Due in part to a growing elderly population and longer lifespans assisted living facilities might be more profitable than ever before.
Not only are they a good money maker when done right, but they often play an essential role in the wellbeing of an entire demographic.
For those of you looking to pursue a worthy investment and engage in what can be a highly fulfilling area of work, you may want to open your very own assisted living facility.
While it might not be the easiest project to sink your time, money, and energy into, it is certainly rewarding, and it benefits your fellow humans in a wealth of wonderful ways.
Without assisted living facilities, many people would not be able to age in peace and comfort, making their senior years miserable instead of full of joy like they deserve to be.
It can be a huge amount of hard work and require a substantial investment, but you might find that it ends up being easier than you first thought. Here are some important points to hopefully help you get started.
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What Should Your Skillset Consist Of?
To start and maintain your own assisted living facility, an incredibly diverse skill set is required on your end, or at least the resources and connections needed to obtain the right talent to bring on board.
Whatever your current background happens to be, it is worth noting that you will need to deploy a mix of entrepreneurial prowess and caregiving skills to make sure that you have all bases covered.
There is nothing stopping you from starting your own assisted living facility without a background in medical care; however, and likewise, having no professional background in business does not mean you are barred from trying.
As long as you know what is required of facility owners and what kind of qualifications you need to obtain, you should be alright.
In most cases, it is essential to gain some hands-on experience and begin with an assisted living certification and then move forward from there.
Plan the Budget
Starting a business of any kind can be exceptionally expensive, but when it comes to the world of healthcare, a heavily regulated area that provides a home to expensive equipment and high wages, that cost can skyrocket.
Planning your budget way in advance can help you avoid burning through your wallet halfway through setting up your facility.
It is worth noting some of the main areas in which you will likely need to part with vast amounts of money to get the very best results. These areas might include:
- The facility itself – Do you plan to build your own facility from scratch? This is one of the more common methods since custom solutions are so often the ideal way to go. Renting is also a possibility, and so is buying a previous facility outright. This will probably be where most of your budget goes. It is also worth noting that you made need to make structural upgrades or changes to your property in order to make sure it fits in with regulation guidelines, so be prepared to pay for modifications should you need them.
- Wages – Another hugely expensive and essential part of the budget should be dedicated to the cost of wages. This can fluctuate massively depending on what kind of facility you want to run and what kind of services you wish to offer your guests.
- Medical Equipment – The cost of medical equipment can quickly accumulate, especially if you are going to be offering treatment at your facility.
- Marketing – Getting your name out there is still an immensely important part of business in the assisted living facility world, which is where marketing comes into play. A section of your budget should be set aside for marketing if you aim to get yourself noticed.
These are some examples of what you might need to prepare your finances for, but there are plenty of hidden pitfalls too, so it is worth keeping your eye out for licensing fees, the cost of production in the local area, and the price of local amenities, etc.
This will all help you with the initial stages of one of the most important points of the process: coming up with the business plan.
The Business Plan
Your business plan can prove to be a crucial document indeed. With it, you can pitch to investors, create some guidelines and develop your vision for the future.
Once you have your budget sorted (the budget often goes hand in hand with the overall plan), you should be able to see your strategy start to take place.
It needs to consist of who your target market is and how to reach them, and while this might seem obvious enough, there are plenty of details worth considering.
For example, what does your average local senior enjoy doing as a hobby? What do they expect from an assisted living facility? How much money do they have, and are they willing to consider a facility in the first place? These are questions that must be answered if you aim to reach your ideal customer.
Your business plan should be the guiding hand that leads your business to success, not a set of incomprehensible jargon to stumble over.
Get the Paperwork Sorted
Getting the paperwork sorted (official certificates, tax documents, and licenses) is a must if you aim to keep everything above board, and this can be fairly difficult to get to grips with since it can vary so widely from state to state.
A good lawyer or admin expert should be able to help you out with this if you want to spare yourself the time and the headache of doing it yourself.
You will need to register as a legal entity, too, as this will inform the way your business is taxed.
Being the proud owner of an assisted living facility can mean that you’re in a highly profitable position, one that has the opportunity to support a great many people at the same time. But it is difficult to reach that point, and it’s a journey that keeps on giving if you are able to stay the course.
Read also: What to Expect From Senior Living