if you can do that, you can make a real difference in a lot of people’s lives.

To learn more about Right at Home and why it can boast unmatched support not found anywhere else in the senior care industry, visit: https://rightathomefranchise.com. Visit our territory availability map of Pennsylvania. If you are interested in other franchise territories, visit our available territories map.??

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