With almost 50 million seniors aged 65 and older in America, the market for senior service businesses is booming. One of the fastest growing is helping homebound seniors with their everyday errands and grocery shopping service. It’s a great way for anyone who loves helping people to make a full or part-time income without a lot of start-up costs. All that’s really needed is a reliable vehicle, a cellphone and knowledge of the area where you plan to work.
First Step: Assess your local market. Find out if any other errand runners are offering a specialized errand service just for seniors. Call them or check out their web site to find out how much they charge. This can help you determine what hourly rate to charge. If you charge too much, you will have trouble finding new clients. If you charge too little, you’re cheating yourself of income.
Second Step: Get any required business licenses from your city or state and check with your insurance agent to make sure you have the proper insurance coverage for your new business. Be sure to tell the insurance agent if you plan to transport clients to appointments in addition to simply running errands for them.
Third Step: This is not a must-have, but a simple web site is a great tool for any errand running service. A WordPress site is one of the easiest to set up and modify, and the only cost is a few dollars a month for web hosting. To find affordable web hosting, just do a search for “web hosting.” My favorite is SiteGround.com A web site allows you to list all your services, run seasonal specials and display testimonials from satisfied customers.
Fourth Step: Advertise your new errand service business in local publications catering to seniors and at local senior centers. Print business cards with a 30% off coupon on the reverse side. This will help draw in new clients, but still allow you to make some money on those new jobs, at 70% of your regular rate. In addition to inexpensive classified ads in local senior newsletters, do a simple flyer to post at senior centers or care facilities.
Fifth Step: Introduce yourself to everyone in your area who works with seniors – senior center staff, care center staff, home health care businesses, and senior care managers. They can help you find new clients for your senior personal errand service. Although many of your new clients will come from recommendations by satisfied clients, these professionals are in touch with potential new clients every day and can be a big help to you when you’re getting started.
