The National Post

April 23, 2007

Mover of the Week

Nurse Next Door

Six years ago, John DeHart was a 28-year-old IT whiz looking for his next business opportunity. Ken Sim was a 30-year-old former investment banker with the same thing in mind.

They were running on parallel tracks. Both could see opportunities in Canada's rapidly expanding health-care sector. Both wanted a chance to shine as an entrepreneur. But there also was an equally important shared asset.

They shared a mentor --Milton Wong, chairman of HSBC Asset Management. After they had approached him separately, he arranged a meeting. The result was Nurse Next Door Professional Homecare Service Inc. of Vancouver, an innovative venture that supplies full and part-time in-home care, mainly to the elderly.

The company, which has 1,000 employees and one Vancouver branch servicing most of the lower mainland, took a major step forward three months ago in its plan to become a national in-home health- care provider. It launched a trio of new franchises, in Burnaby, New Westminster and Kamloops.

"It is the first step toward expanding across the country," Mr. DeHart says. "Our strategy is to expand in ever-increasing concentric circles from our home base in Vancouver's Kerrisdale district.

"Next, we may look at places such as Kelowna and Victoria, where there are high seniors populations."

That is not to say if an opportunity arose with the right franchisee in Toronto, the company would not leap frog across the Prairies, Mr. Sim adds. In fact, the two plan to have 12 Canadian franchises by the end of 2007.

The gap between the company's launch and its initial foray into franchising was necessary, both say. They wanted to create the perfect infrastructure to launch a national chain. For example, head office handles all scheduling through a dedicated round-the-clock call centre. Franchisees pay $30,000 for the rights plus a 5% royalty on sales and then need only focus on sales and marketing, recruiting and customer service.

"We are now in a position to take advantage of a huge demographic shift in Canada," says Mr. DeHart. "Baby Boomers are ageing; lifespans are extending into the eighties. There is enormous demand for services that allow seniors to age in place, and that's what we are all about." 

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