To start a senior care business you'll pick non-medical vs. medical care, get your state home-care license, secure bonding and insurance, hire and background-check caregivers, and line up your first referral sources — then keep enough cash to make payroll before clients pay. Most independent agencies start for $50,000–$150,000. Here's the practical version, with real numbers and where each piece fits.
We run our own service companies, so we'll be straight about the part we help with — the website and getting found — and the bigger parts (licensing, caregivers, compliance) that come first and that you should not rush.
Choose your model. Non-medical (companionship, bathing, meals, transport) is far easier to license than skilled medical home health. Most first-timers start non-medical.
Form the entity and get licensed. Register an LLC, then apply for your state home-care license. This step has the most paperwork and the longest wait — start it early.
Insure and bond. General liability, professional liability, workers' comp, a fidelity bond, and non-owned auto if caregivers drive clients. This protects you and is often required to get referrals.
Hire and screen caregivers. Background checks, references, and basic training. Caregiver quality and retention is the whole business — families fire agencies over bad caregivers.
Build referral sources and get found. Discharge planners, social workers, and "home care near me" searches are where clients come from.
Licensing and legal, insurance and bonding, scheduling software, a website, and a payroll cushion to cover caregivers before client invoices clear. The cushion is the part people underestimate.
An office, a scheduler or admin hire, marketing budget, and a larger payroll reserve so you can take on several clients at once without cash-flow stress.
A brand, playbook, and training in exchange for a franchise fee plus ongoing royalties. You move faster but give up margin and control. Worth it only if you value the system over the savings.
On the revenue side, agencies commonly bill families $28–$40 per caregiver hour and pay caregivers $15–$22. The spread is real but thin once you cover insurance, scheduling, and turnover.
We'd rather you spend your startup cash where it counts. Hold off on hiring a marketing agency if:
Come to us once you're licensed, staffed, and ready to grow beyond word of mouth. That's when a real site and local SEO start paying for themselves.
When you're ready to grow, families and referral partners check you out online first. A site that shows your services, service area, license, and real reviews — and that ranks for "home care near me" — turns that research into calls. Our $249/mo plan covers the site plus AI lead capture; the $597/mo plan adds the SEO content engine and attribution. Month-to-month, and you own everything.
See home care website design, home care marketing, why local SEO matters, or browse more start-a-business guides.
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Most independent non-medical agencies start for $50k–$150k once licensing, insurance, bonding, systems, and a payroll cushion are covered. Franchises run $80k–$200k+.
Most states require a home-care license for non-medical care and a separate, harder license for skilled medical care. Confirm with your state's health or aging department first.
Referrals from discharge planners, social workers, and assisted-living staff, plus "home care near me" searches reaching a clear website and Google Business Profile.
Send your agency name and city — we'll confirm your market is open and build a working demo within 48 hours. Free, no card, no commitment.
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