Matt Cohn’s entry into the business world started during a franchising class at LSU, when he heard about Home Instead Senior Care from the company’s co-founder, Paul Hogan.
Cohn says the business, which provides basic services to the elderly, from preparing meals to running errands, struck a chord with him. “My wife’s parents were struggling with missing work because of these same issues,” he says. “They were trying to balance raising their children while taking care of their own parents.”
Before Hogan’s lecture, Cohn had never thought about going into business for himself. But he could see the potential market for the service, based on the needs of his own family.
Cohn opened his Baton Rouge franchise not too long after he graduated from LSU in December 2000.
“I thought being a part of a franchise would be like paying for education,” he says. “It was a consulting fee, in my opinion.”
By October 2005, Cohn had expanded his territory to take in metro Baton Rouge and Hammond. He now has between 150 and 200 clients. “Some of those clients have been with me for seven years,” he says. “In some cases, we just come in for a week or two while people recover from surgery or an illness.”
Cohn’s Home Instead franchise is ranked in the top 20 of the company’s 588 North American franchises, and he has more than 200 employees.
But it isn’t the only way that Cohn helps the elderly. In 2003, he launched a local version of “Be a Santa to a Senior.” The program is aimed at less-fortunate seniors who can’t afford Home Instead. In “Be a Santa,” participants buy items such as toiletries and clothing, which are distributed to the elderly.
The Council on Aging and the Area Agency on Aging help identify the people who need the items. “We raised well over a thousand gifts last time,” Cohn says.
Age: 30
If you could have a job other than your own, what would it be?
“East Baton Rouge Parish school superintendent. It would be an exciting challenge to go in and make changes to the system, to try and run it as a business and make decisions as a business.”
Click here for the complete list of 2008's Forty Under 40 winners.
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