Seven Tips For Starting Up a Home Health Care Business

If we stop and think about it, we can all emphasize with those senior citizens who are no longer able to care for themselves, and who are faced with having to leave their homes in order to get the care they need. No one wants to confront a choice like that, giving up the comfortable and familiar for the unknown. This is why health home care businesses are cropping up all over the country. The people who operate these businesses go into the seniors' homes to do light housekeeping, personal care, medication supervision, and other services which allow the seniors to remain living in their own homes. Some caregivers even have medical training to help those who are infirm.

Does becoming a caregiver sound like something you'd like to do? This is a lucrative profession that offers the self-satisfaction of being able to help those in need. Even if you have no medical background, you will still be able to set yourself up in business, and it isn't going to cost very much to get started. By following these tips, you'll be working for yourself in just a short time.

1. Every state has its own rules and regulations when it comes to licensed home care providers. You will need to contact the state department of the state in which you live to find out how you can go about becoming licensed. They will be able to provide you with a list of regulations so that you can get your business off to a clean start.

2. Compare your skills to those that people are needing to have done. Do some research to determine if there is a market for what you can do. Simple skills like laundry, bed-making, dusting, and helping an elderly person take a bath are in demand. If you can add transportation to medical appointments and grocery shopping to your list of services, you'll find a lot of people who are looking for just a person like you.

3. Talk to an attorney about your options. What kind of a business would it be best for you to operate: a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a limited liability corporation, or a corporation? If you are planning on employing others, you will also need to visit with an accountant to find out about such responsibilities as payroll, sales tax, worker's compensation, and tax and business liability.

4. Apply to the federal government for an Employee Identification Number (EIN). This is a free service that you can obtain either online or by calling the IRS. The number you will receive is comparable to a social security number for your business.

5. You may want to start out with longer business hours and a wide variety of services. As you progress, you'll discover which of these work best for you and your clientele, so that you'll be able to cut back. It's easy to say now that you want to run your business 24 hours a day so that you can make the maximum profit, but you'll soon realize that this isn't realistic. Carve out a comfortable niche for yourself in the vast field of home care.

6. You will need insurance for liability. Apply for private insurance as well as for Medicare and Medicaid. Many insurance companies are helping caregivers get into business and stay in business, because home health care is much less expensive than nursing home and hospital stays.

7. Although start-up costs are minimal in this line of work, you still need to make a list of the things you will need and develop a business plan that will make your plans more attractive to the banks where you apply for assistance.