Business At A Glance
Startup Costs: $2,000 – $10,000
Home Based: Can be operated from home.
Part Time: Can be operated part-time.
Online Operation? No
Business Overview
Here’s the problem: A senior parent wants to live in his own home,maintaining his independence, but he has trouble bathing, fixing mealsand remembering to take his medications. The solution: You. As owner ofa senior home care agency, you’ll send a qualified, compassionateperson out to assist with the daily tasks of living.
This is aburgeoning field. With more and more seniors out there needingassistance and more and more two-income families, there’s nobody togive mom or dad a helping hand. And with health-care costs rising bythe moment, hospitals are discharging patients earlier than ever,sending them home too ill or too weak to fend for themselves. So seniorhome care is rewarding, not only financially but personally as well. Asa senior home care agency operator, you’ll act as a referralservice–locating cheerful, reliable, honest and kindly people to placein seniors’ homes on a temporary or long-term basis.
Your caregiverswill be independent contractors paid directly by the patient or hisfamily and though they must have the qualities listed above, they don’tneed medical training–just good common sense. The advantages to thisbusiness are that you can start part time and you have the satisfactionof filling a real need, helping seniors lead more independent lives andtaking some of the burden from worried family members. You’ll needterrific people skills–the ability to determine the suitability ofpotential caregivers and the magical quality of knowing which caregiverto pair with which client. Organizational and administrative skills arealso a must because you’ll be coordinating people, times and places allat once.
The Market
Your clients will be seniors and their families. You can place ads inlocal newspapers, but perhaps your best bet will be to establish yourservices throughout the medical community, which can provide referrals.Send sales letters and brochures to local hospitals and doctorsspecializing in geriatrics, cardiology and other diseases that affectseniors, local health-care agencies and senior centers, and evenemergency medical services like paramedics. Follow up with phone callsto reinforce your image. Get your business written up in localpublications.
Needed Equipment
You don’t need a medical background, but you should have the materialsand knowledge to give your caregivers a good grounding in CPR, firstaid and senior care professionalism. Make sure you don’t positionyourself as an employment agency or nursing registry because you’llneed to be licensed for either of these–use independent contractorspaid by the patient or his family. You’ll want a computer with inkjetprinter and the usual software.