Today’s article is by Ken Accardi from Ankota. Ken and Ankota’s goals are to develop home healthcare technology that continually improves patient care, decreases healthcare delivery costs, and improves the prospects for our aging population to live full and healthy lives in the comfort of their homes.
Entrepreneurs and Startups in Home Care Continues to Grow
At Ankota, we have the good fortune to be able to meet and talk with many home care startups. We definitely see trends in the market and have the opportunity to share some with you here on the Healthcare Delivery Management Blog.
If you are reading this, odds are that you are already in the business of providing or coordinating home care services of some kind. Perhaps you are a home care provider, or are considering expanding your existing home health care business to include non-medical services. We’re seeing rapid growth in non-medical home care, and the opportunities it presents for both new entrants and existing providers is compelling.
Business Reasons to Launch a Home Care Startup
Thinking of starting your own agency? Why not? It’s an attractive business model to which the entrepreneurial minded are drawn. Entrepreneur Magazine wrote an interesting article five years ago anticipating the opportunity. The piece provided some good “getting started” advice that still resonates today.
Resources for Home Care Startups
The National Private Duty Home Care Association (NPDHCA) and the Home Care Association of America both provide a wealth of information on their web sites. Both provide resources to help you with training and certifications and provide excellent research on the state of the industry and prospects for growth. It is worth spending some time on their sites to read about hiring practices, research existing agencies in your geography, and keep an eye on industry events. You should consider attending the associations’ annual meetings, too.
Should You Franchise Your Home Care Agency?
To Franchise or Not to Franchise… I won’t analyze here the merits of going it alone versus franchising, but would welcome comments on this post discussing the pros or cons of either. Franchising is definitely a consideration that anyone entering private duty home care should evaluate. If you know of a good article or other materials on this subject, please comment below.
For a free White Paper full of home care best practices, click here to download our Seven Habits of Highly Effective Home Care Agencies.
We also suggest that you take a look at this blog article, How to Survive Year One When Starting a Homecare Agency from Ginny Kenyon.
Need Help Marketing Your Home Care Agency?
At Home Care Marketing Pros we are always excited to help new entrants to the industry understand the importance of a home care marketing strategy. If you are looking for some ideas, give us a call. We are always happy to share our knowledge. Also check out our free eBooks and home care resources here.
