Former teacher Rish Amod has dedicated his life to helping children achieve their dreams. Now, after almost thirty years in education, he’s traded the classroom for a live-in care business dedicated to the elderly. His mission – to provide dignity, compassion and the very best in at-home care.

Former teacher Rish Amod has dedicated his life to helping children achieve their dreams. Now, after almost thirty years in education, he’s traded the classroom for a live-in care business dedicated to the elderly. His mission – to provide dignity, compassion and the very best in at-home care.

“I truly believe in what we at Promedica24 offer. What we do is tailor-made; it’s about companionship, friendship, support and care. Everyone deserves dignity and the chance to maintain their independence by staying in their own homes wherever possible. It’s no exaggeration to say that my mission in life now is to educate my community to ensure that the elderly, and those in need, have access to this amazing service.”

Born in Durban in South Africa, Rish’s impressive career has seen him travel the globe, as his skills and natural charisma opened up opportunities in schools all over the world. From South Africa to New Zealand, Rish finally arrived in the UK in December 2003. Prior to joining Promedica24, his final role saw him as head of English at Larchfield primary and nursery school in Maidenhead. However, despite his lifelong passion for education, the red tape and politics of the UK system eventually wore him down like so many others before him.

“I left teaching after years of frustration in the education system. I originally went into the profession to help nurture a child’s potential and help them to be better people. But in the end bureaucracy took away the joy of teaching. State school has become very institutionalised and more of a box ticking exercise than focusing on what’s best for the students.”

Rish realised he couldn’t continue to teach, but knew that he still wanted to do something that benefitted others. That’s when he found Promedica24 and began to think seriously about the concept of business ownership. Here was the opportunity to not only improve the lives of others but to build a successful future for his own family in the process.

“When I heard about Promedica24, I really loved the concept. I remember thinking, you know what, I’ve spent 26 years helping young children and now I want to help the elderly. The culture and the values of the business, along with what they were trying to achieve, really resonated with me.”

Founded over a decade ago, Promedica24 is Europe’s largest provider of specialist live-in care. We offer a 24 hour live-in care service as a genuine alternative to residential care homes. Our franchisees operate at the heart of their local communities as ambassadors for care. Their role is to educate and introduce healthcare professionals, and the families of those in need, to the services offered by Promedica24. Franchisees assess, arrange and oversee the client /carer relationship for a truly bespoke solution and exceptional level of care.

With no former business experience to draw on, Rish was keen to introduce the business concept to his partner Suzanna, a qualified NHS nurse. She too fell in love with Promedica24’s offering, as her own first-hand experiences of care homes had left a bitter taste.

“Before Suzanna became a nurse, she worked in two different care homes. She used to recall how the owners of the care homes were, for the most part, financially orientated and felt that the system was about money more than the provision of care. It would really upset me to hear how she was expected to take care of 20-30 residents at any one time – that’s not care, it’s incarceration. It’s not right. We all want to provide the absolute best for our parents and grandparents, don’t we? But you know we can’t, and in fact shouldn’t, always do that personally. Promedica24 stood out for me as the shining beacon of hope – here was the compassionate, personal and dignified care we all want for our loved ones. It’s what they deserve and I wanted to be a part of providing it.”

First contact, to signing his all-important franchise agreement and becoming part of the Promedica24 franchise family, took little over four months. During that time Rish and his family met several times with the head office team. Rish spoke to existing franchisees and researched the local market before building a business plan to reflect his ambitions for his new business. Signed up and raring to go, Rish undertook Promedica24’s specialist training course, designed to successfully launch our new franchisees with maximum impact.

“The training was outstanding. It was intensive and thorough because the team just have so much experience. I couldn’t have asked for a better induction into the business. We covered everything from networking and sales techniques to marketing, PR and the bespoke CRM system. Yes, it was a lot to take in, but it’s structured in such a way that you retain the majority of it. For anything you need to recap, you have a wealth of resource in the form of your operations manual – and the no doubt masses of notes you made on the training course!

“It basically gave me the confidence to know that I will grow and adapt and from day one would have the support of the team at head office and my fellow franchisees.”

When you join the Promedica24 network, you join an expert team with over 20 years’ combined experience in the franchise industry and yet more in the healthcare sector. This includes our founding partner who remains active within the business. We have a highly skilled workforce of over 5,000 care staff and those within the UK are regulated and monitored by the Care Quality Commission. We are proud members of the British Franchise Association and are passionate about ethical franchising.

“For me the best thing about being a franchisee is that I get all the benefits of business ownership, with far less risk. I’m from a teaching background, I’ve never owned a business before, but here I’m supported by experts and surrounded by like-minded colleagues who are all concerned with each other’s success.”

As Rish discovered during his due diligence, the number of older people with care needs is expected to rise by more than 60% in the next 20 years. At Promedica24, we identified that the biggest barrier to growth in any UK care company is the availability of quality care staff, so we find and recruit staff for you and deal with all regulatory guidelines and compliance. This unique approach frees you up to do what you do best; build and run a successful, profitable and rewarding business that really makes a difference to people’s lives.

“Looking to the future, I want Promedica24 to be the household name for care in Windsor and Maidenhead. I plan to grow my business and take on staff to manage the day-to-day operations whilst I remain the face of the company as brand ambassador in the community. I want to live life to the fullest so this is as much about job satisfaction and personal rewards as it is about the money for me.”

When Rish says that he wants to live life to the fullest, he isn’t joking! This busy family-man enjoys sports, acting and travel, and imparts his enthusiasm for life onto his stepson Adam – who, at the age of 13, is already beginning to dream of following in Rish’s footsteps as a business owner! On top of all this, there is another small matter that Rish would like to address…

“A personal aspiration for the future is to get my private pilot’s licence; has there ever been a more literal interpretation of freedom and high-flying?!”

Minimal investment and working from home make this a low-risk model with high return on investment. The Promedica24 franchise opportunity is a serious consideration for anyone looking to build a business with both moral and financial value.

“Owning a business that can make you good money whilst genuinely improving the lives of your clients is very special. Not all profits have such a feel-good factor to them, but I don’t ever have to choose between morals and money again – do you?”