Screenshot of Right at Home website.For nearly two years, a home-care company based in Omaha, Neb., has been looking to expand its franchise reach to Chattanooga.
Right at Home wants to add two or three locations in the Chattanooga area to the 400 it already has nationwide.
If you go
* What: Chattanooga Franchise Expo 2015 * When: Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Attendees can come and go. * Where: Residence Inn by Marriott, 2340 Center Road, Chattanooga * Admission: Free if you register in advance through www.chattfranexpo.eventbrite.com. At the door, $10. Free workshops: * 10 a.m.: Finding the right franchise fit * 11 a.m.: Funding options * Noon: Networking * 1 p.m.: Finding the right franchise fit * 2 p.m.: Funding options * 3 p.m.: Networking
About franchising
In the only comprehensive census of franchising done in 2007, the U.S. Bureau of Census said franchise businesses account for: * 10.5 percent of businesses with paid employees * $1.3 trillion of the $7.7 trillion in total sales in these industries * $153.7 billion of the $1.6 trillion in total payroll * 7.9 million workers out of a total workforce in industries with 59 million total workers Source: 2007 Economic Census Franchise Report
Other companies are looking to expand locally too, said Jerry Bird, owner of FranNet in Chattanooga, which does franchise consulting in Alabama and East Tennessee.
Nearly two dozen of them will showcase themselves Wednesday during the Chattanooga Franchise Expo 2015. The event is free to those who register in advance at chattfranexpo.eventbrite.com and costs $10 for those who show up the day of the expo.
The annual expo will showcase companies in senior care, digital signage, insurance, staffing, home maintenance, fast-casual eating, home improvement/organization, business-to-business services and insurance, among others. Event organizers didn't publish the names of companies expected at the event, but Bird named Signworld and Zoup among them. He counts about 20 new franchises that have opened in the Chattanooga area in 2014, amid territories that reach up to 150 miles away.
Like most franchise operations, Right at Home charges franchisees a one-time fee when they join ($47,500), claims a share of gross revenue (5 percent) and works with new owners over an extended period of time to teach them the ins and outs of the company.
Right at Home, which offers in-home companionship and assistance to seniors and disabled adults, has the potential for about 650 locations worldwide.
Chattanooga is strategically important to the company because of its work with long-term-care insurance companies.
"Right now, there's a hole in the map right over Chattanooga," said Eric Little, the company's senior vice president of franchise development.
Little counts more than 83,000 residents over age 65 in Hamilton, Bradley, Sequatchie, Marion and Franklin counties in Tennessee.
That justifies two to three territories for the company, which will not be at Wednesday's expo.
The key is getting the right franchisees, he said.
To that end, Right at Home has hired a company to help find candidates, Little said.
Right at Home screens franchisee candidates from the outset, requiring among other factors that they have management experience and at least $150,000 to invest.
Most don't have health care or home-care experience.
Business experts who can assist in buying and growing a business will also be at Wednesday's event, Bird said.
Attending organizations will include the Small Business Administration and the Tennessee Small Business Development Centers.
Contact staff writer Mitra Malek at mmalek@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6406. Follow her on Twitter @MitraMalek.