How to Become an Elder Companion
April 20th, 2012Many senior citizens require help throughout their everyday life but do not have anyone to help them. Their own children may be living hundreds or perhaps even thousands of miles away. They may not want, or might not be able to afford, to reside in an elderly care facility. So you could make income by giving assistance and companionship to such seniors.
You may perform a variety of work:
-Doing errands (shopping for groceries, driving to appointments, etc.)
-Cleaning
-Cooking or providing dinners
-Playing cards or other games
-Going out to parks and other enjoyable outings
-Always keeping the companions’ relatives knowledgeable of their well-being and health
-All various unique necessities your companions require assistance with
You’ll be serving senior citizens and guaranteeing they’ve got access to good quality meals, bringing them to their physician visits, and bettering their existence with companionship. It really is a respectable purpose in life and you will know that you’re definitely making a positive change in another person’s everyday living.
The wages are typically pretty low. As indicated by PayScale.com, median hourly earnings are roughly $7-10.
You won’t require any sort of particular training for this job. You will need a big heart, willingness to accomplish a number of different functions, and patience.
A reliable automobile is all you require for this occupation, as you will be required to go to your companions and run errands on their behalf. You may also desire to have a few games, playing cards, magazines, movies, as well as other enjoyable stuff to do together with your clients.
You could manage this enterprise from your home. Much of the time you will certainly be traveling to go to your companions or to run errands for them.
Beginning expenditures would include your advertisement and promotional costs. You will most likely need to produce fliers, make a business web site, and place advertisements in the telephone book or neighborhood newspapers. If you happen to create a fairly simple web page, you could launch this enterprise for less than one thousand dollars.
Make sure you stay away from giving any medical treatment or anything else that will require special instruction or certifications. If you did, and your companion endured health problems as a consequence, you could be easily charged. Possibly even matters as easy as forgetting to tell your companions to take their pills may cause problems. In other words, if you fail to remember to remind them and they are affected as a result, you could be held at fault. I’m not an attorney, so I recommend looking at this issue with a legal professional prior to going into this line of work. You might want to have your customers agree to some sort of release form in advance of working for them.
Put fliers in local community facilities, elderly facilities, pharmacies, and health-related equipment shops. Place advertisements in church newsletters, local newspapers, along with the phone book. Make a basic web page that explains the services you provide and include references or testimonials from satisfied customers. Hold business cards handy. Do whatever you can to disperse your message. If you are not getting any clientele, you could possibly get a job for a care-giving business for some time to gain experience. When you have some experience and pleased customers then you can break off by yourself and be self-employed.
Your customers are going to be seniors that require support or essential attention. Do not confine your promoting to older individuals, though. Anybody may see your posting and think about a person they know who needs your services.
Ask for an hourly fee for your service. If some of your clients reside a long way away, you could potentially bargain for a good mileage fee for your traveling. As stated previously, the national common earnings for this work is about $7-10 per hour. You might be able to demand more if you’re experienced or offer an exceptional amount of service.
Nick Walton is a freelancer who enjoys self-employment. If you are interested in finding more self-employment ideas, please check out Walton’s web site.