Home Care Agency Blueprint
How do you get your first home care clients and referral sources?
Work three paths at once: build relationships with the professionals who help families arrange care, make your agency easy to find and trust locally, and be ready for direct conversations with private-pay families. Keep every claim truthful, never pay for reviews, get legal advice before giving a referral source anything of value, and track where each inquiry comes from.
Written under the direction of founder Scott McKenzie. Updated .
The short answer
Start with the basics: confirm what your license lets you offer and advertise, claim and verify your Google Business Profile, and make your name, phone number and service area the same everywhere. Then list the local professionals who help families arrange care, introduce your agency to them, and follow up on a schedule. Ask every client for an honest review the same way, protect client privacy in everything you publish, and keep one list of every inquiry so you can see what works.
Three paths to your first clients
| Path | What you do | Rules to know |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Referral sources | Introduce your agency to discharge planners, physician offices, elder law attorneys, senior living communities and community organizations, then follow up. | Federal anti-kickback law (HHS-OIG); your state’s rules; check any arrangement with a health care attorney. |
| 2. Local presence and reviews | A verified Business Profile, consistent details everywhere, a clear website, and honest reviews you ask for the same way each time. | Google Business Profile policies; FTC rules on reviews and endorsements. |
| 3. Private-pay conversations | Answer every call, listen first, offer an in-home consultation, and put service terms in writing. | Truthful advertising (FTC); client privacy (HHS OCR where HIPAA applies). |
Use the free plan
90-day marketing plan template
Twenty-eight steps in three phases (foundations, outreach, consistency), each tied to a source or your own planning.
FreePrintableNo signup
Open the plan →Referral sources guide
Who refers families to home care, how to approach them, and why paying for referrals needs a lawyer’s look first.
FreeSourced
Read the guide →Go deeper
Getting your first clients
First calls, in-home consultations and written service terms.
Local presence and reviews
Business Profile basics, consistent details and asking for reviews honestly.
Website and outreach basics
What your site needs, email rules and a caution on paid ads.
Common marketing mistakes
Avoidable problems, and the rule behind each one.
Questions, answered
Referrals, reviews, privacy, ads and more.
About this site
Who publishes it, our method and our conflict of interest.
Planning the whole agency? starthomecareagency.com lays out the startup steps, homecarelicenseguide.com covers getting licensed before you market services, homecarestartupcost.com helps you budget for marketing, homecarebusinessplans.com has a plan template with a marketing section, and homecarerecruitmentguide.com helps you staff up before you scale outreach. All are also published by Home Care Agency Blueprint.
Your state sets the details. Federal law and platform policies set a floor for how you market. Your state may add its own rules, for example on how licensed agencies advertise, what they must say about their license, and payments for referrals. Check with your state licensing agency and a health care attorney. For licensing, homecarelicenseguide.com, also published by Home Care Agency Blueprint, collects each state’s sources.
Frequently asked questions
How many clients should I expect in my first months?
We do not publish a number, and we are wary of anyone who does. It depends on your area, your services, your referral relationships and how consistently you follow up. Track every inquiry and where it came from so you can see your own results.
Can I pay someone for referrals?
Not without legal advice. HHS-OIG explains that paying for referrals of business payable by federal health care programs is a crime, and your state may have its own rules. Check any arrangement that gives a referral source something of value with a health care attorney first.
Who publishes this site?
Home Care Agency Blueprint, which sells courses and coaching to people starting home care agencies. We say so on every page so you can weigh our perspective.
Want to talk through your options?
A free 15-minute clarity call with Home Care Agency Blueprint. It helps people start home care agencies, so expect that perspective. You do not need a marketing plan first.
Book a free 15-minute clarity call