Senior Home Safety Check
Most baby boomers can easily relate to the importance of this service and as a result, you could be a perfect candidate to start this business in your community. I’m talking about becoming a Senior Safety Advisor.
Here’s the details. As a senior you know that you need to remain as healthy and active as you can as you age. You have very likely known someone in your community or family, bridge club or golf foursome who has had a hip injury either force them out of their home or restrict their activities to the level where they are basically bed-ridden.
As a Senior Safety Advisor you can assist with providing the information required to make seniors safer in the homes. When you take a hard look at the stats it becomes very easy to see there is already a demand for – and will be for many years – such a service.
The number of seniors aged 65 and older is expected to double to a total of close to 70-million in the United States alone, in just the next twenty years. The majority of them, as surveyed by AARP, want to remain living independently in their own homes as long as possible.
While this is a great idea which in theory takes a huge strain off of the world of medicine and the cost of hospitalization or a nursing home stay, the reality of the situation is that one-third of all seniors over 65 will have a fall each year with a quarter of those ending up with a serious injury. Those could be such things as head trauma or a hip fracture which results in hospitalization.
The sad part is that roughly forty-percent of those injured do not go back home taking away their option of independent living well into their senior years. In addition, due to a number of factors, including emotional stress from losing independence, a quarter of those seniors who do not return to their homes die less than a year after their fall. Here’s where your Senior home safety service fits in.
The Home Safety Council states that many of these injuries are preventable with what they term as “simple safety practices.’ Have I got your interest yet? When you consider that these kinds of injuries result in 20,000 deaths, produce 21-million hospital visits, cost $400-billion in medical fees and services, are more that twice as likely to cause injuries than a car accident and are the fifth leading cause of death to seniors you can see why your service could be a good investment for either the seniors themselves or families of seniors wanting to ‘accident proof’ their Grandma’s home.
Don’t forget that balance, eyesight and flexibility put aging seniors at a high risk from injuries in their homes, but a home safety program that would be part educational and part practical where some modifications may be required in some parts of the home, could reduce the risk of injury allowing many seniors to stay in their homes longer.
Your business could provide home safety checks and offer recommendations on modifications such as non-slip mats in the bath tub and hand rails for easy access to the bath tub or toilet. non-skid mats under any area rugs, access ramps to exterior doors, to ‘easy remove’ screw-on jar lids for products in the kitchen. The possibilities are endless and you can find many more just by searching online for “home safety products for seniors.”
Your service could provide the first safety check of a home for free and if you get set up with home safety product suppliers, you could earn your income from commissions or sales of products. There are also referral fees from contractors who specialize in home safety remodels.
These safety upgrades are becoming so common, they National Association Of Home Builders even offers a course on the topic. You could also conduct a complete home safety inspection and include recommendations for a flat fee in the $50 to $150 range depending on the size of the home and time taken to conduct a thorough inspection.
As for marketing your Senior Safety Advisor business, you could advertising in local newspapers, online, use flyers and mailers as well as make contact with any other existing senior organization or service in your community to let them know you are in business.
See if the local senior center, medical clinics and senior living complex will let you put a poster on their wall , or leave flyers promoting your service. Whatever route you choose to take with this home-based business that would be a perfect job for a senior to help other seniors.
FREE EBOOK
Remember, you are assisting your peers manage their golden years as injury-free as possible. For many of your customers you will be responsible for extending their years of independence, which will enhance their lives. To discover more about this profitable service business, visit: wwwseniorservicebusiness.com , or download the free eBook: