As a property manager my only duties were to collect rent, maintain the property, and control each property’s budget. Although, those were my only job responsibilities, I still received request from my senior residents, to do other services such as helping pay their bills, schedule appointments, etc. One day I was thinking to myself, if only I could charge for all of the extra services I do to help out my senior residents, I would make a killing. It was then that I realized that there is a great need for senior concierge services.
Seniors need a concierge service in order to complete the tasks that they are unable to do. Most seniors are on their own. Either their families have abandoned them or their families are too busy to help them with the things that they need to get done.
Making money with a senior concierge business is easy as pie. It requires little overhead cost and can be operated from the comfort of your home. The only supplies you need to run a successful, money making concierge service are a cell phone, a reliable vehicle, and a computer to generate invoices and client list. Most people already have these items. If you do have these items, then lucky you. You can start today!
Identify Target Market
To make money with your senior concierge service you must identify your target market. The target market for your business are baby boomers. Baby boomers are people born between 1946 and 1964. Finding your target market should be fairly easy due to various senior communities. You can find potential customers in senior apartment complexes, adult daycares, and retirement communities.
Services
As for services, the good thing about having your own concierge business is that you decide which services you want to provide. There are a bunch of services that seniors need. Most seniors suffer from sicknesses and disabilities which makes it hard for them to do even the simplest of task.
I remember when I worked as a property manager I would be asked by residents to do smallest of task like making doctor’s appointments and writing out checks for their bills. Those are two examples of small services that you can do and make money from. Some seniors are wheel chair bound and need various errands run for them such as grocery shopping, picking up medication, or dry cleaning. These are services that you can do and charge by the hour, plus gas mileage.
Marketing
Marketing for a senior concierge service is a little different than typical marketing. Typical marketing involves building a website, promoting services on social media sites and maybe even email marketing. For obvious reasons, these marketing techniques may not work. Seniors are not that technologically savvy.
A better marketing strategy for your service would be to provide printed materials to potential clients. Also, seniors respond well to phone calls and face to face marketing of services. Also, you want to market your services to their caregivers. Some seniors do not make decisions on their own due to forgetfulness and illnesses such as dementia. Since most people work full time jobs, taking care of elderly family members can be a burden. Therefore, those family members will be more inclined to enlist your services.
Pricing
Now we get to the most important part of setting up your senior concierge service… PRICING! In order to make money you have to have competitive pricing. For your concierge services you can charge be $20 to $30 per hour. Also, you can charge for the mileage that you use between the person’s home and the destination when you go on errands for them. It may seem like a lot but in actuality the prices listed above are very reasonable.
Bio:
Romona Bradham is the owner of Monasez.com. She is a blogger and fiction writer whose work has been featured on various sites, including the examiner.com. Romona is passionate about helping young adults achieve finance, career, and life goals. You can reach Romona at Twitter, Google +, and info@monasez.com.
This post was featured on the Monasez, Financial Carnival for Young Adults, Festival of Frugality, Yakezie Carnival, thank you!
Financial Independence says
Congratulations for identifying a niche and filling a need. Out of interest, have you found that you are now less willing to help out with small tasks that only take a few minutes because you can’t exactly charge someone for opening a single jar or writing an address on a single envelope?
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Romona @Monasez says
Small task such as the ones you mentioned, I don’t mind taking time out of my day to do. Anyone who has ever worked with seniors before, knows that one simple task such as opening a letter can turn into an hour task. This is because sometimes their lonely or bored and need someone to talk to. So they look for any reason to have some kind of conversation or interaction during the day. The hard thing is that when your a property manager and you’re managing hundreds of units, there’s no time in the day to sit with someone and have a conversation. So I don’t mind doing the task, it’s getting them out my office that’s the hard part. lol
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Simon @ Modest Money says
First to answer Fin Independence comment, I think you’d be more willing to do those simple tasks for the seniors since they might pan out to business in future. Consider it part of your marketing 🙂
Secondly, I actually think its a good idea, well, it might take some time figuring out all the viable services you can offer but with time you can make something out of it.
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Financial Independence says
thats a good point I hadn’t considered Simon. I was thinking more along the lines of “if I do this for free, everyone will want it free” but you are right that its a good opportunity to show the standard of your service and potentially pick up a new client.
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Romona @Monasez says
Your right Simon. It will take sometime to figure out services offered and it’s best to have these services printed out for seniors to refer to because seniors will ask you to do almost anything just to keep your company. So, it’s best to know your services and constantly remind them of what you are there to do. To be honest it’s hard to say “NO” to a senior because everyone love seniors. Saying No to something can sometimes feel like you’ve just said no to your grandma or grandpa.
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Free Money Minute says
This idea is only going to get better as our aging baby boomers get older and older. There are a lot of opportunities in this space.
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Romona @Monasez says
Your right! Plus with families being so busy with work or kids, they never have time to check on their senior family members. As a property manager, I’ve seen people move their parents into a senior apartment and never look back. So, someone has to help them out.
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DC @ Young Adult Money says
This is such a great idea! I can honestly say, besides computer training, I never thought of a business that caters to seniors but this one could really have potential.
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Romona @Monasez says
Computer training is also a great idea for seniors. I have been asked twice before by two elderly residents to help set up Facebook pages. In my apartment buildings we have computer labs but they hardly ever get used because they don’t know how to use them. There is a need for senior services and the best part of it is marketing is finding your target market is easy because they’re in retirement and senior communities just waiting for your business.
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Matt Becker says
I think this is a great idea for a business. From experience I know that elderly people often need help with many day-to-day tasks, and doing so in a non-predatory way would be very helpful. With that said, I also think you’re taking on a decent amount of potential liability here, especially when you get into things like paying bills and scheduling doctor’s appointments. You would absolutely need to make sure that you had your liability covered with strong insurance and possibly even by the form of your business.
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Romona @Monasez says
I agree with your point Matt. That’s why it’s important to be very transparent and to keep a detailed log on all activities. Seniors are very forgetful and sometimes they don’t understand which is a challenge when trying to do business with them. So you’re exactly right. There are potential liabilities.
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Missy Homemaker says
That’s also a good reason to meet their family if the family is at all in the picture. You would have to have a written contract laying out exactly what your responsibilities to the client were, and what the client’s family expected of you.
Without this, you could find yourself in a position of having to explain yourself to an irate adult child of the client as to why you received a check for $200 for running errands for example.
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Average Joe says
I see lots of pitfalls for a business of this type. You’ll have to be careful to do everything VERY well, because (at least in our community) someone who makes mistakes with senior’s money is instantly an outcast.
That said, you’re correct: there is a monster market for this type of business, and it’s still growing. I have another marketing idea: give speeches to local groups about your service. It’s so novel that I’m sure groups that have plenty of seniors would love to have you speak about how to pay different bills effectively or negotiate payments, etc.
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Romona Bradham says
That’s a great idea. I find that seniors enjoy presentations. I remember I had a presentation on writing a will and about the legal aspect of it, once in the community room of my senior apartment complex and there was a packed house. And there are a lot of property managers of senior facilities that
schedule activities for seniors. So that’s a wonderful idea.
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Josh @ CNAFinance.com says
Hmmm…that’s an awesome post! I never thought of elderly concierge services as a way to make money but, $20 to $30 per hour isn’t too shabby! Thanks for the great post!
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Romona Bradham says
Thanks Josh! Glad you enjoyed it.
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Kim@Eyesonthedollar says
I think the need for senior services will continue to grow. If you develop a good reputation and do it the right way, the word of mouth potential is huge. In a world where everyone is rushing and leaving you behind if you don’t know the technology, you could really do some good by providing a service to make life easier for seniors.
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Romona Bradham says
I think majority of the marketing for any senior service business would be through word of mouth because seniors really depend on each other especially in senior communities. So provide a great service to one and then by bingo night everyone will know about your services.
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Stefanie says
Sounds like a form of “taskrabbit”. The only thing I would be worried about is getting pulled into things that start resembling hospice care. (Dealing with restroom mishaps or medical problems).
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Romona @Monasez says
Those kinds of things you wouldn’t get involved in. Most seniors have a home health aid that helps out those kind of issues.
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Andrew@LivingRichCheaply says
This is a really interesting idea. I help seniors…my parents, parents-in-law and relatives! It usually has to do with the internet and they don’t know how to use the computer. My mom travels to Boston and the bus she takes mainly uses online reservations so I print them out. My uncle is part of an organization that sends out e-newsletters but he doesn’t have a computer. And they both have digital cameras but don’t know how to get the pictures out. I’m sure there are plenty of seniors out there who have no one to help them with these tasks.
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Romona @Monasez says
Hi Andrew! I too help my family members as well. I have an uncle who I go grocery shopping for and I help him play his lottery numbers. Thanks for your comment.
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Lisa E. @ Lisa Vs. The Loans says
Interesting business concept! I have heard of people driving seniors around, but haven’t thought of paying their bills, or scheduling appointments for them.
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Romona @Monasez says
You’d be surprised the things that you can turn into a business. lol
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James Molet (SavvyJames) says
A novel idea for generating more income. As Boomers – an incredibly large demographic generation – age, this type of service takes on more significance and offers a greater chance for finding success.
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Romona @Monasez says
Baby boomers are an extremely large part of the demographic. Where I live there are more and more senior housing complexes popping up do to the large demand for senior housing. They’re everywhere!
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James Molet (SavvyJames) says
You could be at the very tip of a huge iceberg. It will be interesting to see how various services for Boomers will evolve.
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Budget and the Beach says
With the general population aging I can see where this would be something that people could easily do on the side.
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E.M. says
What a great idea! My grandma is pretty independent, especially for her age, but she always calls me if she needs help with the computer. She lives in a senior community and I could see this spreading by word of mouth. My grandma is a pretty established member and has a lot of friends here. Too bad I am probably moving within a year…but if I manage to move near my parents, who are also in a 55+ community, the potential could arise again.
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Squirrelers says
While I feel sorry for the folks in the position of needing those services (getting old can suck), I think this seems like a potentially lucrative business idea. People simply don’t have the energy and capability to do all the same things in old age that they did when younger. When you’re dealing with seniors with good retirement situations, it’s a case of deep pockets along with the need for the services.
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Romona Bradham says
Seniors have a lot of money.They have thousands in pensions, annuities, ira accounts, savings etc. I know because in order to move in seniors to hud properties you are required to verify income and assets. Trust me ive seen tens of thousands of dollars in some of my residents accounts.
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Michael | The Student Loan Sherpa says
I love this idea!! It is brilliant.
I do have one idea to add. Many attorneys specialize in an area of law called elder care. I bet if you reached out to local attorneys in this area of the law, they might have many potential clients for you.
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Romona Bradham says
Great idea! A lawyer that specializes in elder care can also advise on how to protect from different liabilities involved with working with elders. Thanks for the comment.
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moneystepper says
Great idea. It will also become more relevant with the aging population over the coming decades. Very interesting.
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J.F. says
For someone who doesn’t have your history in property management, how would you recommend they start a similar business? Would you recommend starting it as a community service project, then expand it into a for-profit opportunity? Without your history as a property manager, where do you think you would start, knowing what you know now about the need of these seniors?
assisted care facility says
Actually no matter if someone doesn’t know after that its up
to other users that they will help, so here it happens.
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Thewillows says
Hey!!
It is really amazing way to do business by serving the seniors.Nowadays there is high demand of senior apartments and the caretaker.So one who is is very much interested in caring of seniors can easily do this.Thank you for the great information.
Michelle says
I have been considering this li e of work myself. I am having a difficult time on how to get started. Also, does medicare or private insurance pay for any of these services?
Henry says
Hii
Great post!
It is true that seniors need a concierge service in order to complete the tasks that they are unable to do. So, in order to complete their tasks, senior concierge services are beneficial for them.Nowadays most of the seniors prefer senior community and retirement homes in early age.
Thanks, for sharing this valuable information with us.
Sujan Pariyar says
Thanks for sharing senior concierge service post. Really useful.
professional organiser Brisbane says
Someone managing your life may sound invasive but it really isn’t. It just keeps things on perspective.
Nutri Lounge says
Wow! That is a lot to think about…
Making money with a senior concierge service is spot on…love it! These are good points you share here.
Great post!
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Pk says
This is terrific information on here. I’m a young retired marketer in the medical field for the last 20 plus years and recently bought a home on the lake. With about 10 gated communities that I feel desperately need help my concern is how to not charge by the hour but monthly membership and still not work myself to death getting caught up in a clients home in every little detail because trust me I don’t know how to say no lol