Group Home Business Plan: How to set up a successful group home

Do you need an efficient group home business plan that you can rely upon in your sojourn to start the business? Are you in dire need of brilliant ideas on how to set up a group home? If yes, this article get you covered.

Apparently, group homes allow people with disabilities or humble individuals to happily live together semi-independently without them interfering with each other business.

Simply put, a group home is an independent or private residence built for the elderly ones, children, young people, or the sick ones who cannot live, because of a reason or the other, live with their families.

In line with the above, people with disabilities or chronic diseases who may be seniors or adults but can’t properly take care of themselves when left alone are also taken to group homes.

While this real estate business idea is lucrative, you must understand the following to get the business up and running.

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How To Set up A Successful Group Home

The incessant demand for group homes in the United States for the adult and elderly ones cannot be overemphasized.

So if you want to help the old and the vulnerable and at the same time ensure you generate revenue through it, then this group home business is for you.

Let’s get started…

1. Let your desired group home be determined.

The first step to setting up a successful group home is to define the kind of group home you desired to open.

In addition, let your intentions be cleared as to whether you’ll be setting up a group assisted living facility for the older folks or a home for the humble citizens.

Owning a group home purposely for either of the two sets of people above requires different planning and a different focus.

Besides, a group home facility for developmentally disabled inhabitants requires trained and experienced staff to deal with any potential challenges or outbursts of living semi-independent and, even, with a disability.

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However, some other popular niches or areas that you can focus on in the group home industry are;

• Group home for the seniors or elderlies;
• In-home personal care facility;
• Home meal delivery;
• Disability group support;
• Assisted living facilities;
• Daycare services for people with disabilities;
• Medical assisted group home, etc.

Therefore, know what you want, consider your area and level of expertise before starting the group home business.

2. Feasibility study

You can’t come up with a good group home business plan without carrying out a feasibility study.

You need to embark on extensive market research to understand how the industry is being run.

Check your neighborhood to see the kind of group home facility that will best answer the community problem.

Also, conduct demographics and psychographics research to see if you are on the right track.

So when you are done with the fact-finding and investigation about your intending group home facility, then it’s time to go legal.

3. Write an efficient business plan

One of the vital steps on how to set up a group home is writing an efficient group home business plan. It states who you are, why you are running the project, what you envision to happen in the future, etc.

Besides, the application process for licensing and business registration requires you to show a clear and probable plan on how your home facility safe, how you intend to serve the residents, enrich their lives, keep them healthy, etc.  

Not limited to that, an effective group home business plan will help you define the market, explain how you can attract new residents, opportunity cost, develop budgets, projected income and expenses for five years to come, etc.

Having a firm and clear business plan is like having a solid foundation to build on.

The plan makes the business pass through all sorts of hurdles excellently and also serves as a road map that can be referred to in the time of need.

4. Do the necessary paperwork

Every state has its laws and they are quite different from one another. Therefore, you must note that group home requirements differ from state to state depending on the demography you plan to serve.

For elderly or seniors group homes, seek licensing and permission specifically from your state’s bureau of disability and aging services.

For a group home for humble citizens suffering from Down syndrome, autism, and other chronic developmental conditions, visit your state developmental services department for the necessary license.

All in all, visiting the exact state department to obtain, fill, and sign all the proper and necessary licensing requirements is very vital in your journey to learn how to set up a group home.

5. Register your business as a legal entity

Also, the group home business registration must come up immediately after you must have filled all the necessary paperwork and you must have been licensed to carry on the business.

This means, the act of seeking permission and licensing plus registering the business as a legal entity are two sides of a coin. You can’t register for a business you are not licensed to establish and vice versa.

So to avoid any legal battle with the government, register your group home with the necessary department immediately you get the license and obtain a Federal employer I.D number from the IRS.

Also, look into every commercial insurance policy in your state particularly their workers’ compensation, general liability policy, and professional liability insurance.

Doing this from the inception will save you a lot of time in the long run.

However, some of the necessary insurance policy that you should consider opting for if you intend to set up your own group home business in the United States are as follows;

• General Insurance;
• Fire Insurance;
• Theft Insurance;
• Health Insurance;
• Workers Compensation;
• Liability Insurance;
• Overhead expense disability policy; etc.

6. Choose a unique business name

You need a business name for your brand and as such, you have to choose the right and perfect name for your proposed group home as the name you choose will go a long way in living a perfect impression on your target audience.

Let the name depict the kind of elderly home brand you intend to establish. Let the name be easy to pronounce and simple to remember; very distinct, memorable, and unique.

Remember that you are picking the name for your target market — elderly, sick, young, or destitute — and not yourself. Their interest should come first in so doing.

7. Know your competitors

Regardless of whatever you have heard or read pointing to the fact that the group home industry is one with little or no dominant companies or competitors with a high market value.

Always remember that there are still few general home facilities out there that are doing pretty well.

Brands and businesses that stand out in this industry often have few things in their favor, and among these things are; best customer services, massive publicity strategies, etc.

In fact, being in the industry for a long time is an added advantage.

Nonetheless, some of the well known and leading group home brands in the United States of America are as follows;

• Emeritus Corporation;
• Sunrise Senior Living Inc;
• Atria Senior Living Group;
• Brookdale Senior Living Inc; etc.

Knowing all these brands and other leading group home brands in your community will give you a heads up to do more towards building a successful business enterprise.

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8. Choose a suitable location

Another important thing to consider before starting your proposed group home business is to research the place or location you intend to start the business from.

This will assist you greatly in finding out if there are any similar group home businesses in existence in the area and if the environment will be able to accommodate additional businesses like yours.

While selecting the appropriate location for the business, there are some factors you need to put into consideration and among them are; the city where the business will be placed zoning requirements, who your neighbors would be, etc.

9. Map out the home facility operations manual

The operations manual will be an addendum to the already sketched business plan.

It will describe all the daily core processes in the building such as the daily schedules, intake of new residents, storage and administration of medication, etc.

In your operation manual, endeavor to include safety precautions, first aid, emergency procedures, and a host of others there too.

These, among many others, are things that will be needed to keep the group home business up and running.

10. Group home business proper

Once you must have undertaken all the nine steps discussed above, then you are ready to roll into the business properly without any issue.

Immediately you realized that all the conditions necessary to set up a group home business have been meeting, there’s nothing left other than to open for business.

Create awareness, advertise, and market your presence to your target audience. Let them feel it that your group home facility is ready for rent and make sure that you give out discount to drive more customers.

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Conclusion

So basically, setting up a group home or writing a group home business plan requires one to adhere strictly to all rules of licensing paperwork, paperwork, etc. And it equally involves taking all the above precautions in other to establish a profitable enterprise.