Posted:10-September-2025
Thriving in franchising, a success story in Bedford
Shaz Islam took on a GoodOaks Franchise in 2023 and hasn’t looked back. Having previously worked as a driving instructor, she had no previous experience in care or franchising.
Over the past 18 months she has given her all to her franchise in Bedford, and the business is thriving. They have exceeded their business goals for their first year by 20% and out of 25 GoodOaks branches, Bedford is the second most visited webpage after the flagship branch which has been running for over a decade!
As a relatively new Franchise Partner, she quickly established her presence in her local market, receiving positive feedback and high client satisfaction. With a clear vision for the future, GoodOaks Bedford is poised for growth and ready to expand their services across the region. Her journey has come with some challenges along the way, including recruitment, but with the expert support of HQ she has overcome these hurdles and has a fantastic team in place.
From day one of trading Shaz utilised her existing connections in the local community, hosted events to raise awareness of their services and the brand, and continued to provide quality, compassionate care to those who need it most.
Shaz has also worked hard to break the stigma of care in Asian communities by hosting an awareness stand at the Eid in Bedford event. From this single event, she had a number of enquiries from potential clients of Asian origin and employed a stay at home Mum who had never considered working as a carer before. The carer commented “I would never have considered working in care had I not learned more about GoodOaks at our community event held at the park in Bedford.”
GoodOaks Homecare in Bedford, have demonstrated exceptional entrepreneurial vision, leadership, and dedication to redefining the homecare sector.
Franchise growth
Shaz has ambitious plans for the future, aiming to reach 3,000 visiting hours per month and a £1 million turnover within two years. Her dedication to raising awareness about dementia in South Asian communities includes hosting interactive workshops at local bowls clubs and engaging faith leaders to tackle cultural stigmas. By championing such initiatives, Shaz is laying the groundwork for sustainable growth and long-term community transformation.
Making valuable connections
Shaz’s efforts have earned her acknowledgement from prominent community leaders. The Deputy Mayor of Kempson, Cllr Ali Akbor, praised her for making “a significant and positive impact in such a short time,” while Malik Khan, Chairman of Eid in Bedford, commended her franchise’s role as “a high-quality start-up model truly deserving of recognition.”
Supporting the franchise network
Under Shaz’s leadership, GoodOaks Bedford has become a pillar of support for local communities. Shaz has championed our national campaign “You Are Not Alone”, distributing free resources to unpaid family carers and providing free information workshops on a variety of care related topics. Her efforts include growing collaborations with local businesses, such as Specsavers Domiciliary Services and Smarta Healthcare, to integrate additional services to clients’ lives.
Being part of the UK’s only Carbon-Neutral homecare provider, Shaz ensures that her branch offsets care professionals’ travel emissions and supports reforestation projects. She has also introduced cloud-based communication tools to streamline operations and improve service delivery. By making meaningful partnerships and leveraging technology, Shaz has created a scalable model of integrated care that benefits clients and the wider community alike.
Personal growth and learning
Shaz has immersed herself in our comprehensive training packages to learn as much as possible about the sector and the GoodOaks franchise. Since day one she has regularly been on additional training programmes hosted by Skills for Care as well as GoodOaks bespoke platforms.
This is just one of many examples of the success of many of our Franchise Partners at GoodOaks. For more information about franchise opportunities with us, click HERE to book a discovery call.
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