My name is Matthew Speiser and I am a staff writer here at Fundera.
In my role, I write a lot about how to start new businesses.
A question I often get asked by prospective business owners is which industries are the
most profitable when it comes to launching a new business—and I frequently tell them
healthcare.
First of all, America is getting older.
By 2030, the Census Bureau projects one-fifth of Americans will be 65 or older.
That will be the first time in history the number of Americans over 65 will surpass the
number of Americans under 18.
This has caused a spike in healthcare related jobs.
In fact, these types of jobs are expected to grow by 18% from 2016 to 2026, which is
much faster than the average for all occupations.
There have also been a lot of new developments in the healthcare industry, be it through
medical and technological advancements, more interest in health and wellness, or services
like ZocDoc and Flatiron Health.
Because of these factors, global healthcare spending is expected to rise 5.4 percent annually
to just over $10 trillion by 2022.
That’s one percentage point faster than the national GDP is projected to grow during
that same time.
In other words, there’s a TON of opportunity here.
In this video, we’re going to provide you with 7 different healthcare business ideas
that will help you get a foothold in this booming industry.
All of these ideas represent a viable way to make a living, and some can even be performed
from the convenience of your own home.
Let’s get started.
Our first idea is to start a drug treatment facility or rehabilitation center.
Sadly, drug treatment and rehabilitation centers are sorely needed as America faces the scourge
of the opioid epidemic.
Every day, over 115 Americans die after overdosing on opiods, making this one of the worst national
health crises in American history.
Clearly there is a need for rehab and drug treatment facilities.
And if you’re motivated to help others, there are few occupations more personally
fulfilling.
Now, opening a drug treatment center won’t be easy.
You’ll have to make a significant initial investment in your facility and staff, and
these costs vary depending on the location of your facility, the type
of treatment you are offering, and other factors.
Next, you’ll need to obtain a license to provide treatment in your state.
Licensing heavily takes into account your facility’s policies and procedures, so make
sure you have an in depth plan on how you will provide treatment.
Finally, you’ll need to market your facility.
At first, you’ll probably do this through traditional advertising.
But if you provide quality care, your clients will end up referring others to your rehab
center.
Operating a drug treatment facility is complex, so let’s dial it back and provide you with
a much simpler healthcare business idea: Medical Transcription Services.
Medical transcriptionists listen to voice recordings from doctors and nurses and turn
them into written documents for patients’ records.
Medical transcriptionists can work in a hospital, a doctor’s office, or their own home.
Plus, there is no formal education needed beyond a high school diploma, although previous
writing or transcription experience doesn’t hurt.
While not required, it might help your job prospects to earn a credential as a Registered
Healthcare Documentation Specialist or Certified Healthcare Documentation Specialist.
To earn the Registered Healthcare Documentation Specialist certification, you’ll need to
take an exam that tests your basic knowledge of medical terminology, as well as your english
language abilities.
You’ll need two years of work experience to receive your Certified Healthcare Documentation
Specialist credential.
If you’re looking for a more tech-forward approach to healthcare, consider launching
your own healthcare app.
This is perhaps one of the most lucrative sectors of the healthcare industry.
A recent study found that the mobile healthcare app industry is expected to grow from $8 billion
in 2018 to over $111 billion by 2025.
This explosion in growth is being led by consumer healthcare apps like FitBit, which helps users
track their daily physical activity.
There’s also HeadSpace, a popular app for guided meditation.
If you have a background in technology and an original idea for how to help users take
care of themselves, this could be your perfect entrypoint into the healthcare industry.
Just make sure you know who your target audience is, and that the app is simple and intuitive.
Don’t have a revelatory idea for an app?
That’s okay.
There are a lot of opportunities to help doctors digitize their infrastructure.
For instance, you could design an app that provides a mobile view of a healthcare provider’s
patient portal.
This allows patients to access valuable healthcare information on the go.
Just make sure your app is safe and secure, especially because you will be dealing with
medical records.
As we grow old, we may need someone to take care of us.
That’s the idea behind our fourth healthcare business idea—senior home care services.
Every day in the United States, 10,000 seniors turn 65 years old, and many of them want to
stay in your own home rather than go to an assisted living facility.
This opens up plenty of opportunities for nurses, therapists, and personal aides.
In fact, this is one of the fastest growing industries in the country, with the number
of jobs expected to rise 41% by 2026.
In order to provide senior care services, you’ll need to obtain a license in your
state.
Similar to opening a rehab center, this typically requires you providing your state with a set
of policies and procedures.
Depending on your state, you may also need to go through a training program.
If you want to be able to charge higher rates for your services, you can obtain Medicare
and Medicaid certifications from your state.
Then it’s just a matter of advertising your services.
The National Home Care Association of America and the National Association of Home Care
and Hospice are good places to start.
Personal training is a $9 billion dollar industry with a low bar for entry and a lot of flexibility.
If you’re passionate about fitness this may be the perfect healthcare business idea
for you.
As a personal trainer, you’ll work one-on-one with a client to develop and implement a fitness
training regimen that helps them lose weight, get stronger, improve physical performance
or maintain their health.
What’s more, most personal trainers charge between $40 and $70 per hour.
To develop your market as a personal trainer, pick a speciality such as occupational therapy
or strength and conditioning.
This will help you develop your market.
Next you’ll want to get credentialed from the American Council on Exercise or National
Academy of Sports Medicine.
Then it’s all about perfecting your routine and building out your roster of clients.
Many personal trainers start by working at their local gym, as this is a great way to
meet prospective customers.
It would also be wise to market your services on social media.
Are you afraid of needles?
Then our sixth healthcare business idea, acupuncturist, probably isn’t for you.
Acupuncture utilizes tiny needles carefully placed at specific pressure points on the
patient's body to relieve a variety of physical and physiological issues.
And there is a growing demand for this form of alternative medicine: Acupuncturist jobs
are expected to increase at a rate of 9% over the next few years.
What’s more, an acupuncturist commands an annual salary north of $70,000 per year.
It is a virtual requirement in any state to graduate from an accredited school of acupuncture
with a Masters Degree in Acupuncture or Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in order to become an
acupuncturist.
And take note that these programs can last 3-4 years.
Once you have your degree, you can open up your own acupuncturist business in your own
home, or go to work in clinics, cancer treatment facilities, or in large medical systems like
the VA.
Our last idea is to open a medical marijuana dispensary.
New state laws legalizing the usage of marijuana have helped generate a rosy outlook on the
future of this industry.
In fact, the legal marijuana industry is expected to grow nearly 24% by 2025.
However, there are still a considerable amount of hurdles to overcome if you wish to operate
your own dispensary.
First of all, you need to understand all your state laws regarding recreational cannabis,
medicinal marijuana, and CBD products down to a tee.
Going in uninformed is a surefire way to get you into legal trouble.
Next you’ll need to obtain a retailer license from your state’s regulatory agency in order
to sell marijuana products.
Similar to liquor licenses, most states usually cap the number of marijuana licenses they
will distribute.
If they do, you’ll have to try and buy a retailer license from an existing business.
There are also state laws around security, advertising, transporting your product, and
where a marijuana dispensary can be located.
And if that’s not enough, keep in mind that startup costs are steep, and banks are often
hesitant to issue loans for these types of businesses.
But if you’re passionate about pot and its healing abilities, this can be a fun and rewarding
industry to work in.
And that wraps up our list of healthcare business ideas.
We hope we’ve helped you get the wheels turning on your own healthcare business idea.
Remember: If we don’t have our health, we don’t have anything, so helping others get
healthy and stay healthy is a commendable business venture.
Check out fundera.com/blog for more tips on starting and maintaining a business, and subscribe
to our YouTube channel for more videos.
Thanks for watching!