DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?

Starting a home care agency is no easy task. If you would like your home care business to have the best chance of success, then you need to have answered all of the questions on our start-up checklist. If you can't answer all of them, don't worry! We are here to help guide you through all of them.

Here's a list of things you need to consider before you invest time or money into this venture:

1. Do you have enough money to get started? The one common cause of business failure is the lack of enough resources [money] to carry you through the first year. Our CPAs tell us that the costs to start up, depending on the state, are as follows:

• Non-skilled/non-medical Home Care $40,000 to $60,000
• Home Health [skilled] Non-Medicare $60,000 to $80,000
• Medicare Home Health or Hospice $150,000 to $350,000

2. Does your state have regulations/licensure requirements? What are they and what is the license fee?

3. Does your state require Accreditation?

4. Does the state require a business plan and budget?

5. Do you have Administrative Policies and Procedures that are state approved?

6. Do you have access to affordable liability insurance?

7. Do you have a name for your company? Is it free of others using that name?

8. Who will build your website and develop your logo?

9. What software will you use?

10. Do you have at least two people to start up the agency?

You'll need one person in-house to answer phones, perform intake for clients/patients, recruit staff, schedule visits/shifts and do payroll and billing. This person will maintain all client/patient records and staff/personnel records. The other person will be out in the community doing sales, networking with hospitals, opening new cases and supervising cases and staff.

11. How will you get clients/patients? Is there enough demand?

12. How will you recruit and retain staff?