Griswold Special Care

Founded: 1982 Franchising since: 1984
A geriatric counselor and clergyman's wife, Jean C. Griswold founded Griswold Special Care in 1982 to help people remain independent. Griswold was inspired to start the program after an elderly widow from her husband's church died of kidney failure because she couldn't find anyone to take care of her at night. The company's first employees were graduate students from local seminaries. Griswold was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1990.

Griswold Special Care provides ongoing home care for people who need help with daily tasks, are disabled, bed- or wheelchair-bound, live alone, or are recovering from hospitalization or nursing home stays. The service can also be used to give caregivers a break from caring for family members. The company's caregivers cook and prepare meals, do light housekeeping, shop and run errands, assist with transportation and medication, and transfer clients from beds to chairs. Offices in Florida offer expanded services with the help of RNs, LPNs and CNAs.

717 Bethlehem Pike, #300 Erdenheim, Pennsylvania 19038

Phone: (215)402-0200

Franchisor is a privately-held company with 70 employee(s)

Franchise Growth

Year	U.S. Franchises	Canadian Franchises	Foreign Franchises	Company Owned
2009	90	0	2	12
2008	86	0	2	15
2007	77	0	0	12
2006	80	0	2	7
2005	78	0	2	8

Where Seeking Franchisees
In the U.S. Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West virginia

Exclusive territories available.
Territory size: 200,000-400,000 population

Special Programs
A portion of profits is donated to the Special Care Foundation, which provides grants to individuals who cannot afford home care. Also, $5,000 of the franchise fee is used to reimburse franchisees for in-office hiring salaries during their first year.

Total investment: $37K-52.5K Franchise fee: $14.5K

Ongoing royalty fee: 3-5% Term of agreement: 7 years, renewable

Type of Financing Available

	In-House	Third Party
Franchise Fee	No	No
Startup Costs	No	No
Equipment	No	No
Inventory	No	No
Accounts Receivable	No	No
Payroll	No	Yes

Qualifications
Business Experience:

• Industry experience
• General business experience
• Marketing skills
• (qualifications helpful but not required)

Operations

• Franchise can be run from home
• 20% of all franchisees own more than one unit
• Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 1 - 2
• Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Training

• Available at headquarters: 1 week
• At franchisee's location: 2-4 days
• Ongoing training in the field & free annual workshop series

Ongoing Support

• Newsletter
• Meetings
• Toll-free phone line
• Internet
• Security/safety procedures
• Field operations/evaluations
• Purchasing cooperatives

Marketing Support

• Co-op advertising
• Ad slicks
• National media
• Regional advertising

Other marketing support

• Ongoing phone support, annual workshop series, customized software, visits

Franchise 500® rank:
#398 (2009); #449 (2007); #342 (2006); #331 (2005);

Low-Cost Franchises:
#88 (2009); #90 (2006); #87 (2005);

Top Home Based Franchises:
#95 (2006); #90 (2005);