Aging in Place: Impressive Stats and Popular Trends Potential Franchise Owners Should Know About

One area of the home improvement market that has seen a huge spike in demand in recent years is the aging in place segment. This term refers to senior homeowners who want changes made that will allow them to maintain their comfort and independence by staying in their home. Research conducted by the AARP found that a full 90% of seniors want to stay where they're currently living. Even for people who require daily care, only 9% would rather live in a care facility. A big part of this is seniors are afraid that even if a facility provides a safe environment, they're going to be burdened by unwanted rules.

What Do Seniors Want?

Getting older creates a lot of mobility and safety challenges. Since seniors are aware of these issues, it shouldn't come as a surprise that they have strong opinions about what they want in terms of aging in place services. When surveyed, the eight improvements seniors feel are most important are:

·         Safety features (ex. non-slip floor surfaces)

·         Bathroom aides (ex. grab bars)

·         A way to call for help in an emergency situation

·         Entrances with no steps

·         Wider doorways

·         Doorknobs that feature a lever handle

·         Electrical outlets that are higher up the wall

·         Electrical switches that are lower on a wall

In terms of why seniors want these features, the most common is for their own safety. However, their decisions are also influenced by wanting to make their home more convenient for everyone, ensuring they can continue living independently, and providing features that another family member absolutely requires.

It's also worth mentioning that seniors themselves aren't the only people who are thinking about these issues. A full 88% of adult children think about their parents getting older on a regular basis. And of those, 54% feel strongly that their parents are going to need some form of help. Thanks to all these factors, the National Assocation of Home Builders believes this market will grow all the way to $25 billion in the near future.

Key Aging in Place Issues and Trends

Entering and exiting, going up and down stairs, and safely using the bathroom are three of the biggest issues related to aging in place. Because those issues present a wide range of challenges, many of the most popular trends address them in at least one way. For example, a lot of seniors are looking for ways to create a level entry and open up the space throughout their home so it's easier to navigate. This ties into many seniors' desire to be able to live on the ground floor.

Ensuring that storage is easy to reach and open is another significant trend that helps drive aging in place designs. This also influences many other design choices that enable someone to access what they need without having to bend. Also, creating bathrooms that balance comfort and safety plays a big part in satisfying the desires of aging in place customers.

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Learn More About Why the Home Improvement Market is Such an Appealing Business Opportunity

If you're in the process of researching new business opportunities, you may have discovered that becoming a franchise owner is a good fit for your existing skill set and future goals. Once you decide that you want to purchase a franchise, the next step in this process is deciding what market you should enter. While there are obviously lots of differences between the various franchises that are available within a market, starting with this factor will make it easier for you to ultimately narrow down your selection to the right choice.

The market we're going to discuss today is the home improvement industry. This industry includes property repair, home improvement, house maintenance, and aging in place. The first factor that makes this market so appealing is not only is it already quite large, but it's a market that continues to experience growth. For example, in regards to the aging in place niche, more people than ever are in need of home modifications that will allow them to stay there thanks to the current age of baby boomers.

Outlook for This Market

Currently, estimates peg the home improvement products and services market at around $300 billion. Although demand for a wide range of home services remained even through the stock market's lowest points, the fact that the US and world economy are regaining significant strength means demand will only continue to rise.

Another exciting aspect of this market is because more consumers are aware of issues like energy efficiency, there are more opportunities that weren't really available as recently as just five to ten years ago. For businesses that are agile enough to fill the demand for these new services, the sky really is the limit within this massive market.

The Right Partner to Make The Most of This Opportunity

Because the home improvement industry is such a ripe market, it shouldn't come as a surprise that there's a lot of competition. As a result, people who attempt to get a business off the ground without the right support system are probably going to experience a rude awakening. However, the fact that there is competition shouldn't deter your interest. Instead, it's confirmation that there's plenty of money to be made by providing home improvement services.

If you want to tap into this market and build a thriving business, we truly believe a House Doctors franchise is the way to go. There are several key reasons why we feel we're leaps and bounds above other home improvement companies. For one, our name and branding allow our franchise owners to offer many different services within this broad market.

Second, our size enables us to build strong relationships with product manufactures. The benefits of those relationships are passed directly to our franchise owners. Finally, we provide all the support and resources you need to launch and build your business the right way. Instead of spending valuable time trying to learn from mistakes, you'll be on a proven path to success from Day One! 

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What Kind of Marketing Program Does House Doctors Provide to Franchise Owners?

It's crucial for new businesses to get the word out about themselves. While great marketing can help a business hit the ground running with force, plenty of new business owners really don't know what they need to do in order to get the attention of potential customers. Although a lack of marketing is a common obstacle for all kinds of new businesses, it's not one that House Doctors franchise owners have to worry about. The reason this isn't a concern is part of becoming the owner of a House Doctors franchise is you'll get access to a proven marketing system. Instead of needing to spend your valuable time experimenting with tactics you hope will work, you'll be able to execute a proven strategy from the very start.

To get a better understanding of the type of marketing support our franchise owners receive, let's take a look at some different components of the House Doctors approach to marketing:

A Comprehensive Solution

The most obvious function of marketing is to target and attract new customers. That means taking care of things like ensuring potential customers can find the phone number for their local House Doctors franchise when they're in need of any home services. But directly reaching out to potential customers isn't the only function of marketing.

Another area of marketing that plenty of non-franchise owners overlook is connecting with existing customers. This is done to not only encourage them to do repeat business, but also to increase the likelihood of them referring their friends, family members or other acquaintances. A big part of this aspect of marketing is knowing the right way to do tasks like answering the phone, interacting with customers for the first time, and following up with them after a job is done.

As you can see, even though that's just one component of a successful marketing strategy, there's a lot that goes into it. So since we lay all those details and many more out for our franchise owners, it's not hard to see why they quickly make far more progress than they would be able to do if they were starting from scratch.

Easy to Find, Memorable and Engaging

Thanks to all of our experience with both online and offline promotion, choosing to purchase a House Doctors franchise means that potential customers will have no trouble finding your business wherever they're looking. And because we've invested a lot into developing a highly memorable brand, even if someone comes across you at a time when they're not in need of any services, you'll be on their mind when they do need some kind of home help. We also have many different ways to help you stay engaged with both potential and existing customers.

Although we're already able to provide our franchise owners with a highly effective marketing strategy, that doesn't mean we're sitting back on our laurels. Instead, we're committed to continuously experimenting with new techniques, seeing what works best, and then passing that information along to our franchisees!

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Be Your Own Boss In Growing Remodeling Market

Now may be the time to consider being your own boss in the home improvement industry as

data shows new single-family homes selling well in January and the home remodeling market forecasting continued strong growth. I'm excited about the timing for many of our franchisees who are seizing business opportunities in this industry.

Remodeling market forecasts continual growth

A recent Hanley Wood's study talked about consecutive quarters of growth for remodeling and so far those growth trend forecasts are proving to be accurate. Good new home sales figures in January, will also help fuel the trend. This continual growth in remodeling is exciting. It means if you have been thinking of being your own boss and starting a business in this industry, this may be the perfect time to make it happen.

House Doctors is a good measure of the market as many of our franchisees offer customers both handyman services and remodeling services. We are indeed seeing increased activity now we are coming out of the tough Winter. We expect the momentum to continue through 2014 and beyond.

Kitchen & bathroom upgrades and home repairs remain popular

According to the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University the ongoing growth in home prices, housing starts, and existing home sales is helping to create that increase in home improvement activity. Their forecast for double digit growth in remodeling for the first quarter is proving to be accurate. The increased activity in the housing market means new home buyers invariably have a need for remodels and handyman services. Kitchen and bathroom improvements and needed home repairs and maintenance remain the most popular with homeowners.

Future trends are exciting for House Doctors

This is all great news for the House Doctors franchisees today, but future opportunities could be even more exciting. Our market, property repair maintenance and improvement, is here to stay and as aging baby boomers become more confident in the economy more and more are starting to hire companies like ours for bigger ticket projects.