DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2019.514
title: Business model for elderly daycare service

description: Thailand has been moving towards an aging society since 2005 and will become a full-fledged aging society in 2021 when the percentage of elderly will rise to more than 20 percent of the total population. Social factors such as increasing urbanization have led to more work and less time for children to take care of the elderly. Also, the birth rate is lower than in the past, and seniors will tend to live longer in the future. There will be a growing market with potential opportunities for both products and services specific to the elderly population, including the property industry.However, one challenge issue is the Thai culture, being that children are expected to look after their parents when they get old. Thai families perceive sending their parents to nursing homes as being ungrateful. Therefore, to start and to be a success in this business, it has to start with the beginning stage of changing customer behavior and perceptions. Also, most of the elderly still live with their children, which is currently a market that businesses can tap into. Daycare centers for the elderly are likely to grow more in the next 5-10 years. It seems to be a good starting point to introduce this business to customers because daycare services have the shortest stay. Therefore, they should be an easy and convenient option for children to allow their parents to live there temporarily.For these aforementioned factors, the business plan will be a daycare service under vacation home concept for the elderly with planned activities in a professional setting designed for older adults who require basic supervised care during the day, or those who are isolated and lonely. This place enables seniors to socialize and enjoy planned activities in group settings with happiness while still receiving the health services needed. The project concentrates on the safety of the elderly by provided close caretakers to look after all the time. In the meantime, they relieve family members from caregiving duties while knowing that their loved ones are in a safe place. The location of the project is situated on Rama 3 Road and close to Chao Phraya River to serve the best environment, easy to transport to parks, nearby business districts and hospitals if needed.This business plan describes the market analysis, including both internal and external environmental assessments, which affect the business. The business fundamental and business overview are designed mainly by a result of the survey from 100 prospective customers. After that, the analysis of marketing, financial, operation plan follows. From analyzing this business plan, the important thing that is considered to be a success factor is the location and safety of the elderly, together with the pleasant feeling of both elderly and family members who use this service.In terms of investment, the project requires an initial investment of THB 65.8 million with a 60:40 proportion of loans from financial institutions and ownership. Given the project’s strategy, marketing contribution, and peer comparison, the base case forecast of the project’s performance is an expected positive cash flow from the second operation year. Also, the project calculated a positive NPV of around THB 59 million and an IRR of 14.67% whilst being achievable to pay back within 10 years.