If you’re considering leaving the corporate world to start your own business, franchises like Touching Hearts at Home may be on your radar. Touching Hearts at Home is a senior care franchise opportunity that appeals to community-minded entrepreneurs. In this deep-dive review, we’ll explore what the Touching Hearts at Home franchise offers – from its background and costs to the support it provides – and then compare the in-home care industry it operates in with the commercial cleaning industry. Finally, we’ll see how Assett Franchise, a cleaning business franchise, stacks up as an alternative for those seeking long-term stability and scalability in their new venture.
What Is the Touching Hearts at Home Franchise Opportunity?
Touching Hearts at Home is a non-medical senior care franchise brand. As a franchisee, you’d be providing in-home caregiving services to elderly clients and others who need assistance living independently. It’s positioned as a rewarding, mission-driven business for people who are passionate about helping seniors age in place.
Company Overview and Industry
Touching Hearts at Home was founded in 1996 (in Minnesota) and began franchising in 2007. Over its nearly three decades in operation, it has grown to around 60–65 franchise locations across the United States. The company operates in the senior home care industry, providing non-medical care and companionship services to seniors and individuals with disabilities in their own homes. This means Touching Hearts at Home franchise owners run an in-home care agency – arranging for caregivers to assist clients with daily tasks rather than offering any medical or nursing services.
As part of a booming senior care sector, Touching Hearts at Home capitalizes on the aging population in the U.S. The need for home care is rising every year as baby boomers reach their 70s and 80s. The brand emphasizes compassionate care and has built a reputation over 25+ years in business. In fact, Touching Hearts at Home is often described as being “more a service to the community than a business,” reflecting its mission-driven ethos. Prospective franchisees are expected to be caring and passionate about providing comfort and help to others, making this a values-focused opportunity as much as a commercial one.
What Franchisees Get
Services Offered: A Touching Hearts at Home franchise provides a wide range of non-medical home care services for its clients. These include personal care and assistance with daily living activities (such as help with bathing and grooming), companionship and conversation, meal preparation, light housekeeping, transportation to appointments, medication reminders, and even specialized support for clients with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Essentially, franchise owners recruit and manage caregivers who visit clients’ homes to help with day-to-day tasks and to keep seniors safe and comfortable.
Training and Support: Franchisees receive a structured onboarding and ongoing support system from the franchisor. New owners attend an intensive training program (about 32 hours of classroom training) covering how to run the business. According to the franchise’s materials, this includes a 5-day training at the corporate office in Minnesota, where you learn the operational playbook for the home care business. The franchisor also assists with crucial pre-opening steps – for example, guidance on obtaining insurance and any required state home care licensing, help with site selection for a small office (if needed), and even building a franchisee website and initial marketing launch for your territory.
Once you’re up and running, Touching Hearts at Home provides extensive ongoing support. Franchise owners have access to a dedicated intranet platform and receive regular newsletters, attend meetings or conventions, and can reach corporate staff via a toll-free support line. The franchisor helps with marketing by supplying advertising templates, social media and SEO support, a customized local website, and email marketing programs. They even assist with recruiting caregivers – a critical aspect of any home care business, according to ifpg.org. In short, franchisees get a complete toolkit of systems and coaching to help them ramp up their home care agency.
Operational Structure: It’s important to note that owning a Touching Hearts at Home franchise is not a passive endeavor. The model expects the franchisee to be hands-on in managing the business. In fact, absentee or part-time ownership is not permitted – the franchisor requires owners to be actively involved full-time in operations. You’ll likely need to establish an office (most franchisees set up a small office for administrative work and caregiver interviews, rather than working entirely from home). Your role as an owner will involve community networking, meeting with families who need services, hiring and managing caregivers, and ensuring quality care for clients. The customer base is entirely residential consumers – typically adult children and their elderly parents who contract your services privately (this is not a government-paid or insurance-heavy model, but rather private pay home care). Because the service you provide is very personal, franchisees are expected to build strong relationships in their community and often find the work personally fulfilling, as they make a positive impact on families.
Startup Costs and Ongoing Fees
Investing in a Touching Hearts at Home franchise comes with relatively low-to-moderate startup costs compared to many franchises. According to Entrepreneur Magazine, the total initial investment to open a Touching Hearts at Home unit ranges from about $85,000 up to $147,000 (this figure includes the franchise fee, initial training, initial marketing, some office setup, and working capital). In some cases, the investment can be even lower; the franchise’s 2024 disclosure documents indicated a start-up range roughly between $64,000 and $93,000 under optimal conditions. This makes Touching Hearts at Home one of the more affordable entries in the senior care segment.
Here’s a breakdown of the main costs and fees for Touching Hearts at Home:
- Franchise Fee: $49,500 upfront, which secures your territory and access to the brand’s systems.
- Initial Investment: Approximately $80K–$150K in total funds needed to launch (varies based on location, office rent, and local expenses). This includes the franchise fee, initial marketing, training, insurance, and some months of operating capital.
- Royalty Fee: Ongoing royalty of 6% of gross revenue. (Entrepreneur notes a range of 3%–6%, which likely reflects lower royalties at higher sales volumes, but new franchisees should expect to pay around the 6% mark on their sales.)
- Marketing Fee: 0% national ad fund. Notably, Touching Hearts at Home currently does not charge a national advertising fee. Franchisees invest in local marketing, but there’s no additional percentage-of-sales contribution required for a brand fund – a cost savings compared to many franchises that mandate 1–2% for marketing.
- Other Requirements: You’ll need to meet the financial qualifications. Typically, Touching Hearts at Home looks for a minimum net worth of $300,000 and at least $75,000 in liquid capital available for investment. The initial franchise agreement term is 10 years, with renewal options if performance and relationship are positive. Also, while you won’t need expensive equipment or inventory, you will have costs like professional liability insurance, caregiver training/background checks, and possibly an office lease.
Earnings Potential: Touching Hearts at Home does provide some encouraging data on franchisee financial performance. In its Franchise Disclosure Document (Item 19), the company reported that the average gross revenue per franchise unit was about $1,012,846 annually. This suggests that a mature location can achieve around seven figures in yearly sales, which is well above average for the senior care franchise industry (the company claims it’s roughly 3X higher than the sector’s average revenue). Keep in mind, gross revenue is not the same as profit – from that revenue, franchisees must pay caregivers’ wages (which is a significant expense), royalties, local marketing, and other overhead. Still, the figure indicates strong demand and revenue potential in territories where the business is established. Prospective buyers should review the current FDD for detailed financial representations and talk to existing franchisees about their experiences.
How the Industry Itself Compares
Touching Hearts at Home operates in the personal senior care industry – essentially part of the healthcare services sector, focusing on non-medical home care. When considering this franchise (or any franchise), it’s wise to compare not just the brands, but the industries they compete in. Many entrepreneurs who contemplate a senior care franchise might also be looking at other service industries. One indirect competitor to senior home care is the commercial cleaning industry – which is where Assett Franchise operates.
Both senior care and commercial cleaning are service businesses that can offer recurring revenue and are often described as “recession-resistant” needs. However, there are key differences in day-to-day operations, market dynamics, and lifestyle for the owner. Below, we’ll outline the advantages of the Touching Hearts at Home’s industry (home care) and then compare them to the commercial cleaning industry to see which might be a better fit for your goals.
Touching Hearts at Home Industry Advantages
For the right entrepreneur, the senior care industry offers several compelling advantages:
- Booming Demand from an Aging Population: The need for senior care is on a steady rise. Every year, more families require help caring for aging loved ones, thanks to longer lifespans and the large baby boomer generation reaching retirement age. This demographic wave means the market for home care services is growing and isn’t likely to shrink any time soon. In operating a Touching Hearts at Home franchise, you’re entering an industry with built-in demand that is projected to increase for decades.
- Mission-Driven, Fulfilling Work: Running a home care franchise is often described as more than just a business – it’s a chance to have a meaningful impact. Franchisees in this sector take heart in knowing their work truly helps people (and their families) on a personal level. Touching Hearts at Home emphasizes compassionate service; it presents itself as a “haven for overwhelmed families” and a source of hope for helping seniors stay at home. If you are motivated by making a difference in people’s lives, this industry provides that emotional reward daily. Owners often build very strong community connections and derive personal satisfaction from their business’s mission.
- Proven Model and Support System: With Touching Hearts at Home, you’re joining a franchise that has been in business for nearly 30 years and franchising for over 15 years. This longevity means the brand has refined its business model and support systems over time. Franchisees benefit from a playbook of best practices in caregiving operations, and a support network of other owners. The company’s long track record (founded in 1996) lends credibility – families recognize the name and trust a caregiving provider that has been around for a generation. For a franchise owner, this established brand and experience translates into guidance you can rely on when navigating the challenges of starting a home care agency.
- High Revenue Potential: The senior care sector can generate impressive top-line revenue because services are often needed daily or weekly and can add up to large contracts. Touching Hearts at Home franchisees, as noted, average around $1 million in annual gross sales per location. The combination of hourly billing for caregiver services and long-term client relationships means a single client might represent tens of thousands of dollars per year in revenue. A franchise that builds a strong referral base with hospitals, senior centers, and local communities can scale up to serve many clients, each with ongoing weekly service schedules. This recurring revenue model is a big plus – clients often require service for months or years, not just one-time jobs.
- Essential Service – Resilient in Downturns: Just like cleaning, senior care is often described as recession-resistant. Regardless of the economy, frail seniors still need assistance with daily living. In fact, the franchise itself touts home care as an “essential” service that remains in demand in all economic climates. People may cut back on luxuries during a recession, but care for an elderly parent is typically a necessary expense. The COVID-19 pandemic, for example, highlighted how critical in-home care services are for vulnerable populations. For franchise owners, this means the core demand for your service is stable – it’s tied to demographic and health needs more than consumer whims.
While the home care industry has these advantages, it’s worth noting that success in this field requires a high level of owner involvement and management skill. Coordinating care for dozens of clients and employees can be complex. There are also regulatory considerations (some states require licensing for home care agencies, background checks for caregivers, etc.). Owners must be prepared for an on-call aspect to the business – client emergencies or caregiver call-outs can happen at any hour. In summary, the senior care franchise route is richly rewarding and financially promising, but it comes with a demanding operational commitment.
Compared to the Commercial Cleaning Industry
Now, let’s compare the above with the commercial cleaning industry, where Assett Franchise operates. Commercial cleaning (janitorial services for businesses) shares some similarities with home care – both are essential services with recurring needs – but it has its own set of advantages that make it a compelling alternative, especially if you’re looking for a more streamlined operation. Here are some key points where a cleaning business franchise often stands out:
- Massive B2B Market: The U.S. commercial cleaning industry is huge, serving virtually every office, school, hospital, retail store, and industrial facility in the country. In fact, it generates over $100 billion annually in the U.S.. Every business with a physical premises needs cleaning, which means the potential client base is extraordinarily broad. Unlike senior care, which targets individual households one by one, commercial cleaning taps into business-to-business (B2B) contracts. A single corporate client might have a large facility or multiple locations that need service. The market is also highly fragmented, not dominated by a few big players, so new franchisees can enter and grab market share without facing giants. Even a small slice of this $100B pie can translate to a substantial business for a local owner.
- Essential and Steady Demand (Recession-Resistant): Like caregiving, cleaning is a service that doesn’t disappear in a downturn. Offices, medical centers, and stores must be cleaned regularly for health, safety, and appearance reasons – even during recessions or pandemics. Commercial cleaning is considered a truly recession-resistant sector: businesses might tighten budgets, but they still need janitorial services to stay open. Moreover, cleaning is not seasonal. Whereas some industries boom in summer and slow in winter (think landscaping or mosquito control), commercial cleaning needs are fairly constant year-round. This means cash flow stays more predictable month to month. Companies typically contract for cleaning on an ongoing schedule (e.g. nightly or weekly service), providing a stable baseline of revenue with less seasonal fluctuation.
- Recurring Revenue & Long-Term Contracts: A major advantage of commercial cleaning is the prevalence of long-term contracts. As a cleaning franchise owner, you secure agreements with clients for ongoing services (often annual or multi-year contracts). This creates predictable recurring income – you can count on a certain amount of revenue every month from each contract. In contrast, a senior care client might only need help for a limited time or could cancel if a family situation changes. Cleaning contracts are B2B agreements, typically with 30-day cancellation clauses or fixed terms, which gives you more stability in planning and scaling your business. You’re not as subject to an individual’s personal circumstances; instead, cleaning continues as long as the building is occupied. This model can be easier to scale up, because adding a new contract is straightforward growth without dramatically increasing overhead.
- Lower Operational Complexity: Operating a commercial cleaning business tends to be simpler and more predictable day-to-day compared to a home care agency. The work involves tasks like emptying trash, vacuuming, disinfecting surfaces, and restocking supplies – it’s labor that can be trained quickly and does not involve the sensitive, high-stakes scenarios of personal care. There are no special licenses or medical regulations needed to clean offices. Employee management is a bit more straightforward: cleaners typically work on set schedules (often after-hours at client facilities) and the interactions are business-oriented. There is also minimal equipment or inventory required – usually just cleaning supplies and some basic machinery like floor buffers, which are far less expensive than medical equipment. Plus, you often don’t need a dedicated retail location; many commercial cleaning franchises can be home-based or require only a small storage/office space, keeping overhead low. Overall, the business model is easy-to-understand and doesn’t require prior industry experience – first-time entrepreneurs can grasp the operations quickly with franchisor training.
- Semi-Absentee Ownership Potential: One standout difference is that a commercial cleaning franchise can be structured to run with far less daily intervention from the owner once the business matures. Because cleaning services are typically performed after business hours and involve repetitive schedules, owners can delegate the actual cleaning work to a team of employees and focus mainly on client relationships and administration. Many owners find they can manage a commercial cleaning operation in part-time hours (sometimes as little as 5–10 hours a week of oversight) after they’ve built a reliable staff. In fact, some franchisors in the cleaning space explicitly allow or encourage semi-absentee ownership, where you hire a manager or supervisor to handle day-to-day duties. This flexibility is very attractive if you’re looking for a business that won’t demand your full-time presence at all times. By contrast, as noted earlier, a senior care franchise like Touching Hearts at Home expects full-time, active involvement from owners according to entrepreneur.com – largely because clients and caregivers often need that personal attention and quick response from the franchisee. With commercial cleaning, you’re dealing with professional clients and routine work, so it’s easier to step back and work on the business rather than in the business.
- Scalability and High Income Potential: The combination of a huge market, recurring contracts, and the ability to leverage employees’ time means commercial cleaning can scale impressively. You can start with a few small accounts and gradually take on larger contracts or multiple facilities. Importantly, scaling up doesn’t usually require exponential complexity – the processes for cleaning 10 buildings are not wildly different from those for cleaning 2 buildings, just on a bigger schedule. Also, because the industry is fragmented, there’s room to grow; you might start locally but could expand to neighboring towns or specialize in certain niches (e.g. medical office cleaning which commands higher rates). It’s quite feasible for a cleaning franchise owner to reach $1M+ in annual revenue by accumulating contracts, all while maintaining a lean operation. The profit margins in cleaning can be healthy, too, since overhead is low and labor can be scheduled efficiently. When comparing this to a home care agency, consider that to reach $1M in home care revenue you might need dozens of caregivers and careful coordination of client care plans, whereas in cleaning, a handful of well-supervised cleaning crews could potentially service a similar volume of business.
In summary, the commercial cleaning industry offers a path to business ownership that emphasizes stability, simplicity, and scale. It lacks some of the personal, heartwarming elements of senior care, but it makes up for it with a straightforward value proposition to customers (every business needs a clean facility) and a proven ability to generate recurring B2B income without seasonal ups and downs. For an entrepreneur, especially a first-time business owner, cleaning can be easier to systematize and grow methodically.
Of course, every industry has its challenges. Commercial cleaning is competitive at the local level – you’ll be bidding against other cleaning companies and need to maintain quality and reliability to retain contracts. Also, while not as emotionally complex as senior care, cleaning is still a people business in terms of managing your cleaning staff and keeping clients happy. That said, compared to the intricacies of managing caregivers and the critical nature of their work, many find the cleaning business environment to be lower stress and more predictable operationally.
How the Assett Franchise Compares
Having looked at Touching Hearts at Home and the senior care vs. commercial cleaning industries, let’s turn to Assett Franchise. Assett is a commercial cleaning business franchise, and as such it benefits from all the industry advantages we just outlined. But beyond the general industry perks, Assett brings its own unique approach to make business ownership simpler and more profitable for franchisees. Here’s how Assett Franchise compares:
Simpler Systems, Bigger Potential
Assett Franchise is built on the idea of streamlined operations with high revenue potential. Since it’s already part of the commercial cleaning $100B+ market, Assett franchise owners tap into that essential, recession-resistant demand from day one. The model is designed for owners who want to work on the business, not in it. That means as a franchisee you focus on client relationships and business growth while your cleaning crews handle the routine work at customer sites. Assett provides a proven business playbook tailored to first-time entrepreneurs – you don’t need any prior cleaning industry experience to succeed. All the processes for bidding jobs, training cleaners, ensuring quality, and retaining clients are documented for you in a step-by-step system. The income potential is substantial: Assett’s franchise model has shown that reaching $1M+ in recurring annual revenue is an achievable goal by following their system and scaling up accounts. Importantly, this revenue is recurring (contract-based), which means once you land the clients and organize the service schedules, the cash flow becomes consistent and predictable. In contrast to a complex home care operation, Assett’s cleaning business systems are relatively simple to learn and execute, which lets franchise owners ramp up faster and with fewer headaches.
Automated Hiring = Time and Money Saved
One of the biggest pain points in any service business – whether it’s home care or cleaning – is hiring and managing employees. Assett Franchise tackles this challenge head-on with an automated hiring system that is a game-changer for franchisees. This proprietary system automates much of the process of recruiting, screening, and onboarding cleaning staff. Rather than spending hours posting job ads, sifting through resumes, and scheduling interviews, Assett’s technology and support team deliver a steady pipeline of pre-vetted cleaning candidates when and where you need them. This effectively eliminates one of the biggest headaches in the industry: finding reliable labor. For an owner, that translates into significant time and cost savings – Assett estimates it can save 20–30 hours per week in administrative work or the equivalent cost of hiring a full-time manager to handle HR. Beyond the time savings, automated hiring means you can scale your workforce quickly as you add new contracts, without worrying that you’ll be short-staffed. It also helps ensure a consistently high-quality workforce at scale, because the system filters for qualified, trustworthy cleaners who meet Assett’s standards. In short, Assett has turned the employee management piece from a constant juggling act into a streamlined process. This is a stark contrast to a business like Touching Hearts at Home, where an owner might spend a large portion of their week recruiting caregivers or dealing with scheduling issues. Assett’s innovation here gives you back time to focus on growth and client service, rather than firefighting staffing issues.
Personalized and Founder-Led
Another aspect that sets Assett Franchise apart is its culture and leadership style. Assett is a family-owned franchise, led by its founder Matt Pencarinha, rather than a faceless corporation or private equity firm according to bizbuysell.com. This means that when you join Assett, you become part of a tight-knit franchise community with direct access to the people who developed the business model. Franchisees aren’t just numbers at Assett – you can expect personalized support from the founder and the executive team who genuinely care about your success. This kind of access can be invaluable, especially for new business owners who benefit from mentorship and candid advice. In contrast, larger franchise systems (in various industries, including some senior care brands) might be owned by investment firms and have layers of management, which can make the experience feel more corporate. Assett takes pride in being community-focused and mission-driven, too. The company’s mission is not only to provide top-notch cleaning services to clients, but also to help franchise owners build businesses that fit their lives and goals. Because Assett is founder-led, it’s able to stay nimble and responsive to franchisee feedback, continuously improving the system in ways that benefit the owners on the ground. For someone comparing opportunities, this means with Assett you’re joining a franchise where your voice is heard and your business is built alongside passionate leadership, rather than plugging into a one-size-fits-all corporate structure.
Overall, Assett Franchise offers a compelling alternative: you get the stability and growth potential of the commercial cleaning industry, delivered in a modern, tech-enabled franchise package with hands-on support from the people who started the company. It’s tailored for executives or aspiring entrepreneurs who want a simpler operational playbook and a more flexible role as an owner.
Final Thoughts
Touching Hearts at Home is a solid franchise opportunity in a compassionate industry. If you are someone who feels called to serve seniors and you’re prepared for an active, hands-on role in a home care business, it could be a rewarding path. The brand has an established presence and a track record of franchisees making a difference in their communities. For the right type of buyer – particularly one who values the mission of senior care and doesn’t mind the operational complexity – Touching Hearts at Home franchise ownership may indeed be fulfilling.
However, it’s important to align the business with your personal and financial goals. If you’re an entrepreneur who prioritizes scalability, predictability, and a simpler day-to-day operation, you may find that a franchise in the commercial cleaning arena offers more advantages. The commercial cleaning industry, and Assett Franchise in particular, provides:
- A scalable, stable business model with a huge market and recurring B2B revenue streams.
- Low operational complexity, without specialized licensing or high-stress emergencies – a business you can systematize more easily.
- Predictable recurring revenue under contract, which helps with planning and accelerates your path to profitability.
- Minimal risk and faster ROI due to lower startup costs and essential service demand (you’re not betting on a fad or seasonal trend).
- An executive ownership model where you can achieve work-life balance – run it semi-absentee if desired – and focus on growth strategy, not just daily tasks.
In comparison, Assett Franchise checks a lot of boxes for someone looking to build a modern, resilient service business that can grow with them. It’s already in the cleaning industry (which we’ve seen has compelling benefits) and adds on top of that a layer of innovative support and a personal touch from its founder.
Both senior care and commercial cleaning franchises have their merits. The best choice comes down to what you want your day-to-day life as an owner to look like, and how you weigh financial returns vs. personal passion. Do you want to manage a large team of caregivers and be deeply involved in clients’ personal challenges? Or would you rather secure business contracts and manage operations that largely take place behind the scenes? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but it’s clear that for entrepreneurs seeking a profitable, scalable, and less complex business, the commercial cleaning route – and specifically Assett Franchise – offers a very attractive alternative.
If you’re exploring franchise opportunities and want a model that can deliver long-term income, flexibility, and control — we’d love to show you how Assett Franchise can help you build a business that works for your life. Visit https://assettfranchise.com to connect with our team and learn more.
