A New Lease
"Everyone I talked to said they were looking for someone to do this that they could trust," Fry says. "A lot of people don't know where to go," agrees Sue Council, a social worker at Baptist Hospital. Council spends part of her job helping discharged patients find safety products they may need after suffering various injuries or ailments. "You could probably go to a Home Depot to get certain small things," she says, "but then you have to find some handyman to do it for you who might not know how to install the product the right way." With Life at Home, Fry says the company's workers are trained and qualified to install almost any safety product needed for the home. In addition, the company provides prospective customers with a free needs analysis, helping them to decide what products suit their home best. Fry says most work costs between $200 and $400. Council, whose husband has Parkinson's Disease, knows the experience firsthand. Recently, she enlisted Life at Home's services to install six grab rails around the couple's home. "One of the things I liked was that you could get them in different colors to match your home. You don't want your home to look like a nursing home." Such a demand for services, and the apparent lack of willing suppliers found by Council and others, were enough to convince Fry to form Life at Home last year with fellow partners Ronnie Ferguson and Richie Simmons. This, despite the fact Fry already had a successful home renovation and remodeling company. Started in 1995 as MKF Construction, that company, which performs most of its work on upscale homes in the Green Hills and Belle Meade area, is expected to produce revenues of approximately $1.6 million this year. Fry says his construction background has helped him in his new endeavor, from knowing how to maintain a supply network to being able to work efficiently inside a person's home. "We want to get in and out of their house," he says. Currently, Fry says most of Life at Home's new business is courtesy of referrals from occupational and physical therapists around town. However, in the future the company hopes to find more opportunities by pitching its services as a preventative step for seniors who want to stay at home as long as they can. But while its customers may be staying put, the company sees itself branching out. By the end of this year, Fry hopes to franchise the Life at Home concept in new markets, starting first with other areas of Tennessee. "We have to prove ourselves first," he says. Keith Russell can be reached at 615-248-2222, ext. 111, or by e-mail at (krussell@amcity.com). |