Meet the Owner: Joyce Barocus

Watch the full interview on our YouTube channel.

Joyce Barocus and her business partner have been with Right at Home for more than a decade. Today, they have deep connections with the clients they care for and deep roots in the New York City community they serve. But when they joined the Right at Home family in 2014, Joyce and her partner were both entirely new to the caregiving profession.

In fact, before making the leap into franchise ownership, Joyce worked in a very different field. She explains that “I was actually in brand management for the beauty industry.”

So how exactly did this unusual path lead to Right at Home? Well, there were certainly plenty of learning experiences along the way. But, as Joyce explains, her unusual professional background actually prepared her quite well for the challenges of running her own business.

Jumping from Cosmetics to Care

Joyce’s experience in the beauty industry would prove quite useful as she worked to launch her home care franchise. As Joyce explained, “I was familiar with marketing, building a business, and navigating P&Ls.”

Still, the decision to apply this knowledge in home healthcare came from a far more personal place. Joyce and her partner both had experience caring for aging people in their own lives. That experience gave Joyce a deep appreciation for the value of home care.

Joyce explained that “we knew the need to just have an extra pair of hands who could be there. We also knew that you don't always need a nurse, and you don't necessarily need a lot of hours. It's just that little bit of help.”

“And of course,” says Joyce, “when you need more help, it's also available. So that was amazing. When we looked at types of businesses, we thought this was perfect, because we knew what the need was.”

Doing Your Homework

Not only did Joyce and her partner recognize the real need for home caregiving, but they also knew exactly what they were looking for in a franchise. Joyce explains that they were actively seeking an organization with a robust support system. As soon as they discovered Right at Home, they knew they’d found their match.

What most impressed Joyce at the outset was the effort that Right at Home put into understanding her unique situation and her needs as a new franchise owner. As she explains, “We felt that corporate was very good at doing their due diligence, and they made sure that we knew what we were getting into. We felt this was important because this was our first time owning a business, and the home care industry was new to us. I believe that they did their background on us, and we did it on them.”

Connecting with Corporate

What really sealed the deal for Joyce and her partner was the amazing culture at Right at Home. When the prospective franchisees traveled to Omaha to meet the team at corporate, they knew they were in the right place. Joyce explained that “It was such a caring environment and that told you everything you needed to know. If we were feeling at all insecure about our new venture, they made us feel strong.”

And that feeling remained with Joyce and her partner as they readied their new franchise for opening day. That’s because Right at Home’s support system also stayed with them every step of the way. In fact, over a decade later, Joyce is still in close contact with everybody she met during that first year.

“They had a great training program, and they're there throughout the whole journey,” says Joyce. “I still keep in touch with everybody there.”

Learning the Ropes

That type of high-touch support was absolutely vital for Joyce and her partner. Joyce acknowledges that there’s a lot to learn when you dive into home care for the first time, from industry-specific terminology and best practices to complex regulations and referral sources. On top of that, says Joyce, New York State adds several layers of legal complexity to the licensure process.

“That was a big learning curve,” says Joyce. “There was a lot of talking to people and just getting rejected, but also listening to their advice and using it as we talked to the next person. So it was a lot of learning.”

Today, however, Joyce’s franchise is a fixture in her territory. Likewise, Joyce and her partner are fixtures in their community. Joyce notes that community involvement has contributed directly to their success.

Getting Involved

“Now that we've been embedded in the community, we know New York City and how it works,” says Joyce. “My partner and I are both on the boards of a lot of community organizations, so now we know a lot, and we're able to give back more to our clients. It's really a nice feeling being able to own that knowledge and being able to share it.”

It also helps that there are a number of other Right at Home franchise owners in the New York region. Joyce highlights the value of the relationships she’s been able to nurture with her fellow local franchisers.

“I could ask them anything, and they have asked us for support,” says Joyce. “Even though we're competitors, because we're all in New York, we know that when we help each other and build together, we all grow.”

Feeling Thankful

Indeed, the opportunity for growth is very real in this field. As Joyce says, “It's a great industry. I think everybody knows the numbers. In the United States, we're growing. So that's a good thing to think about if you want your business to grow and to be successful.”

Joyce also highlights the freedom that comes with business ownership. She says she truly values the ability to control her own time. But perhaps the biggest source of satisfaction, says Joyce, is the gratitude that she and her team receive from clients and their families.

“The nicest thing about the business is when you get positive feedback. A lot of clients write letters thanking us,” says Joyce. “It’s so nice to feel that we made such an impact and that they appreciated it, because it's a stressful time, and you're not always thinking of others when you need help.”

Putting in the Work

For Joyce, these gestures validate all the hard work that goes into franchise ownership. She encourages others considering franchise ownership to put in the same work. She also highlights the incredible support that all franchise owners receive from Right at Home throughout the journey.

“You feel that you have the backing of a company that understands there are two sides to this business,” says Joyce. “You want to be a successful business owner, but you also want to get the emotional value out of it.”

“There were hard days in the beginning,” she recalls. “But just keep at it. Right at Home is such a family, and they really help.”