In 1982, Sandra Chiles, a former General Mills product manager, accepted a position as an account executive selling and marketing Home Box Office (HBO) in Dallas. This was 10 years after the network first went on the air in 1972. In the midst of a long and fruitful career, some new professional circumstances made her reconsider her employment.
“My new boss wanted all of her direct reports to move to New York,” Chiles told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “My two sons were at an age when a move from Dallas to New York would have been a huge lifestyle change. So I decided that I would take early retirement.”
After leaving HBO in 2013, Chiles decided that retirement was not for her and sought entrepreneurial opportunities to utilize her skills. Upon witnessing a close friend’s experience finding caregivers for their parents, she was inspired to become a home care franchisee. She stumbled upon Right at Home during her Internet research and officially opened up her franchise in Southwest Forth Worth in October 2023
Jennifer Chaney, vice president of franchise development at Right at Home, says Chiles’ story is similar to those of other franchisees.
“I’d say 99% of the people who join the Right at Home system are looking for a business that’s fulfilling, meaningful and makes an impact,” Chaney told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “We see a lot of people who reach a point in their career or are close to retirement, and they decide instead to just retire from the role that they’re in now and own a Right at Home business.”
While her two careers may seem like worlds apart, Chiles has found a lot of common ground between her work at HBO and running a Right at Home franchise. She believes both professions require a keen understanding of the customer.
“At the heart of it, we’re in the service industry,” Chiles said. “That was one of the foundations of growing up at HBO. We partnered with our customers, and if they were successful, we were successful. We tried to come up with programs and plans that were mutually beneficial. With my business today, if we’re doing what we need to do, we’re providing excellent customer service to help our [clients] achieve their goals.”
Chiles’ franchise currently serves a dozen clients including four veterans. One of these clients is a 40-year-old man with muscular dystrophy who works as a software architect. She not only takes great pride in assisting him but takes great inspiration from his perseverance. Just like it was at HBO, the customer always comes first.
“I feel good about what he was doing and the contributions that he’s making to his clients and his company,” she said. “I feel pride in what he’s been able to achieve and also the fact that we are there to support his efforts. If he can do it with all of the challenges that he’s faced and faces every day. I can certainly do my part.”
Home Sweet Home is a feature appearing Mondays in McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. The story focuses on a heartwarming, entertaining or quirky happening affecting the world of home care. If you have a topic that might be worthy of the spotlight in Home Sweet Home, please email Special Projects Coordinator Foster Stubbs at [email protected].
