The home care service is based in North and West Yorkshire and aims to provide a bespoke care service and to support their clients through every step of the care cycle. The service emerged through Tom’s personal negative experiences with finding a home care for a loved one. Through this experience he recognised the benefits of a home care service.
The alumnus’ service follows a work structure which ensures all staff have full time working hours to ensure they maintain a rapport with clients as well as creating job security for employees.
West Park Care has received the Top 20 Home Care Providers Yorkshire & The Humber award for the past three years.
We asked Tom about starting his business and how Loughborough impacted his career.
Did you face any challenges when first founding West Park Care?
“I started the business from scratch so had to produce all of our policies and procedures, marketing strategies, recruitment strategies etc., unlike the standard way into care, which would be to buy a franchise.
“I decided to do this because I could see a real need in the care sector for a home care provider that provides bespoke tailored care packages to its clients from permanently employed carers. I could see that most companies hired their staff on zero-hour contracts and often did not treat their staff very well, which was something I wanted to change. Offering permanent contracts with full benefits was quite disruptive in the sector and a lot of competitors did not like it at first but have now offered the highest level of flattery by starting to do the same!
“It was my first business so everything was new, but I focused on getting good people round me and ensuring we stuck to our core principle of delivering high quality care and support from well trained staff.”
What advice would you give to someone starting their own business?
“I think my advice to anyone starting their own business would be that everything costs more than you think and takes longer than you think! It is always a grind, and you will face lots of issues but it is just having the courage to stick to what you are doing and believe in the service you are offering that counts.”
Is there anything you learnt during your time at Loughborough that you were able to apply to your business?
“Loughborough opened my eyes to lots of different people and cultures and hugely improved my interpersonal skills, which are key to running a business. I also represented Loughborough Rugby, which gave me discipline and grew my team skills, which again is key when dealing with people at work.
“Loughborough also taught me the importance of bringing people together for a common goal and being proud of something, from being in Royce Hall and doing the sing off in freshers’ week to representing the University in a sporting capacity, the message was always clear: do your best and be proud to be at Loughborough!”
Find out more about West Park Care online.