Can Assisted Living Locators Compete with $1M Cleaning Income?

Assisted Living Locators Franchise

If you’re considering franchise ownership in a service industry, it’s wise to compare different opportunities side by side. Assisted Living Locators is a franchise in the senior care sector that helps families find the right assisted living or in-home care for their loved ones. How does this Assisted Living Locators franchise opportunity stack up against a cleaning business franchise like Assett Franchise in terms of investment, operations, and long-term potential? In this in-depth review, we’ll explore Assisted Living Locators’ background, franchise costs, and benefits, then honestly compare its industry to the commercial cleaning industry. Finally, we’ll see how Assett’s modern commercial cleaning model – built for executive-style owners – offers a compelling alternative.

What Is the Assisted Living Locators Opportunity?

Company Overview and Industry

Assisted Living Locators is a senior care placement and referral franchise. Founded in 2003 by registered nurse Angela Olea, it pioneered the senior placement franchise model and began franchising in 2006. The company has since grown to over 150 franchise locations across the United States. Assisted Living Locators is now part of the Evive Brands portfolio, alongside other health service franchises. As the first franchise of its kind in the U.S., it helped create the industry of professional senior living advisors.

In this model, franchisees act as consultants to families with aging loved ones. They provide a free service to help seniors and families find the right care options – from in-home care to independent senior apartments, assisted living communities, memory care or nursing homes. Because the guidance is free to the families, the franchise’s revenue comes from referral fees paid by the care facilities or providers when a client is placed. In essence, Assisted Living Locators franchisees serve as matchmakers between families and vetted senior care facilities, earning commissions for successful placements.

The senior care placement industry that Assisted Living Locators operates in is driven by powerful demographics. Every day, more members of the Baby Boomer generation reach retirement age, fueling demand for senior living solutions. Assisted Living Locators has positioned itself to serve this growing need. It offers a nationwide network of local advisors who understand the elder care options in their communities. Notably, the brand has been recognized for its commitment to diversity and inclusion in franchising – reflecting the diverse aging population it serves. Overall, Assisted Living Locators’ business rides the macro trend of an aging society, providing a needed service in what is often a stressful, emotional decision process for families.

What Franchisees Get

Services and Business Model: An Assisted Living Locators franchisee owns a home-based, service-oriented business in their local market. The core service is consulting with seniors or their family members, assessing care needs, and recommending appropriate senior living solutions. Franchisees maintain relationships with a variety of care providers – from home care agencies to assisted living and memory care facilities – and refer clients to these providers. They might schedule and accompany families on facility tours, assist with paperwork, and follow up after placement to ensure the senior is settling in well. Unlike many service franchises, clients of this business don’t pay out of pocket; instead, franchisees are paid a referral commission by the facility or care provider that the family ultimately chooses. This makes the service very attractive to families and helps franchisees build goodwill in the community.

Training and Support: Despite being in the senior care space, no medical or industry experience is required to become a franchisee. Assisted Living Locators provides a comprehensive training and support program to get new owners up to speed. New franchisees attend an initial 5-day training course covering the business model, industry basics, and best practices. Ongoing coaching and education are available throughout the life of the franchise. In addition, the franchisor offers robust marketing support – including an 8-week guided launch marketing program and continuing lead generation efforts. Each franchisee receives access to a proprietary CRM system to manage contacts and leads, ensuring consistent branding and follow-up with clients. The franchise system also encourages owners to obtain professional certifications such as Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) to boost credibility in their role as senior care advisors. Overall, franchisees benefit from a structured playbook: from initial training through ongoing mentorship, plus tech tools and a recognized brand name in senior placement. The customer base for this business is primarily families of seniors (B2C), but success often depends on B2B relationships as well – for example, networking with healthcare professionals, hospital discharge planners, and local senior communities to receive client referrals.

Operating Structure: Assisted Living Locators franchises are typically run as owner-operated, home-based businesses. There is usually no need for a commercial office or costly retail space – franchisees often work from a home office and spend time out in the community meeting families or visiting care facilities. Because the service is highly personalized, franchisees themselves are usually the ones providing the consultations and guidance. (In fact, Assisted Living Locators no longer permits passive, absentee ownership – franchise owners are expected to be active and involved full-time in the business.) Many franchisees are solo operators or may hire a small support staff as they grow, but they are the face of the business in their territory. This means the workload and schedule can be flexible, but franchisees should be prepared to handle client consultations, networking, and follow-ups directly, especially in the early stages.

Startup Costs and Ongoing Fees

One attractive aspect of the Assisted Living Locators opportunity is its relatively low startup cost compared to brick-and-mortar franchises. According to the Franchise Disclosure Document, the total initial investment required ranges from roughly $74,000 to $94,000. This includes a one-time franchise fee (about $49,500) as well as costs for training, initial marketing, insurance, a small office setup, and three months of operating capital. Notably, there are no real estate build-out costs – you won’t be constructing a store or facility, since the business can be run from home. The most significant upfront expense is the franchise fee and initial marketing to get your name out in the community.

On an ongoing basis, franchise owners pay standard franchise royalties and contribute to marketing funds. Assisted Living Locators charges an 8% royalty on gross revenue. In addition, franchisees contribute around 2% of revenue toward a national marketing/brand fund. (The franchise also specifies minimum monthly royalty and ad fund amounts after the first few months, ensuring owners continue marketing even as the business ramps up.) Aside from these fees, ongoing costs are mainly those you’d expect of any small service business: vehicle and travel expenses for visiting clients and facilities, networking or local advertising costs, insurance, and perhaps a modest office expense. Assisted Living Locators touts itself as a low-overhead franchise – you won’t be buying costly equipment or inventory. In fact, the franchisor notes that the concept’s work-from-home footprint and lack of heavy overhead help keep the initial investment under $100k. This lean cost structure makes it accessible to mid-career professionals or first-time business owners seeking an affordable entry into franchising.

Earnings Potential: When evaluating any franchise, it’s crucial to look at the financial performance of existing units. Assisted Living Locators discloses some franchisee earnings data in its Item 19 (Financial Performance Representation). On average, franchisees operating a single territory generate around $132,000 per year in gross revenue. Top performers with larger operations (multiple territories) can earn significantly more – for instance, franchisees running three territories averaged about $458,000 in annual revenue. However, these higher figures reflect owners who expanded into multiple markets. For a typical new owner with one territory, a realistic expectation is in the low-to-mid six figures in yearly revenue once the business is established. In terms of bottom-line earnings, industry analyses indicate that the owner-operator’s take-home income may be in the range of $25,000 to $35,000 per year in the early stages. (That corresponds to roughly a 20–25% profit margin on the average revenue mentioned above.) Of course, actual profits vary – dedicated franchisees who actively network and build relationships could exceed the average revenues, while those who struggle to generate leads might fall short. The key factors are the owner’s effort in marketing and the local demand and competition in their territory. Assisted Living Locators emphasizes that the senior placement business is a highly personal, service-driven model – franchisees who are passionate about helping seniors and who can build trust in their community tend to do well in both financial and personal fulfillment terms.

How the Industry Itself Compares

When considering Assisted Living Locators, you’re not just evaluating one franchise brand – you’re also entering the senior care placement industry. It’s important to understand how this industry compares to another popular segment like commercial cleaning (Assett Franchise’s industry). Both industries offer franchise opportunities but differ in day-to-day operations, revenue patterns, and growth dynamics. Below we break down the advantages of the senior placement industry and then contrast them with the commercial cleaning industry, which Assett specializes in. The goal is an honest comparison: senior placement can be a rewarding niche, but commercial cleaning may offer stronger stability and scalability for many entrepreneurs.

Assisted Living Locators Industry Advantages

Mission-Driven and Growing: One of the biggest draws of a franchise like Assisted Living Locators is the meaningful nature of the work. You’re helping seniors and families navigate a crucial life decision – there’s a clear social mission alongside the business opportunity. For people passionate about senior care, this industry provides a sense of purpose: franchisees often describe the work as personally fulfilling, knowing they make a positive difference in families’ lives. This mission-driven aspect is coupled with powerful market trends. America’s population is aging rapidly – 73 million Baby Boomers are entering retirement, and the U.S. senior care market is projected to exceed $490 billion by 2030. Simply put, demand for senior living and care services is on a long-term upswing as the “silver tsunami” rolls in. This creates a growing pool of clients who need help finding care options. Assisted Living Locators franchise owners effectively serve a surging need in the marketplace, which can translate into plenty of referral opportunities. The company itself notes that its advisory model offers a rare blend of “mission and margin,” allowing owners to build a profitable business while doing meaningful work.

Low Overhead, High Accessibility: Compared to many franchise industries, senior placement has relatively low operating costs and barriers to entry. We’ve seen that startup costs are under $100k and you don’t need specialized facilities or equipment. It’s essentially a home-based business model – a laptop, phone, and a car to visit clients are the main tools of the trade. This means franchisees don’t have to worry about managing inventory or large staffs of employees. Many owners operate solo or with one assistant, keeping payroll simple. The work-from-home footprint and lack of heavy overhead make it feasible for mid-career professionals to transition into this business without huge financial risk. Additionally, the franchisor’s support systems (training, marketing, tech) are designed to make it easy for newcomers to hit the ground running. All these factors make the senior placement industry highly accessible to first-time business owners or those without industry experience.

Personal Autonomy and Flexibility: Franchisees in the senior care placement field often highlight the lifestyle benefits. Because you are essentially a consultant, you have a lot of control over your schedule. Much of the work can be done by appointment and via phone/email, which lends itself to flexibility. In fact, many Assisted Living Locators owners are former corporate professionals who “traded the nine-to-five grind for a business that delivers personal autonomy and meaningful community impact”. You can often structure your day around client meetings, networking events, and personal obligations as you see fit. There’s also no seasonal schedule to worry about – senior care needs arise year-round, and while volume may ebb and flow, it isn’t tied to a specific season like some home services. If the idea of being your own boss on your own time, while doing good in your community, is appealing, this industry checks that box.

Relationship-Based Revenue: Another advantage is that the business is built on relationships and expertise, rather than hard selling or manual labor. Successful franchisees become the go-to local experts in senior living options. They spend a lot of time building trust – networking with healthcare professionals, touring facilities to know their offerings, and becoming a comforting guide for families in need. If you have strong people skills, this industry rewards that strength. Importantly, when you do a great job for one family, they often refer others or sing your praises to referral sources. Over time, a franchisee can become deeply embedded in their community’s senior care ecosystem. This referral-driven model can reduce marketing costs as your reputation grows. And because Assisted Living Locators offers no-cost help to consumers, it’s a service that virtually anyone in need will welcome – there’s little barrier to getting conversations started with potential clients. In short, word-of-mouth and community reputation drive growth here. (By contrast, some other franchises rely heavily on advertising to churn up sales. In senior placement, a personal touch goes a long way.)

Income Potential per Client: While the senior placement business may not produce overnight millionaires, the commission per successful placement can be quite substantial. Assisted living facilities and other providers often pay a referral fee that might equal one month’s rent or a percentage of the first year’s fees for the resident. In dollar terms, a single closed referral can generate a few thousand dollars in revenue. This means each client win is meaningful to the bottom line – for example, helping just 3–4 families a month could produce a healthy revenue stream (given that average annual revenue was about $130k for one territory). As the aging population grows, the number of families searching for care is increasing, which gives well-positioned franchisees the chance to assist multiple clients each month. Additionally, because Assisted Living Locators covers a broad range of senior solutions (from in-home care to nursing homes), franchisees have multiple referral avenues to generate fees. In a flourishing territory, an owner could potentially scale up by hiring additional advisors to serve more clients, thus leveraging the business beyond just their own time. Overall, while the revenue is not typically recurring (more on that shortly), the growing volume of new clients each year provides the potential for a solid income, especially for franchisees who actively cultivate referral sources.

Of course, it’s important to note that the senior care advisory industry also comes with unique challenges. The service is highly personalized and can be emotionally charged – you are dealing with families during a stressful life transition, which requires compassion and patience. Success may depend on an owner’s personal networking and reputation in the community, which can take time to build. There is also competition from other placement agencies (both franchised brands like CarePatrol or Senior Care Authority and large online services like A Place for Mom). But for the right entrepreneur – someone who is empathetic, well-organized, and driven to network – the senior placement industry offers a purposeful career with respectable financial opportunity.

Compared to Commercial Cleaning Industry

Now, let’s compare all of the above to the commercial cleaning industry, where Assett Franchise operates. At first glance, these two industries seem very different – one is about advising families and healthcare, the other is about cleaning offices and facilities. Yet both are service businesses that can be franchised. Here’s how they stack up in practical, financial, and operational terms:

Market Size and Demand: Commercial cleaning is a massive, evergreen market. In the United States, the commercial cleaning services industry is about a $100 billion market as of 2022 – roughly an order of magnitude larger than the niche senior placement market. Virtually every office building, school, medical facility, retail store, and warehouse needs cleaning. It’s a universal service cutting across sectors. This huge market translates into broad demand: cleaning is required in all economies and climates, making it essential and recession-resistant. Even during downturns or events like the COVID-19 pandemic, cleaning services remained in demand (in fact, health crises increase the focus on cleaning). By contrast, senior placement, while growing, serves a more specific segment of consumers (families with elderly members) and isn’t as universally needed as cleaning. The cleaning business franchise space benefits from being non-discretionary – companies must keep their facilities clean to operate, regardless of economic ups and downs. This reliability of demand can make revenue more stable over time.

Recurring Revenue vs. One-Time Sales: A key difference is how revenue is generated and sustained. Commercial cleaning typically runs on recurring contracts – for example, a cleaning company might have contracts to service an office building every night, or a medical clinic three times a week, and so on. Franchisees in cleaning build a portfolio of B2B clients that pay monthly for ongoing service. This means once you land a contract, you have steady, predictable income that recurs as long as you keep the client satisfied. In fact, commercial cleaning accounts are often retained for years, providing a compounding effect as you add more clients. Assett Franchise notes that once you add a building to your client portfolio, “you no longer have to ask them to buy again” – the revenue is “sticky” because cleaning is a continuous need. By contrast, the senior placement business tends to be transactional: you help a family find a facility and you get paid once (the referral fee). After that, that client is essentially closed; they likely won’t need the service again unless another relative requires care down the line. There is little to no recurring revenue – each month you start fresh needing new families to assist. This fundamental difference has huge implications for business stability. A cleaning franchise with 20 contract clients can reasonably project its monthly revenue based on signed agreements, while a placement franchise might have to rely on constant lead flow to hit revenue targets each month. For someone seeking long-term income predictability, commercial cleaning holds an advantage with its long-term B2B contracts and recurring billing.

Scalability and Growth Potential: Both industries can scale, but they do so in different ways. In senior placement, an individual owner can only handle so many clients at once given the high-touch service. Scaling often means adding territories or hiring additional advisors, essentially increasing capacity linearly. Commercial cleaning, on the other hand, can scale more easily by adding labor (cleaning crews) to serve more accounts. Because the owner is not the one performing the cleaning, they can focus on signing new contracts and then hire cleaners as needed to deliver the work. This makes it feasible for a commercial cleaning franchise to grow to a very large size over time – even reaching $1M+ in annual revenue – without the owner having to personally do more work hours, just by managing a larger team. In fact, the commercial cleaning industry has many examples of franchisees building million-dollar operations by scaling their workforce and client base. Assett’s model is explicitly built for this kind of executive-scale growth, where earning beyond $1M in gross sales is an achievable target. The market size supports this too – there’s virtually no limit to how many clients you could sign in a given metro area if you have the capacity to service them. By contrast, the average senior placement franchisee’s revenue is in the low six figures, and even multi-territory owners (who might cover an entire metro area) average under $500k in revenue according to franchisechatter.com. So, in terms of raw financial upside, commercial cleaning offers a higher ceiling for growth-oriented owners. It’s telling that Assett Franchise’s own units average about $1.53 million in annual revenue each, which dwarfs the typical earnings of a senior placement franchise. This scalability is a major consideration if your goal is to build a large, high-revenue business.

Operational Complexity: Running a senior placement franchise versus a cleaning franchise involves different day-to-day challenges. Assisted Living Locators is customer service and sales intensive – you are constantly meeting new clients, maintaining relationships, and staying knowledgeable about care options. Each “sale” (placement) is a complex, emotional process that can stretch over days or weeks of consultations and tours. Essentially, the franchisee is the product; it’s their expertise and service that everything hinges on. In commercial cleaning, operations are more about logistics and management – scheduling crews, maintaining quality across cleaning jobs, replenishing supplies, etc. It’s less emotionally fraught work (you’re dealing with B2B facility managers rather than anxious families). Many entrepreneurs find the cleaning model simpler and more straightforward: the service is tangible and routine, and success comes from efficiency and consistency. There’s also an advantage in that cleaning work can be done after-hours or overnight, which means it’s relatively easy to staff (many people seek night shift work) and you as the owner aren’t stuck in a 9-5 schedule. In terms of competition, while both industries are competitive, commercial cleaning’s competition often comes down to price and reliability in a commoditized market, whereas senior placement competition is more about relationships and reputation. Both can be challenging in their own way, but the cleaning industry’s needs (reliable workers, consistent service) can often be addressed by strong systems and processes. The senior care placement industry, on the other hand, rests heavily on the individual owner’s personal touch – if you as the owner step away, the business essentially pauses (since clients expect you). This makes cleaning more conducive to an owner-absent or manager-run model down the road, while senior placement is hard to detach from the owner’s direct involvement.

Recession Resilience: Both senior care and cleaning are often cited as “recession-resistant” industries, but this holds true in different ways. Senior care services see demand persist in any economy because aging isn’t something that pauses – however, families’ ability to pay for assisted living can be influenced by economic factors (in recessions, some families might delay moving a parent into a facility due to cost). Commercial cleaning is broadly resilient because businesses must maintain cleanliness regardless of budget cuts – a company might reduce frequency of cleaning during tough times, but they won’t eliminate it entirely. Notably, the 2020 pandemic actually increased emphasis on cleaning and sanitizationcorvusjanitorial.com. Meanwhile, senior placement saw mixed impacts (for instance, some families avoided placing loved ones in senior facilities during the height of COVID). Overall, cleaning services have a very steady baseline of demand. Janitorial franchises typically continued to generate revenue even in economic downturns, whereas a senior placement franchise’s revenue might fluctuate more based on how many families are actively seeking placements month to month. Moreover, cleaning serves a wide range of client types (offices, schools, medical, industrial, etc.), diversifying risk, whereas senior placement is focused on one life event (elder care transition). This breadth can make a cleaning business’s income stream more resilient since losing one client has a smaller effect when you have dozens of contracts.

Lifestyle and Involvement: As mentioned, an Assisted Living Locators owner generally needs to work full-time in the business, given the personalized nature – it’s hard to outsource the core advisory role. In contrast, a commercial cleaning franchise can be structured for a semi-absentee ownership. Assett, for example, is designed for owners who want to work on the business, not in it. With the right systems, an owner might only put in a few hours a week managing a cleaning business, especially after initial growth. They can hire supervisors or an operations manager to handle daily issues while they focus on client relationships and expansion. In fact, Assett Franchise highlights that its model can be run with as little as 5 hours per week of owner time once systems are in place. This flexibility and low time requirement appeals to those who want to keep another job or enjoy more free time. The senior placement industry doesn’t easily allow that kind of detachment – if you’re not available to meet a family or take a call, you risk losing the client. So for entrepreneurs who value work-life balance or maintaining another income stream, the cleaning industry offers a more viable path to do so.

Key Takeaway: The commercial cleaning industry, exemplified by Assett’s model, provides scale, stability, and simplicity. It boasts a giant market with recurring B2B revenue, is essential in any economy, and lets owners leverage teams and technology to grow big without needing to personally perform the service. The senior care placement industry, exemplified by Assisted Living Locators, offers a personally rewarding, community-focused business in a growing niche, but it relies more on the owner’s personal involvement and yields a smaller scale of business on average. Both can be profitable, but if your priority is long-term stability, higher income potential, and a business you can eventually step back from, commercial cleaning holds some clear advantages.

How the Assett Franchise Compares

Having looked at Assisted Living Locators and the senior placement world, let’s turn to Assett Franchise’s commercial cleaning opportunity and how it’s built to benefit owners. Assett is in the commercial cleaning industry we just discussed, but what makes it stand out as a franchise? Here are a few key ways Assett Franchise compares and why it might be a “cleaner” alternative for aspiring business owners:

Simpler Systems, Bigger Potential

Assett Franchise is already operating in the robust commercial cleaning sector, which, as noted, is a $100B+ essential services market. This gives Assett owners a huge field of potential clients right from the start – every office building, school, or medical facility in your territory is a prospective customer. But beyond market size, Assett’s model is engineered for simplicity and scalability. Franchisees are executive-level owners – meaning your role is to grow the business and manage client relationships, not to mop floors. In fact, Assett proudly states that its owners “focus on adding buildings to their client portfolio, while their team does the cleaning”. From day one, you’re positioned as a professional business owner, not a janitor. This is a crucial distinction; many traditional cleaning franchises (often called “unit franchises”) end up forcing owners to do the cleaning themselves due to high fees and low margins, effectively making the owner an employee in their own business. Assett flips that script – it’s set up as an executive franchise, where you retain control, pay lower fees, and have the territory and pricing structure needed to hire staff and run the business like a CEO.

The systems provided by Assett are designed to make running the business straightforward. You receive training, a full business playbook, marketing support, and ongoing coaching on how to acquire and retain commercial clients. Because commercial cleaning is a relatively simple service to deliver (it’s routine cleaning tasks) and doesn’t require specialized licenses, the operational side is easier to systematize compared to a consulting-heavy business. Assett gives you proven processes for everything from bidding jobs to onboarding new clients and quality-checking the work. With these streamlined systems, an owner can scale up confidently. The ultimate potential is quite significant – Assett’s model notes an earning potential beyond $1M in gross sales per year, and indeed current franchisees are averaging over $1.5M annually in revenue. That is several times what an average senior care placement franchise produces. Importantly, this revenue is recurring and compounding, as you build your base of contracts. In terms of bottom line, Assett also has an edge: its royalty fees are lower, ranging from 3–7% (versus 8% at Assisted Living Locators), and marketing fees are lower as well, which allows franchisees to retain more profit. The low cost of entry combined with high income potential is a core selling point – you’re not investing in heavy equipment or real estate, so virtually all growth capital goes into acquiring customers and expanding service capability. In summary, Assett offers a simpler operational model with a higher ceiling. It’s built for owners who want to work on the business, not in it, with clear systems that enable you to scale up without being bogged down in complexity.

Automated Hiring = Time and Money Saved

One of the biggest headaches in any service business is hiring and retaining good employees – and commercial cleaning is no exception. The industry is known for high turnover among cleaning staff, which often limits companies from growing (you can’t take on new contracts if you don’t have people to service them). Assett Franchise tackles this challenge head-on with a unique automated hiring system that is a game-changer for its owners. Developed by Assett’s founder Matt Pencarinha in 2019 and continually refined, this proprietary system uses automation and innovative processes to keep a steady pipeline of qualified cleaning staff coming into your business. In practical terms, it means the tedious work of posting jobs, screening applicants, scheduling interviews, and onboarding is largely handled by the system with minimal manual effort from you.

Why is this so powerful? Because in most cleaning businesses, owners spend 20+ hours a week just dealing with hiring and covering staffing gaps – or they end up overworking themselves to fill in for no-shows. Assett’s automated hiring system eliminates that bottleneck. According to the company, it saves franchise owners 20–30 hours per week in hiring-related tasks by turning what used to be constant hands-on recruiting into a streamlined, mostly automated workflow. An owner can get the hiring work done in just 2–5 hours per week thanks to this system. The benefits are enormous: you can grow your business faster (because every time you land a new cleaning contract, the system quickly feeds you new candidates to staff it), and you maintain a higher quality workforce. Assett’s system doesn’t just bring in warm bodies – it’s designed to attract and filter for reliable, long-term employees who align with the company’s values. This in turn leads to better service for clients and lower turnover. Franchisees don’t have to constantly scramble to replace cleaners, which is a huge money saver (and stress reducer). Furthermore, because the hiring function is so efficient, you don’t need to hire a full-time HR manager even as you scale – avoiding that salary preserves more profit for you.

In short, Assett Franchise has turned hiring – the traditional Achilles’ heel of cleaning companies – into a competitive unmatched advantage as stated in bizbuysell.com. The automated hiring system is something no competitor offers, and it gives Assett owners a leg up in building a reliable team at scale. It means as an owner you can focus more on business growth and quality control, rather than constantly putting out staffing fires. The result is a more smoothly run operation and the ability to take on more clients (and revenue) without hitting a wall due to labor constraints. This kind of forward-thinking solution exemplifies how Assett is modernizing the cleaning franchise model to save owners time and money.

Personalized and Founder-Led

Another notable difference: Assett Franchise is a family-owned, founder-led company, whereas many franchise brands (including Assisted Living Locators, now part of a larger corporation) are backed by private equity or large franchise conglomerates. Assett was founded by Matt Pencarinha, who had been both a franchisee and a multi-business owner before creating Assett. Matt remains directly involved in mentoring Assett franchisees and continuously improving the model. This means when you join Assett, you’re not just buying into a system – you’re joining a community where the leadership knows you by name. Franchisees have direct access to the founder and executive team for guidance, which is increasingly rare in franchising. This personalized support can be incredibly valuable, especially for first-time business owners who benefit from mentorship and the ability to pick up the phone and talk to the decision-makers when needed.

Being founder-led also means Assett is driven by a clear mission and values rather than just investor profit targets. The company’s culture emphasizes partnership, integrity, and community impact (for example, treating employees with respect and being hands-on in local service). As a franchisee, you’re part of a tight-knit network where your feedback can actually influence the brand’s direction. In contrast, with a larger franchise system under a holding company, franchisees may feel like just another number – support might be delivered via standardized call centers or layers of corporate structure. Assett offers a more personal touch: since it’s a newer franchise system, it’s selective in awarding franchises and truly vested in each owner’s success. You can expect one-on-one coaching from the founder, regional meet-ups that feel like family gatherings, and a collaborative atmosphere where franchisees share best practices openly.

This personal approach also extends to the client experience Assett is aiming to create. Assett’s model is community-focused – even though cleaning might seem like a generic service, Assett franchisees take pride in being locally owned businesses that build trust with each client. The franchise encourages local relationship-building, similar to how Assisted Living Locators franchisees network in their communities, but in the B2B space. The difference is Assett owners often become long-term partners to schools, churches, and businesses, contributing to the community’s wellbeing in a behind-the-scenes yet important way (clean, safe environments). It’s a mission that resonates with people who want to run a business with integrity and personal accountability.

In summary, the Assett Franchise offers an ownership experience that is modern yet personal. You get the professionalism and systems of a well-thought-out franchise, plus the benefit of an engaged founder and a culture that treats franchisees like part of an extended family. For entrepreneurs who value not just the business metrics but also the mentorship and ethos behind the brand, this is a significant plus. It stands in contrast to more corporate franchise environments and ensures that as Assett grows, it does so with the success of each individual owner in mind.

Final Thoughts

Assisted Living Locators is a strong franchise in a noble industry – it can be a great fit for the right type of owner, particularly someone passionate about senior care and comfortable with a consultative, hands-on role. Its strengths lie in a growing need for senior placement services, a relatively low cost of entry, and the rewarding nature of helping families. However, when comparing it to an opportunity in the commercial cleaning arena, the differences are clear. Assett Franchise offers more advantages for someone who wants:

  • A scalable, stable business – Commercial cleaning provides a broad, steady market with recurring revenue, allowing you to build a large, enduring company.
  • Low operational complexity – With Assett’s systems (especially the automated hiring) and straightforward service delivery, running the business is simpler and less stressful day-to-day.
  • Predictable recurring revenue – Long-term contracts in cleaning mean you’re not starting at zero every month; cash flow is more reliable and grows cumulatively.
  • Minimal risk and faster ROI – Lower ongoing fees and essential demand give you a cushion; many cleaning franchises achieve profitability relatively quickly thanks to low overhead and steady clients.
  • A modern business model built for executive ownership – Assett is designed for semi-absentee ownership, leveraging technology and team management so you can scale up without burning out.

Ultimately, choosing a franchise comes down to your personal goals and what you want your daily life to look like. Assisted Living Locators presents a heartfelt choice – if you’re driven by helping seniors and want to be the face of a service in your community, it may be right for you. But if you’re looking for a smarter, scalable path to business ownership that emphasizes financial stability, growth potential, and working on the business rather than in it, then Assett Franchise shines as a cleaner 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.

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