Care and Support Tools - what do I need?

Every paid carer needs some care and support tools.  These tools are items that will make your life as a paid carer a lot easier.  This article outlines just a few.

Business plan

All businesses need a business plan; that doesn’t mean it needs to be a 50-page plan full of business speak, charts and jargon, but it does need to cover the basics:

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• Who you are
• What the legal status of the organisation is (Sole Trader, Limited Company)
• What your business does
• What types of service you aim to offer and what you intend to charge for these services
• Who your clients will be
• How you will get clients
• Who you will work with (eg accountants, staff)
• How you will achieve what you say you will achieve
• What your basic financial forecast is

You should think about revising your business plan eveyr other year. .Paid carers that are employed by the service user, will not need a business plan. However, unless you plan to only have one client as employer, then it’s probably sensible to do an outline of how you expect to get and manage work.

Policies and procedures

Having the proper policies and procedures will help with your role.  More importantly it will be essential if you want to get clients who receive funding from the Local Authority. It is also a requirement for anyone who wishes to be YtB Accredited.Good policies and procedures mean that both you and the service user will know how you will expect to work together and ensure there’s no confusion. Having the proper forms in place also means that you’re more likely to record things accurately, thereby reducing your liability through proper documentation. YtB can provide you with the tools to meet these requirements (go to the shop). If you are a subscriber user more detail can be found by looking at our policies and procedures [LINK] page.

Getting clients

Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that clients will just materialise at your door, asking for you to come and be their paid carer.  If you’e working for a provider or agency they find clients for you.  As a Paid Carers this becomes you responsibility.Marketing your services does not have to cost the earth, it can cost next to nothing.  Simple things like having a profile on the YtB Carers register, or having a leaflet for your clients to pass to their friends, or put in local shops.  For more information look out for our articles getting clients.