Setting Up a Work at Home Business Helping the Elderly

If you enjoy working around elderly people, then there's a wide range of services you could provide if you chose to create a business working within the elderly sector – and many of these services don't require you to be qualified in anything more than daily living!

Elderly people are often less agile than they used to be, but they want to stay in their own homes rather than be stuck in housing facilities where they are monitored and watched with little or no privacy. This is where your work at home business will find its clientele. Make a list of the kind of thing you can comfortably do that an elderly person may have difficulty with – this could include general housework such as vacuuming, more specific chores such as window washing, outdoor chores such as yard work, shopping or even acting as a companion to a specific club or activity. If you have special skills such as DIY or personal appearance qualifications such as hairdressing, then you could add these to your list. This list becomes the menu of services your work from home business provides.

Now think about what you should charge for each item on that list. Take into account the amount of time involved so that you charge on a time basis rather than an effort one which will come more readily to mind. It may be more taxing to wash kitchen floors than read newspapers, but the floor could take half the time – and to your work at home business, time is money!

Once you know what you can offer, and how much you would charge for it, you need to find your client base. One good thing to do before you start advertising is to have yourself verified by the local police – ask them to check your background and provide paperwork that you are an honest upstanding citizen with no criminal record (if you have one of those, then you should speak to the law authorities to see where you stand on this kind of work before getting started!). Having attained your good standing reference, approach organizations that are involved with elderly care such as social groups and churches. Show them your services and seek advice on people who would be interested. Don't forget that most elderly people have middle aged children who might welcome your services to take the burden of more mundane tasks off them – these people may be found in gyms, medical practices, schools, churches and stores so your business flyer on a notice-board in any of these places could very well bring you new clients.

Visit your client before accepting any job. Make it a rule of your work at home business that you have a 2-3 visit probation period to see how you and the client get along – that way you can walk away from any client who might prove difficult or loose on what they require you to and what they want to pay for! If money changes hands, count the money received in front of your client and have them sign for the amount they give you, or the amount they receive from you – that way there should be no memory problems later.

Having a work at home business that deals with the needs of the elderly can be a time consuming but a fulfilling job that not only provides you with a business of your own, but also provides a much needed service to the community helping facilitate elderly people remaining independent that little bit longer.