Who, What, When, Where, Why & How Of An Excellent Homecare Startup
Kenyon HomeCare Consulting • March 5, 2021
Imagine embarking on a homecare startup and not hitting a single bump in the road. Or expanding your services and growing your business to a level of success you never dreamed possible. While it’s nearly impossible not to encounter any issues during a startup or growth process, there are ways to help things run more smoothly.
Six Crucial Factors of a Successful Homecare Startup
Whether you’re starting from scratch, adding a location, or expanding your services, to-do lists can quickly become overwhelming. And when that happens, progress falters. Consider the “who, what, when, where, why, and how” of an excellent homecare startup, and you’ll be on your way.
The Who
Any successful entrepreneur knows a big part of achieving your dreams is surrounding yourself with the right people. These friends, colleagues or experts encourage, provide advice, guide, and point out when you’re headed in the wrong direction.
How does that relate to a homecare startup? You need a support system to get through the road bumps of this tedious process. Here are a few people to include in that support system:
An experienced consultant. Someone who knows the homecare industry inside and out. Assists with planning, marketing, hiring, setting realistic goals and more.
Professional referral sources. Medical professionals who provide knowledge, advice and become excellent sources for future referrals. Get to know them by networking.
An elite staff. A must have for any leader— a productive, knowledgeable, efficient team.
The What
Now that you know who you need for a successful homecare startup, it’s time to discuss what you need. This is a line of attack— a business plan, a marketing plan, and an operational plan. Let’s break that down a bit.
Getting started on the right foot is all about strategic planning and developing. Begin with market research to determine how you should go about getting ready to launch. Next, create a business plan and include the following:
Operational and systems development
Methods for staff recruitment, training, development, and retention
Marketing plan, support and analysis
Branding, website development, logo design, etc.
Funding details
The When
When do you start each step of the homecare startup process? The simple answer is now! But to be more specific, start getting the word out about your homecare agency, new services, or new location as soon as you set a launch date. It’s important to get people in your community excited about what you’ll be offering so they can brainstorm ways to get involved.
Next, firm up the specifics of your business plan. Do your research, lay out details, and set precise time frames. The more structure you establish upfront the better. With your plan in place, you can begin looking for experienced staff.
The Where
Determining where your new agency will be located may be tough. You want to make sure the demographics are right and that there’s a legitimate need for your services in the chosen area.
To help with this decision, conduct a competitive analysis to evaluate the competition. Always investigate industry trends and learn what services are needed in your market.
The Why
Remember your “why.” What’s the motivation behind starting a homecare organization, expanding your reach, or adding specialized services? Remind yourself daily of the reasons you’re working hard to reach your goals. Doing this gives the push you need to get a running start and the confidence you need to grow your organization.
The How
The details that could be included with the “how” are vast. But when learning how to complete a successful homecare startup, the key is to take the process one step at a time. Plan thoroughly, spread the word, grow your support system, seek expert advice and then get to work!
Experienced Consultants and Your Homecare Startup
At Kenyon HomeCare Consulting, we know all about the “who, what, when, where, why, and how” of a homecare startup or expansion project. We go beyond the basics to give the kind of service that drives your agency toward success, including experience in:
Due diligence
Community assessment assistance
Administrative policy and procedure manuals
Employee handbooks
Forms and tools
Software selection
Reach out to us today, and let’s see what we can accomplish together!
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HOPE Question and Answer Repository
Today, this article will look at little different than out typical articles. We all know the costs of losing employees and trying to hire and train new ones. It is exhausting and expensive. So, we think about our wages and benefit packages all the time. What can we do differently that makes people stay? We can’t change the job and we don’t want to keep people that don’t like the work itself. So, how do we acknowledge employees in a way that is valuable to them and that our businesses can afford to do? 5 Things To Consider About Employee Recognition At Your Christmas Party: 1. Years of Service: These can be based on milestone work anniversaries (5, 10, 15 yrs, etc.). If a person has been at your agency 11 years, you pull them up and acknowledge them in the group of employees who have been there at least 10 years up until the time they hit the 15 years landmark. This way longevity is recognized yearly. 2. Special Employee awards: Now, this may be difficult if your staff is very small, but acknowledge the employee who has gone the extra mile in the job they do. Tell the story. The employee needs to know when the employer is proud of the work that has been done. Consider a plaque or certificate. Don’t minimize the value of the employee having them to display. 3. Acknowledge all employees in the mix: Because we are a clinical industry, the administrative staff is often overlooked on day-to-day operations. Ultimately, don’t miss the chance to acknowledge the employee who was able to catch billing errors or collect on a large account. Staff doesn’t like to hear about money, but those types of collections keep Christmas bonuses in place! So, make sure the other staff knows the accomplishments of the finance department or the office manager that every caller loves to speak to. Don't ever forget the IT staff that is on call more than any clinical person in your agency! 4. Letters from the administration: Add a personal note to your staff either collectively or individually depending on the size of your agency. If you are larger, there are employees you don’t often see or get to talk to on a regular basis, so take the time so send a note with that Christmas bonus. 5. Consider the Christmas bonus: Listen, some of you can afford to do substantial monetary bonuses and that is fantastic. However, if you are not in that position, consider something in its place. Maybe small gas cards go with the letter from administration. With the cost of groceries, consider something that helps with the costs of daily living for employees. Big box gift cards in your area will always be used. You may do a lot of these things on a yearly basis to employees. All this being said, it doesn’t mean there aren’t reasons for acknowledgement throughout the year. However, your annual Christmas party is a good way to do it collectively. Between your annual party, write the individual cards to employees when you hear a patient interaction worthy of praise. Or, maybe you buy a gas card for the employee who has picked up extra shifts and always shows up on time. Ultimately, employees will feel valued. You will not regret the time, effort, and energy put into these efforts. Merry Christmas! If you want help with recruitment and retention strategies for your agency, please call Kenyon Homecare Consulting at 206-721-5091 or contact us online today.