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Should I open or buy a Touching Hearts at Home franchise in 2027?

👁 0 views📖 2,412 words⏱ 11 min read📅 Published Jun 9, 2026

Direct Answer

Yes — buy a Touching Hearts at Home franchise in 2027 if you have $90K-$150K in liquid capital, can personally sell into discharge planners and elder-law attorneys for 18 months, and accept a break-even at month 14-22 with conservative Year-1 cash flow of -$15K to +$25K.

The brand's $49,500 franchise fee, 5% royalty, and $64K-$94K total Item 7 range make it one of the cheapest entries in non-medical senior care, and Item 19 average gross revenue of $801,000 (top quartile ~$1.01M) clears the $344K sub-sector average. Probably not if you need W-2 replacement income before month 18, dislike recruiting caregivers at $16-$22/hr in a tight labor market, or live in a metro already saturated by Home Instead, Visiting Angels, or Right at Home with no underserved suburb to claim.

The Real Numbers

The 2026 FDD Item 7 range for a Touching Hearts at Home territory is $63,885 to $93,085 all-in. That includes the $49,500 initial franchise fee (10% VetFran discount available), training travel, a modest home-office build-out, initial marketing, $15,000-$30,000 in working capital, and licensure/insurance.

Royalty is 5% of gross revenue; the brand fund/marketing fee is 2%, putting total franchisor take at 7% of top-line. Real Item 19 average gross revenue is $801,000 with top-quartile units clearing $1.01M+; mature EBITDA margins run 10-15% after caregiver wages (60-65% of revenue), office, insurance, and royalties.

Payback period is 24-36 months for a self-operated office.

Line item	Low	High	Notes
Initial franchise fee	$49,500	$49,500	One-time; 10% off for U.S. veterans via VetFran
Training & travel	$1,500	$4,000	Minneapolis HQ, 5 days
Office lease deposit/furniture	$2,500	$8,000	Home-office launch is permitted Year-1
Computer, phones, scheduling software	$1,500	$3,500	AxisCare or ClearCare integration
Insurance (GL + professional + bond)	$2,000	$4,500	$1M/$3M GL minimum
State home-care license/CON fees	$500	$5,000	CON states (NY, NJ, MD, GA) are 6-18 months out
Initial marketing/grand opening	$3,000	$8,000	Lunch-and-learns with discharge planners
Working capital (3-6 months payroll float)	$4,000	$11,000	2-week pay lag vs. 30-45 day client AR
Total Item 7 (FDD)	$63,885	$93,085	Per 2026 FDD
Realistic all-in with 6-mo runway	$90,000	$150,000	Sharpsheets/Franzy estimates

Royalty: 5% of gross revenue. Brand fund: 2%. Average AUV (Item 19): ~$801,000. Top-quartile AUV: $1.01M. EBITDA margin at maturity: 10-15%. Payback period: 24-36 months.

flowchart TD A[Liquid capital $90K-$150K] --> B[Sign FDD + pay $49,500 fee] B --> C[5-day Minneapolis training] C --> D[State home-care license 30 days non-CON / 6-18 months CON] D --> E[Recruit 8-12 caregivers @ $16-$22/hr] E --> F[Sell 25 discharge planners, 15 elder-law attorneys, 10 senior communities] F --> G{Hit 800 billable hours/mo by month 9?} G -->|Yes| H[Year-1 revenue $250K-$400K Cash flow -$15K to +$25K] G -->|No| I[Cut to 1 office FTE, owner sells full-time, extend runway 6 mo] H --> J[Year-2 $500K-$700K EBITDA $50K-$95K] I --> J J --> K[Year-3 $801K AUV EBITDA $80K-$120K Payback complete]

Who Wins With This Business

You win at Touching Hearts at Home if you are a second-career sales operator — former medical-device rep, hospice account manager, pharma rep, or insurance broker — who already knows how to walk into a hospital case-management office and book a meeting. The model is referral-led, not lead-gen-led; the office with the best discharge-planner relationships wins the zip code.

Veteran owners get a 10% franchise-fee discount plus disciplined recruiting habits that translate well to caregiver scheduling. Adult-child-of-an-aging-parent buyers with personal home-care experience convert referrals at 2-3x the rate of pure-finance buyers because they speak the language of dementia, fall risk, and post-surgical recovery credibly.

Mid-career operators in suburbs of 50,000-200,000 population with median household income $65K+ and a 65+ population growing 3%+ annually find the demographic tailwind does most of the work — the U.S. 65+ population is projected at 73 million by 2030, and the $155.9B home-care market is growing 4.1% in 2026 per IBISWorld.

Owners who personally cover after-hours on-call for the first 12 months avoid the #1 failure mode: client-family rage at a missed shift.

Who Loses With This Business

You lose if you treat this as a passive investment. Caregiver turnover in non-medical home care ran 64-79% in 2024-2025 per Home Care Pulse, and payroll is 60-65% of revenue — a remote owner cannot recruit, schedule, fire, and re-recruit fast enough to keep the fill rate above 90%.

You lose if you launch in a saturated metro — Home Instead has 1,250+ U.S. Offices, Visiting Angels 600+, Right at Home 580+, Comfort Keepers 700+ — without a defensible underserved suburb. You lose if your liquid capital is below $80K: the 2-week payroll cycle vs. 30-45 day client AR creates a $20K-$40K working-capital hole by month 4 that kills under-funded offices.

You lose if you refuse to personally sell — owners who hire a marketer Day 1 typically see Year-1 revenue under $150K and 30% caregiver-side gross margin eaten by overhead. You also lose if you launch in a Certificate of Need (CON) state — NY, NJ, MD, GA, parts of TN — without a 6-18 month licensure runway built into the cash plan; CON delays have bankrupted multiple home-care franchisees.

2027 Market Conditions

The non-medical home-care backdrop is the strongest of any franchise category entering 2027. U.S. 65+ population hits 70.3M in 2027 (Census Bureau projections), the 80+ cohort is growing 4.4% annually, and the CDC reports 70% of Americans 65+ will need long-term care.

IBISWorld's 2026 industry report pegs the U.S. Home-care industry at $173.6B in 2026, growing 4.1% YoY, with the franchise segment specifically growing 9.1% CAGR over five years across 60+ brands and 6,800+ locations. Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits under the 2020 CHRONIC Care Act continue expanding non-medical in-home services as covered benefits through 2027 — roughly 20% of MA plans now cover some non-medical home care, up from 3% in 2020.

Caregiver wage pressure remains the headwind: median caregiver wage hit $16.50/hr in 2026 per BLS OEWS data and is projected at $17.25-$18.00/hr by Q4 2027, compressing margins for franchisees who can't push $32-$38/hr private-pay rates. VA Aid & Attendance ($2,795/mo for surviving spouse, $3,536/mo for veteran-couple in 2026) and long-term-care insurance payouts remain the two strongest private-pay funding sources.

2027 risk: proposed CMS Home Health rule changes on 80/20 caregiver wage pass-through may bleed into non-medical regulation in blue states.

The 90-Day Decision Tree

Days 1-7: Pull the FDD. Request the current Touching Hearts at Home FDD directly from franchise development. Read Item 7 (cost), Item 19 (financial performance), Item 20 (unit counts and closures), Item 21 (audited financials) before any deposit. Cross-reference against the franchisee list in Item 20 — there should be 70+ active franchisees.
Days 8-21: Validation calls. Call at least 15 existing franchisees from the Item 20 list — 5 first-year, 5 in years 2-3, 5 mature (4+ years). Ask: billable hours by month 6, month 12, month 24; caregiver fill rate; private-pay vs. VA vs. Medicaid waiver mix; net cash flow Year 1 and Year 2; what they would do differently.
Days 22-35: Territory analysis. Pull Census ACS data for your target zip cluster: 65+ population, 80+ population, median household income, projected 65+ growth 2027-2032. Disqualify any territory with fewer than 15,000 residents 65+ or median HHI under $55K.
Days 36-49: Competitive scan. Map every Home Instead, Visiting Angels, Right at Home, Comfort Keepers, Senior Helpers, BrightStar, Synergy HomeCare office within 15 miles. Call each as a fake prospect and grade answer-time, intake quality, rate quote.
Days 50-63: Discovery Day. Attend the Minneapolis HQ Discovery Day. Walk the support center, training facility, marketing team. Meet the CEO and the field-operations lead.
Days 64-77: Financing & legal. Lock $100K-$150K via SBA 7(a) (Touching Hearts is on the SBA Franchise Registry), 401(k) ROBS, or HELOC. Have a franchise attorney redline the franchise agreement — focus on territory definition, transfer rights, renewal terms, post-term non-compete.
Days 78-90: Sign or walk. Decide based on (a) validation call consensus, (b) territory demographics clearing the bar, (c) personal sales-call comfort. If you cannot picture yourself making 20 referral-source visits per week for 18 months, walk.

flowchart LR A[Day 1 Pull FDD] --> B[Day 14 15 validation calls] B --> C[Day 30 Territory + Census analysis] C --> D[Day 45 Competitor mystery shop] D --> E[Day 60 Minneapolis Discovery Day] E --> F[Day 75 SBA 7a / ROBS funding lock] F --> G[Day 90 Sign or walk]

Alternative Plays

If Touching Hearts at Home doesn't pencil for your territory or you want a higher revenue ceiling, the realistic adjacent moves in 2027 are: (1) Home Instead — $125K-$185K Item 7, AUV ~$1.4M, 5% royalty, 1,250+ U.S. Offices, highest brand recognition but saturated suburbs; (2) Visiting Angels — $104K-$135K Item 7, AUV ~$1.1M, 3-4% royalty, looser caregiver-employee model; (3) Right at Home — $93K-$182K Item 7, includes skilled-care add-on path (RN-supervised), AUV ~$1.0M; (4) Senior Helpers — $129K-$169K Item 7, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's specialty programs as differentiator; (5) BrightStar Care — $110K-$215K Item 7, medical + non-medical hybrid (RNs on staff), AUV ~$2.4M but harder to operate.

Non-franchise play: open as independent under your own brand for $25K-$50K all-in if you have 15+ years home-care management experience and an existing referral network — you save the 7% royalty + brand fund but lose the playbook, software, and SBA-registry financing.

Adjacent franchise plays for the same buyer profile: TruBlue Total House Care (senior home maintenance, $65K-$95K all-in), Caring Senior Service ($75K-$110K), FirstLight Home Care ($107K-$166K).

FAQ

How much do Touching Hearts at Home franchisees actually make?

The 2026 FDD Item 19 reports average gross revenue of $801,000 across reporting franchisees, with top-quartile units clearing $1.01M+. At a mature 10-15% EBITDA margin, that's $80K-$152K in owner cash flow at the average unit, and $150K-$220K at the top quartile.

First-year revenue is typically $200K-$400K, Year-2 $450K-$700K, Year-3 hits the AUV. Cash flow turns positive month 14-22 for owner-operators who personally sell. Single-territory ceiling is ~$1.2M; multi-unit operators in 2-3 contiguous territories can clear $2M+ in gross revenue.

Do I need a healthcare background to open one?

No — and most successful owners don't have one. The brand's strongest cohorts are former B2B sales reps (medical device, pharma, insurance), HR/operations professionals, and adult children of aging parents. Home-care licensure is corporate-level, not personal; the agency holds the license and hires a qualified Director of Nursing or care coordinator where state law requires one.

Healthcare-background owners do have an edge on discharge-planner credibility and clinical documentation, but sales DNA matters more than clinical background in this model.

How long until I can stop working in the business and just own it?

Plan on 24-36 months of full-time owner involvement before you can step back to 15-20 hours/week of strategic oversight. The transition gate is hiring a full-time Care Manager / Operations Manager at $55K-$70K once you cross $600K in annualized revenue. Owners who try to step back before $600K typically see caregiver turnover spike, fill rate collapse, and revenue retreat to $400K.

Multi-unit owners report 5-7 hours/week per mature office with a strong operations manager in place.

What's the biggest reason franchisees fail in this category?

Under-capitalization combined with refusing to personally sell. Roughly 15-20% of non-medical home-care franchises close within 5 years per FRANdata; the closure pattern is consistent: owner runs out of working capital at month 8-14 because billable hours never crossed 500/month, because the owner hired a marketer instead of doing referral-source visits personally.

The second failure mode is launching in a CON state without budgeting 12-18 months for licensure. Third failure mode: hiring a single Director of Operations before $400K revenue and doubling overhead before margin can support it.

Is private pay or Medicaid waiver the right mix in 2027?

For a Touching Hearts at Home launch, target 80% private-pay, 15% VA Aid & Attendance, 5% long-term-care insurance for Year 1-2, then layer in Medicaid HCBS waiver or Medicare Advantage supplemental only after you cross $500K revenue and 25 caregivers. Medicaid waivers pay $18-$24/hr to the agency vs.

$32-$38/hr private pay — you cannot fund growth on waiver revenue. VA Aid & Attendance is the sweet spot: $2,795-$3,536/mo benefit per veteran household flows to your agency reliably at private-pay-equivalent rates.

Bottom Line

Touching Hearts at Home is a legitimate non-medical home-care entry point with one of the lowest franchise fees in the category ($49,500), a credible $801K Item 19 average, 2.3x the sub-sector revenue average, and a real demographic tailwind through 2030. It is not a passive investment.

Buy it in 2027 if you (a) have $90K-$150K liquid, (b) can personally make 20 referral-source visits per week for 18 months, (c) claim an underserved suburb with 15K+ residents 65+ and median HHI $65K+, and (d) accept that payback is 24-36 months. Walk away if you need W-2 replacement income before month 18, live in a saturated metro, or refuse to do the sales work yourself.

The math works; the execution risk is entirely on caregiver recruiting and referral-source selling.

Sources

Keep reading

## Direct Answer

**Yes — buy a Touching Hearts at Home franchise in 2027 if** you have **$90K-$150K in liquid capital**, can personally **sell into discharge planners and elder-law attorneys for 18 months**, and accept a **break-even at month 14-22** with conservative **Year-1 cash flow of -$15K to +$25K**. The brand's **$49,500 franchise fee**, **5% royalty**, and **$64K-$94K total Item 7 range** make it one of the cheapest entries in non-medical senior care, and **Item 19 average gross revenue of $801,000** (top quartile ~$1.01M) clears the **$344K sub-sector average**. **Probably not** if you need W-2 replacement income before month 18, dislike **recruiting caregivers at $16-$22/hr in a tight labor market**, or live in a metro already saturated by **Home Instead, Visiting Angels, or Right at Home** with no underserved suburb to claim.

## The Real Numbers

The **2026 FDD Item 7** range for a Touching Hearts at Home territory is **$63,885 to $93,085** all-in. That includes the **$49,500 initial franchise fee** (10% VetFran discount available), training travel, a modest home-office build-out, initial marketing, **$15,000-$30,000 in working capital**, and licensure/insurance. **Royalty is 5% of gross revenue**; the **brand fund/marketing fee is 2%**, putting total franchisor take at **7% of top-line**. Real **Item 19 average gross revenue is $801,000** with top-quartile units clearing **$1.01M+**; mature **EBITDA margins run 10-15%** after caregiver wages (60-65% of revenue), office, insurance, and royalties. **Payback period is 24-36 months** for a self-operated office.

| Line item | Low | High | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Initial franchise fee** | $49,500 | $49,500 | One-time; **10% off for U.S. veterans** via VetFran |
| **Training & travel** | $1,500 | $4,000 | Minneapolis HQ, 5 days |
| **Office lease deposit/furniture** | $2,500 | $8,000 | **Home-office launch is permitted** Year-1 |
| **Computer, phones, scheduling software** | $1,500 | $3,500 | **AxisCare or ClearCare** integration |
| **Insurance (GL + professional + bond)** | $2,000 | $4,500 | **$1M/$3M GL** minimum |
| **State home-care license/CON fees** | $500 | $5,000 | **CON states (NY, NJ, MD, GA) are 6-18 months out** |
| **Initial marketing/grand opening** | $3,000 | $8,000 | **Lunch-and-learns with discharge planners** |
| **Working capital (3-6 months payroll float)** | $4,000 | $11,000 | **2-week pay lag vs. 30-45 day client AR** |
| **Total Item 7 (FDD)** | **$63,885** | **$93,085** | Per **2026 FDD** |
| Realistic all-in with 6-mo runway | $90,000 | $150,000 | Sharpsheets/Franzy estimates |

**Royalty:** **5%** of gross revenue. **Brand fund:** **2%**. **Average AUV (Item 19):** **~$801,000**. **Top-quartile AUV:** **$1.01M**. **EBITDA margin at maturity:** **10-15%**. **Payback period:** **24-36 months**.

```mermaid
flowchart TD
    A[Liquid capital $90K-$150K] --> B[Sign FDD + pay $49,500 fee]
    B --> C[5-day Minneapolis training]
    C --> D[State home-care license<br/>30 days non-CON / 6-18 months CON]
    D --> E[Recruit 8-12 caregivers @ $16-$22/hr]
    E --> F[Sell 25 discharge planners,<br/>15 elder-law attorneys,<br/>10 senior communities]
    F --> G{Hit 800 billable hours/mo<br/>by month 9?}
    G -->|Yes| H[Year-1 revenue $250K-$400K<br/>Cash flow -$15K to +$25K]
    G -->|No| I[Cut to 1 office FTE,<br/>owner sells full-time,<br/>extend runway 6 mo]
    H --> J[Year-2 $500K-$700K<br/>EBITDA $50K-$95K]
    I --> J
    J --> K[Year-3 $801K AUV<br/>EBITDA $80K-$120K<br/>Payback complete]
```

## Who Wins With This Business

You win at Touching Hearts at Home if you are a **second-career sales operator** — former **medical-device rep, hospice account manager, pharma rep, or insurance broker** — who already knows how to **walk into a hospital case-management office and book a meeting**. The model is **referral-led**, not lead-gen-led; the office with the best **discharge-planner relationships wins the zip code**. **Veteran owners get a 10% franchise-fee discount** plus **disciplined recruiting habits** that translate well to caregiver scheduling. **Adult-child-of-an-aging-parent buyers** with **personal home-care experience** convert referrals at **2-3x** the rate of pure-finance buyers because they speak the language of **dementia, fall risk, and post-surgical recovery** credibly. **Mid-career operators in suburbs of 50,000-200,000 population** with **median household income $65K+ and a 65+ population growing 3%+ annually** find the **demographic tailwind does most of the work** — the U.S. **65+ population is projected at 73 million by 2030**, and the **$155.9B home-care market is growing 4.1% in 2026 per IBISWorld**. **Owners who personally cover after-hours on-call** for the first 12 months **avoid the #1 failure mode**: client-family rage at a missed shift.

## Who Loses With This Business

You lose if you treat this as a **passive investment**. Caregiver turnover in non-medical home care **ran 64-79% in 2024-2025** per **Home Care Pulse**, and **payroll is 60-65% of revenue** — a remote owner cannot recruit, schedule, fire, and re-recruit fast enough to keep the **fill rate above 90%**. You lose if you **launch in a saturated metro** — **Home Instead has 1,250+ U.S. Offices, Visiting Angels 600+, Right at Home 580+, Comfort Keepers 700+** — without a defensible underserved suburb. You lose if your **liquid capital is below $80K**: the **2-week payroll cycle vs. 30-45 day client AR** creates a **$20K-$40K working-capital hole** by month 4 that **kills under-funded offices**. You lose if you **refuse to personally sell** — owners who hire a marketer Day 1 typically see **Year-1 revenue under $150K** and **30% caregiver-side gross margin** eaten by overhead. You also lose if you launch in a **Certificate of Need (CON) state — NY, NJ, MD, GA, parts of TN — without a 6-18 month licensure runway** built into the cash plan; CON delays have **bankrupted multiple home-care franchisees**.

## 2027 Market Conditions

The **non-medical home-care backdrop is the strongest of any franchise category** entering 2027. **U.S. 65+ population hits 70.3M in 2027** (Census Bureau projections), the **80+ cohort is growing 4.4% annually**, and the **CDC reports 70% of Americans 65+ will need long-term care**. **IBISWorld's 2026 industry report** pegs the **U.S. Home-care industry at $173.6B in 2026, growing 4.1% YoY**, with the **franchise segment specifically growing 9.1% CAGR over five years across 60+ brands and 6,800+ locations**. **Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits** under the **2020 CHRONIC Care Act** continue **expanding non-medical in-home services as covered benefits** through 2027 — **roughly 20% of MA plans now cover some non-medical home care**, up from 3% in 2020. **Caregiver wage pressure remains the headwind**: median caregiver wage **hit $16.50/hr in 2026** per **BLS OEWS data** and is projected at **$17.25-$18.00/hr by Q4 2027**, compressing margins for franchisees who can't push **$32-$38/hr private-pay rates**. **VA Aid & Attendance** ($2,795/mo for surviving spouse, $3,536/mo for veteran-couple in 2026) and **long-term-care insurance** payouts remain the **two strongest private-pay funding sources**. **2027 risk:** proposed **CMS Home Health rule changes** on **80/20 caregiver wage pass-through** may **bleed into non-medical regulation** in blue states.

## The 90-Day Decision Tree

1. **Days 1-7: Pull the FDD.** Request the current **Touching Hearts at Home FDD** directly from franchise development. Read **Item 7 (cost), Item 19 (financial performance), Item 20 (unit counts and closures), Item 21 (audited financials)** before any deposit. Cross-reference against the **franchisee list in Item 20** — there should be **70+ active franchisees**.
2. **Days 8-21: Validation calls.** Call **at least 15 existing franchisees** from the Item 20 list — **5 first-year, 5 in years 2-3, 5 mature (4+ years)**. Ask: **billable hours by month 6, month 12, month 24; caregiver fill rate; private-pay vs. VA vs. Medicaid waiver mix; net cash flow Year 1 and Year 2; what they would do differently**.
3. **Days 22-35: Territory analysis.** Pull **Census ACS data** for your target zip cluster: **65+ population, 80+ population, median household income, projected 65+ growth 2027-2032**. Disqualify any territory with **fewer than 15,000 residents 65+** or **median HHI under $55K**.
4. **Days 36-49: Competitive scan.** Map every **Home Instead, Visiting Angels, Right at Home, Comfort Keepers, Senior Helpers, BrightStar, Synergy HomeCare** office within **15 miles**. **Call each as a fake prospect** and grade **answer-time, intake quality, rate quote**.
5. **Days 50-63: Discovery Day.** Attend the **Minneapolis HQ Discovery Day**. Walk the **support center, training facility, marketing team**. Meet **the CEO and the field-operations lead**.
6. **Days 64-77: Financing & legal.** Lock **$100K-$150K** via **SBA 7(a)** (Touching Hearts is on the **SBA Franchise Registry**), **401(k) ROBS**, or **HELOC**. Have a **franchise attorney** redline the franchise agreement — focus on **territory definition, transfer rights, renewal terms, post-term non-compete**.
7. **Days 78-90: Sign or walk.** Decide based on **(a) validation call consensus**, **(b) territory demographics clearing the bar**, **(c) personal sales-call comfort**. **If you cannot picture yourself making 20 referral-source visits per week for 18 months, walk.**

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    A[Day 1<br/>Pull FDD] --> B[Day 14<br/>15 validation calls]
    B --> C[Day 30<br/>Territory + Census analysis]
    C --> D[Day 45<br/>Competitor mystery shop]
    D --> E[Day 60<br/>Minneapolis Discovery Day]
    E --> F[Day 75<br/>SBA 7a / ROBS funding lock]
    F --> G[Day 90<br/>Sign or walk]
```

## Alternative Plays

If Touching Hearts at Home **doesn't pencil for your territory** or you want a **higher revenue ceiling**, the realistic adjacent moves in 2027 are: **(1) Home Instead** — **$125K-$185K Item 7, AUV ~$1.4M, 5% royalty**, 1,250+ U.S. Offices, **highest brand recognition** but **saturated suburbs**; **(2) Visiting Angels** — **$104K-$135K Item 7**, **AUV ~$1.1M**, **3-4% royalty**, **looser caregiver-employee model**; **(3) Right at Home** — **$93K-$182K Item 7**, includes **skilled-care add-on path** (RN-supervised), AUV ~$1.0M; **(4) Senior Helpers** — **$129K-$169K Item 7**, **Parkinson's and Alzheimer's specialty programs** as differentiator; **(5) BrightStar Care** — **$110K-$215K Item 7**, **medical + non-medical hybrid** (RNs on staff), **AUV ~$2.4M but harder to operate**. **Non-franchise play:** open as **independent under your own brand** for **$25K-$50K all-in** if you have **15+ years home-care management experience and an existing referral network** — you save the **7% royalty + brand fund** but **lose the playbook, software, and SBA-registry financing**. **Adjacent franchise plays** for the same buyer profile: **TruBlue Total House Care** (senior home maintenance, $65K-$95K all-in), **Caring Senior Service** ($75K-$110K), **FirstLight Home Care** ($107K-$166K).

## FAQ

### How much do Touching Hearts at Home franchisees actually make?

The **2026 FDD Item 19 reports average gross revenue of $801,000** across reporting franchisees, with **top-quartile units clearing $1.01M+**. At a **mature 10-15% EBITDA margin**, that's **$80K-$152K in owner cash flow at the average unit**, and **$150K-$220K at the top quartile**. **First-year revenue is typically $200K-$400K**, **Year-2 $450K-$700K**, **Year-3 hits the AUV**. Cash flow turns positive **month 14-22** for owner-operators who personally sell. **Single-territory ceiling is ~$1.2M**; multi-unit operators in **2-3 contiguous territories** can clear **$2M+** in gross revenue.

### Do I need a healthcare background to open one?

**No — and most successful owners don't have one.** The brand's strongest cohorts are **former B2B sales reps** (medical device, pharma, insurance), **HR/operations professionals**, and **adult children of aging parents**. **Home-care licensure is corporate-level**, not personal; the **agency holds the license** and hires a **qualified Director of Nursing or care coordinator** where state law requires one. **Healthcare-background owners do have an edge** on **discharge-planner credibility** and **clinical documentation**, but **sales DNA matters more** than clinical background in this model.

### How long until I can stop working in the business and just own it?

Plan on **24-36 months of full-time owner involvement** before you can step back to **15-20 hours/week of strategic oversight**. The transition gate is **hiring a full-time Care Manager / Operations Manager at $55K-$70K** once you cross **$600K in annualized revenue**. **Owners who try to step back before $600K** typically see **caregiver turnover spike, fill rate collapse, and revenue retreat to $400K**. **Multi-unit owners** report **5-7 hours/week per mature office** with a **strong operations manager** in place.

### What's the biggest reason franchisees fail in this category?

**Under-capitalization combined with refusing to personally sell.** Roughly **15-20% of non-medical home-care franchises close within 5 years** per **FRANdata**; the closure pattern is consistent: **owner runs out of working capital at month 8-14 because billable hours never crossed 500/month, because the owner hired a marketer instead of doing referral-source visits personally**. The **second failure mode is launching in a CON state without budgeting 12-18 months for licensure**. **Third failure mode**: hiring a single Director of Operations before $400K revenue and **doubling overhead before margin can support it**.

### Is private pay or Medicaid waiver the right mix in 2027?

**For a Touching Hearts at Home launch, target 80% private-pay, 15% VA Aid & Attendance, 5% long-term-care insurance for Year 1-2**, then layer in **Medicaid HCBS waiver or Medicare Advantage supplemental** only after you cross **$500K revenue and 25 caregivers**. **Medicaid waivers pay $18-$24/hr to the agency** vs. **$32-$38/hr private pay** — you cannot fund growth on waiver revenue. **VA Aid & Attendance is the sweet spot**: **$2,795-$3,536/mo benefit per veteran household** flows to your agency reliably at **private-pay-equivalent rates**.

## Bottom Line

Touching Hearts at Home is a **legitimate non-medical home-care entry point** with **one of the lowest franchise fees in the category ($49,500)**, **a credible $801K Item 19 average**, **2.3x the sub-sector revenue average**, and **a real demographic tailwind** through 2030. **It is not a passive investment**. **Buy it in 2027 if** you (a) have **$90K-$150K liquid**, (b) can personally **make 20 referral-source visits per week for 18 months**, (c) **claim an underserved suburb** with **15K+ residents 65+ and median HHI $65K+**, and (d) accept that **payback is 24-36 months**. **Walk away if** you need **W-2 replacement income before month 18**, live in a **saturated metro**, or **refuse to do the sales work yourself**. The math works; the **execution risk is entirely on caregiver recruiting and referral-source selling**.

## Sources

- [Touching Hearts at Home — Franchise Investment Page (Item 7 disclosure)](https://touchingheartsfranchise.com/investment/)
- [Touching Hearts Franchise FDD, Costs & Fees 2026 — FranchisePayback](https://www.franchisepayback.com/franchise/touching-hearts)
- [Touching Hearts Franchise FDD, Profits & Costs 2025 — Sharpsheets](https://sharpsheets.io/blog/touching-hearts-franchise-fdd-profits-costs/)
- [Touching Hearts at Home Franchise Analysis — Franzy](https://franzy.com/franchises/touching-hearts-at-home)
- [Touching Hearts at Home Franchise Review — FranchiseGrade](https://franchisegrade.com/franchises/touching-hearts-at-home)
- [Touching Hearts at Home Franchise Costs & Opportunities — Entrepreneur](https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/directory/touching-hearts-at-home/329217)
- [Home Care Providers in the US Industry Analysis 2026 — IBISWorld](https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/industry/home-care-providers/1579/)
- [In-Home Senior Care Franchises Market Size & Trends 2025-2035 — Future Market Insights](https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/in-home-senior-care-franchises-market)
- [Home Care Industry Statistics 2026: Size, Growth & Trends — Ankota](https://www.ankota.com/home-care-industry-overview-and-statistics)
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — Home Health and Personal Care Aides](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes311120.htm)
- [VA Aid & Attendance Benefit Rates 2026 — U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs](https://www.va.gov/pension/aid-attendance-housebound/)
- [U.S. Census Bureau — 2023 National Population Projections (65+ cohort)](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popproj.html)

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