Canadian born Dale and Diana Bevington chose Home Instead Senior Care so they could make a real difference to their local community.

As is the case with many Home Instead Senior Care franchise owners, Dale and Diana have personal experience of the problems that arise when dealing with ageing family members.

Dale’s father, who lived in Canada, was diagnosed with vascular dementia and Dale and his family were faced with the problems of many families in the same situation – finding the right help. The process the family went through to find support for his father made Dale appreciate the need that so many people have for care in their own homes.

This experience coincided with Dale, in his own words, “reaching an age where I wanted to do something new”. Dale had run a successful London industrial design consultancy for many years and took some time off to consider his options. He had always had an interest in demographics and social change and so looked at business opportunities in this area.

Dale and Diana knew people who worked in the care sector and the couple found Home Instead through a web search. “When we found Home Instead Senior Care they were offering exactly what we would want to provide for our own parents, so we knew it was something we could believe in.” The couple researched other care companies but none offered the ethos of Home Instead.

The couple purchased the Finchley franchise in June 2007 and have seen it grow from strength to strength. Diana says: “I had chosen to work part time in the business but we’re now so busy that I will soon be working full time with Dale.”

Dale continues: “After my father was diagnosed with vascular dementia I learned a lot about the condition. We now work with Alzheimer’s and dementia groups in the area and see ourselves as part of the local support network for sufferers.

“We have met a lot of Home Instead franchise owners and I think that the common thread that links us is that we are reaching out to our local community with a business with meaning rather than ‘chasing the money’. I think we all believe that if you are really interested in what you are doing, and do a good job, then success will follow as a natural consequence.”