As vice president at Assisting Hands® Home Care, Deanna Keppel has enjoyed a front-row seat to watching women thrive. With a career spanning over a decade at the nationally recognized in-home care franchise, Keppel has a unique perspective on why so many women owners have gravitated to the brand and achieved meaningful change. By Lizzy Yeserski
A Front-Row Seat
As vice president at Assisting Hands® Home Care, Deanna Keppel has enjoyed a front-row seat to watching women thrive. With a career spanning over a decade at the nationally recognized in-home care franchise, Keppel has a unique perspective on why so many women owners have gravitated to the brand and achieved meaningful change.
“Home care really rewards the skills that come easily to a lot of women, and that’s the ability to hold operations and relationships at the same time,” said Keppel. “So, although home care is built around processes, it’s also built around trust, and women who’ve led in their careers and have also spent time being a caregiver themselves already have that instinct for that dual demand.”
According to Keppel, women can make a seamless transition into Assisting Hands because they know how to build systems while building relationships with families, caregivers and clients.
“I think that combination is really rare but also a real natural fit for women in general,” she said.
While running a successful home care business requires strong operational skills, it also relies on the ability to multitask and the resilience to balance multiple responsibilities, a trait many women naturally embrace.
“Women have that ability to juggle a million things at once without any of them slipping,” Keppel said. “And I’ve really seen that instinct come out making those individuals successful.”
She’s also seen another commonality among promising women franchise owners: purpose.
“They never really lose sight of their ‘why,’” Keppel said. “Why did they get into this in the first place? That’s usually deeply personal to them because they’ve often taken care of a family member themselves.”
Many Assisting Hands franchisees enter the brand after caring for a parent, spouse or loved one, giving them an intimate understanding of what clients and families truly need. That experience and compassion become the foundation of their businesses. For aspiring women owners who wonder whether they’re ready to begin that entrepreneurial journey, Keppel offered reassuring advice.
“You’ll probably never be 100% ready,” she said. “There’s always some sort of doubt in your mind that you’re like, ‘Should I do this or not?’ But really, with Assisting Hands, you’re joining the FOFO, which is our Family of Franchise Owners.”
Within the fold of the FOFO, owner-operators treat each other like family which is one of the company’s hallmarks. Franchisees receive comprehensive training and support as they join a collaborative network that shares best practices and offers encouragement.
“If you’re willing to embrace that system and everything it has to offer, it’s not just buying a business. It’s joining a community that helps give back,” Keppel said.
Nationwide, Assisting Hands franchise owners are building meaningful partnerships while making a lasting difference in their communities.
“What makes me most proud is women choosing – on purpose – to get into this and to lead within their communities to create jobs, to help mentor the clients and the families and help guide them and also mentor caregivers,” Keppel said.
Lizzy Yeserski