Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2017 | Page 20

2017 MVP AWARDS
BY HELEN BOND
M
A Helping Hand
Making a difference in the lives of seniors
ark H. Friedman has 25
years of management con-
sultant experience crafting
high-end, multi-million-
dollar turnaround strategies for large
companies. But he says his decision to
buy into the home healthcare franchise
Senior Helpers has been his best invest-
ment yet.
“I realized the dream of no longer
being a consultant—because it’s a tough
lifestyle—and doing something that I re-
ally loved, which was making a material
difference in people’s lives, so they can
age in place,” says Friedman, owner of
Senior Helpers Boston and Senior Help-
ers South Shore in Massachusetts, and
the 2017 MVP recipient of the Spirit of
Franchising Award for demonstrating
exceptional performance and providing
invaluable community aid.
In 2008, Friedman was busy as vice
president and head of retail for Adidas
NAME: Mark H. Friedman
TITLE: Owner, Senior Helpers
Boston and South Shore
NO. OF UNITS: 6
AGE: 43
FAMILY: Married, two children,
Lee 20 and Dora 15
YEARS IN FRANCHISING: 7.5
YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 7.5
North America when he agreed to back
someone as a silent partner in a Senior
Helpers franchise. When he left the
global sports brand a year later to start
his own consulting firm, he stepped in
to more quickly realize his investment
return, ultimately growing the business
420 percent until 2013, when the deci-
sion was made to split the agency and
part ways. Friedman officially retired
from consulting in 2016 to focus solely
on being a multi-unit franchisee.
“I have always had an impatience for
the status quo, even if it’s working,” he
says. “I always looked at this business
as if I were a client myself. What could
be different? What could be better?” he
says. “You can’t worry about today. My
focus has to be what is going to happen
in 12, 24, or 36 months, and then build
the operation behind me, to manage
today with my guidance, so I can focus
on what we need to worry about next.”
Friedman doesn’t have to look far to
cite the motivation behind his purpose
to “do what you love and take care of
those close to you.” His formative influ-
ences include a personal connection to
United Airlines Flight 175, which took
off from Boston and was flown into the
South Tower of the World Trade Cen-
ter on 9/11. “I was ticketed and put two
PERSONAL
Formative influences/events: 9/11/01.
Watching my father, grandfather, and uncle in their
businesses for many years. I’m a fifth-generation
retailer, which goes back to a pushcart.
Key accomplishments: Father and husband
(almost 38 years); founding president of Congrega-
tion Shirat Hayam of Swampscott, Mass.; 25-plus
years of successful entrepreneurship in manage-
ment consulting in North America, South America,
and Europe.
Work week: 7 days.
What are you reading? The Challenger Sale:
Taking Control of the Customer Conversation by
Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson, and The White
Ninja by Eric Van Lustbader.
Best advice you ever got: Enjoy life, it’s not a
dress rehearsal.
What’s your passion in business? Enabling
those who work with and for me to succeed and
reach their potential. Earning the respect and right
to return the next day to do it again.
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MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE IS S UE III, 2017