Shopping
Many people either cannot go shopping or would prefer not to, this includes the elderly and the strongly agoraphobic. Fortunately for the latter group many supermarkets now run free delivery services where you can order on the internet, which takes care of day to day necessities but criticism of this approach includes the fact that not every product makes it to the website, reducing choice and of course supermarkets only stock a limited range of products in the first place.
There is still scope for a personal shopper to go out and get hardware, DIY materials, and even to source things like furniture and curtain catalogues to help the housebound to make choices about their living environments. You could also include additional services such as posting mail and placing bets for the less internet-savvy.
You will need to get the word out about your service and also to find a way of setting your fees that is fair to both you and your customers. This does not mean that you should undercharge for your time.
The key is to run multiple jobs simultaneously, i.e. if you need to go to the supermarket or the book makers then only do so once or twice a day. Let your customers know when you are going and carry a cell phone so that they can reach you even when you get to the supermarket. If you can shop for 10 people at a time you only need to charge them about $5 per trip.
Finding customers who live close together and need your services is fairly straight forward. Try the following: -
Retirement Homes
Social Services
Leafleting
Newspaper Advertising
Approach retirement homes and villages, explain your business and ask if it is OK to either address the residents if regular meetings are held, or to leaflet them explaining your business and the kind of services that can be offered in nice BIG print so that it is easy to read. Don’t expect a flood of orders on the first day, as with all communities there will be early adopters, followers and the cynical.
Approach social services and explain what you are looking to do. Their resources are stretched and they should immediately see the value of what you are trying to do. Once they understand the scope of people that you want to help they will probably not want to give you a list of prospects but may well pass on your details to customers who may be interested. Try to keep them to a geography that you can manage easily (say 6-10 blocks from your home) and explain that this is a pilot and you will expand if it is successful.
One of the best ways to minimise the geography of your customers is to leaflet. Typically some of your leaflets will be handed to people outside of the area where you drop them, most of them will be discarded unread but some of them will be devoured by the under-stimulated housebound. Again keep print large enough for people with sight problems to read and don’t expect too many phone calls the first day after you drop them.
Advertising in the newspaper should probably wait for when you have additional capacity i.e. you are prepared to go full time, or you have taken on some additional help. Stay with local city papers to minimise your audience. Remember that your audience is house bound so you want to be in the free papers that get delivered as this is something your audience will definitely read.
Your stock is whatever people want to buy and you can buy it at retail and simply charge a delivery fee.
There are additional services that you can supply such as providing customers with furniture and curtain catalogues, or even catalogues from electrical stores. The prices will be cheaper than standard home delivery type catalogues and most retailers will deliver these big ticket items.
You will need to get the catalogues which will take some leg work, but visiting a few stores should soon give you a good starter bundle and you can get a phone number and ask them to deliver more when you are ready. You should also negotiate a commission for any sales made through you as these are customers that would not normally be accessible.
Ask your customers to call you when they are ready to make an order and explain that you may be able to get them a discount, or simply cover any phone numbers in the catalogue with a sticker that has your number on it. This way you can ensure that most (if not all) orders come through you and earn your commission for you.
It is a mistake to think that the housebound have no money. Providing you are prepared to provide a service that they need they will be happy to pay a sensible fee.
Whilst many housebound people are well looked after by their friends and family there are still some things where they would like to have some independence.
Providing you don’t rip any one off, keep your fees sensible this should be a great business for you and your customers and you will also be appreciated by their families.