Help with Baby & Child Health & Wellness Based Business Idea

tinkabell2002uk

Afternoon all!

I am in the process of setting up a business that focuses on baby / toddler / young children's health and well being. Initially the focus will primarily be baby massage and baby yoga in the Essex and East London areas and I was wondering if anyone could help with the following:

- Catchy business name ideas - I am finding this quite difficult as I want it to be quite obvious as to what the business entails at a glance, but at the same time, I don't want it to be limited to look like baby massage and yoga are the only services we provide as we will be expanding in the future.

- Advice on premises - Obviously, as a new business one of my main goals is going to be to keep costs down as far as possible and I estimate that this is going to be my biggest cost by far. I was wondering if anyone may have any ideas on how to keep this overhead as low as possible. Are there any organisations that offer cheap or even free space to health focused businesses?

Any other advice or ideas would be greatly welcomed x

Browntoa

The words "CRB checked" goes a long way when working with young children

Particularly important if you plan to employ other people

Wizzbang

You absolutely need a CRB! You will also need qualifications to be credible. Are you a qualified yoga teacher? Or Masseuse?

Initially, you might want to do some work for free in exchange for that person writing a review you can post on your website, or hand out to clients. You will need references from somewhere- previous employer most likely, to show your character.

I would rent rooms rather than purchase a building. There are plenty of companies that do this now, but you need to make sure the room is suitable for your needs. Particularly important these days is accessibility for all- so make sure it's ground floor, or has a lift, level access, wide doorways etc. Also church halls, community centres, school halls are an option. But where would you store your stuff? Would have you have any large pieces of equipment? You will reach more people if you are the one that is mobile and can travel.

As far as free goes- you are not a health professional and you are not offering anything that would be considered 'necessary' in terms of healthcare, so no- you're not going to get anything for free. Yours is a complementary service, that those rich enough may choose to buy into. Yoga and massage are not really healthcare, they are a leisure or well-being activity. Which brings me onto this- can you sign up with any professional bodies- e.g. wheel of yoga? For that you would need to be qualified, but it will give you extra recognition. You also need to look into what words you can and cannot use to market your business. For example, certain words in healthcare are protected by the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) you will find yourself in court if you market yourself wrongly.

Which is why you also need full indemnity and public liability insurance!

Any further questions please ask, I am a healthcare professional running a private practice.

tinkabell2002uk

Thank you all for your comments and responses

I am a qualified baby massage and yoga instructor and the course that I have undertaken is accredited by The Royal College of Midwives. My background is within health and social care so I am fully CRB checked and insured a standard for my role.

In terms of the possibility of using space for free, the reason I thought of this is due to the fact that the NHS actually provide baby massage courses to parents for free, mainly as it has been proven to relieve symptoms of newborn colic and aid post-natal depression. The only problem for people wanting to use the NHS is that, on average, in most areas there is a 3 - 4 month waiting list and colic in babies doesn't usually last over 3 months so by the time the parents are at the top of the waiting list, the need that would have originally been registered with the NHS is no longer a factor and the NHS then view it a complementary therapy and will not fund, so this leaves parents in a bit of a catch 22. My aim is to use the business to cover the health and wellbeing factor, as well as catering to those that do want to use the course as a bonding exercise. With this in mind, attendees will have the option of booking onto a group session or have one of us visit them in their own home.

In terms of equipment, there is very little so its an easily transferable business which makes it ideal for a start up.

Thanks again guys for your comments, its always great to have another perspective on things and if you can think of anything else in terms of advice etc that may be helpful, that would be amazing

x

Bonzowaite

tinkabell2002uk wrote: »

Thank you all for your comments and responses



Thanks again guys for your comments, its always great to have another perspective on things and if you can think of anything else in terms of advice etc that may be helpful, that would be amazing

x

You should consider a smile website to promote your business locally.

Wizzbang

tinkabell2002uk wrote: »

Thank you all for your comments and responses

I am a qualified baby massage and yoga instructor and the course that I have undertaken is accredited by The Royal College of Midwives. My background is within health and social care so I am fully CRB checked and insured a standard for my role.

In terms of the possibility of using space for free, the reason I thought of this is due to the fact that the NHS actually provide baby massage courses to parents for free, mainly as it has been proven to relieve symptoms of newborn colic and aid post-natal depression. The only problem for people wanting to use the NHS is that, on average, in most areas there is a 3 - 4 month waiting list and colic in babies doesn't usually last over 3 months so by the time the parents are at the top of the waiting list, the need that would have originally been registered with the NHS is no longer a factor and the NHS then view it a complementary therapy and will not fund, so this leaves parents in a bit of a catch 22. My aim is to use the business to cover the health and wellbeing factor, as well as catering to those that do want to use the course as a bonding exercise. With this in mind, attendees will have the option of booking onto a group session or have one of us visit them in their own home.

In terms of equipment, there is very little so its an easily transferable business which makes it ideal for a start up.

Thanks again guys for your comments, its always great to have another perspective on things and if you can think of anything else in terms of advice etc that may be helpful, that would be amazing

x

Sounds like you've really identified a niche!

Definitely get yourself a website. It adds to your credibility and is a great way for new clients to get in touch. My advice is pay someone to do it for you, yes you could do it yourself, but unless you're a web designer, it's likely to be inferior and less professional.

There are sometimes opportunities to win contracts with statutory services, but this is currently quite uncommon in the NHS. But you are probably aware that recently the whole way things are arranged has reformed. GPs are now stakeholders, so IMHO your best bet will be to approach GP surgeries with a business plan (which obviously you will need to develop and make sure it's watertight, fees thought out etc). GPs could then direct patients straight to you- make sure you say that you will cut waiting lists!

In your business plan, you will need to draw on the evidence base for your interventions in order to make it credible for GPs. Healthcare professionals are now only supposed to carry out evidence-based interventions (which basically means you should prove that it works and benefits patients). The best quality evidence are RCTs, but these may not be available. You may have to pay to access journal articles, unless you are studying or they are accessible through a professional body.

They will also want you to evaluate and audit your service, so be prepared to feedback results regularly. You will need to find an outcome measure that shows this, ideally a standardised one that it valid and reliable.

Another route would be linking in with private midwives, but the above will also apply. HTH