After 25 years in the health insurance industry, Andy Grim decided he was ready to work for himself.

Grim, who worked in marketing, business development and product development for a major insurer, thought there was a big opportunity in the business of providing home-based care assistance to seniors. With the market for those services expected to swell dramatically in coming years, he said the current economic climate didn’t faze him.

“Recessions are opportunities and times when things change,” Grim said. “So succeeding is about adjusting to new industries.”

He opened a franchise of Home Care Assistance in April 2010. The firm reached $1 million in revenue after just 15 months.

Grim said he has a background working with long-term care insurance products. The development and market research of those plans gave him solid insights into what seniors want when they need extra help around the house.

The business provides non-medical care, ranging from cooking and cleaning to transportation for medical appointments.

“I’m big on focusing and doing one thing well,” he said. “What we do is an in-home alternative to nursing homes or assisted living.”

Most of Home Care’s business is focused on live-in, full-time providers. When families call seeking a relatively low level of assistance, Grim said he often recommends other alternatives that specialize in providing help for a few hours a day.

“The generation of people living into their 90s and even the 100s, those people need one-on-one care in a lot of cases,” Grim said. “Facilities mean shared caregivers.”

And Grim says his generation, the Baby Boom, is going to want customization and specialization when it needs extra help.

“They can get that with staying at home,” he said. “This allows more control and customization. People don’t want to leave their home, the place where their memories are and where their possessions are.”

Because assisted-living facilities are Home Care’s main competition, Grim said the prices his firm charges are designed to be comparable.

Having a live-in caregiver allows for deeper bonds and relationships, Grim said. And since Home Care Assistance was founded by a pair of geriatric psychologists, a big focus of all plans is establishing balanced care that addresses both mental and physical needs.

Grim’s franchise, which is now 20 months old, has continued to grow rapidly. He has a staff of nearly 100, with most serving as live-in caregivers. And he expects revenue during his second full year in business will be three times higher than what he earned during the first year. That makes him the fastest-growing franchise in the company’s history.

“There’s a lot of demand, so the question is how we manage growth without letting our quality wane,” he said. “We haven’t done new locations like Charlottesville or Hampton Roads yet because we’re focused on doing a lot of systems work.”

Grim said he started this business because of his background and the market research he’d done. But he has been surprised by at least one aspect of the job.

“I didn’t realize how personally rewarding it would be,” he said.