Senior Concierge Service and Set Pricing??

[FreeMindSoul]

I'm young and looking to quit my office job because it's not for me. Always been an entrepreneur at heart I would like to think. So now I figure I would try and find out.

I'm interested in setting a service running errands primarily for senior citizens. Services such as transpiration to medical doctor appts, events, grocery shopping, prescription pick up, pet sitting, house sitting, laundry, etc.

I've researched online that most companies on national average charge $18-25 an hour. Which I think sounds great. I looked on care.com which is a website that babysitters and personal assistants use and most say they charge $10-20/hr. That's a huge range so I'm not even sure what they're charging. Some even go as low as $8-10/hr... Some even charge $8/hr. Do I have to set my prices that low in order to start this business?? I was hoping at least $15-18.....
I try to find websites similar to my idea but they don't list pricing

[David Hunter]

Hi FreeMindSoul,

Pick a price and test the market. If you try for $18 and the fish aren't biting, go with $15.

Keep fishin' until you start getting the bites!

[Wozcreative]

It appears you are only looking at what to charge, and ignoring what it will cost you. To start a business such as this one you will need:

A) To take some classes in health/safety of seniors
B) Insurance incase they fall when they get out of your car/in your care
C) Cost of running a business (accounting, office supplies etc.)
D) Cost of marketing
E) Cost of rising gas prices
F) Cost of purchasing supplies/emergency kits for seniors that may suggendly become ill in your care
G) Education/specialization on various illnesses, wether it is mental, or physical - for example let's say you are stuck in traffic and your patient is diabetic - what do you do? Do you know how to test their blood? Do you know how to administer insulin? To administer insulin you usually need to have a license to do so. Theres a lot of complications to deal with that you can easily be sued for.
H) Pet sitting - do you have any experience/licenses for this?
I) Laundry - you will need to have some kind of damage/house business insurance in the case that you accientally ruin article of clothing, or even knock over a lamp..
J) You will need to be trained in what to do when an elder accuses you of doing something (stealing, physical abuse etc.) - some mental disorders cause these things to happen
K) Often elders are not able to go to the doctors themselves, they need to go with someone who can take what the doctor gave them and forward it to appropriate people
L) Figure out if you are going to deal with multilingual individuals
M) Figure out what you will do if a patient soils themselves in your vehicle/on the way, you need to keep everything hygenic
N) Have a vehicle that is accessible
O) You will need to learn about the medications you will be giving during these trips. Some can be taken with water, some need food, those with food you will need to make sure some aren't taken with calcium/iron etc.. it is a science in itself.

Being an entrepreneur is more about wanting to help people first, the money comes second... and usually 3 - 5 years after you've proven yourself in the industry.

[FreeMindSoul]

It appears you are only looking at what to charge, and ignoring what it will cost you. To start a business such as this one you will need:

A) To take some classes in health/safety of seniors
B) Insurance incase they fall when they get out of your car/in your care
C) Cost of running a business (accounting, office supplies etc.)
D) Cost of marketing
E) Cost of rising gas prices
F) Cost of purchasing supplies/emergency kits for seniors that may suggendly become ill in your care
G) Education/specialization on various illnesses, wether it is mental, or physical - for example let's say you are stuck in traffic and your patient is diabetic - what do you do? Do you know how to test their blood? Do you know how to administer insulin? To administer insulin you usually need to have a license to do so. Theres a lot of complications to deal with that you can easily be sued for.

Transpiration service, similarity to taxi service would the driver he sued for not bring able to administer?


H) Pet sitting - do you have any experience/licenses for this? Where I live does not require license. I've pet sorted for many friends and families of different breeds. I would have to see paper that they've had shots and go through an "interview" to see how they respond to me in general.

I) Laundry - you will need to have some kind of damage/house business insurance in the case that you accientally ruin article of clothing, or even knock over a lamp..
I plan on picking up articles of clothing doing laundry elsewhere not inside their house. I want to try to avoid being inside the house due to safety/legal issues

J) You will need to be trained in what to do when an elder accuses you of doing something (stealing, physical abuse etc.) - some mental disorders cause these things to happen

Good point.
K) Often elders are not able to go to the doctors themselves, they need to go with someone who can take what the doctor gave them and forward it to appropriate people
L) Figure out if you are going to deal with multilingual individuals
M) Figure out what you will do if a patient soils themselves in your vehicle/on the way, you need to keep everything hygenic
N) Have a vehicle that is accessible
O) You will need to learn about the medications you will be giving during these trips. Some can be taken with water, some need food, those with food you will need to make sure some aren't taken with calcium/iron etc.. it is a science in itself.

Being an entrepreneur is more about wanting to help people first, the money comes second... and usually 3 - 5 years after you've proven yourself in the industry.


Good advice food for thought but you still haven't answered my question. Thank you though

[Fulcrum]

I think Woz did answer your question.

You need to ask yourself, can I make a living (after paying all expenses) charging $18/hour? For that hourly rate, I'd rather go work for someone else and not have the added stress/hassle of running a business.

[MakingItNow]

Before I saw Wozcreative's post, those thoughts were already racing through my mind.
David Hunter answered the question directly. I'm in total agreement.

A great question to ask yourself is why you are wanting to venture into this. If money is the main objective than I'd keep looking. If you aren't willing to do it for next to nothing to get your feet wet first, keep looking. Passion about what you do and how you do it have a direct relation to how you'll fare the rough times. I'm not saying that the guy who runs a janitorial service is passionate about squeaky clean toilets, but he wouldn't make it far if all he cared about was the money. Almost always. Something is pushing him internal or external to succeed in that business.

Don't be scared to step out there if you're serious about this, but don't get caught with your pants down either. Think it all the way through to the best of your ability. There is a lot of liability involved...

I'm not being pessimistic, I'm just speaking from experience.

[FreeMindSoul]

Before I saw Wozcreative's post, those thoughts were already racing through my mind.
David Hunter answered the question directly. I'm in total agreement.

A great question to ask yourself is why you are wanting to venture into this. If money is the main objective than I'd keep looking. If you aren't willing to do it for next to nothing to get your feet wet first, keep looking. Passion about what you do and how you do it have a direct relation to how you'll fare the rough times. I'm not saying that the guy who runs a janitorial service is passionate about squeaky clean toilets, but he wouldn't make it far if all he cared about was the money. Almost always. Something is pushing him internal or external to succeed in that business.

Don't be scared to step out there if you're serious about this, but don't get caught with your pants down either. Think it all the way through to the best of your ability. There is a lot of liability involved...

I'm not being pessimistic, I'm just speaking from experience.


I'm not looking to get rich. I'm just wanting to know if this service can make enough so I don't have to struggle with bills which is why I wanted to know pricing. Reason why I'm interested is because I like driving, running errands, I like meeting/interacting with people, idea of being my "own boss", etc. I thought about this because I see my bf's grandparents in constant need of assistance with dr. appointments, grocery shopping, transportation, etc. and it's a hassle on the grandkid. So I see where it is rewarding in that aspect of helping a family out.

[Harold Mansfield]

I'm not looking to get rich. I'm just wanting to know if this service can make enough so I don't have to struggle with bills which is why I wanted to know pricing.
This is the exact reason why you need to FIRST figure out costs. Grabbing an arbitrary figure from the sky won't help you determine if it will be profitable. You need to know how much it costs to BE in business and perform the work.

$18 an hour sounds great when someone else is paying you, AND they are also paying all of the overhead, AND you are working a guaranteed 40hrs or more a week, AND you have no responsibilities when the work is done except going home, AND you only have one job to do.

Working for yourself is NOT like that. YOU pay all of the overhead. YOU pay your own taxes. YOU have multiple jobs to do. And more importantly...you cannot count on a steady 40 hrs a week in actual business, yet you will probably work more than 40 unpaid hours a week. That's just how it is, especially in the beginning.


Reason why I'm interested is because I like driving, running errands, I like meeting/interacting with people, idea of being my "own boss", etc. I thought about this because I see my bf's grandparents in constant need of assistance with dr. appointments, grocery shopping, transportation, etc. and it's a hassle on the grandkid. So I see where it is rewarding in that aspect of helping a family out.

Those are all good reasons and you should look into it further. But you need to get serious about what it will cost to actually run this as a business with all of the licensing, insurance, gas, supplies, vehicle maintenance, and so on... that you will need.

For instance, if you figure out that it costs you $10 an hour to run the business (at 40 hours a week), and you are only charging $18 an hour..even if you get a consistent 40 hours a week of work, after taxes you are making poverty wages to pay your actual living expenses and would be better off flipping burgers.

[FreeMindSoul]

Thank you everyone. I didn't even think about winter time. We have horrible winters sometimes. I'll look further in.

[Harold Mansfield]

Thank you everyone. I didn't even think about winter time. We have horrible winters sometimes. I'll look further in.
I don't live in a winter state anymore, but I remember how expensive that time of year is. How much longer everything takes when you're driving and other
weather related time set backs. It's also when a lot of businesses experience a lull.

Of course it could work in your favor considering the service you are providing.

All things to take into consideration.

[Wozcreative]

To simplify my initial post, you need to sit down and calculate how much it costs you to offer those services as a business.

As a business I have costs too:
• Insurance
• Vehicle
• Gas
• Vehicle maintenance costs
• Utilities
• Software subscriptions
• Professional service personnel I hire (accountant, translators etc,
• etc etc etc

If I charged just looking at what others charge around me (lots of students, lots of people overseas) I'd go flat broke. Instead I charge what I need to charge to function and what I can charge based on value I offer. This comes with a lot of research and preparation. You have a very limited understanding of how pricing, value and competition and running a business works.

So to answer your question: "Do I have to set my prices that low in order to start this business?? I was hoping at least $15-18....." no you don't. But also don't pick pricing from the air or from some website. That's no way to run a business.

[billbenson]

Something I don't think has been mentioned here: Any business can be a vehicle to other businesses. A service business can be a way to sell other products or other revenue streams.