There is nothing wrong with working steady as a senior home care provider but you can actually earn a lot more by going into business for yourself. Working as an independent/private contractor with your own senior home care business can boost your income to levels between $22 and $35 per hour with rates even better than that in bigger cities.
Here’s where starting your own private senior home care business can put you into a completely different income bracket – you can charge a retail rate in your area. That will ultimately be higher than rates typically charged and can show why you would be earning less as an employee.
This is how the math can work in your favor. For example, let’s assume you were earning $12 per hour working as a senior caregiver for someone else. Your employers would have added their markup to cover various things including standard administrative overhead operating costs. That could be in the average range of 25%, with a profit margin in the neighborhood of 35%. This brings the hourly rate billed to the client to $24 per hour.
With your own senior home care business, by contracting your services as a private care provider you can charge the $24 per hour rate and earn that yourself rather than the $12 per hour you were earning as someone else’s employee doing the same job.
Depending on the market you are in, your rates will vary but if you are able to bill clients anywhere between $18 and $30 per hour this equates to an income of between $44,000 and $60,000 annually. What adds to the potential of this career is that senior home care is one of a handful of recession-proof jobs. There will always be a demand for it and with more and more Baby Boomers reaching the age where they require care at home, there won’t be a shortage of opportunities.
Also, as a mature caregiver, you will be able to work with your peers, and possibly even some old friends which would make the home care experience positive for them and enriching for you. In fact, who to better understand the current needs and potential risks of an average senior than a mature home care provider?
Even if you have not been working in the home care profession, it is not a hard one to break into. Certification courses are being offered on a regular basis at various educational institutions simply to meet the demand for the service. You could become part of the new wave of senior home care givers working into your senior years at something that brings you personal satisfaction from being able to assist others with needs you will be able to relate to.
You won’t need a fancy office for your senior home care business either. All you will need is a vehicle and a cell phone to make appointments and to be in contact with clients. This is also the kind of career move where you won’t have to work full-time hours if you don’t want to. All you need is a few clients and the willingness to give service to others who need it. If you are a caring, compassionate person, this could be an ideal service to offer. Our step-by-step guidebook can get you started in a week. Click Here to discover more.