In The Business of Being Mother’s Helper

To learn more about senior care franchise ownership visit our franchise website.

You don’t have to be good at math to add up the numbers and see that it’s primarily Moms who need long-term care and also Moms who do much of the caregiving required. According to a 2015 survey by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, 6 in 10 caregivers are female and 57% are married. An earlier similar study noted that “the typical family caregiver is a 49-year old woman caring for her widowed 69-year old mother who does not live with her.” Approximately 30% of these women have children or grandchildren living with them. 

From a business perspective, this means that people in the senior care franchise industry are helping out Moms everywhere!

The Big Picture

While traditionally it was mothers who stayed home to care for family, nowadays men and women tend to share such responsibilities. However, the Baby Boomer population has created a bubble that is now entering their retirement years. Baby Boomers include people born between 1946 and 1964. It is estimated that by 2030 over 54% of the Baby Boomer population will be women. 

In 2014, the youngest Baby Boomers turned 50; starting in 2011, an estimated 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 65 every day for the next 19 years. By 2030, 18% of the U.S. population will be at least 65 years of age. Mortality rates make it a challenge to project precise numbers of Americans over age 65 going too far in the future, but there is and will be a significant proportion of people—predominantly women—who will need assistance as they age.

Next?

For many women who step up to provide family caregiving to their mother—or father or aunt or other loved one—they discover a true passion in life and are able to transfer this and their new skills into a career.

An AARP report released in 2016 found that 117 million Americans are expected to need some assistance by 2020 and forecasted that 45 million people will step up as unpaid family caregivers. Again, it doesn’t take advanced math to see the gap. Part of what will fill that gap is paid caregivers and many people—including women—are starting home care businesses to meet that demand for in home care. AARP estimated a$72 million billion caregiving market opportunity.

Mother’s Day is simply a convenient time to recognize the Moms in our lives, but these needs and the opportunities they present exist year round. Whether they are learning as they go while helping out a loved one or contemplating their own future with a desire to live independently as long as possible, women—daughters and mothers—have an important role in home care. 

Learn more about being in the business of caring for seniors. Visit our franchise ownership website.