The average age of the population is getting older, with many from the boomer generation entering into their twilight years. This change in demographic has created a great demand for senior care. If you’re looking to lend a hand and help others, getting into the senior care industry can be a great place to go.
Some who take this route decide to open a nursing home in order to help. Starting a nursing home is a noble task, but also one that requires a lot of effort and responsibility. There’s a lot to learn, a lot to do, and a lot to stay on top of.
What do you need to get familiar with if you’re hoping to start on this kind of endeavor? Read on and we’ll walk you through how to open a new nursing home.
Do Your Research
If you want to start a nursing home, the first thing you’re going to need to do is to get a bit familiar with the industry itself. Even though you’re getting into the elder care business with the right intentions, at the end of the day, it’s still a business. You’ll need to take the time to understand it as such.
The nursing home industry is based around businesses that provide living arrangements, nursing, and other medical services for those reaching older age. Generally speaking, nursing homes take care of residents who might need day-to-day assistance or care but do not require so much care as to be in a hospital.
The industry is quite active and has continued to grow over the past few decades. As we mentioned, the continual aging upward of much of the population has created a great demand for the kind of services that nursing homes and elderly centers provide.
The elderly are always at risk of illness and injury, so providing them somewhere where they can receive around-the-clock care is a great burden off the shoulders of many families.
As the senior care industry has expanded, the type of services, locations, and products that are offered to the public has become more varied. If you’re hoping to launch your own nursing home, you’ll need to do a good bit of research into how others who have come before you operate.
The more you can understand the industry and nature of the business as it stands, the more educated choices and decisions you’ll be able to make yourself.
You can and should look over the details of how this and other businesses out there currently function. If you can, it might even be advantageous to sit down with other business owners and get a rundown of what you’ll need to know.
Make a Business Plan
Once you’ve done your research (and we mean really done your research) you can begin to plan out what your nursing home business might look like.
In order to do this, you’ll want to craft something known as a business plan. A business plan is a document that outlines all the facets of the business you plan to open. It’s a key document for both your personal organization and your fundraising efforts.
Essentially, all questions one might have about your new nursing home? They should be able to find the answers within your new business plan.
The most pressing question is probably what niche of the industry you are looking to get into. As you likely saw during your research, there are all kinds of different nursing homes that operate in different ways.
There are those that feature more in-patient care and those that seem more like retirement communities. How exactly your business will advertise itself, what services you will offer, and how will you go about the business will set you down a path towards an eventual reality.
Deciding on a Corporation Type
Another decision you’ll need to make upfront? How to incorporate your new business. Corporations and limited liability arrangements offer different kinds of benefits, and you’ll need to decide what type of company arrangement would best serve the work you’re about to do.
Many nursing homes incorporate as LLCs, which stands for limited liability companies. There are many benefits to looking into this kind of incorporation. It’s easier to set up than other forms, and it is also the most inexpensive overall.
The red tape involved with starting an LLC is also generally lower. When opening an assisted living facility, you’re going to want to keep things as simple as possible. Your attention is going to be needed elsewhere.
All of this work will need to be done with your secretary of state’s office, and it will take time. It’s important to begin the process of applying with the state office early. It can take months before everything is sorted out, and you can’t open your business until this legal process is done.
Planning out what form your business will take in your plan will give you an outline to follow, and your investors an expectation of what’s to come.
Risks and Threats
Another thing that should be explored and outlined in your business plan? The risks that your new business might be up against. As this is one of the largest growing industries in the country, there are going to be a lot of different factors that come into play, and a lot might not be to the benefit of your business.
Being able to recognize risks and threats ahead of time is essential for any kind of business owner. A business owner that can recognize risk can make plans to mitigate the damage it can do. Pre-emptive planning can help to save a business, getting caught off guard can leave you in dire straits.
What are the most common risks that a nursing home business might come up with? Increased demand is the most obvious one, with more seniors than any establishment might be able to handle.
Finding and maintaining a qualified staff can be difficult, as in such a booming industry people tend to move around often. Keeping up with tech and medicine can also be difficult but will be necessary for your business.
Dealing with the regulation from the government and health care agencies can also be difficult and time-consuming. It will be necessary, of course, unless you want to get fined or shut down.
One way to mitigate all of this risk is to consider what types of insurance you will take out as a business owner. Often, a nursing home will get a large package of different insurance policies to cover whatever incidents may arise.
These can include general liability, property insurance, worker’s comp, sexual misconduct insurance, and a whole wealth of other policies.
Consider Existing Franchises
Sound like a lot of work to get your own nursing home franchise off the ground? You’re right, it certainly is. However, this isn’t the only option available to you if you’re hoping to start your own nursing home.
You can also look into buying into an existing franchise, which can save you a lot of work. An existing nursing home franchise will have already done much of the work that we’ve listed above.
There will already be many locations of the franchise open, which provide working examples of how your own location could run and operate. The major decisions that need to be made will already be made for you.
If you’re a control freak with a certain vision of how your care should be provided, this might not be the right option for you. However, if you can find a franchise you like and respond to, and you don’t need to call all the shots? Managing an existing franchise can take a large burden off of your shoulders.
Franchises have big money behind them, and they might be able to set themselves up in a way that would be more difficult with your own financial arrangement. They can provide support, brand awareness, and a sense of stability that can be hard to find otherwise.
You can click for senior care franchise and see what this option might look like.
Not everyone will want to buy into an existing franchise when starting a nursing home, but it can be advantageous for many.
How to Open a Nursing Home
If you’re looking to open a nursing home sometime in the near future, you’ll need to take some time to educate yourself. Starting a nursing home is a big undertaking, and there is a lot to learn about doing it properly. The above information can help set you down the right path.
Need more advice for your business? Keep scrolling our blog for more.
