Home Based 411 » Home Business Opportunity News » Trends

Home Business Opportunity Trends: Maid & Personal Services

Maid and personal services are a growing luxury for many people with busy lifestyles and also those with relaxed lifestyles. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts personal care services to be the fastest growing industry sector over the ten-year timeframe, 2002 through 2012. The expected growth rate of 28% will include the establishment of single service, multi-service and full service concierge type businesses. As our population of baby boomers approaches retirement, many are resorting to these types of services just for the convenience of having someone else perform services that they would otherwise be capable to perform themselves.

The Consumer: According to statistics provided by the BLS, the demographics of the US will shift to an age-wise, top-heavy population of "older" adults. The statistics indicate that the total population is expected to increase by 24 million people over the ten-year time frame, 2002 through 2012. This population increase, about 11%, represents a relatively, low rate of growth as compared to previous decades of growth. During the period, 1982-1992, the growth rate was approximately 12% and during the period, 1992-2002, the growth rate increased to 13%.

The predicted age distribution indicates that the youth population (aged 16 to 24) will increase, the middle-aged population (35 to 44) will decrease and the baby boomer population (aged 55 to 64) will increase by 44%. Boomers will account for the largest segment of the population, totaling more than 38 million people.

Baby boomers, the generation of Americans born between 1946 and 1964, are experiencing longer life expectancies than their non-boomer counterparts. It is expected that many baby boomers will remain in the workforce and take on an additional or third career rather than settle for retirement income, alone. Some boomers are expected to take on entrepreneurial roles, building and establishing job opportunities from skills acquired during their first careers. American Demographics, through a telephone survey, found that 31% of boomers are planning to or currently moving into new careers. The finding was consistent across all income levels. This is in contrast to 21% of non-boomer retirees who left the workforce and moved into new careers. The survey indicates that 31% of the 41 to 55 year old boomers were already in their second or third careers, while only 26% of the older, 56 to 59 year old boomers, had taken on a second career, in line with traditional retirees. Boomers on the west coast are more likely to move into new careers (40%) as compared to boomers in the south and northeast, who are more likely to fall in line with traditional retirees. (26%)

Business Trends: Trends in consumer spending, as measured by the U. S. Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE), indicate that while consumer demand for both durable and non-durable goods has declined over the past 40 years, the demand for services increased during this time frame. The PCE for durable goods, such as motor vehicles and furniture, decreased from 13% to 12%. Likewise, the PCE for non-durable goods, such as food and clothing, decreased from 47% to 30%. In contrast, the PCE for services, such as household operations, increased from 40% to 58%. The BLS projects the trend to continue and estimates the service producing industry to account for 20 million of the 22 million new jobs generated through the year 2012.

Maid and housekeeping services are long-standing services provided to households. Mediamark Research Inc. reports that 10% of households used paid cleaning services in the year 2000. This represents a 6% increase from 1996. The household cleaning industry, including franchises in the industry, continues to grow and expand. Mediamark projects an increase of about 7% in the household cleaning industry by the year 2006.

The number of personal care service providers is also increasing and expanding. Most service providers in this industry continue to operate from and within storefront locations. The rise in on-site, on-demand concierge services is shifting many personal care services to the home or other customer specified locations. Personal care services may include such services as:

• Personal, gift and other shopping
• Financial planning & tax preparation
• Hair, body and skin salon services
• Landscaping
• Pet services
• Food preparation and delivery
• Decorating and event planning

Franchise Trends: Though business units exist to perform both maid and personal services, not many franchise opportunities are available in the personal care arena. It is an anticipated growth area for the near future. Table 1 lists the top 10 maid and personal care franchises listed in Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 listing. Entrepreneur's ranking includes a number of factors, such as strength, growth and size. The table also lists those franchises that were included in the listing for the Franchise Times 2004, Top 200 franchises, ranked by worldwide sales. The listed franchises consist, primarily of residential and household cleaning services. In addition, the listing contains top ranked lawn care franchises as well as in-home, non-medical care services.

Table 1: Franchise Rankings

Maid and personal care services are, often times, sought for mere convenience. The aging population may seek maid and personal care services as a preventive measure to reduce risks, such as the injuries associated with falls, in completing household chores. Personal care services also provide more personable and convenient access to services, such as physical therapy and other preventive, non-medical services. In-home and at-location services offer the benefit of eliminating the travel time and expense necessary to visit doctor offices and other storefront service locations.

The rise and continual focus on terrorism and natural disasters, which request contributions from the whole of society, may affect the prioritization of household spending budgets, especially as it pertains to luxury items and non-necessities. Maid, personal care and other service providers, have experienced drops in the number of request for services during these times. Service requests have been suspended both temporarily and permanently. Many individuals, on the other hand, consider these same types of services to be a necessary expense, even in the face of emergencies and disasters. In fact, such services are often times requested for the purpose of relieving individuals from the stress of social and everyday issues. In such cases, the "luxury" of such services is considered a lifestyle necessity. The franchise must be capable to market and deliver its services such that clientele feel compelled to include such services as part of their lifestyle.

Good luck finding the perfect home business opportunity!

PS - We'd like to hear from you!
Got a suggestion for a story, article, or hot trend? Do you have questions about buying a home business, or about this website? Let us know. john@homebased411.com