69 percent of American entrepreneurs start their business at home. This option is ideal if you’re interested in launching a business providing home care for elderly patients. You go to them, so you won’t need a professional office.

But even if you can save money by not paying rent, it’s still not easy to start a senior home services company. Unless, of course, you know what you’re doing.

Approximately 46 percent of all businesses fail due to incompetence. 30 percent fail because of a lack of experience. But you can make up for that lack of experience by arming yourself with knowledge.

We want to reduce the number of businesses failing. If you want to succeed, keep reading. We’re sharing with you our 15 favorite tips for starting a home healthcare business.

1. Get the Proper Paperwork for Your Home Care for Elderly Business

If you’re going to offer senior home services, you need to complete all your paperwork first. Start by figuring out what type of business you want to run.

While a sole proprietorship is the easiest and least expensive to start, it also makes you the most liable if something bad happens. Do your homework to determine what type of business entity suits your needs.

Most people in your line of work tend to open LLCs or corporations. A lawyer or an accountant can help you make the right decision.

2. Make Sure You Have Insurance

Owning a home care business requires you to purchase insurance in case something happens. And you may need more than one type of insurance.

Definitely, get general and professional liability coverage. However, while this type of insurance protects you against quite a few things, it’s not all-encompassing.

If you decide you want to run a staff, you may want to consider getting hired and non-auto insurance. This covers employees who get into an accident while using your car or driving a client during working hours.

Theft, sexual misconduct, and worker’s compensation are also types of insurance to consider when opening your company.

3. Create a Website

We’re in the digital age. No one will know you run senior home services company without a website.

You don’t need to spend a fortune on it. But it should be optimized for the search engines so that customers can find it online.

Add a few photos to personalize your site. Let people know what types of services you provide.

While you can get a free website, it’s more professional to buy your own domain name. Just make sure you come up with one that’s easy to remember and spell.

4. Network

As a home carer for the elderly, you probably don’t get out too much. That needs to change.

You need to get out and meet people to let them know what you do. Ask to speak at 55+ communities where you can share tips and get to know the residents.

Join a local networking group. Tell your friends and family and have them tell people they know.

5. Determine What Your Niche Is

Unless you’re the only home care business around for miles, the chances are that you’ll have competition. What you want to do is set yourself apart from the rest.

That means you need to determine what your niche is. What is it that makes you a better choice than every other senior home services company?

Make a list of your strengths and the core values you want to instill in your company. Have your friends and/or employees share with you what they think sets the business apart from others.

Then market that difference so that people take notice. Maybe you provide these services to Chinese-speaking people. Perhaps you also offer massage as part of your daily services.

Whatever it is, use it as a selling point.

6. Identify Your Core Target Audience

Not everyone is your perfect client. And if you think everyone is, then you’ll end up wasting a lot of time and money on bad marketing strategies.

Make a list of attributes that your perfect client has. Write down how much money they make, their ages, hobbies, and anything else you know about them.

The more you know about your core audience, the easier it is to connect with prospective clients.

7. Start a Blog

Not everyone is as savvy as you are about the home care business. Especially your potential clients.

Your clients most likely have lots of questions and concerns they’d like addressed. One way to help them understand your business and its perks is to start a blog.

Write articles that address these questions and concerns. Answer the most frequently asked questions.

Use keywords that your clients are most likely to use when searching for answers online. Share your blog in a newsletter, on social media, and have people sign up to receive your latest articles.

A blog helps set you apart from your competition and shows potential clients that you’re an authority in the senior home services business.

8. Get on Social Media

Yes, even seniors are on social media. In fact, Internet use grew 150 percent between 2009 and 2011 among those 65 and older.

Seniors use social media to keep in touch with friends and family. They also use it to learn and to stave off loneliness.

But seniors aren’t the only group you’re trying to reach. Sometimes, it’s other family members or professionals who are the decision-makers.

Social media is a great way to share information, join online networking groups, connect with industry influencers, and interact with your clients. It’s also an easy and budget-friendly way to market your business.

9. Figure Out Your Startup Costs

No matter what, it costs money to start a business. And you need to make sure you can pay your bills until you start earning money.

Before you do anything, make sure you can launch your business without going into debt or creating a financial hardship for yourself. See how much it costs to start a business, what supplies you’ll need, and how much insurance costs.

It’s also a good idea to budget how much it costs to outsource certain jobs like accounting and marketing. While you may think you can do it all, it’s a bad idea for company owners to do everything on their own without a professional helping them in certain areas.

10. Create a Budget

Just because you know what your startup costs are, things change. Creating a budget will help you ensure you can pay for everything, including food and rent until you begin making money.

A budget also helps ensure you don’t overspend on things like marketing. Plus, it helps you remember any upcoming bills you may otherwise forget about.

11. Make Sure You Have the Skills Required to Start and Own a Business

Starting a home healthcare business doesn’t really require a lot of education. You don’t need to have any formal education or even medical training to provide this type of service.

Instead, what you need are certain skills, such as common sense, honesty, organizing skills, and compassion for those you’re working with. These combined skills help you schedule your clients, perform errands and tasks, and grow your business as your clients begin to trust and like you.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t take medical courses to expand your knowledge. Nor would it hurt to take a few business courses to ensure you avoid common pitfalls.

12. Figure Out What Hardware and Software You Need

You’re not running Google, so you don’t need expensive hardware like a computer with all the bells and whistles. But you do need a computer that can handle basic tasks and has a decent Internet connection.

You also need a good working phone and a reliable automobile.

But when it comes to software, there are certain systems that can make managing your business much easier. To learn more about how a care management system can help improve your business, click here.

13. Be Patient

Most businesses take a little while before they show signs of success. Don’t expect to make money from day one.

Instead, focus on growing your business slowly and steadily. Every day, do something to propel it forward.

Having patience makes it easier to get through those hard days when you feel like throwing in the towel and giving up.

14. Get Business Cards

Business cards are extremely inexpensive, but they still pack a powerful marketing punch. Always carry plenty of business cards on you at all times.

You never know when you’ll have the opportunity to hand them out to a potential client or influencer. Make sure they’re easy to read and stand out in some way.

Avoid using handmade business cards — they won’t make you look like the professional you are.

15. Reach Out to Other Businesses

There are many businesses out there that are catering to the same clients you are. Figure out which companies, such as estate planners and professional organizers, are already working with these people.

You can become powerful allies and pass business back and forth to one another.

Keep Learning

No matter how successful your home care for elderly patients business becomes, it’s important to always continue learning. Education helps you do your job better and with less effort.

We want to help you get started on your path to success by sharing with you why you should start this type of business. Click here learn seven benefits of elderly assisted living.