How to Start a Nursing Staff Agency Business

Thursday, May 2, 2013

How to Start a Nursing Staff Agency Business

Registered nurses are hard to find. The American Nurses Association reports that by the year 2020, America could find itself short of health care industry demands by more than 1 million nurses. In 2010, the nursing shortage affects some cities and regions more than others, but an entrepreneur with a good agency representing reliable nurses willing to work where the demand exists, stands to make a lot of money. Before you can do that, you need to setup your business well and recruit those high-demand nurses -- particularly those with strong hospitals experience.

Step 1

Research the names of your competitors. A lot of nursing agencies are out there, and you will need a name that stands out and represents you well. The national players can easily be found online, but you may need to use local directories to learn about smaller, local agencies in any given market.

Step 2

Create your business entity. If you plan to create a corporation, limited liability company or limited liability partnership, you should apply to your state's secretary of state or division of corporations. If you plan to operate as a proprietorship or partnership, then register for a fictitious business name through your county clerk, registrar or recorder. No matter which business form you take, also apply to your city or county for a business license. All of these government agencies make information and applications available online.

Step 3

Check with your state department of labor and department of health to see if you need to register your agency. While most states don't require this of health care staffing firms, Illinois does.

Step 4

Secure financing sufficient to operate for at least six months without revenue. It takes time to recruit nurses build clients. But even more challenging is that hospitals and other health care businesses often take their time in paying invoices. In the meantime, you have to make payroll and support your business costs.

Step 5

Purchase professional, general liability and workers compensation insurances. Providing patient care always comes with risks. As an employer, you are liable for your nurses' actions and mistakes even though you do not directly supervise them. In addition, you have no oversight as to the safety and proper operation of your employees' work environment -- which places you at higher risk for workplace accidents and injuries.

Step 6

Establish a payroll system. You can purchase software and checks to do it yourself. Or, you can do what many startup businesses do and outsource to a payroll company, which can ensure you comply with all state and federal requirements.

Step 7

Purchase mailing lists and directories of nurses in your target areas as recruiting tools. You can get these from mailing list brokers, state licensing agencies, and nurses organizations and associations. Ideally you want lists and directories that include phone numbers and emails, but this is not always possible.

Step 8

Obtain a directories of hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies in your target areas. These can help you identify and contact potential clients. Trade organizations, including the American Hospital Association, sell such directories.

Step 9

Develop your web presence with a website and social media subscriptions. Your website needs to establish your branding and explain clearly to nurses and clients why they should work with you as opposed to your many competitors. Many agencies list their job openings on their sites so nurses can see the opportunities an agency has available.

Step 10

Create collateral marketing materials -- including business cards -- you can use with both clients and recruits. You will need these to follow up on conversations and also to use for face-to-face meetings.

Step 11

Subscribe to job boards and sites, particularly health care and nursing industry specific sites. You can use these to sort through job seeker resumes, and to advertise your company and openings you are trying to fill.

Step 12

Subscribe to a background and drug screening service. Before you can put nurses on the job, you need a thorough background check. The Joint Commission -- the main accrediting agency for hospitals and other health care providers -- requires facilities to comply with state laws on back-grounding. Most state departments of health require a seven-year history in a background report and a ten panel drug screen. Assume all your clients will want this.

Step 13

Interview your recruits carefully and check their license statuses and any disciplinary records. Nurses with bad histories and questionable skills can create enormous liabilities and problems for an agency, so curb your enthusiasm about a recruit enough to also do your homework. You can find sample clinical interview questions online or ask a nurse or nurse manager you know and trust to help you develop them.

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Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

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Thursday, May 2, 2013