1851 Franchise Webinar | Stephanie Humphries

When Stephanie Humphries bought a Right at Home franchise in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 2017, the business made sense for more than one reason. It connected to her background in physical therapy, gave her a way to work for herself, and eventually grew into three Iowa territories. Looking back, Humphries said much of that growth has come back to a lesson she learned before she ever owned a business: people are more likely to stay when they know they matter.

“I've often drawn from what happened to me, thinking that now that I'm in the position of being someone's boss, that I don't want to be that person,” Humphries said. “Letting them know they're valued and we need them, and trying to lift them up every day is very important because I didn't always feel that way in other jobs I had.”

Humphries’ path to franchising started at home, where she had already seen the model through her husband’s Valpak business. Before that, she spent seven years working at McDonald’s, went on to become a physical therapist, and later stayed home for 10 years to raise her three daughters. When the Right at Home resale became available, it connected back to work she had done in home health while also fitting the family’s long-running interest in business ownership.

Today, Humphries owns Right at Home territories in Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, and Des Moines. The business provides in-home care services that help older adults remain independent in their homes. For Humphries, growth has depended heavily on finding and supporting the caregivers who carry out that work every day.

“I think I've always had the philosophy that, no matter what your position is in the company — and first and foremost, our home health aides are really the most important people in the company. If we don't have caregivers and aides to take care of our clients and the older adult population, what do we have? Nothing,” Humphries said. “Any task you're doing is so important. Take pride in it. I don't want the caregivers to say, ‘I'm just a caregiver.’ That's not it at all.”

That philosophy now guides much of how Humphries operates. Her team regularly reviews employee feedback, retention trends, and workplace culture. The company has also added benefits including PTO, health insurance, and recognition programs. Still, Humphries said the day-to-day treatment of caregivers is just as important.

As the business expanded, Humphries also had to learn how to step back from tasks she once handled herself. In the early days, she managed home assessments, billing, payroll, and marketing. Moving from one office to three required her to trust other people with responsibilities she had once been reluctant to give up.

“The key is relinquishing some control,” Humphries said. “It's about trying to position yourself with the right people in key roles who can really act for you.”

Humphries continues to look for growth opportunities while strengthening the offices she already owns. Her approach remains rooted in the same lesson that shaped her as an employee: strong businesses are built by people who feel supported enough to stay, grow, and take ownership of the work in front of them.

Nick Powills: All right, Stephanie, I know what direction I want to go with our discussion because I read about you before I got on here, which is usually rare for me. Usually, I just jump in here and see where it goes. But I’m still going to ask my first question because I want to know the backstory.

How did you accidentally fall into franchising? What’s your franchise backstory?

Stephanie Humphries: I always have a hard time figuring out how far back to start answering that question. In hindsight, my first job was at McDonald’s, and I ended up working there for seven years. Even way back then, I probably knew I didn’t enjoy working for other people much.

I grew up in a household where my dad was a pharmacy manager. There was that mentality that you went to college, and stayed in the same profession your whole life, whether you enjoyed it or not. I figured that was what would happen to me.

Along the way, I figured out that I wanted to go into physical therapy. It was like an aha moment when I finally chose that profession, and I was able to get into the University of Iowa graduate program for physical therapy. But even when I started working as a therapist, I was not fulfilled. I enjoyed being a therapist, but there was still that factor of being under someone else’s thumb.

I took a break from that career. My husband and I ended up with three daughters, which is another whole story in and of itself because I never thought I would have any kids. Then, here I am with three daughters.

I decided to stay home with them when they were quite small, so I was a stay-at-home mom for 10 years. During that time, my husband and I figured out pretty early on that we just wanted to forge our own path, and support ourselves. I feel like we’ve created an empire at this point, but way back then, it was just about being able to work for ourselves.

My husband got into a franchise while I was at home with our girls when they were small. I was introduced to a franchise system through my husband. When it got to the point where I felt like I wanted to get back out doing something, we had looked for businesses off and on, and we still do. It’s just a curiosity: What’s out there? What’s for sale? What’s selling? What’s not?

That’s when, in 2017, I found the resale of Right at Home in Cedar Rapids. With my background in physical therapy, and because I had worked in home health as a PT, it was something that resonated with me. It was something I felt like I could do, even though I had not run a business before, and had not taken a single business class or economics class. My background is largely math and science.

But it’s been working out OK since then.

Powills: I was reading the article that we had on 1851 Franchise to get a sense of your backstory, and your quote really struck me. I’m going to paraphrase it, but in essence, you had an experience as an employee where you didn’t like how you were treated. There was a chip on your shoulder that gave you a bad taste in corporate America, which I would imagine ended up being fuel as you became a business owner.

You can see it in your quote. You said, “I’m not going to treat my staff that way.” How much has that chip on your shoulder meant to you now that it’s an asset? Then, it was probably hurtful and frustrating. Now, it’s an asset. Talk about how that’s changed.

Humphries: Absolutely. I’ve had more than one instance of a poor employment experience. It’s disappointing.

I naively thought, “Here I am. I have a graduate degree. I’m a medical professional.” Of course, it dates back. I had poor experiences working in fast food. But I thought, “I’ll become a professional, an educated medical professional.” And I still had poor experiences.

It was dismaying and disappointing, but I worked through those experiences. I’ve often drawn from what happened to me, thinking that now that I’m in the position of being someone’s boss, I don’t want to be that person.

I think I’ve always had the philosophy that, no matter what your position is in the company — and first and foremost, our home health aides are really the most important people in the company. If we don’t have caregivers and aides to take care of our clients and the older adult population, what do we have? Nothing.

I’ve really tried to convey the message that, no matter what you’re doing, whether you’re cleaning someone’s toilet, making somebody a sandwich, or helping them use the restroom, these are probably not considered very glamorous tasks. But they’re so important to another person’s life, helping them age where they want to age. Or, if they’re at the end of life, providing that support.

Any task you’re doing is so important. Take pride in it. I don’t want the caregivers to say, “I’m just a caregiver.” That’s not it at all. That’s huge. Taking care of another human being, really at any age or in any capacity, is huge.

Letting them know they’re valued and we need them, and trying to lift them up every day, is very important because I didn’t always feel that way in other jobs I had.

Powills: It’s been a while since you had a job, and you’ve held on to this. That cut stayed. Obviously, now it has turned into a guiding principle.

You said you didn’t want to work for someone else because they ruled with an iron fist. Now, you’re taking a softer approach of appreciation and empathy in an industry that has tremendous turnover at the caregiver level.

Has that guiding principle changed things? Are you outperforming what turnover typically looks like because you treat people like humans?

Humphries: I honestly think so. I really do.

From the very beginning, we’ve been in a constant state of self-analysis: Is what we’re doing working? Is it effective? Is it efficient? How much money is it costing us? We’re constantly evaluating ourselves as a business to make sure we’re doing what makes sense.

When I first took over, in those early years, we did have a lot of turnover. It was crazy when I think back to the number of people who would quit in a given week or month.

You can’t sit there and point the finger at them and say, “It’s all their fault” or “What’s wrong with them?” You have to look inward and think, “What are we doing as a company that is causing people to want to jump ship so quickly?”

We have to be surveyed every single month through Right at Home. We analyze feedback from those surveys over the years, interview our caregivers, do some of our own surveys, and have one-on-one conversations. We try to get to the bottom of what we’re doing wrong as a company that makes them not want to stick around.

Over the years, we’ve done a lot to improve retention. Benefits are great. A couple of years ago, I became a large employer, and that puts you in a position where you need to offer health insurance of some sort. That was the final benefit I wanted to be able to provide.

But we’ve also learned that when we are hiring caregivers coming from nursing homes, a hospital setting, or other home health agencies, based on those stories, they’re not always treated the best in those working environments. When they come to us and say things like, “Wow, you guys are so nice,” “You guys are so welcoming,” or “I can’t believe you just took the time to talk to me for 20 minutes,” it’s surprising and refreshing for them.

We’ve gotten all that feedback over the years. It’s how you treat people day in and day out. It’s your culture. It’s expressing value for them and what they do.

At the same time, we’ve also been in positions where the caregivers kind of ran the show. They weren’t answering to anybody, and they were breaking rules left and right. That doesn’t work either.

It’s expressing empathy and being good communicators, but at the same time holding people accountable because we do have a standard that we have to uphold. We have our disciplinary processes and counseling if someone’s not quite meeting those expectations.

Powills: There was another quote I read where you said something to the effect of conditioning your hours so your hours go down. You let the business operate itself, which in turn has allowed you to scale.

That could be the most valuable piece of advice and the piece of the equation for anybody who is going to grow in business. I’m zooming out from your story, but you’re taking an unemotional attachment to business, which has allowed you to go from one to three. Is that a superpower you have? What’s the vision? Where do you go with this?

Humphries: I had to learn how to do that because when I first bought Cedar Rapids, I was definitely in the fray. I did all the home assessments. I did the billing. I did the payroll. I was the marketer. I was out there.

Sometimes, when I think back — and our children were still pretty young. Our youngest was only 7 or 8 when I bought it. Our kids have never gone to daycare, even with our careers. My parents live in the area, and they’ve helped us out to an extent. But it’s me and my husband who have taken care of our children along our business journeys.

Powills: How did you get to managing your time?

Humphries: Scaling. Yes.

You have to, or you’re going to go insane. I went from having so many roles in one office to two offices in 2022. There’s no way I would have been able to make that move if I didn’t feel confident in the staff in Cedar Rapids.

That’s the key, and that’s still ongoing: finding the right people to perform the roles that are good for them. You want to position people where you can capitalize on their strengths and realize what their weaknesses are, and not ask them to do job tasks that are within their weaknesses. That’s what I’ve learned.

I felt confident enough in Cedar Rapids to expand and start splitting my time with the second office. It took off pretty quickly. Then, I had the opportunity to add Des Moines last year.

The key is relinquishing some control. That really lies in whether you have the right people you feel confident in, with the appropriate training, and their own self-confidence, so you can delegate other things to them.

There was a time when I remember thinking, “Oh my gosh, I’m never going to be able to let someone else do my billing. Someone else will see my numbers.” But I gave that up a long time ago. I had to. There’s just too much.

It’s about trying to position yourself with the right people in key roles who can really act for you. If you get to know your staff well enough and understand their personalities and strengths, you can ask, “Would that person say what I would say or behave in a manner that I would behave as the owner?”

That’s where I feel more comfortable taking some steps back and looking at the big picture, rather than being in the fray of things on a daily basis.

I love meeting with my staff. I still visit each office roughly once a week in a normal routine. I probably won’t continue with that amount of frequency, but I still don’t have things quite positioned where I would like, particularly in the Des Moines office, because I’ve only owned it for a year. I’m working on structuring that and finding the right people.

Read the full interview on 1851 Franchise.