Like many Caremark franchisees, Duncan Smith was new to the social care sector when he started his franchise. Duncan was previously a wine importer and sold wines from all around the world to different retailers.

Redundancy led him to put things into perspective and made him realise that his skills and experience would fit in another business sector. Duncan wanted to return to his Yorkshire roots and was keen to start a business in West Yorkshire. The memory of his late grandfather, a well-known and respected Doctor in Huddersfield, prompted him to look into starting his own business in the home care sector.

Duncan explains: “Having researched future growth areas in the economy I discovered an opportunity with Caremark. There were already established Caremark businesses in neighbouring areas to mine which gave me the confidence to make the required investment.

“Being in charge of my own destiny and building an excellent team around me has been the most rewarding in terms of job satisfaction.”

He continued: “The support I have had from Caremark right from the start has been excellent. The initial training was thorough and very intensive, but it really needs to be, to prepare you to get your business off the ground and to help you understand the legislation which sits within the care industry. The help and advice from my Regional Development Manager has also been invaluable.”

Recognition of Duncan's efforts came quickly. Just over a month after he had started operating he was informed by Huddersfield Town that he had won their monthly ‘Shooting Star’ award. The prize recognises local businesses in the area. A few months later, he was nominated for Caremark’s Newcomer of the Year Award at the franchisor’s annual conference. For Duncan, the awards were proof that he "had been doing the right things at the start".

Since then, he has not stopped building strong relationships within his local community. He also promotes social care as a sector that offers different career opportunities.

Despite the challenges currently facing social care, Duncan is glad he made the leap from paid job to being his own boss and providing a worthwhile service to his local community.

Two years later and the proud owner of an expanding business Duncan advises: “Don’t worry so much about where your first customer is going to come from. If you firmly believe that what you are doing is right and put in the required amount of effort then the rest will follow. You have to trust the franchise model and in your own abilities….after all, that’s why you bought into it!”