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According to research by the Family Caregiver Alliance, there are close to 43.5 million caregivers across the country that provide unpaid care to members of their families. While caregiving can be a rewarding experience for some, the mental and physical problems faced by senior caregivers are well known. Managing caregiving along with work and personal responsibilities can become overburdening over time and lead to stress, burnout, and the development of unhealthy lifestyles Increase Your Savings Objectives
Additionally, at times caregivers need to afford specialized services out of pocket to help seniors in their homes, as these are not covered by insurance plans. Helping caregivers across the country is the need of the hour, and for those urging to pitch in, this article by Quality Care of Howell will explore the best types of businesses one can start to help senior caregivers and the benefits it’ll provide.
Common Challenges Faced by Caregivers
Before we get into how your business can be of assistance, it’s important to understand the major problems facing caregivers today:
Lack of Sleep: Caregiving for seniors can often turn out to be a 24/7 ordeal, which inevitably has negative effects on one’s sleep. According to the CDC, adults require at least 7 hours of sleep each night to be healthy. Sleeping less than 7 hours can lead to a host of problems, such as mood swings, increased irritability, headaches, and decreased cognitive ability.
Isolation: Oftentimes, caregivers dedicate the majority of their time to caregiving duties. This means that beyond work and caregiving, they do not have time to meet friends or colleagues, leading to isolation. Not only can isolation have negative effects on mood and self-esteem, but in some cases, it can lead to serious mental health problems such as depression.
A Strain on Finances: Given that the majority of family caregivers are unpaid, paying for medicines, doctor visits, and other necessities out of pocket is bound to put a strain on their finances. This can lead to caregivers having to cut back on personal expenses and make restrictive lifestyle changes.
Business Services to Help Caregivers
Now that you have a better idea regarding the problems faced by caregivers, here is a list of services your business can offer to make caregiver's life easier:
Financial Assistance: As mentioned before, given that most caregivers need to pay for medical expenses out of pocket, it leads to an undue strain on their finances. However, there are various private and government grants and loans caregivers can utilize to reduce the financial burden on their shoulders. Your business can be dedicated to providing educational counseling regarding the various financial assistance programs available for caregivers. Additionally, you can help them create and submit applications.
Caregiver Aids: Hiring professional caregivers can cost anywhere between hundreds to thousands of dollars a month, making it an unviable option for many households. However, beyond caregiving, there are various other tasks, such as cooking meals, cleaning, and running errands that can be carried out by an aid at an affordable price. Providing this service to caregivers will not only reduce the burden on their shoulders but also provide some much-needed free time to practice hobbies, meet friends or engage in other social activities, helping to improve their mental health.
Support Groups: Caregivers often refrain from asking for support due to the assumption that they’ll be burdening others with their problems. However, by providing family caregivers access to support groups they’ll be able to connect with others who are empathetic to their problems and can provide advice and guidance on how to manage stress and time and lead a healthier lifestyle. Being a part of a support group, whether online or offline, will also serve as a safety net for caregivers to reach out to in times of need, reducing isolation and the mental health problems accompanying it.
Choose The Best Business Structure
The only way your business will be able to help caregivers in the long term is by establishing strong foundations. This can be achieved by choosing the correct business structure, such as forming an S Corp.
Having an S Corp business provides the following benefits:
Your S Corp will be considered a pass-through entity, i.e. you (the owner) will only need to pay taxes once while filing personal tax returns. This is the main benefit over a C Corp, where owners are subjected to double taxation.
As the owner of an S Corp, you’ll receive protection from business-related liabilities. While you can still be held liable for damages, it will be limited to your ownership share in the company. Additionally, your personal assets, such as bank accounts, home(s), car(s), etc., will be protected from business-related debts.
Raising money as an S Corp is easier than other business structures as it involves the issuance of shares. Employees, in addition to public and private investors, can be sold shares to raise money and fund business operations.
When it comes to paying taxes, S Corps can use business expenses to reduce their tax burden. This deduction can help reduce the repayment burden by hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a year.
In addition to an S Corp, establishing an LLC - i.e., Limited Liability Company is also a viable option. An LLC provides many of the same benefits as an S Corp, such as liability protection, pass-through taxation, and deductions. Additionally, it is easier to set up owing to simpler registration and filing requirements. If you do end up establishing an LLC, there is always the option for converting it into an S Corp.
Given that filing and registration requirements differ between states, the best approach is to hire a formation service. In addition to establishing your desired business structure, a formation service will provide continued support regarding annual tax and filing requirements.
Market the Business
Marketing your services effectively will be key to educating family caregivers regarding your offerings and how they can improve their day-to-day lives. Here are a few ways to reach family caregivers across the country:
Invest in Digital Marketing: Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are perfect to get your offerings in front of the right audience. Hence, your first step will be to create accounts, followed by regularly posting content on the feed regarding your services.
Send Out a Newsletter: this is a great supplement to your social media advertising. If you aren’t sure where to start, begin in Word, then save your newsletter as a PDF. If you’re having trouble with the file size, you can make the process go much faster with a free PDF compressor.
Run Targeted Ads: Most social media platforms provide the option of selecting a target audience to whom your advertisements will be shown. Targeted ad campaigns mean that the next time caregivers log into these platforms, they’ll be shown your ads. As a best practice, add a link to your website on the ad to make it easy for users to learn more about your business and avail of its services.
Create Business Cards: Even in today’s digital age, business cards are a useful marketing medium to promote your business directly with customers. A good idea is to share your business cards with small businesses in areawhere a high number of caregivers live. While this will involve a fair bit of research, however, it will pay dividends in terms of brand awareness and creating a connection with customers. You don’t need to be an expert in design to create a great business card. There are various free online tools that provide customizable templates to be used for creating stunning business cards within a few minutes.
When starting a business aimed at helping senior caregivers, establishing the right business structure (S Corp or LLC), in addition to choosing the right channels for marketing, will play a major role in its success. Additionally, through the business, you'll make positive contributions to the lives of senior caregivers and their families. From education on financial assistance to providing access to support groups, senior caregivers will be able to learn more about giving the best care to their loved ones while maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Quality Care of Howell focuses on providing quality care delivered with compassion and dignity. Call (517) 579-2019.
Article written by Jim McKinley
