Charles Folkes from Caremark (Redcar and Cleveland) speaks of his reasons for why he chose a Caremark Franchise and his view on running the business in unprecedented times.

12 years ago Charles decided that a home care franchise was the most viable option after conducting research of various franchise options, he had been running businesses outside of the care sector for many years and was looking for a solid business model in a growing market “I researched various sectors before reaching the decision that domiciliary care offered the sustainability and a straightforward business model which allowed for positive cashflow and personal reward.”

He goes onto say how he was looking for a franchise with good ethics, integrity and with the potential for growth, something the Caremark model offered him.

Further to funding his business through half personal capital and half a government backed loan he went into the comprehensive Caremark training programme: “The initial training gave me the tools to enter the world of care with confidence. Ongoing support from the head office team, covering staff training, staff recruitment, policies, procedures, PR, marketing, IT and financial aspects of the business”.

He found the ongoing support and communication from the team at head office and a Regional Support Manager particularly useful recently during the uncertainty of Brexit and currently COVID-19, he speaks of a constant stream of guidance and advice helping to alleviate his obvious anxiety during this period of economic turbulence. He also says the local authority’s communication and support has been exemplary during the current pandemic, from which much of the business’s income is derived.

He went on to talk about his happiness of choosing the Caremark franchise model because of its resilience through the current pandemic and Brexit. The fact that his business operates in a sector with a growing aging population means he feels the future is bright and he will go on from strength to strength.

He feels the more important element contributing to his success is the recruitment of the right staff, building a positive team who he says are “phenomenal”. He feels his team are “imbedded into the franchise model and culture, sharing his and Caremark’s vision of the future”
Charles feels his success is also attributed to his communication and engagement planning and implementation to his target audience, which he has seen shift from more traditional offline activity to mostly digital media channels, although he does still produce and send a printed newsletter 3 times a year to all his staff and customers, again with support in place for this from the franchisor proving particularly useful.

Charles is keen to see his franchise continue to grow while ensuring that quality care remains his main objective. “I love the fact that we are involved in providing an essential service to our local community and improve the quality of life of the people we support”

Charles has received multiple awards over the years and he is pictured above receiving his Franchisee of the year award at the Caremark annual conference earlier this year before lockdown.