Starting a Care Franchise Business

Are you serious about starting your own care franchise? This is a great option if you enjoy working with seniors or in a health care role. With the baby boomer generation growing older and still wanting to maintain autonomy, there are a great number of home care franchises that are realizing the market potential.

Here are 8 steps to help you set up your own care business:

1. Decide whether you want a medical or non-medical care business. This decision will affect what kind of caregivers you need to hire for your business, as well as what kind of training, licensing and registration you may need. If you want to start a health care franchise, that will often mean you need a licensed medical professional to take care of administering medication and other nursing care needs. These franchises often also offer personal assistance and housekeeping help. A non-medical care franchise will often be geared more towards companionship, errand running and assistance with daily activities. It might be helpful to look through some care resources, like the ones provided here.
2. Prepare a business plan. You will need a detailed business plan that includes important financial details, hiring policies, and implementation.
3. Obtain funding. Whether you have the capital saved up or are planning to go to a commercial lender, you will need to raise the funding for your new care franchise. The business plan will come in handy if you end up getting a loan.
4. Receive the requisite training and certification. If you plan on managing the care business and not being involved in any of the caregiving responsibilities, you may not need training. This will largely depend on state regulations. Caregivers gain much credibility with certification. Some options are: the American Red Cross’ Family Caregiving Program that specializes in caring for seniors and those who are ill or disabled at home, the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC)’s Certification for Homemaker/Home Care Aides  and the National Board for Certification of Hospice & Palliative Nurses (NBCHPN)’s many certification programs.  Keep in mind that many of these certifications will require a nursing license, except the Certification for Hospice and Palliative Nursing Assistants (CHPNA), though it does require 2000 hours of practice supervised by a registered nurse. You will have to renew the certificate every four years, and it will cost you $180 for the initial certificate (you can take the exam in March and September in any of the 50 US locations) and $155 for renewal. Keep in mind that you need to know what your state’s requirements are for care providers. Some states only require on-the-job training and others require more formal training, but you will be able to provide more complete services with certification.
5. Obtain licensing and registration. It is important that you know the laws that apply to your state. You will need to contact your local, state or federal government (think about the following: Health and Human Services Department, Social Service Department, Public Health Department, Social Security Administration, Medical Board and Mental Health Department); the NAHC or NBCHPN; and/or the Better Business Bureau to determine what exactly is necessary. You will generally need the following licenses: a city or county business license, a sales tax license, and a home care license (about 23 states require non-medical home care businesses to obtain a license). You will need to register with your state’s Department of Revenue and unemployment service.
6. Get insurance. This is a crucial element to starting a care franchise. You will need to purchase worker’s compensation, business liability and fire insurance. When speaking with insurance agents, make sure they explain to you the details of each insurance type, and ask what other local business owners commonly purchase.
7. Hire qualified caregivers. It would be extremely prudent to adopt a strict hiring policy for all caregivers associated with your care business. That includes intensive background checks, stringent training requirements and an ongoing training program that will help staff to keep their skills updated. You will also need to have an attractive compensation package that draws in qualified caregivers. You can look for qualified caregivers at Care.com and other similar sites.
8. Recruit clients. You will need an excellent marketing campaign that helps you locate people you can help with your services. You can join a national association like NAHC so you can get on the list of member agencies across the country. That way, you will be an option when someone is searching for a caregiver for their family or loved one.