She has been an Activities Director for a facility and is certified. She loves developing relationships and customizing activities for each individual based on their interest. Working at a facility does not always allow her the freedom to provide an individual plan designed for each persons' interest. She loves seniors and enjoys talking with and learning about their lives. She would come into the home for 1 1/2-2 hrs. for a fee and sit with the senior and together they would sing, read, bible study, do some movement/chair yoga, etc....based on the clients interest. This not only improves their quality of life but brings them enjoyment and relationship and aids in keeping them physically and/or mentally active. . This would give the caregiver some free time for themselves as well while their senior is loved on and appreciated.
Does anyone have any advice or input in helping us get established?
Start small, and I have a feeling the business will blossom mostly through word of mouth by happy customers.
Yes, she should definitely get bonded and insured. She should only allow bookings of minimum blocks of time and do not budge on this. Have clients commit to a minimum of specific days/times or it will become a scheduling nightmare. People who cancel at the last minute should still pay a fee because those are lost hours that cannot be filled (unless you consider this charitable work and not a living), so make sure to get payment up front with a credit card when they book (no checks, no cash). She should ask clients to provide reviews on her website (yes, she should have a nominal website to back up her legit creds). I wish her great success!
Are you already aware of any such businesses that are already succeeding, anywhere? If yes, what is their business plan? If not, what pitfalls do you think there are out there that this type of business is not already flourishing in your area? Sorry, nice idea but I really doubt that she can make a decent living at this. If she wants to do something along these lines she should consider upping her skills and becoming an Occupational Therapist. They have individualized plans for their patients and therapies may include a lot of games to work on specific tasks. Working as an OT in a hospital or rehab center as an employee might give her the job satisfaction she is seeking, as well as better pay and fringe benefits, rather than the uncertainty of self employment in an untried business model.
Liability insurance is NOT cheap; I would get some estimates first. As a professional, she'd have to have that level of insurance, which from my experience is higher than liability insurance for homeowners.
I would think she might want to consider getting bonded as well. While it's encouraging to consider how she could enrich others' lives, there's always the possibility that someone might mistake her actions, or blame her for something lost or misplaced by others.
I can understand the limitations of working in a facility, but I wonder if she has considered proposing alternative and/or more varied plans to the execs in charge. At least then she still has the benefits of insurance coverage.
An alternative might be to approach the VA and see if she could volunteer to visit homebound people. I have no idea what the VA might pay, but at least she would have the benefit of their insurance (unless I'm mistaken).
One possibility of testing her theory and how easily it might be adapted to residents is to start off at a good, well organized Senior Center. She could propose a variety of activities, to draw a variety of people in to participate. That might help refine what active or semi-active, or housebound people might enjoy, but also refine for individual interests. Groups also can inspire each other, and those not yet within the groups.
One organization locally that provides a very wide variety of senior support, including various activities, is the Jewish Welfare Federation. She might want to contact them.
if your daughter personally owns a home, land or car, IMO she has to, do the biz as it’s own entity to provide a firewall on her assets.
So what kind of hourly charge are you thinking that elders or their family would be happily willing to pay for this service?
Are there others who do this as a business and are successful?
Do any insurance polices cover this type service as a benefit OR would this be totally an out of pocket cost for the elder?
I’d be concerned that “activities” are often provided for free or at nominal cost at community centers, churches, etc. Programs like “Silver Sneakers” are touted as a free benefit of MediCARE Advantage Plans. If they are on hospice, there will be hospice volunteers that come over 2-3 times a week & provide some degree of companionship as part of MediCARE benefit. If PACE is being done where you are, activities are free for those enrolled as is transportation to & from the PACE center.
Why would one want to pay for something you can get for free???
Can’t compete with free unless whatever you do is really specialized.
Realistically how much can she charge?… $ 20?, $ 50 hr? If she saw 3 clients a day @ $25 hr for 1.5 session ea, that’s maybe $2,500 mo.
Does she need to make a living at this? or is there a spouse whose income basically can underwrite their household costs? So what she makes isn’t critical for supporting the household? So it’s - as my mom & Aunts would say - “pin money”.
I’m with Vegas that becoming an OT would be a way to be credentialed that would enable her to charge professional fee ($50/85 hr). Plus she could likely find other licensed and certified OTs to create the biz to be a small team so there’s always someone available to take care of established clients and new ones.
If she's planning on being alone with the person, she should at least have a family member/caregiver with her the first several visits, for a few reasons...it will help her get a feeling about the senior in question, but also a feeling for the family dynamics. There might be some situations where it could be a little dicey for her to be alone with the person, and she needs to keep that in mind as well. There are toxic situations that she might be better off avoiding altogether. In a facility, she's somewhat insulated from that; however, in someone's home it's an entirely different situation.
She should also probably come up with some sort of pre-appointment questionnaire to be filled out, so she's got an idea of what she's walking into with each new appointment. And it's ok if she has different requirements for different situations!
Good luck to her!
I first learned the value of music therapy when my mother was in a rehab facility recovering from a leg fracture. The world of rehab and facilities was new to us. My sister, father and I all pitched in to help, including taking Mom to the periodic music concerts the facility had. Then I got permission to use the baby grands, brought my own music, got Mom and sometimes a new friend, and off we went. I was actually surprised to see others wheeling themselves into the room for these impromptu music sessions. (It was very emotional for me.)
There's another aspect in which I found music therapy very effective: in cancer treatment facilities, while patients were getting chemo. Musicians performed in a central area; the music could be heard in multiple directions in the infusion center.
I was so impressed at the effect of music that I did some research and found a whole new dimension of music therapy. I'm sure this is something with which your daughter is very, very familiar.
M activity was repeated when my father suffered multiple illnesses and spent 7 months in recovery. Again, I brought my music. The staff even volunteered to pay for tuning the baby grand, which was in fact in need of tuning.
There was one time I will never forget. After playing the old time oldies that seniors like, I played a waltz that was a favorite of my father. One gentleman got up and began waltzing, alone. Staff came down, and the dining room filled. I was just overwhelmed at how effective music was for these people, whether recovering or from the AL section. (And I'm far from being a good musician.)
Perhaps a consideration could be playing at different facilities on her days off. From what I've seen, people in facilities can always benefit from more music. She'll develop a reputation, which can be very helpful once she does establish her business.
Another option is to make a CD of her music while she's establishing her business. Facilities can play the CDs cheaper than hiring someone (although I don't know how many musicians are volunteers), and she can include flyers or other information on her business.