4 minute read
TruBlue
Tampa's First TruBlue Total House Care
After Seeing Parents’ Health Decline at Home, Accountant Opens Tampa’s First TruBlue Total House Care to Help Local Residents Age Safely at Home.
Diane Crowthers has been in the accounting industry for over 25 years, working as an IRS agent before opening her own payroll business. All of this experience, though, did not prepare her for when her mother, a relatively active and healthy 72-year-old, was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in both her brain and lungs. Crowthers and her husband moved her parents into their home and saw firsthand the modifications they would need to make in order for her parents to safely live in their home. Sadly, both of Crowthers’ parents passed away within 11 days of each other, but through her grief came a passion for helping aging adults safely stay at home, even if their relatives are thousands of miles away. After speaking with a client at her payroll company, Crowthers began exploring franchise opportunities and soon discovered TruBlue Total House Care, a handyman service brand focused on providing an affordable, worry-free living for seniors and hassle-free home maintenance for busy adults by providing full-service, trustworthy house care services.
“It’s exciting knowing that I have this incredible opportunity for growth with a brand whose values align with mine,” said Crowthers. “I love being able to help people locally that may not have family
or who don’t know what direction to go as they get older. TruBlue serves as that backbone for them — the support they need to access the services that they may not know about so that they can live and age comfortably at home.” Crowthers has signed to open three TruBlue locations across Tampa with the goal of owning all territories in the market. “The senior services industry in Tampa is booming due to its increasing population, and that handyman services are in particularly high demand,” said Crowthers. “But with TruBlue, my niche will be providing a one-stop-shop for home maintenance services for seniors.
TruBlue not only offers needed services for seniors but also for busy adults, and provides a helping hand around the house – inside and out. Services include to-do list chores, handyman services, house cleaning, maintenance, yard work, seasonal work, and preventive maintenance. Over the course of 2021, the brand’s footprint saw 63% growth in new franchise locations across the country, many of whom set record sales numbers within the first few months of their opening. Additionally, TruBlue saw a systemwide sales increase of 73% from 2019-2020 and a continued 68% increase in sales from 2020-2021.
Crowthers’ in-depth accounting experience has helped in her new venture as a TrueBlue franchisee, giving her a solid financial foundation, allowing her to focus on other components of the business.
“I can now focus on responding to prospective clients, scheduling estimates, marketing efforts — all the new things that come with opening a business,” said Crowthers. “Because I’m not in the trenches learning the numbers of the business, I am not bogged down and able to respond quickly to people, whether they’re potential employees applying for positions or customers inquiring about our services.”
With an ultimate goal to own all remaining Tampa Bay territories, including the popular retirement destination of Clearwater, Crowthers is motivated to get the word out about TruBlue and the services it provides. “Diane’s TruBlue locations are filling a void for the home maintenance and support services for seniors in the Tampa Bay area,” said Sean Fitzgerald, president of TruBlue. “We look forward to seeing more and more community members realize the value of the one-stop-shop platform our brand offers for quality at-home senior services, and we expect her to see massive growth in the coming years.”
