Newsletter
Home businesses serving seniors that boom! - June 2016
Did you know that Lambton County has one of the higher percentages of elders by population in Ontario? While we have all demographic groups represented here, elders are our dominant segment. That makes considering an elder serving business quite prudent and perhaps even quite profitable! Like all markets to be served, anyone wishing to serve elders or seniors has to work hard to provide a balance of competitive features, value and good service but a huge market exists locally for anyone willing to develop an elder specific business. Remember the definition of elders are those Canadians 55 years and older and seniors are categorically described as those aged 65 years and older.
To help lift our thinking a bit on what businesses are most in demand by this group, here are the survey results of the top 15, home-based business opportunities to serve seniors in Canada. Priority ranking of these would be based on the needs of each specific community. Space concerns limit the descriptions of each opportunity.
- Medical Claims Assistance Professional – one who examines/checks medical bills paid to ensure correct charges. Especially needed when insurance/government benefits abound.
- Senior Care Consultant – medical professionals (nurses/social workers/PSW’s) who expand services privately to manage social services and optimize an elder’s quality of life at home.
- Nutrition Consultant – with age, an elder’s nutrition has to be closely managed to ensure adequate compensation to fit an elder’s medications, stamina needs and activity goals.
- In Home Non-Medical Personal Services – shopping, errands, transportation to appointments/activities. An aid to non-resident children wishing to help their parent/s.
- Daily Money Managers – think about it, all of us have many bills and frequent mail. Coordinating bills, appointments and managing mail to avoid errors is helpful.
- Seamstress-Tailor – due to reduced visual or physical acuity and personal weight changes, if you can sew or alter clothing and repair/replace zippers and buttons, elders will need you!
- Handy Person – you don’t have to be an elder to need one of these but elders very much do! Painting, wallpapering, adding grab bars and altering steps, even pure beautification needs.
- Financial Planner – as we grow older, estate planning and choosing investments suitable to an elder’s situation to live comfortably into a potentially long retirement is needed.
- Home Business Consultant – people who counsel 50-70 year olds on which entrepreneurial home-based business they may wish to explore as they approach their own retirement.
- Home Delivery Services – from food to medications, dry cleaning, veterinarians, errands etc.
- Exercise Consultants – personalized training sensitive to the consequences of aging and/or an elder’s medical conditions.
- Computer Consulting – previous resistant elders recognizing a need to embrace technology.
- Antiques Appraisals – for insurance purposes and personal interests, even for proper estate evaluation purposes.
- Lawn and Garden Care –this is self explanatory but is needed sometimes due to the declining health of an elder but also since they desire to use their time differently!
- Transcription or Video Services – record/transcribe/integrate someone’s legacy/memoirs.
The elder market opportunity is quite attractive locally as it is in many parts of Canada, calling for interested entrepreneurs and businesspersons to step up to the needs and wants of this large group of persons. Oprah Winfrey was once quoted as saying “When I look into the future, it’s so bright it burns my eyes.” Well, while that may not be the best way to describe the elder market’s potential for a wide array of promising business ventures, I think that all of us get the picture!
