
How to Start a Private Home Care Business: A Guide
There are more than 12,200 home health agencies across the world. If you’re reading this, we understand the next question you may have is, ‘how to start a private home care business?’
You’re in luck because below, we’ve created a guide that will help make opening a home care business easier for you to do. Get ready to start marketing your services as a home care provider after scrolling through this post.
Decide on Your Business Structure
The first thing you need to do is decide on the type of business structure you want to open. The entities or structures you’ve got to choose from include:
- Sole proprietorship
- Liability company
- Partnership
These are just a few of the structures you have to choose from, but keep in mind the one you choose will determine the structure of your business as well as how much your company pays in taxes each year.
File Tax Documents
Next, you need to file your tax documents and obtain your EIN or employer identification number. This is a nine-digit number that will be used by the government to identify your business.
If the EIN is used for reporting employer taxes, it’s known as the EIN, but when it’s not, it’s known as the taxpayer identification number.
Create Your Business Plan
The business plan you create is an essential part of raising the capital you need to start your business. Within the business plan, several details should be found, including:
- Description of your company-Information about your company’s goals and values
- Services offered- Services clients will have access to and how you plan to price them
- Marketing strategy- Plans to spread the word about your business and gain clientele
- Financial outlook- How you plan to increase your revenue and repay startup costs
Take your time to create your plan and go over it before submitting it to potential investors during business meetings.
Secure Licensing
Before you can open your doors officially, you need to obtain licensure beforehand. Depending on the state you live in, there will be varying licensing requirements.
While in some states, you don’t need additional licenses, that’s not the case for all areas; therefore, take your time to ensure you’ve gotten the ones you need.
Open a Business Account
Your home care company will need its own business account separate from your account. Note you can only open a business account after registering your elder care business as an entity.
The reason you need to open a separate account for your company is to ensure you’re able to account for every aspect of your company’s cash flow. It also makes it easier to complete taxes when it’s time to file.
Get Insurance
You need insurance to cover yourself as a home care provider. The first type of insurance you need is professional liability insurance, which covers you in case someone files a claim accusing your company of negligence or malpractice.
Another type of insurance that’s based on services offered to clients is general liability insurance. This ensures you’ve got the coverage you need if someone sustains injury or property damage by using your company’s services.
Cybersecurity insurance is necessary to ensure you remain compliant will all HIPPA rules and regulations.
Marketing
There are several aspects of marketing you need to take advantage of, like creating a company website. On your website, you need to ensure all contact information is up to date.
Another strong form of marketing is starting a referral program. A referral program allows people to gain some sort of credit when they bring clients your way.
How to Start a Private Home Care Business?
After you’ve read this, we understand you know have the answers to ‘how to start a private home care business?’ Not only do you need to carefully create a business plan, but you also need to look into getting insurance to cover your business no matter what happens.
If you’re ready to gain more information about starting your business, contact the School for Startups. We have the resources you need to help you start your business the right way.