In Home Care 4u - PRESS KIT

Joleen Tietz was born and raised in California. After graduating from Lancaster High School in 2000, she moved to Huntington Beach, California, before settling in the rural area of Latah County, in Northern Idaho, in 2012, where she met her now-husband.

Tietz started In Home Care 4u in October of 2018, under the name In Home Care For You LLC, which was later changed to the “4u” brand. This story really kicks off with her dad: Retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel Michael Wisehart. Earlier that same, founding year, Joleen got a call from his best friend since childhood, Charlie Visek, of Hiawatha, Iowa.
 

Something was off. Charlie was genuinely concerned about the well-being of his friend Mike. Joleen was a bit confused at first - Why was Charlie calling her? Had Charlie contacted Michael’s other children? Michael Wisehart had two other kids, Sierra and Bodie Wisehart, whom he had raised in the Bay Area of Northern California. Joleen, on the other hand, was raised by her mother, Kathleen Herriott, in Southern California. Though she and her father had rekindled a relationship in her adulthood, Joleen didn’t see her dad very often. She was shocked to learn that Charlie had called her because Mike had put her down as his Power of Attorney. This wasn’t something her father had previously discussed with her. Wanting to see his friend, after Mike had retired and moved from California to settle into his new home in Boise, Idaho, Charlie flew from Iowa to have what he was expecting to be a nice visit with his buddy. Charlie was quickly convinced that something nefarious was going on with Mike’s caregiver. Michael suffered from Multiple Sclerosis. Diagnosed at age 35, he had his good days and bad, but recently, he had begun to show signs of memory issues. Charlie suspected theft, neglect, and even told Joleen that Mike’s caregiver had moved her boyfriend into one of the guest rooms at her dad’s house.
 

Despite Tietz and Wisehart relocating to the same state, Boise was still a 7-hour drive from where Joleen was living, in Idaho’s panhandle. Charlie was convinced the situation needed immediate attention, and he wasn’t wrong. After arriving in Boise, Joleen met with the agency providing home care for Michael, as well as an agent from Adult Protective Services, and the Boise Police Department. Endless calls with the bank uncovered the worst: his caregiver was indeed stealing from him, in addition to falsifying timekeeping documents (not being there while clocked in and saying she was there), and they were also failing to complete the vital errands they were entrusted with; specifically, the care provider was not picking up his catheters and medication, as required. Michael had no family in Boise - there was no one to check in regularly to ensure his care and that neglect and abuse would never happen again. Family and friends alike urged Mike to relocate.
 

Joleen was frustrated and disillusioned that a caregiver working for an agency would get away with doing such a thing, and for so long. Even after providing proof to the police from the financial institutions, Boise PD threw out the case, without so much as a slap on the wrist for the caregiver. No disciplinary action was taken despite the caregiver stealing thousands each month from her father, not to mention the abuse and neglect that went back several years. Determined to ensure that nothing like this would ever happen to him again, Jolene offered to check in on Michael herself, but he would need to move closer. His sisters in Iowa would have loved for him to go there too, or he could have gone back to Northern California, where he had an extensive list of people who deeply cared for him; Mike chose to relocate to Moscow, Idaho.

Joleen flew her dad out to visit his family and friends in his hometown of Iowa, while she and her own family packed up and moved his belongings from Boise to Moscow. She helped him facilitate the sale of his Boise house and secured a home for him in Moscow, Idaho, with the assistance of a trusted friend, and realtor, Tracy Burch-Greer, of Coldwell Banker.
 

Tietz was working at the White Pine Joint School District at the time her father relocated to Moscow, Idaho. After the school day, Joleen and her children would drive 30-minutes into town to check on and care for Michael. She would make everyone dinner; the kids would do their homework at his house while she did his laundry, made his bed, and would help him with his showering. He was still mostly independent at that time, able to transfer in and out of his wheelchair on his own, could still get around using his walker, grab himself snacks, and make up his own cereal. While he was becoming forgetful about some things, in the moment, the guy was still as sharp as a tack.
 

After about 5-6 months of the 7-day-a-week routine of Joleen coming over to care for him with her kids, Mike announced he’d much rather have her show up at 9 am for showers; he no longer wanted to take them at night. Joleen knew she couldn’t just quit her job at the school to care for him full-time. What was she going to do? The thought of hiring another caregiving agency sent chills down her spine. Who could she trust? She wanted a voice in who was going to be his caregiver. She wanted control of who could and couldn’t come back to care for him, if something, anything, was off with them. Hiring someone privately was out of the question. What if they slipped, and hurt themselves; would they sue her dad and take Michael’s house? The liability for caring for him was huge, and with the MS, Tietz knew it would only increase with time. Starting her own company was a clear answer to each of those concerns. Joleen had tossed around the idea of a caregiving agency before, but it was always a far-off thought of “one day, that would be nice”. Mike’s request for morning showers fast-tracked the launch of her business as a legal and legitimate entity, with workman’s compensation coverage, and liability insurance. In October of 2018, In Home Care 4u was born, and Lieutenant Colonel, Michael Wisehart, was their very first client.

Starting with people she knew, Joleen began recruiting friends to help care for her dad. Within the first few months, organic and unsolicited referrals started. No advertising, no desire to grow into something bigger than what the company already was, the questions just started: “Do you think your caregivers can help out with my grandma?” or “Hey, I was helping my mom and her neighbor needs help, do you think you can help him too.” Before she knew it, Tietz was creating systems, charting logs, and paper policies to help not just her dad but to start a care company unlike any other. If the company was getting clients without trying and without advertising, there must be a great need.

After the death of her father, in August of 2021, Joleen had some soul searching to do. Keep things going? Pass the torch off to someone else? What would be the fate of this company? Things had evolved. There were now several individuals counting on the company continuing, both clients and caregivers alike.

Then Joleen had a pivotal meeting that changed the course of her company forever: she sat down with a prospective buyer. After just 4 years in business, almost 5, an offer to purchase the agency was looming. But the meeting didn't go as Tietz expected it would; she left feeling sick to her stomach. The potential buyers weren't in the least bit interested in even hearing about her successful systems, operations, and processes. In fact, they had no interest in the brand at all. They seemed mostly interested in hiring the amazing staff and obtaining the existing clients she had; they planned to simply absorb them into their existing model, and In Home Care 4u would cease to exist. 

This realization was hard to swallow - so much so that Joleen left the meeting, resolved to ensure that it would never happen. It's become common knowledge, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that roughly 50% of businesses fail by the 5-year mark, yet here she was, on the cusp of 5 years and not only sustaining, but growing. “I just remember thinking, In Home Care 4u deserves to go on, and our clients deserve the quality of care we have established,” said Tietz. The model has powerful systems and processes in place. Tietz believes that In Home Care 4u upholds core values that are unparalleled in the industry.
 

Since that fateful encounter, Joleen has been strategically building out her support team, compiling SOPs, and documenting internal processes. She has been working diligently to improve the efficiency and performance of existing systems and transition areas of the business that would benefit from automation, while providing support and structure for vital day-to-day operations. After thorough consideration and meticulous planning, In Home Care 4u has proven itself as a leading caregiving agency that sets the standard for excellence.
 

“This Silver Wave of baby boomers is causing an overwhelming demand in this industry and will continue to do so for the next 20-30 years. The Silver Boom practically ensures continued success with this business model,” Tietz boasts, and she’s not wrong. In 2024, the in-home care industry was valued at ~USD 218 billion; that figure is expected to grow to ~USD 722 billion by 2034, at a 12.7% CAGR, (Compound Annual Growth Rate), as reported by globenewswire.com. Tietz feels comfortable with these cushy growth rates. "There is every reason for In Home Care 4u to succeed when considering these figures," she states.
 

“We are the caregiving company of the future, and we are not going anywhere but up,” Tietz says. She decided that if she wasn't going to sell her location, she would find a way to sell her systems and processes; she would soon grow far beyond anything she initially set out to do!
 

Tietz would indeed go on to sell her company, but not in the way she initially thought she would. On June 6th, 2024, Joleen Tietz signed a contract with Chris Conner of FMS, Franchise Marketing Systems, to launch In Home Care 4u as a nationwide franchise Company. Franchises have that 50% failure rate crushed, with a whopping 85-90% success rate of franchisees surpassing that same 5-year benchmark, as published by http://franchisebusinessreview.com. Because when you’re walking into a model with proven success, systems, and support, you’re walking into a recipe for success. In September of 2025, Joleen and her team will head to the Los Angeles Convention Center to attend their very first franchise expo, announcing to the world that In Home Care 4u is here to stay!

Core Values & Mission are available to you on our website.
here to stay.

A letter from Joleen to Boise PD and more details about this case are available upon request.
 

Joleen Tietz, available for comment: 208-669-3398
Kathleen Herriott (mother), available for comment: (Contact info available upon request)
Charlie Visek, of Hiawatha, Iowa:
Tracy Burch-Greer, of Coldwell Banker, available for comment: (Contact info available upon request) 

Joleen and the In Home Care 4u team will be in Los Angeles, California at the LA convention center, with FMS, (Franchise Marketing Systems) for Franchise Expo West on Sept. 5th and 6th.   Franchise Expo West | Los Angeles #InHomeCare4u #events #FranchiseOpportunity #CaregivingAgency