Former Target exec uses business acumen to grow Comfort Keepers franchise

Original article published here: https://www.mcknightshomecare.com/news/former-target-exec-uses-business-acumen-to-grow-comfort-keepers-franchise/

Like many home care entrepreneurs, Jennifer Bauernfeind entered the space for a change of scene. Bauernfeind, 56, had previously worked for Target as a merchant for their school uniform program as well as for her father’s marketing company. But she was ready for a change. After some thorough research, about a decade ago, she decided to become a Comfort Keepers franchisee. 

“In my retail and sales business, I was always looking for trends and demographic shifts,” Bauernfeind, whose franchise serves the suburban Minneapolis community, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “The aging population made me really curious to find out what types of products and services would seniors need. Who was going to serve these people? What kinds of changes were just going to happen in our society in general? I had a friend [who] was going into a franchise business that was related to the senior industry and that really piqued my curiosity.”

Since launching her first locations in Osseo and Maple Grove in 2017, Bauernfeind has expanded to four territories in Minnetonka and Minneapolis metro. While she was ready for a change professionally when she entered the sector, her personal experiences caring for older adults were another motivating factor for becoming a franchisee. 

“We had an aunt who had Alzheimer’s and my sister and I had been designated as executors of her estate,” Bauernfeind explained. “We helped take care of her after her husband had passed away so that was a big catalyst for me — just seeing that whole process and it being so personal to our family.” 

As a franchise owner, Bauernfeind tries to emulate that personal touch she employed while caring for her own family. This includes not only the clients she takes on but her employees that are out in the field providing care. She says her experiences in retail gave her a solid foundation in customer and employee relations. 

“I think if you take good care of your employees and good care of your clients, you will have a successful business,” Bauernfeind said. “Matching our clients and our caregivers is really critical to what we do and a cornerstone of how we manage care here at Comfort Keepers. How to manage a team, how to treat people, how to take care of your employees — all of those things have been really important, I learned, within that corporate world. I’ve been able to translate those skills into running my own business.”

As she enters her eighth year in the business, Bauernfeind has no regrets about leaving retail. She takes pride in her patients and caregivers. 

“I love having my caregivers complimented by families,” she noted. “We’ve had caregivers who have been asked to speak at their client’s funerals. We’ve had them mentioned in obituaries and I just don’t think that there’s a higher compliment.”

Home Sweet Home is a feature appearing Mondays in McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. The story focuses on a heartwarming, entertaining or quirky happening affecting the world of home care. If you have a topic that might be worthy of the spotlight in Home Sweet Home, please email Special Projects Coordinator Foster Stubbs at foster.stubbs@mcknights.com.