Personal Companion (debt, references, job, companies)
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I'm $50,000.00 in debt and I'm trying to find ways to pay this debt in the next 2 years. I have a full time job that is very demanding as a Financial Supervisor, so I can't take another job in the evenings with regular hours, but I was thinking if a Senior Personal Companion would work, this is some of the things I have in mind:
- Dry Cleaning/Laundry Pick-Up & Delivery
- Grocery Shopping (if requested, will put away and organize for you as well)
- Pharmacy Pick-Up & Delivery
- Personal Shopping (cards, gifts< home)
- Mail & Package Delivery
- Birthday & Anniversary Reminders
My time is limited, so it would have to be in the evenings and weekends, I don't work Saturday or Sunday. Would you be kind enough to let me know your thoughts on this crazy idea I have.
Not being available during the day time severely limits your usefulness. Social services, family, friends, neighbors, etc. already provide a lot of those services, and they generally do it for free. You'd make a lot more money delivering pizzas on the weekends.
I guess i set up my heart on trying to do this. I created a rough draft let me know what you think. I have to delete the post, someone told me it was advertisement, I didn't mean to do that.
Last edited by Elizabeth61; 12-28-2015 at 12:39 PM..
I don't see how it is an advertisement if you haven't provided any contact info. It is nothing more than throwing out an idea and looking for feedback. I wouldn't delete anything. If the Mod wants it gone, it will disappear on its own.
I saw your same post in the Economics thread. Based on that additional information, I think that there is a way to go about this that might work better for you.
The problem with what you're trying to do is that home health aides typically make close to minimum wage. They can do most of what you've listed, plus hygiene and personal care. What you want to do is more along the lines of concierge service. If this is what you want to do, then package it appropriately. Not sure if you're in a big enough city to support these services, but it's an idea. Most elderly people that need a companion need it because of dementia, Alzheimer's, ALS, or other major disability. These people will not only need a higher level of care than you listed, but also more consistent and probably more time consuming than you have to give.
But based on your other thread, you have experience with caring for a parent with Alzheimer's, a parent after a surgery, and a spouse with cancer. Why not use the knowledge you gained to establish resources for other caregivers in your area? For a fee, of course. But I know that I have friends currently caring for sick parents and they often struggle with finding resources. If you could do all the leg work, you could definitely charge for the information. You could gather information about doctors, hospice care, continuing care homes, respite care, adult daycare, private and insurance pay nurses and aides, non-nurse caregivers, etc. You would need to gather lots of information on each area listed, including pricing, references, reviews, referrals, insurance and Medicaid/medicare acceptance, etc. But you seem to have a good starting point based on what you've been through, and I think that there is definitely a local market for this information.
''Elder Care Managers'' do a lot of this as well as senior social services and Areas on Aging.
What you describe is basically a ''personal assistant'' who would more likely be affordable by wealthier clients.
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