Sailing Into Success with a SYNERGY HomeCare Franchise


Jay Kiley had traveled the world with his banking background and yacht rigging business and wanted to be closer to home.  His wife Laurie was ready to see more of him, especially since his two children were grown and out of the house.  He was tired of making money for other people. Jay immediately thought of becoming a business owner. What he did not immediately see was that he would enter into an entirely different industry and would own a very successful franchise with an excellent reputation in the community.

Jay looked at over 2-dozen franchises before he finally chose SYNERGY HomeCare as the business that would take him to retirement.  “I wanted something with a growing demand, something I could be proud of.” During Jay’s research, he found that SYNERGY HomeCare offered its franchise partners training, marketing materials, professional websites and national advertising.  All these things helped him succeed in his new business.  “We were thrilled with SYNERGY’S help.  They enabled us to start from nothing and in a few short years we were able to have a successful business.  I had no home care experience 4-years ago, and now we’re doing fantastic!”

Jay did most of his franchise research online.  As he looked, he became convinced that he did not want a business that could be shipped overseas or done on the internet.  He wanted something that would help the growing demographic of elderly people in this country in a hands-on way. “I saw that SYNERGY HomeCare had a significant growth pattern.  When I spoke with corporate, they were very professional.  I felt like it was a company where I could excel.”

Jay wasn’t on his new job as franchise partner for SYNERGY for long when he got a chance to be hands-on with a particularly touching case.  A distant family member of a man named “Dave”* called to report that he was having a very hard time.  He had dementia and lived on the third floor of his building. Despite Dave’s use of a walker, apartment living made it hard for him to get around.  Jay got Dave the care he needed right away.  He had an employee go to see him every day.  Jay’s team got Dave moved to a ground floor apartment.  As a World War II veteran, Dave had plenty of stories to tell, but all his close relatives were dead, so he had no one to tell those stories.  So Jay himself stopped by several times a week to visit.  The SYNERGY team made sure Dave had food in his refrigerator and that he got to his doctor’s appointments.  “It was so rewarding to build a relationship with him.  He didn’t have anyone else, so we made his life as enjoyable as we could,” Jay remembers.

Jay says he loves that his business is helping others, including clients, their families and Jay’s employees.  “It’s very rewarding, everything from the big smiles from our clients to the thank you’s from our staff.”

Jay has worked to build his SYNERGY HomeCare franchise’s reputation in his local community of Bridgeport, CT.  He works with the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.  He is a member of the Home Care Association of America, the Greater Bridgeport Elderly Services Council and the Bridgeport Regional Business Council.  These relationships have been an integral part of building his business.

Jay and his wife Laurie, who also works in the franchise, look forward to continued growth.  He sees significant expansion opportunities in the home care business, especially over the next decade.  “I see bigger and better things to come!”  Jay says he looks forward to growing in his partnership with SYNERGY HomeCare corporate.  “Corporate has things in place to help me reach my goals, great behind the scenes assistance,” Jay says.   He has met his goal of being more of a homebody with his SYNERGY HomeCare franchise.  “It’s great being your own boss!”

*name changed to protect privacy