Life-changing incident makes black woman owner of three franchises worth $15 million

Dr. Michelle Rankine’s journey to having three At home franchises which have grossed over $15 million were born out of a private tragedy. Her younger brother was in a automotive accident that left him paralyzed, forcing her family to face a situation they never imagined.

“Imagine being 21 and living what you thought was a normal life, getting ready to graduate, and now you’re a paraplegic,” she tells BlackEnterprise. “It was devastating for my brother and my family.”

Dr. Rankine and her mother decided to turn into his caregivers, but they quickly learned that caring for a loved one will be difficult and never all the time something the loved one wants.

“One of the things about caring for a loved one is that there are certain boundaries,” she says. “As a paraplegic, you can’t use the bathroom or do everyday activities. There are certain boundaries about what you want your family to be involved in and what you don’t want them to be involved in.”

Dr. Rankine and her family noticed a big change in her brother’s engagement after she followed a social employee’s suggestion for home care. The implementation process, which involved providing home look after her brother, sparked her interest in helping others through what generally is a difficult time for families. The owner met with the family, guided them through the method, and cared for her family with a caring attitude that left enough of an impression on them that she desired to pass it on to a different family in need.

Owning a franchise that has remodeled $15 million with no experience

Dr. Rankine has no medical or healthcare training and felt that owning a franchise was one of the best choice to enter the industry. She currently has franchises throughout Texas: Collin, Denton, and Tarrant counties.

Investing in a franchise is a model for those just starting out in entrepreneurship, however the path to success still presents some challenges.

“For me, one of the challenges is the image you start to have of what you want versus the actual divine delay that has to happen,” Dr. Rankine says.

She adds that she had to vary her perspective on what it means to achieve success.

“Success (in the industry) is ‘offering a service and giving caregivers the opportunity to make sure they have the training because it’s my product and service,’” Dr. Rankine says. “You want to succeed really quickly… like a microwave effect, but it’s really a pot of boiling water. You have to really let the lessons sit and savor them.”

Through her three Texas franchises, she has grossed greater than $15 million in greater than a decade of business. She tells BlackEnterprise that she could be very proud to be a Black franchisee—especially with regards to addressing health disparities in Black and brown communities.

Bridging the Gap for Minority Communities

Dr. Rankine goals to scale back health care inequities in minority communities by educating people about health care and helping families develop a house health care emergency plan.

One of the misconceptions she combats in these communities is that families consider they must look after their family members alone.

“Our default approach is not to go to an outside firm, but to go through the church. We will look for a church community before we actually hire someone. We have been actively reaching out to a number of churches to start the conversation about preparing for care,” he adds.

In many cases, insurance and Medicare won’t cover additional services like home care, though the advantages outweigh community care. Community care puts family members in danger when others at home are sick, Dr. Rankine said.

The average cost of a house health aide is $33 per hour. Dr. Rankine has difficult conversations with people and families about financial preparedness and investing in long-term care insurance.

“The reward (for me) is providing solutions to my family,” she says. “I’ve always loved being a fixer, and I’ve always loved giving back in other ways.”