By Thomas A. Parmalee
In the competitive Illinois home care market, many agency owners struggle to gain traction. Yet Kara Fairhurst generated $1.2 million in revenue during her first year in business — an achievement never seen in the 20-plus-year history of Senior Helpers. She was also recognized as Rookie of the Year for her exceptional growth and performance.
Today, Senior Helpers of Bolingbrook and Southwest Suburbs, launched in 2022, employs 126 caregivers and seven office team members across two offices and two territories. Even more impressive is this: Bolingbrook and the Southwest Suburbs and is on track to generate $3.5 million this year. Her
Fairhurst’s business serves entirely private-pay clients or individuals with long term insurance and is also approved through the Veterans Administration, a milestone she describes as a major hurdle to overcome.
“The first year, it was only three of us, and I handled all of our social media marketing myself,” Fairhurst said, adding that she now has her sights set on reaching $4 million in annual revenue.
Even today, she remains deeply involved in marketing and believes local community outreach is essential.
“We highlight everything we do in our local community,” she said, noting that she and her team are heavily involved in volunteer work. “We truly believe that when you take care of your community, your community takes care of you.”
Her success did not come from a “magic formula,” but rather from a sophisticated combination of operational expertise, aggressive reinvestment and an unwavering focus on caregiver training.
The Foundation: Operations and Empathy
Fairhurst’s entrepreneurial journey began far from the suburbs of Illinois.
Born in Turkey, she moved to England at age 17, where she searched for work flexible enough to fit around her demanding college schedule. She eventually found herself working overnight and weekend shifts in a memory care facility, supporting residents with Alzheimer’s disease, mental health challenges and alcohol-related conditions.
“I needed a job. I didn’t want to be a waitress,” Fairhurst said, explaining that England’s limited tipping culture pushed her toward work that guaranteed stable hours and income.
“My first shift … I was 18 or 19 and a resident passed away, and they sent me to speak with the person’s roommate,” she recalled. “All the team members were crying. They threw me in the deep end. I managed to not sink and survive.”
That resilience, combined with her later experience in McDonald’s corporate operations, particularly in training and human resources, equipped her with the tools to thrive in business.
Over a decade with McDonald’s, she learned the demands of high-volume operations and the importance of structured education and internal development.
The ‘Center of Excellence’ Strategy
In 2016, Fairhurst moved to the United States after resigning from McDonald’s, where she had spent 10 years building her career in operations, training and human resources. She then spent seven years raising her two children before deciding to re-enter the workforce after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I wanted to do something meaningful, and I also wanted to work and pay the bills,” she said. “I explored home care because I knew there was such a need.”
She evaluated several franchise opportunities ranging from cupcakes to beauty brands to Dunkin’ Donuts, but her experience in memory care continued pulling her back toward health care.
After several years outside the workforce, she intentionally joined networking groups to rebuild her confidence and reconnect professionally.
Ultimately, she chose Senior Helpers because of its strong emphasis on training and its careful franchisee selection process.
“What stood out to me about Senior Helpers was their selection process,” Fairhurst said. “They were looking for people who genuinely cared about the industry and wanted to make a difference — not just investors looking to make money. I felt like the franchisees were passionate about care, and that mattered to me.”
She quickly realized that managing people is much like riding a bike: Once you know how to do it well, you never forget.
“I used to run one of the biggest showcase stores of McDonald’s, with the store employing almost 180 people,” she said. “We had 12 managers at one store.”
Today, Fairhurst is not only a business owner but also an Alzheimer’s and dementia trainer, with approximately 80% of her clients experiencing some form of dementia. Her agency features a dedicated “Center of Excellence” and a specialized dementia care training program that many competing home care agencies in her market do not offer.
Fairhurst strongly believes that knowledge is power when it comes to caregiving. Her agency provides regular in-person and ongoing training for all caregivers to ensure they are equipped with the skills and confidence needed to deliver high-quality care.
Continuing education not only strengthens caregiver performance but also increases their professional value and confidence in the field.
“They love the training … and it looks good on a resume,” she said.
Pricing for Retention, Not Just Profit
One of Fairhurst’s biggest learning experiences was learning how to balance competitive pricing with caregiver pay and retention.
Early on, she realized that shorter shifts required a different pay structure to attract and retain quality caregivers.
“We were not paying them correctly for a one-hour shift versus a five-hour shift,” she explained. “You must make it worthwhile for caregivers to show up. If someone is only paid $18 for a one-hour shift, they are less likely to accept it.”
Fairhurst believes agencies must continually evaluate both their pricing and caregiver compensation to remain competitive in today’s market.
“Every six months, you should look at what other agencies are charging and what they are paying caregivers,” she said.
That also includes monitoring wages for comparable healthcare positions, such as certified nursing assistants, to ensure caregivers feel valued and supported.
The Killers of New Agencies: Cash Flow and Leads
Fairhurst believes one of the biggest reasons new agencies fail is a lack of financial preparation and consistent lead generation.
She watched several agencies open around the same time as hers, only to eventually close their doors because they underestimated the cost of marketing and business development.
She recommends new agency owners have at least $60,000 to $80,000 set aside specifically for marketing and lead generation after opening.
In the early stages of building her business, Fairhurst relied heavily on referral and lead-generation platforms such as A Place for Mom and Caring.com.
“When you first open, nobody knows who you are,” she said. “Those companies help generate leads and get your name in front of families looking for care.”
She also learned quickly that speed matters when responding to inquiries.
“If you wait too long to call someone back, they have already spoken to other agencies,” she said. “In the beginning, we followed up constantly with calls, texts and more calls. Families want fast responses during stressful situations.”
When it comes to advertising, Fairhurst believes every market is different and there is no one-size-fits-all strategy.
“What works for one agency may not work for another,” she said. “A lot of marketing is trial and error, and you have to be willing to test different things.”
She cautions people against trying to operate a home care business as a side project.
“You can’t treat this like a part-time business,” she said. “Home care requires full-time attention, commitment and involvement.”
Connecting with Caregivers
Finding, hiring and retaining quality caregivers is just as important as gaining new clients, she said.
To stay ahead of demand, Fairhurst maintains a continuous hiring cycle and holds caregiver orientation every Tuesday, regardless of how many applicants attend.
The reason is simple: Client needs can change rapidly.
“We can lose clients unexpectedly, especially in this industry,” she said. “At the same time, we can gain several new clients very quickly, so you always have to be prepared.”
She noted that many caregivers work for multiple agencies to reach full-time hours, making retention even more important.
“Senior Helpers says if you have 50 clients, you should have around 100 caregivers,” she said.
Her retention strategy focuses heavily on training, support and employee benefits.
Today, 32 caregivers have remained with her agency since nearly the beginning.
“They love the training, and we also offer health insurance, which very few agencies provide,” she said.
Community and Human-Centric Marketing
While Fairhurst invests in corporate marketing, she quickly discovered that community involvement and local visibility create far stronger connections with families.
“Localized marketing works way better than just saying, ‘Hey, we are home care,’” she said.
Her approach focuses heavily on being active within the community through volunteering, attending local events, speaking to students interested in caregiving careers and building strong relationships with trusted health care partners.
Fairhurst believes referrals should always be built on trust and quality.
“I’m not going to refer clients to a hospice company I don’t believe in,” she said. “We are very selective about who we partner with because our reputation matters.”
She works closely with a small number of hospice and home health organizations that align with her standards of care and values.
Hospice referrals, while often short-term, can also require a high number of care hours.
“You have to understand that some clients may only need services for a few weeks,” she said. “But during that time, families need a tremendous amount of support.”
Senior living advisers have also become an important referral source for her agency.
“They may charge per lead, but often they are referring families directly to us instead of giving them a long list of agencies,” she explained.
On social media, Fairhurst has learned that authenticity and personality often resonate more than educational content alone.
“We do funny videos and TikToks in the office, and they usually perform much better,” she said. “People want to see the real humans behind the business.”
Staying Humble in a High-Stakes Industry
Despite her rapid growth and success, Fairhurst remains grounded and deeply appreciative of the opportunities she has had throughout her journey.
“When I moved from Turkey to England, it feels like a lifetime ago,” she reflected. “I was only 17. I never imagined I would one day move to America and own a successful business.”
She credits much of her operational knowledge and leadership style to her years working at McDonald’s.
“I learned operations, training, HR and marketing all in one place,” she said. “I wanted to take those skills and build something meaningful.”
For those considering entering the home care industry, Fairhurst offers one clear piece of advice: Passion must come first.
“Don’t get into home care unless you genuinely care about people,” she said. “If your only goal is making money, this is probably not the right business for you. It takes hard work, commitment and heart.”
Fairhurst’s journey from a young student working overnight shifts in England to one of Illinois’ standout home care business owners reflects a combination of operational discipline, resilience and compassion.
“Some days are incredibly hard, and some days you cry,” she said. “But I truly love what I do. If I had to do it all over again, I absolutely would.”
