Meet Dave Heinze, a multi-office franchise owner based in Tampa, FL. Dave purchased his first Home Instead franchise in Tampa four years ago, and today owns eight Home Instead offices across the state, including one on the Care Platform. We sat down with Dave recently to learn more about his journey into Home Instead ownership, his experience on the Care Platform, and his plans for future growth.

Tell us about your professional background. What did you do prior to Home Instead?  

I spent nearly 18 years earlier in my career working at Yum! Brands for KFC, first as an operations manager and then a franchise business coach. This experience taught me a lot about the world of franchising. 

Following KFC, I took my franchise business coaching skills to new industries, working for a children’s entertainment company and then a supplemental learning franchise. These were smaller companies, and afforded me even more opportunity to gain experience in all aspects of franchise ownership, from marketing and payroll to training and recruitment. I knew my next step would be to leave the corporate world and buy a franchise business. 

What attracted you to the Home Instead franchise opportunity? 

It actually involved a little bit of luck and good timing. I was in the process of purchasing a completely different franchise business in the childcare industry, and one day I visited one of the childcare centers. After about six hours I found myself questioning whether this business (and being surrounded by children every day) was really for me. 

I knew that home care was a booming industry, and that led me to Home Instead. It’s the best decision I ever made.

What attracted you to the Care Platform business model specifically?

I currently own eight offices in Florida, one of which is operating on the Care Platform. That office is located about four and a half hours away in southeast Florida, which poses some challenges in terms of effectively managing daily operations and the team. 

I purchased that location specifically knowing that I would move it to the Care Platform on day one - I had to be able to operate it without worrying about things like recruitment, hiring or staffing. The staffing piece has been huge. We have had leads come in in the morning, and the platform has had them staffed for 24/7 care in the same day. Our RPNs know we can provide care much more quickly than our competitors, and that’s a major advantage in the market. 

How has your experience been operating on the Care Platform?

My office has been on the Care Platform for about three months, and it’s been great so far. The experience has also benefited my business more broadly, as I’ve been able to model some of the Care Platform processes for use in our traditional franchise office operations. This has helped our existing offices perform more efficiently, and I also know that if and when I move those offices to the Care Platform, having these processes in place will help to make for a smoother transition. 

What advice would you have for an owner currently considering the Care Platform? 

Engage with the Care Platform team to educate yourself on how the platform works. I worked with that team for almost two years, evaluating whether it made sense for my existing offices, before I joined the platform. I learned so much during that time about how the Care Platform operates that helped me ultimately decide to purchase my southeast Florida location. And as I mentioned, I’ve applied that knowledge and some of the platform processes to benefit my traditional office operations. 

What are you most excited about as you think about the future of your Home Instead franchise business?

I am excited for the growth opportunity. We have an aggressive growth plan, which currently includes developing three new territories which will all operate on the Care Platform. I have about 750 employees right now, and I expect that number should grow to over 1,000 by the end of 2025. It’s important to me that my staff has opportunities to grow. In addition to providing options for equity purchases in the business, I also serve as a mentor to several employees who have an interest in becoming franchise owners themselves. It is so rewarding to support people in doing something they enjoy and have a passion for. 

Dave and team throwing it down at Axe & Bull.

Why is the work that we do personally important to you?

My mother is 93 years old. Up until about five years ago, she was fully independent – driving, doing everything for herself – and then she started to slow down rather quickly. One month after we purchased our first franchise office, we moved her from New Jersey to Florida to live with us. Until then, I didn’t have any experience caring for her. Working in this industry has been a blessing in that it has allowed me to better understand what the elderly go through and how quickly their abilities can change, literally overnight. I’m hoping the work I’m doing with my business today will make it easier for my kids to someday care for me.