Meet the Franchise: Todd Hillman on Franchising and Senior Care

The senior care industry continues to grow as more families search for care solutions for aging loved ones, and Always Best Care is a franchise built around long-term demand, recurring revenue and community impact. With more than 225 territories operating nationwide, the company is focused on aggressive expansion while helping franchisees build businesses that can evolve as the world changes.

“We’re going to grow by double digits this year, and we’re proud of that,” Todd Hillman, vice president of franchise development at Always Best Care, told 1851 Franchise Publisher Nick Powills on a recent episode of the “Meet the Franchise” podcast.

Hillman joined Always Best Care in 2025 after more than two decades in franchising as a franchisee, regional developer and franchisor executive. Before joining the senior care brand, he worked with concepts including Massage Envy, Hammer & Nails and Central Bark.

“One thing that attracted me to this business was the small real estate footprint and the low overhead to start up,” Hillman said.

Always Best Care differentiates itself in the senior care space through its “Continuum of Care” model, which allows franchisees to generate revenue through non-medical home care, assisted living referral placement and, in some markets, skilled home health services. Many franchisees enter the business after personal caregiving experiences with parents or loved ones, while others are motivated by the desire to create more control over their careers and schedules.

“Right now, there are a lot of layoffs going on in the country, and people are realizing, ‘Hey, I’m losing my job, but I have no assets. I have nothing. I just have my skills.’ Having a franchise is building something for you and your family in the future,” Hillman said.

Always Best Care provides more than 200 hours of training, peer mentorship opportunities and advisory councils designed to help franchisees share ideas and solve problems together. That culture of communication and accountability has become one of the company’s biggest advantages as the brand continues expanding nationwide.

“This isn’t just an investment,” Hillman said. “It’s a lifestyle change. You have to be committed because you’re taking care of people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.”

Hillman joined Powills to discuss franchising as a path to ownership, the growing demand for senior care services and how Always Best Care supports franchisees through training and collaboration. A transcript of the interview has been provided below. It has been edited for brevity, clarity and style.

Todd Hillman: I have an interesting story. About 25 years ago, I decided I was going to fire my boss from a Fortune 50 company in Arizona. I decided I was going to go into a different brand and a different field. I started my own home service property inspection franchise.

Wouldn’t you know it, I went through training and my opening day was 9/11. That’s where I really learned the importance of franchising. You’re starting your own business, but you’re never doing it alone. Had it not been for that team stepping in, helping me and retraining us, and us thinking outside the box, I don’t know what would have happened.

A lot of times we talk to prospects and tell them, “Look, if you’ve got true grit, we’ll show you how to do this, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to make it happen.”

I was successful there, then did regional development with another brand, did some real estate, made some money, lost some money, and then my old boss from that Fortune 50 company called me and said, “Hey, I’m working for a little company by the name of Massage Envy. Would you like to come on board in development and help the franchisor redevelop and change course?”

So I was part of that. Then I worked for a couple of emerging franchises, such as Hammer & Nails, Lemonade and, lastly, Central Bark. One thing that attracted me to this business was the small real estate footprint and the low overhead to start up.

Powills: I love that backstory. As a side note, when Massage Envy was starting, I was at another agency. We went out to lunch with the founder, and he said massage could be like Starbucks, just part of your everyday life. We left there, and my boss said, “There’s no way that guy is going to figure this out.” Flash forward, and it’s a whole industry.

It’s interesting if you zoom out. The labor pool for massage therapists, the labor pool for caregivers where you are now, the labor pool in pet care. When we were offline, we were talking about the passion behind it. Obviously, someone who works in pet care has some sort of affinity for pets, and that adds into the currency they get from it.

Hillman: It is the same. It’s still prospects and individuals who have a thirst to go out on their own. At least in my generation, we were told to go to college, get a degree and work for somebody. For some of us, that doesn’t work. Sometimes we get into our 20s, 30s or even our 50s and realize we still have that zest. We want to do something for ourselves. We want generational wealth.

Right now, there are a lot of layoffs going on in the country, and people are realizing, “Hey, I’m losing my job, but I have no assets. I have nothing. I just have my skills.” Having a franchise is building something for you and your family in the future.

Powills: Do you think there’s a disconnect in the educational system? If we’re conditioned to go through school and work for someone else, it almost feels like the word entrepreneur is understood but not embraced.

Most entrepreneurs have some sort of turbulent moment. Maybe they can’t learn the way school is trying to teach them, so they start their own thing. But for franchisees, if we built a demographic, most are probably 45 to 55. They’ve worked through college, entry-level jobs and climbing the corporate ladder. They get to a point where they realize they’re probably not going to become CEO or VP, and they look in the mirror and say, “All right, I’m stuck.”

Hillman: I think there is. As we look at AI and the changing world around us, we need to intervene in young people’s lives and let them know there are alternative paths. One thing I’ve seen in the last five years is younger people, maybe three to five years out of school, who tried teaching or tried the corporate route. Fortunately, they had a grandmother, grandfather, mom or dad who said, “Look, I want to help you make your dreams happen.” They partnered with them.

I’m seeing that quite a bit, not just with this brand but across franchising. Younger groups are beginning to wake up and say, “Hey, I want to do this sooner rather than later.” There definitely needs to be more education, especially at the high school level, about the fact that college is great, technical school is great and, if you have the drive and grit to start your own business or franchise, that’s a valid path too.

Powills: If you look back at all the franchisees you’ve helped go into business, there’s usually hesitation before they say yes. Is it fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of instability? What’s the common thing you see?

Hillman: Fear. There are a lot of factors that go into it, and that’s something my team and I try to uncover. We don’t just have an introduction call. We have a “get to know you” call. We want to understand what’s going on with their family, what their goals are and why they’re at this point in life.

Sometimes people have spent so long working for what I call “Mr. Big” that they become dependent on that steady salary, even if they have a strong net worth or retirement they could use through a ROBS program to finance something like this. It also depends on family obligations and dependents. Change is very difficult for people.

Usually, they reach this point because a loved one got sick, passed away or needed care, and they realized they wanted to give back to the community and help others. Or they simply reach a point where they’re fed up and ready to do something on their own.

Powills: If I took every franchisee I’ve met in senior care, probably 95% or more have had some experience with an aging loved one or caregiving. That creates familiarity and opens up the emotional side of this category. Have you found that most people who buy into the category have had a personal experience with caregiving?

Hillman: Sometimes we’re working with broker groups where people are simply searching for what fits them. We’ve had great franchisees who were veterans and maybe were wounded themselves. They realized how caregivers treated them and wanted to give back while building a successful business with a low cost of entry. At the end of the day, it’s a personal decision.

When I was with the doggy daycare business, people loved our enrichment daycare model because they were trying to figure out what to do with their dogs. With massage, it was often people who had a massage experience themselves and wanted to start something new.

Everybody comes to this conclusion differently, but with a lot of our franchisees, it’s tied to a loved one having something catastrophic happen and wanting to be involved in their community and give back.

Hillman: Compassion for others. Some people simply don’t like working with people, and that’s fine. But in this business, you need compassion. You can’t be afraid to do public speaking, educate others and handle problems calmly. You have to think on your feet because caregivers sometimes don’t show up due to crises in their own lives, or there may be misunderstandings with clients dealing with mental or health challenges.

Powills: Even when you know what traits make someone successful, there are still people who fill out a form and play hard to get through the process. I’d imagine those people often become below-average franchisees compared to someone who says, “Yes, I’m interested. Let’s schedule a call.” You can almost predict outcomes based on how people follow the process.

Hillman: Absolutely. This year we’ll probably talk to 1,200 to 1,500 people through brokers, referrals, digital leads and organic traffic. At every stage we ask them, “What do you think? Is this still of interest to you?” Not everybody gets approved to come to Confirmation Day. Some people say we’re too picky, but we want to protect our 300 territories and our strong AUVs.

We’re inviting people into a special club, and we want to make sure it’s a good partnership. They should be vetting us, and we should be vetting them too.

We look for signs that they’re going to be invested in the business. If they want semi-absentee ownership, we ask whether they’re used to managing multiple agendas because we require hiring at least two people, including a scheduler and a marketing person.

Powills: Not to put you down a path of making an earnings claim, but if only 20% of seniors needing care are currently being serviced, there’s still plenty of room for these businesses to scale. Most franchisees hit a point where they need to reinvest to keep growing, and some panic and scale backward. But this category seems positioned for long-term growth.

Hillman: Right, and I’m only talking about seniors. There are competitors who also provide respite care for people recovering from surgeries or dealing with diabetes and other health issues. Non-medical home care covers a wide range of needs, from short-term respite care to end-of-life 24-hour care.

One great thing about our brand is we’re not limited to one area. We also provide assisted living referral placement, so we try to be a continuum of care. If a family comes to us and says, “Mom’s house is falling apart, and she may need assisted living,” we can help place her, earn referral revenue and sometimes continue providing caregiving services in that setting.

Some of our franchisees are also expanding into light skilled care by hiring rehab specialists, occupational therapists and nurses. The sky is really the limit, not just because of seniors, but because we’re seeing more disability and health-related needs across society.

Powills: This category is going to continue evolving. Franchisees who keep an open mind will find new ways to solve problems in the community. It reminds me of McDonald’s. In the 1950s it was burgers, fries and shakes. Today it’s McCafe, Happy Meals and much more. Categories evolve. The franchisors thinking about service innovation are the ones worth investing in.

Hillman: Absolutely. A lot of the best innovations in franchising come from franchisees. That’s why we take training and collaboration seriously. We provide more than 200 hours of training, specialized sales training and opportunities for franchisees to serve on advisory councils. We also have a mentor-mentee program to foster the same culture and philosophy throughout the system. Our top-performing franchisees form peer groups where they hold each other accountable and innovate together.

Powills: That peer-group concept sounds simple, but it’s powerful. Sometimes franchisors are afraid franchisees talking together will create problems, but the opposite is true. Community creates motivation and accountability.

Hillman: Exactly. We publish KPIs monthly so franchisees can compare performance. At the end of the year, our top leaders are rewarded with trips overseas. This year it’s the French Riviera. There’s camaraderie and competition, but not an “us versus them” mentality.

One thing I’m proud of is that our CEO gives every franchisee his cell phone number. That kind of accessibility matters. There are times franchisees are going to say things you don’t want to hear, but we want to hear them because we’re building this together.

Powills: That transparency matters. Franchisees can still feel lonely even with support, so peer groups and communication structures are critical.

Hillman: Another thing I’m proud of is our partnership with Next Phase, an equity firm focused on enriching the company to better serve franchisees so they can better serve clients. There are more than enough opportunities in this industry for everyone. We’re going to grow by double digits this year, and we’re proud of that.

After 25 years in franchising and 12 years on the franchisor side, I’m proud to represent a brand where franchisees are encouraged to think outside the box and be critical when necessary.

Hillman: Absolutely. Sixty percent of our franchise development team has owned franchises or businesses before. Our field support operators have owned agencies themselves.

We understand what it’s like to get a call on a Saturday that five clients passed away and you just need a good cry. I would encourage anybody interested in franchising to explore it now. We may not be the right fit, but with AI and layoffs changing the workforce, now is the time to look at franchises and start a business without doing it alone.

Powills: AI is going to disrupt a lot of industries, but I don’t see it disrupting human-based businesses like caregiving.

Hillman: Absolutely. This isn’t just an investment. It’s a lifestyle change. You have to be committed because you’re taking care of people during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.