After being made redundant for the fourth time in 20 years I was fed up. I craved stability, a career with longevity and was eager to find a way to safeguard my financial future. Becoming my own boss was the solution.

At the time, my mother and I were looking for good quality care providers in our area for my terminally ill grandmother, however we could not find any suitable companies. I realised then that there was a gap in the market for a quality care provider within my community and so decided to research the care industry in more detail.

My husband John, a former salesman, had also been made redundant around the same time so we decided to go into business together. As neither of us had any experience or knowledge of the care sector we decided to invest in a franchise. This is because we would be working for ourselves but not by ourselves and would have access to a tried and tested business model and ongoing support package. I read about care at home franchise Bluebird Care and arranged a meeting with Bluebird Care's Managing Director Paul Tarsey and Franchise Director Simon Dalziel, who were both incredibly professional and knowledgeable. We also spoke to existing franchisees and they gave us positive feedback about their experiences.

We launched our Edinburgh South based franchise in August last year once we had completed a one-week intensive training course. Seven months on, our business is building well. Long term our aim is to take on another territory and to continue building up the business.

I really love my new job and can't imagine doing anything else! It is a very rewarding line of work especially when we receive thank you cards in the post from our happy customers.

Published: 13 March 2009

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