Business Ideas for Taking Care of the Elderly
Assisting with day-to-day living for the elderly is the basis of a profitable business that also leaves you feeling good at the end of the day. Most elderly want to maintain a sense of independence but may struggle with household chores and errands. What was easy for them to do when they were 50- or even 60-years old may now be a challenge. Most elderly are women, simply because women live longer than men. Keep that in mind while you're developing your business.
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Meal Preparation
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The elderly often don't prepare balanced nutritious meals when they live alone. That leads to malnutrition and health problems. If you prepare the meals in the senior's home, you will probably need a food handler's license. If you prepare the meals in your own kitchen and deliver them you will need a caterer's license as well, and you will need to have your kitchen inspected by the health department. Many seniors have dietary restrictions which limits their food choices. Prepared entrees or restaurant food may not be an option for them.
House Cleaning
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Seniors may not need heavy-duty house cleaning, especially if they're not active and don't have pets. What they do need is sanitizing the bathrooms, kitchen, dusting and vacuuming. A quick clean up may take you an hour for a one-bedroom apartment. Set prices so they're less than a cleaning service and fit within a fixed-income budget.
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Laundry
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Making the bed, carrying the laundry, bending over the washer and dryer and folding the clean laundry can be difficult tasks for someone whose mobility is limited. Commercial laundries are not particularly interested in low-volume laundry services for individuals. Picking up dirty laundry, washing, drying and folding the clean laundry and then delivering it would be an appreciated service for seniors.
Shopping
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Shopping can be an arduous excursion for seniors if they have any kind of physical limitations. They may not hear well and dread trying to talk to a sales clerk. They may not see well, even with glasses, and be unable to read labels or prices. Or they may be embarrassed that they have to buy certain sanitary items. A shopping service helps them get the products they need. Charge a flat fee per trip or bill on an hourly rate. Arrange for payment options with the store. You don't want to buy the items yourself and then not be paid for them. The elderly want to keep their credit cards secure and may or may not want to give you cash.
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References
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- Photo Credit old woman image by Alexander Raths from Fotolia.com
