How to Open a Business

How to Start an Independent Living Services Business

How hard is it to start an independent living services business? Read this article to learn what you need to start and succeed in this business.

Want information on how to start an independent living services business? We walk you through the most important things you need to know.

Business Plan Mechanics for Independent Living Services Businesses

Haven't created a business plan for your independent living services business yet? You could be in big trouble.

In many cases, the best approach is to keep your business plan simple. Length and polish aren't as important as consistency, accuracy and thoroughness.

If your time is limiting, outline the essentials of your independent living services company's business plan now and make a commitment to come back to it later.

Check Out the Competition

Long before you open an independent living services business within your community, it's a smart move to find out how you will fit in the competitive landscape. We've provided the link below to help you find competitors nearby. After following the link, enter your city, state and zip code to get a list of independent living services businesses in your area.

Is the local market large enough to support another independent living services business? If not, you had better be sure that you are doing things much better than the competition.

Talk to People Who Are Already in the Business

As part of your due diligence on opening an independent living services business, be sure to talk to somebody who is already in the business. If you think owners of nearby independent living services businesses will give you advice, think again. Why would they want to educate a future competitor?

Fortunately, somebody who runs an independent living services business outside of your community may be more than happy to give you a few tips, provided that you won't be directly competing with them. Indeed, many experienced entrepreneurs enjoy offering advice to startup entrepreneurs. In my experience, you may have to call ten business owners in order to find one who is willing to share his wisdom with you.

Where can you find an independent living services business owner outside of your area who is willing to talk?

It's not that hard. Just use the handy link below and enter in a random city/state or zipcode.

Why You Should Buy (Instead of Start) an Independent Living Services Business

We know . . . From the time you were a kid you dreamed about starting a business from scratch and growing it to a position of market dominance.

But from a business and financial perspective, it may make more sense to leverage an existing independent living services business as your vehicle for world domination.

Existing independent living services businesses are proven operations with dependable revenue streams. And that's not to mention the fact that a purchase let's you avoid the trial-and-error mistakes that are common in startups.

Don't Rule Out Franchising

The odds of making a success of your new business go up significantly if you become a franchisee rather than going it alone.

As part of your process in starting an independent living services business, you may want to assess whether buying a franchise could make your life much easier.

The link below gives you access to our franchise directory so you can see if there's a franchise opportunity for you. You might even find something that points you in a completely different direction.

Other Useful Articles for Startup Entrepreneurs

These additional resources regarding getting started as an entrepreneur may be of interest to you.

How to Get a DUNS Number

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary