We’re triple proud to see three members of the Home Instead family recognised as finalists in this year’s NatWest Encouraging Women In Franchise (EWiF) Awards. The cherry on top was seeing Louise McLaughlin, owner of Home Instead Belfast, win ‘Young Woman in Franchising Of The Year 2024’.
Celebrating success in the franchise sector
The EWiF Awards celebrate the successes of women in the franchise sector, across businesses in a variety of sectors. With over 48,000 franchise businesses in the UK, collectively employing over 700,000 people, the franchise sector is a massive contribution to our economy. We have been delighted to see more and more women make a success out of franchise businesses, and we’re proud to see many of them join the Home Instead family, reap the benefits of the support we provide franchisees, and become profitable businesses. There’s still room for more to come onboard, and we’d like the EWiF Awards to be an inspiration for them.
Winning franchisee
Winner Louise McLaughlin has been running Home Instead Belfast along with husband Roger for three years. They have successfully grown the business to recruit 40 Care Professionals, delivering 1,440 hours of care a month to over 100 clients. Louise is known for her caring approach, offering a 24/7 helpline to Care Professionals to help them. The husband and wife duo hope to mirror this success in their new franchise: Home Instead Antrim, Ballymena and Carrickfergus.
Boosting the Care Professional workforce
We were proud to see Lesley Ballingall, director of operations for several Home Instead franchises in Scotland, nominated for ‘Woman Franchise Employee of the Year 2024’. The business delivers a whopping 35,000 hours of care across all franchises. Employing over 500 care professionals, Lesley has helped boost the number of male care professionals, having led a hugely successful ‘Men in Care’ campaign, dispelling the myth that care is just for females, and encouraging more men to consider a career in the sector.
Franchisee success story
Another finalist was Sophie Mellor owner of Home Instead Lytham, Fylde and Wyre. Nominated for ‘Woman Franchisee of the Year 2024,’ Sophie has spent the past 12 years growing a successful home care company, and has acquired two more franchises. Now employing 165 Care Professionals who provide care to 195 clients, Sophie is an inspiration for any working parent, having balanced becoming a top business leader with raising three children.
Inspiring female franchisees
Ruth Brown, COO of Home Instead UK, says: “I’m bursting with pride seeing three members of the Home Instead family recognised in this prestigious awards ceremony.
“On behalf of everyone at Home Instead, I’d like to offer our congratulations to all of the nominees and winners. We hope that the EWiF Awards will inspire more women to follow in their footsteps, and I can’t wait to see what else the fabulous females of our sector will achieve.”
Start your own franchise journey
If you’re keen to follow in Louise, Lesley and Sophie’s footsteps, get in touch and speak to a member of our team.