How To Be an NEMTreprenuer | A Two Part Series Part 2 | How-to Drive Your New NEMT BIZ So the 4Ws of NEMTreprenuership from part one solidified your calling to keep caretaking, but pivoting to do so more in a business sense. Awesome! The NEMT industry could benefit from more driven and heart-felt folks like you! We’ll be honest, though, starting any business from scratch isn’t easy, but it’s always worth it.
It’s Not All Fun and Bambi Games Becoming an NEMTrepreneur requires careful planning, understanding of the market, being and staying compliant with the different rules and regulations and providing high-quality services to your customers. It is a lot to juggle, especially in the beginning, but just like Bambi we believe in your nimbleness to navigate it all with your swift and agile business skills.
Safe with Bambi And with Bambi (our NEMT Software and community) on your side, we’re confident you’ll succeed in no time. Without further ado, in this second part of the series, we’ll give you our top ten tried and tested tips in starting an NEMT biz:
Study the Market: Before you do anything, it’s important to get to know the NEMT scene in your area. To do so, you’ll need to identify the need for transportation services for non-emergency medical purposes, such as transporting elderly folks, individuals with disabilities, patients needing regular medical appointments or even the chance in counter of people needing that one-off medical care. It’s also important to understand the competitive landscape. Who else is driving their NEMT business near your soon-to-be business?Get Busy On Your Business Plan: This is a Bambi biggie! Having this will secure many of the rest of the getting started to dos below. In your plan, be sure to clearly outline your business objectives, target market, services offered, pricing strategy, marketing plan and financial projections. A thorough business plan will guide you through this startup process and help secure any funding you might need. There are many templates for these plans out there, but we recommend this one that’s catered to NEMT owners.Secure Your Street Cred | Be Compliant With the Laws & Regulations: You gotta be street legal, so familiarize yourself with your local, state and federal regulations governing NEMT services. Obtain necessary licenses, permits and insurance coverage to operate legally. This compliance with regulations not only ensures the safety and security of your passengers, but also builds trust and credibility with your customers and healthcare providers.Find Funding: Determine an estimated initial capital required to start your NEMT business. This may include purchasing vehicles, hiring staff, subscribing to scheduling and management software (like Bambi!), marketing expenses and other operating costs. There are a plethora of options out there, so explore those financing options from loans and grants or investment from angel investors and venture capitalists.Access Those Wheels: If you’re driving a business on wheels, it’s imperative to have wheels to drive. Purchase or lease safe, suitable and sustainable vehicles for transporting passengers comfortably and safely. You’ll definitely need to consider wheelchair accessibility, regular vehicle maintenance and fuel efficiency. It’s also important to ensure your vehicles comply with their safety standards and road regulations.Recruit, Hire & Train Soft Souls: Recruit friendly, reliable drivers with a clean driving record and an administrative staff with superb customer service skills. Both should have big hearts and soft souls for working in this caregiving kind of business. And be sure to provide thorough training on patient care (if they’re not coming from the industry already), on handling the medical equipment and other company policies and nuances about your unique corporate culture.Foster & Nurture Strategic Partnerships: One way to really scale up in new customers comes from the building of relationships with healthcare facilities, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and insurance providers in your area. Networking with medical professionals and caretaking organizations can escalate your growth when it comes to referrals and contracts for your NEMT services.Market Your Services: Create a marketing strategy to promote your NEMT business. Utilize online platforms to create a solid digital presence to start building a brand awareness. Having a professional website is an absolute must these days, first to, but also the very important, presence on social media channels. This is how potential customers can reach you and you them. And because the NEMT community also values facetime, it would be privy to attend health fairs and networking events in your area to further raise awareness of your new business and services.Be Bambi Soft With Your Service: Like Bambi, be sure to deliver reliable, timely and compassionate transportation services to your clients. Prioritizing passenger comfort goes a long way! It’s their safety and satisfaction that will support your positive reputation and growth of regular business.Always Be Learning & Evolve to Grow: It’s always good to have a pulse on not just your patiences pulses, but industry trends, technological advancements and changes in any and all regulations. When you continuously reflect on and improve your services to meet the evolving needs of your customers, you’ll maintain a competitive edge in the NEMT market. That’s for sure!
That’s it folks! We realize this might feel like one big homework assignment or ten, but it’s always important to take it slow and steady in the beginning. Give yourself some compassion like you do your customers. Build up your confidence, supportive community and the foundational software to get you flowing with ease and fun in this new fulfilling endeavor.
And if this all still feels like a lot, know there’s always support from our community of dears on the road already successfully running their NEMT businesses. There are also plenty of NEMT coaches out there eager to empower you and hold you accountable along the way as you get started.
We believe in you! And whenever you need a hoof or hand, just reach out to us at Bambi.
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