A Perfect Match: Nurse Makes Transition to Interim HealthCare franchisee

By: Multi-Unit Franchisee | 8,254 Reads | 58 Shares

Lynette Helling spent her first three years as a nurse working in a burn center. She worked 12-hour shifts and supplemented her time and income with staffing shifts from a local staffing company. Then one day she spotted a classified add for Interim Healthcare in her local paper.

So she applied with Interim for additional supplemental income and ultimately found her interest in the company growing. She began working for Interim as the director of HealthCare Services. A decade later the Lincoln, Nebraska franchise territory became available and Lynette and her husband, Mark, became franchisees.

Here's more of what we learned about Helling.

Name: Lynette Helling, RN
Title: President
Company: Interim HealthCare
Location/Territory: Lincoln, NE
No. of units by brand: 1
Age: 48
Family: Spouse, Mark Helling
Years in franchising: We purchased the franchise in 2001
Years in current position: 13 years (employed 23 years)
Veteran (yes/no): No

Personal

Key accomplishments:
Getting involved and selling onsite to ALF/ILF communities. (ALF=Assisted Living Facility. ILF=Independent Living Facility) Smartest mistake:
Not sure I have made a smart mistake! Only mistakes I learn from! Work week:
Varies, office hours 8:00-5:00, Monday-Friday. How do you spend a typical day?
Different each and every day. I spend time in every department so I am aware of what is going on and can help support the department if needed. What's your passion in business?
Sales. Finding a new customer and finding the unique solution that works just for that individual. Also, mentoring new managers and instilling values and watching them grow professionally. How do you balance life and work?
Spending time with my husband and children. Spending time outdoors, gardening, and traveling.

Management

Business philosophy:
Always do the right thing when making a decision. Management method or style:
Energetic and wanting the office environment to have fun. How close are you to operations?
I work in the business and on the business each and every day. What are the two most important things you rely on from your franchisor?
Timely response to a question, and ideas of ways to make us stand apart from the competition. Have you changed your marketing strategy in response to the economy? Yes How?
Increased marketing efforts, working on diversification. How is social media affecting your business?
We are seeing more and more referrals that are looking for services via social media, so we have to be there as well. How do you deal with problem employees?
Send them to Mark, the vice president.

Bottom Line

Annual revenue:
$4 million 2014 goals:
Growth! Growth meter: How do you measure your growth?
Daily, weekly, quarterly. Monitoring the number of admits by payer source and referral source. Vision meter: Where do you want to be in 5 years?
Having a strong management team so I can work less. 10 years? Hoping to see our two sons working in the business to carry on the dream. How do you forecast for your business?
Reviewing local competitors, referral sources, new referral source opportunities, what is happening at a state and federal level for reimbursement, where are we going to find replacement business for business that is lost or reduced because of reimbursement rate reductions. Is capital getting easier to access? Why/why not?
Depending on what debt ratio is. Where do you find capital for expansion?
Local bank. What are you doing to take care of your employees?
Making sure they feel valued, it is not just about money, but to make them feel part of a team. How do you reward/recognize top-performing employees?
Individually. What kind of exit strategy do you have in place?
None at this time.

Published: May 28th, 2014