After a career in investment banking in the City of London Paul Tame decided to take voluntary redundancy in order that he could reflect on life and commit time to working with local voluntary organisations.

During this period of reflection Paul and his wife, Jill assessed opportunities that allowed them to be involved in a business but that would also take them to the heart of their community.

They were interested in the franchise business model and were keen to find out more about at-home care – their research uncovered Home Instead Senior Care, a global franchise business, operating in 17 countries with over 1,000 offices – might this be the franchise model for them? Every day Home Instead are making a difference by helping elderly people remain living independently in their own homes for as long as possible.

Having lived in Epsom with their young family for more than 12 years they were delighted to discover that the Epsom territory for Home Instead Senior Care was available.

In March 2010, Paul and Jill opened their Home Instead office with their territory covering the local areas of Ashtead, Banstead, Bookham, Ewell, Leatherhead and Oxshott.

Paul had committed himself to working with a local voluntary organisation and this experience had been central to his decision to launch the Home Instead franchise.

Paul said: “My experiences doing voluntary work made me realise that I love working with people and to try to give something back to the community in which I was raised. The Home Instead opportunity allows me to help change the way care is delivered to older people and I must say I’m delighted how rewarding this is.

He continued: “Working in the City gave me experience in managing a large and diverse team in many different international locations as well as all aspects of customer and service delivery to an exceptional standard. Since taking a career change to start the Home Instead business in Epsom I have been really touched, seeing up close and personal what a difference that quality care can make to people’s lives. I love working in the heart of our community and am very proud of the service that we are delivering. The heart of our business is the team of wonderful CAREGivers who, like me, truly want to make a difference.”

Home Instead Senior Care now has over 130 offices nationwide and is one of the UK’s leading care companies. Their service is tailored to the needs of individual clients and ranges from companionship, meal preparation, light housekeeping, post-discharge care, personal care, medication reminders, shopping and errands. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.