For many nurses, the pressures in the hospitals during the last few years have not only affected their careers but also their personal lives, with many feeling like they have lost their voice in the process. International Nurses Day highlights the many ways in which nurses are making an impact to meet the needs of individuals and communities now and into the future.
For Debbie Hill, a Registered Nurse in Melbourne’s Outer East, making an impact on individuals meant breaking away from her everyday job working in a hospital to launch her own business and help our most vulnerable community to receive care in the comfort and safety of their own home.
We sat down with Debbie to learn more about her story:
What motivated you to move away from working as a nurse in a hospital to becoming a home care business owner?
The main reason I moved across was that I was tired of just being told what to do all the time, I wanted to be able to have more of a say in how to take care of my patients, and to make a difference with what I thought was important rather than being told what was important.
After being a Registered Nurse for 31 years I wanted to have more influence on the outcomes of my clients and provide the personalised care and treatment that they deserve.
As part of becoming a business owner, I saw the importance of community nurses, who I believe are absolutely integral to the function of the healthcare system in Australia and provide essential care and assistance to the most vulnerable in our society, such as the elderly and disabled.
Why did you choose to pair up with Nurse Next Door to help start your business?
I knew that I really wanted to start my own business and, although I had some experience in business, I didn’t realise how many moving parts there were in order to run a sustainable home care business.
I quickly learnt that it would require a lot of time and resources to launch my business from scratch.
I chose to go with a franchise model through Nurse Next Door Home Care Services to help work out all the policies, procedures and everything in between so I could successfully launch and focus my efforts on what mattered, my clients.
As a brand, Nurse Next Door resonated with me because they recognised nurses in their name. As funny as that may sound, it was something that really appealed to me.
While I was doing my research I could see how much work was put into their marketing, their website, their Care Services platform and their overall launches of other franchise owners who were in a similar situation to me. I’ll have to admit the bold pink colour was another reason I was so connected to Nurse Next Door, it just made me smile every time I saw it.
How did Nurse Next Door support you with starting and growing your business?
Nurse Next Door has helped guide me the whole way through my business and continues to support me to this day. Right from the beginning, my conversations with the Franchising Team and Business Performance Manager have helped me better understand all the different aspects of the business that I needed to know before I could even launch, whilst also educating me on how to grow and sustain my business in the long-term, through financial modelling and a knowledge and understanding of key business metrics.
While I have had some experience in business, I didn’t realise the extent of work that needed to be done, to not just launch, but sustain my business. It was really helpful to always have someone there to guide me through any obstacle.
No stone is left unturned with Nurse Next Door, they are there for you from day one and provide comprehensive training as part of your countdown to launch. Even now Nurse Next Door continues to help me through weekly meetings, check-ins to see how things are going, guiding me on how we can improve things, and just ensuring I stay on track. It really helps with not only the growth of my business but my growth as a business owner.
What was your nursing role like, before you joined Nurse Next Door?
When I was working in the hospital setting it was very busy every day and very stressful, once you started your day you didn’t stop. The pressure was constantly growing on us as nurses and this was before the pandemic started!
I cannot imagine what it would be like working in those hospitals during the pandemic because the nurses must be SO stressed out and overworked. It would be a very difficult environment.
The biggest challenge for me as a nurse working in a hospital setting was the pressures and expectations you faced every day. You knew you wanted to do your best, because you want to help people, but the stresses hospitals bring are extremely overwhelming.
I wanted to make a change, I loved my role as a nurse but I wanted to really make a difference in the lives of people. I moved across from that really, really busy environment to a far more relaxed home care and community setting. I can now just take a bit of time to make more of a difference individually; treat everyone as an individual rather than a number to get through quickly during the day.
How has your role as a nurse changed now that you are with Nurse Next Door?
I now have the opportunity to look at my clients from a more holistic perspective, including their living environment, everyday needs, as well as the nursing requirements they may need such as wound care or medication.
As a nurse, my role shifted and allowed me to focus on having a more holistic view of my client rather than just focusing on specific tasks as we would do in the hospital.
At the end of the day, my clients are people with goals, dreams, aspirations and a choice on how they want to be cared for. This is what I’m passionate about and this is why I’m so glad to be in the home care space. I can truly give back to the community on the frontline of healthcare.
What is your most memorable moment with a client while working at Nurse Next Door?
I have so many that come to mind but the most recent one happened the other day when my team and I went on a mission to spread some kindness for Mother’s Day. We had Mother’s Day flowers that we handed out to all the mothers in our lives whether it was a client or one of their family members because to us, they are all really important.
One of our caregivers gifted some flowers to a client’s wife and it was a really touching moment for everyone.
She was so pleased with that gesture and we were really grateful to have witnessed this moment as well. It was such a deep moment and that was just the other day.
I love that we have the capacity to do that in this business, spreading that little bit of extra kindness just through a simple gesture like giving flowers.
These are my memorable moments.
What advice would you give to other nurses who are looking for a change in their careers?
If I could stand in a room with all the nurses out there, I’d want to say:
Find out what’s important to you, in your life and work in an area that helps you feel that you are making a difference.
3 years ago I followed this advice, and I’m so happy to be where I am today.
From Frontline to Franchise
At Nurse Next Door we believe that frontline nurses understand the home care business better than almost anyone. They have the passion, the work ethic, first-hand experience and the value alignment to take care of our older Australians and people living with a disability. Of course, starting a business is difficult, so here’s how we want to support you:
Up to 80% Finance Available
A Nurse Next Door franchise today normally requires an initial Franchise Fee of $85,000 and a Start-Up Technology Fee of $10K (both plus GST) as well as setup costs and working capital. Our Frontline to Franchise Program allows nurses to get started in their own franchise business with up to 80% of these initial fees financed.
Extra Support and Training
You know the clinical care part of our business — hands down so our training support system is made to set your business up for success. We will guide you through every step of the way. Our team of experts will provide thorough and hands-on training around the core business functions — finance, sales, people and so much more.
Flexible Fee Structure
While we fully expect you to get up to speed and build a healthy and sustainable business, our Frontline to Franchise program gives you additional time before key financial obligations kick in. The franchise fee is financed over 12 months and you don’t start paying off the Franchise fee loan untill after 3 months of operation.
You can learn more about our Frontline to Franchise Program by clicking here
With a core purpose of Making Lives Better®, Nurse Next Door, under the leadership of Melbourne based Master Franchisors Matt Fitton and Amber Biesse, provides in-home aged care and disability support services built on our philosophy of Happier Ageing® focusing on possibility rather than disability.
