About Us
Francine Hatcher-King woke up one morning in 2004 and realized her career was over.
Three decades of physically grinding work as an executive housekeeping manager at some of Philadelphia’s most prominent hotels, where she walked what amounted to several miles a day, had left her with a torn tendon in her right foot. Even after three surgeries, she was still unable to walk and was in severe pain.
Now, her body had given her a final warning: Give up her job or face even worse disability.
“I walked myself into the ground,” says Francine, 68. But she wasn’t done yet. A deeply spiritual woman, she leaned on her faith. “I asked God to show me how I could contribute to society,” she says. She found her answer in 2016 as a notary public, turning her personal setback into an opportunity to serve others.
Planting the Seeds
Francine’s notary business started organically with loved ones and older adults in her community outside Philadelphia. And although she didn’t know it at the time, she was planting the seeds for a second, related business.
Through her interactions with her notary clients, she learned that many didn’t have official documents like medical directives and wills. That gave her an idea: a virtual business that would help people safeguard their legacies by making sure their documents were in order.
She launched Family Matters Documents at the end of 2019, just as COVID-19 reached the U.S. and put everything on hold. Francine caught the virus during the first wave in 2020 and recovered, but her notary public business wasn’t doing as well. “No one was going anywhere,” she explains — and that meant no one was bringing their documents to her to notarize.
But then, in response to the pandemic, Pennsylvania granted special permission for virtual notarization. “It’s the norm now, but it wasn’t then,” Francine says. “It gave me the opportunity to learn and grow and build the foundation for Family Matters Documents.”
Cultivating the Business
Although that foundation was sound, Francine needed support to grow the business. Through the Women's Opportunities Resource Center (WORC) in Philadelphia, she took advantage of every training program and business resource available. That included AARP Foundation’s Work for Yourself@50+ program, which helps adults over 50 with low income explore self-employment. In the workshops, she drafted her business plan, learned how to build her website, and mastered marketing strategies.
Francine soon discovered her niche: working with clients between the ages of 40 and 75, with a special focus on Black communities. “We’re not up to speed on things like medical directives,” she says, pointing out a reality for many Black people in the U.S.: They don’t have written instructions that let their relatives know if they want — or don’t want — certain types of medical treatments.
A study conducted by AARP found that although the overwhelming majority of older Black adults say it’s important to make sure their families aren’t burdened with end-of-life decisions, only 16% have completed documents (like a living will and a last will and testament) that would help remove the burden. Francine wants to change that.
Bringing in the Harvest
While pursuing her business, Francine has learned that success takes time. “I’ve sown the seeds in doing the hard work,” she says. “And before I’m 75, I want to have grown the business to the point where I can pass it on to someone who has the same passion for it. There’s the seeds, and then there’s the harvest.”
In the meantime, she finds the work deeply fulfilling.
“What sustains me is the joy I get when clients complete their documents,” she says. “Part of my purpose is to give back to others. To get up every morning and do my best, in a way that’s beneficial to others and not just myself.”
Learn more about Work for Yourself@50+ and how to explore self-employment.
Read more stories about how our programs have helped people find hope, and about the volunteers who give so much of themselves to help others.