|
Hi from a train to London,Thank you again for being one of the very early adopters of Found This – a weekly series of actionable start-up and growth insights, focused on the homecare sector, delivered to your inbox; Founder to Future Founder. I really appreciate it 🙌Today we’re looking at one of the biggest decisions you make when starting up your own business; at what point to jump in with both feet…
“I’m going to carry on at my current [work/business/etc] while my homecare start-up grows to a certain size, and when it’s large enough to replace my wage or other income, I’ll get involved full time.”
I’ve talked to quite a few people considering a homecare start-up, and the above is a fairly common plan. And on the surface, I can see why:
-
If you don’t have a care background, you need to hire a Care Manager – surely they’ll be able to run and grow the business?
-
The CQC can take anywhere from 2-5 months to register you and not much happens in the first month or two – that’s time you could be earning elsewhere?
-
Waiting until the model is proving itself before taking the plunge reduces risk, right?
-
By taking owner’s drawings off the cashflow forecast, you’ll reduce the starting capital you’ll need by, say, £30k – which might suddenly make things more affordable
Maybe in some sectors this is possible, but in homecare it’s not a plan that often survives contact with reality.
My main arguments against a Side Hustle approach to homecare start-ups are:
Risk: It can seem counterintuitive, but not quitting your job while you’re starting up is more risky than fully taking the plunge. If you’re not around all the time, gaining a granular understanding of the business and building relationships, you have a single point of failure: your Registered Manager. If they leave and take their know-how and relationships with them, and you have other commitments, this can be a big problem for the business.They are more likely to leave if they aren’t working with a supportive, positive and engaged director who can lead and motivate them.
Growth: At a start-up, if the business owner doesn’t make it happen, it doesn’t happen. No one will be more motivated than you to grow the business, find opportunities, and execute. Your RM will no doubt be experienced in managing care, but sales, business development and networking isn’t always what they a) enjoy or b) are good at.
I strongly believe to be very successful in this sector, you need to be immersed in it – you need to understand and have a good feeling of the key players, trends and challenges in your local area.
You get this through a) a whole load of googling and b) talking to people. These people will be prospective candidates, competitors, clients, and a host of people who are interacting with your potential client base every day. You can’t get this by picking things up at weekends and in the evenings.As always, if you’re interested in starting up in the homecare space, or looking at franchising generally, you can book a quick call with me here: www.calendly.com/benashton/call.If you’ve got any questions or would like me to cover a particular topic, simply reply to this email. I respond to every email I get. Have a great weekend.BenPS: Know someone potentially interested in weekly actionable insights about homecare start-up strategy, tactics, and planning? Click here to forward this email to a friend.PPS: If this content isn’t what you need in your life right now, click here if you’d like to unsubscribe from this list.
|
