How to Make a Career Change With a Healthcare Franchise

If you’d like to make a profit, make a change and make a real difference in your local community, a career with a healthcare franchise could be the perfect option for you, providing you with everything you’re looking for in your professional life. Here’s how to start positively impacting the daily lives of others as a healthcare franchisee today.

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The healthcare sector is growing with every passing year, experiencing an 80% increase in the recruitment of qualified personnel in 2020 [Maddyness]. As the population increases and ages, demand is on the rise, so if you’re looking to join a thriving and crucial sector of business in the UK, why not consider franchising with a healthcare business?

Why start a healthcare franchise?

Starting your own healthcare franchise isn’t easy, but it is uniquely rewarding. It’s not for everyone, but it could definitely be for you. Beyond the fact that healthcare is an exciting and lucrative sector in which to enjoy a career (no two days are the same!), some of the main advantages of franchising in the sector include:

• Access to comprehensive expert training
• The chance to help people in need and really make a difference to the lives of others
• The ability to be your own boss and call your own shots
• A lower level of risk than going it alone in the industry
• A continuously high level of demand for services

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>> Read more:

• Elderly Care Franchises in the UK
• Care Services: Create Your Own Business
• 6 Tips for Building a Business Plan for a Successful Healthcare Business
• What Insurance Do You Need for a Health Care Business?
• How to find employees for your healthcare business

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How to make a career change with a healthcare franchise

1. Assess your qualifications/get the necessary qualifications

Not all healthcare franchising opportunities will require you to be specifically qualified, and to discover individual requirements, you should look to the individual profile pages of healthcare franchises on the Point Franchise website. That said, patient-facing roles will often require certain qualifications due to the responsibility you’ll have for the welfare of another. Examples of qualifications you might need to have include:

• For social care - A degree in social work, approved by the General Social Care Council.

• For a role as a healthcare assistant - Experience in the field or a qualification such as an NVQ or QCF (newer model).

• For a role as a homeopath - Completion of an approved course from the Society of Homeopaths.

We’re always looking for people with transferable skills who can bring life experience and insights from working in other sectors. So don’t rule yourself out just because you have a non-traditional background, or because you don’t have clinical or degree-level qualifications. —NHS

2. Assess the suitability of your skill set

Beyond your qualifications, which may or may not be needed depending on the kinds of opportunities you’re interested in pursuing, making a career change with a healthcare franchise will require you to assess your skills and your suitability to a career in the sector. Extensive training and support can fill knowledge gaps, but certain soft skills will be very necessary for success, such as:

• Empathy
• Positivity
• Stress management
• Time management
• Communication
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Teamwork
• Attentiveness
• Confidence

Soft skills can impact your career prospects, your job performance and other activities in life. Employers are often looking for soft skills in addition to qualifications. In many professions, including health care, your soft skills can help your career progression over time more than your technical skills. —Carrington

3. Research the healthcare sector and locate opportunities that might appeal

Researching the industry is an important step, and researching a wide range of available opportunities will help you to best narrow down an area of specialism or a preference for the kind of franchise opportunity that appeals. Examples of different areas that you could end up working in as a franchisee include:

• Healthcare administration and management
• Community healthcare
• Nursing
• Complementary therapies
• Care home/hospice work

Finding the right opportunity might take some time, but once you know your skills and your options, you’ll be better placed to do so. Ask yourself what you’d like your day-to-day life as a franchisee to look like: What hours do you want to work? What kind of work do you want to do? Would you rather a more practical role or a more administrative role?

The healthcare sector is a broad industry where people ultimately look after others. Whether you’re treating patients or conducting research, working in healthcare means you’ll be making a difference to the lives of others. — Safehands Recruitment

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>> Read more:

• Ready for a Career Change? Check Out These Five Top Franchise Opportunities in the UK
• Career Change: Start a Fresh Career with a Franchise
• Fed Up With the 9-to-5 Perhaps Starting a Franchise Business Is Your Best Next Career Move

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4. Network

Networking and getting to know potential franchisors and franchise networks is an integral part of successfully making your career transition. When you network, you’re able to:

• See industry trends
• Find suitable franchise opportunities/openings for franchisees
• Get a sense of the atmosphere/energy/vibe of franchisors and franchise networks
• Introduce yourself well and make a solid impression

During the pandemic, the shape of networking has changed, and there are more accessible virtual networking options than ever before. If you’re looking to make connections and meet people in healthcare, here are some top tips for franchise networking in the virtual, digital space:

• Be prepared, not just with questions but with an introduction
• Know your goals and keep yourself on track
• Do plenty of research ahead of time
• Demonstrate an upbeat and enthusiastic attitude
• Have your CV and research to hand
• Master best practices for video calls ahead of time
• Always consider time zones and be respectful of others
• Remember to give praise
• Seek genuine connection

Running your own business in the healthcare sector is uniquely rewarding

Hopefully, this article has given you a solid basis of understanding as to what you’ll need to do in order to make a successful career change with a healthcare franchise, transitioning from your current job into a role as a franchisee in any of the many sub-sectors of healthcare. If healthcare doesn’t feel like the right fit, don’t worry. There are plenty of franchising opportunities available in a huge range of sectors, from food service all the way to children’s tutoring.

If, on the other hand, healthcare definitely feels right for you, stay on Point Franchise and continue to learn, discovering the top four healthcare franchises in the UK and browsing our comprehensive guides to franchising with companies like Caremark and Radfield Home Care.