If you work as a nurse or other type of professional caregiver, you understand how satisfying it can be to look after patients and maybe help them get well. The need for home health care services is rising as the Baby Boomer generation enters retirement and beyond and the population of elderly Americans rapidly expands. The possibility to care for individuals on a daily basis and possibly earn a good income will come from starting your own home health care firm.
Though it won’t be simple, starting your own agency will probably be worthwhile in the long run. With the help of this step-by-step manual, you can learn how to launch your own agency and start your career as a health care entrepreneur.
Step 1: Find Out if this is the Right Business for You?
As with launching any business, there are advantages and disadvantages to starting a home health firm. If a home health agency is the best option for you, you must weigh these factors.
Positives Vs Negatives
| Working to improve people’s lives is one of the most fulfilling vocations there is. Flexibility: You can choose your clients and set your own schedule. An aging Baby Boomer demographic implies persistent demand, which equals steady work. | Travel time – Visiting several clients each day can require a significant amount of driving Fatigue — Taking care of others is frequently taxing and stressful employment. Isolation – Alone time spent working with clients, usually one-on-one |
Industry Trends
- Industry size and past development – The worldwide and US home health care markets were each valued $320 billion in 2021. According to data provider IBISWorld, the US home care providers market has grown at least 3% year since 2017.
- Growth forecast: Through 2030, it is expected that the global market would expand by about 8% yearly.
- A total of over 450,000 home care providers are located in the US.
- Approximately 2 million people are employed in the US by this sector.
Cost of Starting a Home Health Agency
Between $2,000 to $11,000 might be spent on startup expenditures, with $7,000 being the average. Due to the high cost of licensing, the top end is for a health care organization with a Medicare license.
Investment Items:
- Medical supplies such as latex gloves, a blood
- Pressure cuff, and a thermometer
- Kit for first aid
- Products for cleaning
Is Home Health Agency Profitable?
If you’re a licensed caregiver or registered nurse, you might launch your business independently with a profit margin that could reach 90%.
About $25 per hour is charged for home health care services. Therefore, if you can work 8 hours each day for 260 working days a year, you will earn $52,000 in sales and roughly $47,000 in profit, assuming a 90% margin. Sales may increase to 40 billable hours per day as you expand and add more employees, but your margin may decrease to 30% as a result of rising expenditures. This would result in a tidy $78,000 profit and $260,000 in annual revenue for you.
Entry Barriers
- In accordance with the state and services, your agency may require licensing.
- Building a reputation and clientele takes time in the customer acquisition process.
Step 2: Create a Strategy
Identify a Gap
In order to find out what services they offer and what regions they serve, you should first look at the home health care businesses in your neighborhood. Is there a certain service that is lacking or a certain area that is not being covered? Identify any market gaps you can close.
Solutions
- Ready-to-eat food
- Supply of groceries
- Companionship
- Animal welfare
- Both laundry and cleaning
Pricing
The hourly charge for home health care services is approximately $25. You could charge significantly more if you’re a nurse providing medical services. Depending on the level of treatment, your organization may charge varying amounts. For instance, you might provide a bundle of all-day services and bill a daily fee.
To calculate your markup and final price points after knowing your costs, utilize this Step By Step Profit Margin Calculator. Keep in mind that the prices you use at launch should be flexible and subject to adjustment as the market demands.
Target Market
Although elderly people are often your primary market, you might find that your clients are their children or other younger family members.
Your marketing should be tailored to the decision-maker if your clients are over 70 because they will probably be the client’s child. Facebook, for instance, might be a wise choice when selecting a social media platform for marketing if your target market is between the ages of 30 and 50.
Location
You can decide to run your business out of your house in the beginning to save money. You may need to rent an office if your company expands and your operations get more complex, though, and you’ll probably need to add staff. On Craigslist, Crexi, and Commercial Cafe, you can locate rental office space in your neighborhood.
You might want to abide by these general guidelines while selecting a commercial space:
- Accessible by public transportation in a central location
- With plenty of natural light and ventilation
- As your firm expands, your lease might be made more accommodating.
- A space that is ready to use and doesn’t require any substantial upgrades or repairs
Step 3: Write a Business Plan
A plan is important for any business. This will help you guide your new business through the launch process and keep your eye on your main goals. A business plan also helps possible partners and investors understand your business and its goals better:
- Executive Summary: A brief outline of the whole business plan that should be written after the plan is done.
- Business Overview: A summary of the company’s goals, vision, purpose, assets, and control structure.
- What we make and what we do: Explain in detail what you’re selling.
- Do a SWOT analysis and look at market trends like changes in demand and growth opportunities.
- Competitive Analysis: Look at your key rivals’ strengths and flaws and make a list of what makes your services better.
- Sales and Marketing: Look at the unique selling points (USPs) of your business and come up with sales, marketing, and promotion plans.
- Management Team: An overview of the team’s tasks and professional backgrounds, as well as a business structure.
- Operations Plan: Your company’s operational plan includes how it will get supplies, where it will put its office, what its most important assets and tools are, and other practical details.
- Financial Plan: A three-year plan for money, including start-up costs, a break-even analysis, predictions of profits and losses, cash flow, and a balance sheet.
- Appendix: Add any other papers related to money or business.
Step 3: Create a Marketing Plan
Some of your business will come from passersby or people who find you online, but you should still spend money on marketing! Getting the word out is especially important for new businesses because it will bring in more customers and make people more aware of the brand.
Link your website to your social media accounts once your site is up and running. Social media is a great way to market your business because you can make posts that are interesting and sell your goods.
- Facebook is a great place for paid ads because it lets you target specific groups, such as guys under 50 in the Cleveland area.
- Instagram has the same perks as Facebook, but it’s for a different crowd.
- Website: Search engine optimization (SEO) will help your website show up higher in appropriate search results, which is a key part of making more sales. Make sure your website has clear calls to action. Try changing the size, color, and placement of calls to action like “Book Now” This could bring in a lot more customers.
- Google and Yelp: Getting mentioned on Yelp and Google My Business can be very important for getting people to know about your business and buying from you.
- Signage – Put up noticeable signage at your workplace and online.
- Flyering – By handing out flyers in your community and at professional gatherings.
- Person-to-person sales – Present your goods/services in clinics or medical facilities to obtain recommendations.
- Email marketing/newsletter – Send regular emails to consumers and prospects as part of your email marketing or newsletter strategy. Individualize them.
- Create a blog – Publish regularly. Share on many sites while varying your material.
- Seek referral – To encourage consumer referrals of new clients, consider offering incentives.
- Press releases – Write press releases announcing new services.
- Paid ads on social media – Choose platforms that will allow you to reach your target market and run targeted social media marketing.
- Pay-per-click advertising – Boost your search engine ranking with Google AdWords. Initial keyword research is required.
- Create webinar – Host a webinar to share your knowledge on healthcare through a video seminar.
- Testimonial – Share client testimonials describing how your services benefited them.
- Make Infographics – Create infographics and post them, then use them in your content.