Veronica Manolache & Steve Jones

Combining Physiotherapy Expertise with Homecare

Veronica and Steve didn’t arrive at franchising through the typical corporate route. Having progressed up the career ladder within the care sector, Veronica knew how much potential this industry had to offer.

Her professional experience, combined with the couple’s ambition to build a business together, drove their decision to take a calculated leap of faith and invest in a Right at Home franchise.

Veronica’s career had led her to our Ilkley office, where she held the role of Registered Manager for three years. Through that experience, the next step became clearer. Veronica wanted to take on a nearby territory and build a business with the freedom to shape high-quality care locally, while staying part of a wider brand with a strong support structure.

“We knew we wanted to own our own business,” Steve explains. “We knew care was a good sector to be in and we knew Right at Home was a brand whose values aligned with our own.”

steve and veronica with members of right at home national office

Building in the early stages of ownership

Although both Veronica and Steve brought relevant experience with them, they were realistic about what the early stages of franchise ownership would involve. Moving from working within an established office to building something from the ground up brought new pressures, decisions, and responsibilities.

“We knew it was going to be tough,” Veronica says. “Even with experience, you don’t really know what resilience looks like until you’re doing it yourself.”

The first year was a significant adjustment period, focused on learning how to balance compliance, recruitment, marketing, and day-to-day problem-solving, while building visibility and trust in a competitive territory.

“The first year was a big adjustment,” Steve reflects. “But last year felt different. That’s when we started to see progress and feel like we were getting somewhere.”

Rather than expecting quick wins, they focused on laying strong foundations, knowing that momentum would come with time, consistency, and the right support around them.

Choosing franchising for support and peace of mind

For Veronica and Steve, the franchise model wasn’t just about a recognised name. It was about entering a highly regulated sector with the right guidance around them from the start.

Care, as Veronica puts it, is a different kind of business.

“It’s a business, but it’s so much different from any other business because you’re dealing with people’s lives. There’s regulation, compliance, and real responsibility.”

They knew that building independently would mean sourcing support for everything from marketing and business operations to compliance and recruitment, without always having the knowledge to judge what “good” looked like.

“In care, if something goes wrong, you need that support network to be solid,” Steve says. “That’s where the franchise model works, because you know there’s a team you can go to for guidance. It’s peace of mind.”

National Office support when it counts

As their franchise journey progressed, the value of that structure became even clearer.

During the registration process, an administrative issue meant their application needed additional follow-up. Without experienced support behind them, it could have slowed progress significantly.

“The Compliance team got onto it straight away,” Veronica says. “They emailed the right people and helped move things forward. If we were applying individually, we’d have just been a little fish in a big pond.”

For Veronica and Steve, it reinforced what they already believed: in care, having specialist support behind you can prove invaluable when the unexpected happens.

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Why marketing mattered at the start

Ask them what made the biggest difference in the early days, and they point to marketing.

For a brand-new office, the challenge is simple: people can’t choose you if they don’t know you exist.

“For a new business, marketing is key,” Veronica says. “How do you get Clients and staff when you have no history yet? You need that presence - both online and offline.”

Their Harrogate territory is highly competitive, with dozens of providers operating in a relatively small area. That meant visibility wasn’t a ‘nice to have’, it was essential. Alongside community engagement, they focused on building a strong local digital presence, and they saw it pay off.

“We live in an era where everything is digital,” Veronica explains. “Even older Clients are using Facebook and the internet. People might meet you in the community, but they still go home and search.”

One moment stood out. A competitor pointed out that Veronica and Steve’s office was appearing at the top of local Google searches, even above providers investing heavily in advertising.

“That made me feel proud,” Veronica says. “It showed we were building real presence and trust.”

Veronica and Steve are clear they didn’t navigate it alone. In the early stages, access to National Office marketing support helped them focus their efforts and avoid unnecessary trial and error.

“When you’re new, you’re trying to do everything at once,” Veronica explains. “You want to be proactive, but you also need to know what you should and shouldn’t be doing.”

Regular contact with the marketing team brought structure and clarity at a time when visibility mattered most.

“Having regular meetings made a huge difference,” Steve says. “It wasn’t just about producing materials. It was about understanding where to focus our energy and what would actually make an impact.”

“Marketing gave us structure,” Veronica adds. “It helped us build a presence before we had a track record to speak for us. Seeing ourselves appear at the top of local searches wasn’t an accident. That came from consistency, support, and knowing we were doing the right things in the right order.”

For Veronica and Steve, marketing support wasn’t about handing responsibility over. It was a partnership.

“We still did the work,” Veronica says. “But having people to guide us, challenge us, and keep us on track meant we weren’t guessing.”

The power of a network and local peer support

While National Office guidance gave them structure, being part of a franchise network offered something else: lived experience.

Veronica and Steve built strong relationships with neighbouring offices, particularly Right at Home Ilkley — where Veronica had been Registered Manager for three years.

“If I need help, I go to them. If they need help, they come to me,” Steve says. “It’s like an extension office, but with separate businesses.”

That peer-to-peer support gives them confidence in day-to-day decisions.

When suppliers, advertisers, and service providers approach them, they can sense-check through the network and learn from other owners’ experiences.

“You get honest feedback,” Veronica says. “No hidden agenda. It’s people helping people, and that makes the advice more trustworthy.”

They’ve also seen how brand reputation travels.

“The reputation of the wider network worked in our favour,” Veronica explains. “People trust the structure.”

Recruitment: finding values first

Growing a care business means growing a team. For Veronica and Steve, recruitment has been both rewarding and challenging, particularly in a region where providers are competing for the same people.

“It’s not as simple as putting an advert out and getting three great candidates,” Steve says. “You might get ten applicants and one might be the right fit.”

“You can teach someone knowledge,” Veronica says. “But you can’t teach somebody values.”

They’ve learned that building the right team isn’t just about hiring individuals, but about creating a culture where people work well together, feel supported, and stay for the long term.

When it works, the milestones matter. Every new team member feels like progress. Every new enquiry reinforces that they’re building something real.

The moments that make it worthwhile

Veronica and Steve speak openly about resilience. There have been moments where plans have needed to change quickly, particularly when staffing or Client needs shifted.

But they’re clear on what keeps them focused: the impact.
Veronica shares one visit that brought everything into focus. A Client living with dementia had been resistant to accepting support. The initial aim was to help with a bath once a week, to begin building trust.

But that day, something shifted.

“After the visit, he got dressed and he was ready to come with me,” she says. “We went out and had a hot chocolate together. We laughed, watched people go by, and when we got back, he gave me a hug and said thank you.”

But Veronica understands that their services are just as much for the families as they are for the Client.

“Families often carry guilt,” she explains. “They feel like they should be doing everything. But when we can take away one difficult part of the day, they get to spend quality time together again.”

That’s the difference they came into care to make.

Working as a couple: navigating responsibility together

Building a business together has shaped their journey in very practical ways. Veronica and Steve live together, work together, and make decisions side by side.

“You need to be solid as a couple,” Veronica says. “This kind of business brings unforeseen situations all the time, and that’s where communication and alignment really matter.”

They’re clear that it’s rarely the work itself that creates challenges, but the unpredictability of care.

“It’s the things you can’t plan for,” Steve explains. “Covering shifts, last-minute changes, emergencies.”

Veronica recalls moments where personal and professional life briefly overlapped.

“I remember going to the business awards, then leaving to cover a shift, and coming back in my dress with tracksuit bottoms over the top,” she laughs. “That’s care. That’s the reality.”

Resilient and realistic, they see working together as a strength.

“We’re aligned,” Steve says. “We know why we’re doing this.”

Their advice to future Franchise Owners

If someone is considering a Right at Home franchise because they want to make a difference in their community, Veronica and Steve are clear about what’s required.

“This isn’t something you can do on minimal effort,” Veronica says. “Especially in the early stages, you need to be fully invested.”

They describe care as future-proof, meaningful, and constantly evolving. A business where flexibility, commitment, and people skills matter every day.

“Resilience is no joke,” Steve adds. “You have to be ready to adapt, because you never know what’s coming.”

It’s demanding work. It’s emotional work. And it’s rewarding work. For Veronica and Steve, it’s an opportunity to achieve their life goals.