Liberty’s Business In-a-Box Package (“B.I.B”) is just the service you need and want! Liberty’s BIB package takes the stress out of obtaining and filing all the required State Home Health Care License Application (s), policies and procedures by completing 99% of the work on your Agency’s behalf. Home Health Care Business Startup Kit. Our How to Start a Home Health Care Agency Business Package includes over 100 professionally formated, comprehensive documents in WORD and EXCEL format and are all FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE so you can add your Company logo, customize footers, and make changes to meet your company needs. Receive all these ready made forms and templates that you can.
How to Start a Home Health Care Agency Business
Life expectancy has increased dramatically over the last few years. As a result, people living to 100 years of age are now one of the fastest growing segments, which has spiked growth in the medical and non-medical home care business industry. As the number of elderly people increases, so does the need for home care. A medical or non-medical home health care agency business is a promising business with unlimited potential. If you are interested in a comprehensive guide on how to start a home health care business please see our HomeCare Agency Business Start up Package
Here are some simple steps to consider on how to start a successful medical or non-medical home health care business.
1. Consider whether you will start your own business or become part of a franchise. If you are starting your own home health care business or want to just work for yourself, purchase our HomeCare Agency Business Start up Package2. Start your home health care business in an area with a growing population of seniors. Check census profiles of different cities for the elderly population, ages 65 and over. Target large cities or cities with large retirement communities.
3. Requirements vary from state to state, so be sure you check with your local government for proper state licensing and certification required to legally start and operate a medical or non-medical home care business in your state. Research the license requirements in your city and state for home health care. Health regulations may include providing documentation about your workers’ eligibility and certifications.
4. Determine the type and amount of insurance you will need for your home health care business. At the very least you will need liability insurance, for performing home care services in other people’s homes. Your city or state may also require a minimum amount of liability insurance. More detailed information is available in our HomeCare Agency Business Start up Package.
5. Hire part-time, or contracted workers when starting your home care business to maintain costs. Be aware that for a home health services, you will need to hire nurses and nurses’ aides. Ask potential candidates about their experiences with the senior population, most of whom require care unique to their age. Perform all necessary criminal and background investigations for each employee that is hired for your home care business. More detailed information is available in our HomeCare Agency Business Start up Package.
6. Accept private medical insurance by making sure your home care business meets individual insurer requirements. You can get this information by contacting them directly and obtaining a list of those requirements.
7. Obtain the additional home care license and certification needed to accept Medicare and Medicaid clients. To do this, apply through the State Medicare agency. A state representative will inspect your agency to make sure it meets all of the required health and safety standards. You are required to have at least seven clients and three months of operating funds and steady revenue after you start your home health care business. More detailed information is available in our HomeCare Agency Business Start up Package.
8. Set up a billing system for your home care patients and for insurance companies. Decide which insurance companies you will accept. You will have to work with Medicare, for the senior population. Secure the software necessary to do the billing and to communicate electronically with Medicare and supplemental insurance companies. More detailed information is available in our HomeCare Agency Business Start up Package.
Starting a senior home care business is a great way to become your own boss in a rapidly growing field. In these uncertain economic times, self-employment can still offer opportunities to make a solid income and provide job security for the future. In addition, senior home care is a recession-proof business, as folks still get older and need help regardless of whether the economy is booming or in recession.
As boomers become senior citizens, they are driving the demand for senior home care. The senior population today is over 40 million in the U.S., and expected to double in the next 2 decades. As seniors age and become less mobile, they need more help with everyday activities, such as meal preparation, housekeeping, bill paying, errands and more.
START-UP COSTS. A senior home care business can truly be a “shoestring startup,” as the 2 essentials, a reliable vehicle and a cell phone, are items which most of us already own. A computer with internet access in needed, but the new affordable laptops, such as the Chromebook, can be purchased for around $200, and will easily handle most basic business needs.
Printed sales and marketing tools, such as business cards, flyers and brochures, are important business-building tools, but can be purchased online from services such as vistaprint.com at prices that won’t break even a tiny advertising budget.
HOW MUCH CAN YOU CHARGE? The amount you can charge for your senior home care services depends more on where you live than any other factor. Hourly rates, the most common way to charge for home care services, range from as low as $18 an hour in smaller towns to as much as $40 an hour in the larger cities. The national average for non-medical home care services is currently $24 an hour.
Home Care Business In A Box
RECOMMENDED SKILLS & TRAINING. Starting a senior home care business requires no formal education or medical training. The 4 most important skills are: common sense, caring compassion for your senior clients, honesty and organizing skills. Those skills come in handy for scheduling clients, errands and household tasks at client’s homes. Honesty is way up there on the “essentials” scale, as without honesty, your clients will never trust you or recommend you to other seniors – the best way to build your business.
MARKETING TIPS. Since your clients will all be seniors, you just need to reach them where they are – places they live and hang out with other seniors. If there is an over-55 community in your area, place an ad in the monthly newsletter or bulletin, and post a flyer at the community hall. Local senior centers are a natural spot to post a flyer or leave a few business cards or brochures.
A free ad on Craigslist.org can bring in a steady supply of new prospects, as can a simple web site to help prospects find you on the internet. Don’t forget, a big chunk of senior care dollars are spent by the adult children of older seniors, who may live far away from their parents, and need a local home care provider to help them.
Business In A Box Home Care Company
INCOME POTENTIAL. Using the national average rates for senior non-medical home care of $24 an hour, an established senior home care provider could earn around $900 to $1000 a week, or $45,000 to $50,000 per year. If you have employees, that number could go much higher. There are also “add-on” services, such as safeguard visits, that can add even more to your income.
Starting a senior care business could be your escape from the rat-race, or unemployment. It is also an ideal part-time business for anyone over 50 who wants to “semi-retire,” and still have extra income coming in. With a rock-bottom startup cost and solid earnings potential, the future is looking bright for anyone who wants to start a senior home care service.
If you would like to learn more about our step-by-step senior home care startup guide, click here.