Build a Thriving Business Serving Seniors

February 2, 2022 | ChangingCourse.com

Happy Lunar New Year!

Changing Course has always looked at trends that create opportunities. The good news is, we are living longer than any previous generation and many people want to age in place with dignity.

For the past two-and-a-half months, I stayed in my mom’s tiny 10×10 guest bedroom and worked from her kitchen table while I helped her to recover from her second hip surgery in 20 months.

An attempt to repair her hip with titanium plates and screws simply didn’t work. The hip didn’t heal, the screws began breaking, she was in excruciating pain, and needed a total hip replacement.

We are grateful that I can work from anywhere, which allowed me to relocate for close to three months.

It occurs to me that there are many seniors who don’t have adult children who can spend 11 plus weeks away from their home base. Typically jobs or other family obligations would prevent this from happening.

At 83, my mom is still fiercely independent. Until she broke her hip almost two years ago, she walked to church or to the grocery store or to the bus stop to go to her doctor’s appointments or hang out with her social group.

She neither wants to live in an assisted living facility nor have a stranger in her home daily to “take care of her.” But still, she needs help, and after nearly 40 years in her home, she needs to move to a place that is more accessible.

What occurred to me as I prepared to return home after making many of the arrangements to ensure Mom has a comfortable future, is there are many needs that seniors have, around which a caring individual might build a thriving business.

And, it’s not just for seniors. Both Kate and I have close relatives who are dealing with chronic or catastrophic illnesses who need assistance in various aspects of their lives.

Consider creating a business to assist those who may not have family nearby to help.

To Your Dreams,

Money-Making Idea: Senior Concierge

Concierge businesses became popular a few years ago to assist busy professionals. However, many other groups including seniors could benefit from a concierge service.

What types of services does a concierge provide?

A concierge provides services or arranges for the services to be provided based on clients’ diverse needs. Services might include:

  • Housekeeping and house organizing
  • Purging or de-cluttering a home
  • Shopping for groceries
  • Making meals or arranging for meals to be made
  • Laundry services
  • Making appointments
  • Picking up medication
  • Arranging transportation to appointments
  • Running errands
  • Setting up technology: TVs, cable, computers/tablets, Internet, printers, Zoom, etc.
  • Assisting with finding housing where one can age in place
  • Dealing with contractors to make current or new housing accessible

 

Where can you find customers?

Doing this work for vulnerable populations such as seniors or people dealing with chronic or catastrophic illnesses requires a great deal of empathy, patience, and trustworthiness in addition to simply liking people.

  • To develop that trust, you may want to begin with people you already know who could use assistance.
  • Develop a postcard or flyer and ask people you know to share it with those they know who could use your services.
  • Use the Nextdoor app to locate people in your neighborhood who need these services.
  • Develop a relationship with senior centers, and those who patronize the centers, possibly by volunteering.

Resources to Learn About and Build a Concierge Business

Also explore this 2019 Changing Course post Serving Seniors: 30 Ways to Turn Interest into Income.

Is this what’s holding you back?

LIMITING THOUGHT

I’m Not Smart Enough.

You feel like you’re not smart enough to achieve a particular task or goal. Maybe you’ve hit a stumbling block such as you can’t figure out the technology and it makes you feel that you don’t have the necessary intelligence to accomplish what you want to accomplish.

You may be lacking the necessary knowledge to get something done, but it doesn’t mean that you are lacking the intelligence. Your limiting belief is that you aren’t smart enough to do what you really want to do.

This belief can keep you from trying new things because you feel so intimidated at the thought of trying to learn something new, that you won’t even start.

NEW THOUGHT

I am Incredibly Smart and Capable. 

You are much smarter than you realize. Look at how much you have already accomplished in your life. It takes a high degree of intelligence to achieve all that you have.

You also have the ability to learn. Consider all the things you’ve learned to do over the course of your life. Your brain is a sponge, and you’re able to learn almost anything that you put your mind to.

Your new belief is that you are incredibly smart and able to learn anything that is important to you and the future you are building.

This new belief will change the way you approach tasks. Instead of fearing that you have to learn something new, you eagerly anticipate the challenge. Instead of doubting yourself, you are confident in your ability to tackle any task.

What We’re Reading

Questioning yourself and your abilities can get in the way of becoming the leader you want to be regardless of the area that is your zone of genius or your place to lead. The Maxwell Daily Reader provides daily inspiration and actionable steps to tap into the leader you are meant to be so that you may achieve your leadership potential. And it will bring out the very best leader in you.

Book Cover