Hi all! I'm a longtime lurker here and after having been recently laid off I've done some serious soul-searching and would like to implement an idea I was already using at my last place of employment.

I had been working for a non-profit senior community center that just went under because of a lack of funding. As the center's program director, aside from creating and scheduling events, activities and trips I also led both a seated and standing exercise class each day. I am certified in CPR/First Aid and also have a certification in a senior specific fitness program called PACE. It targets older adults who have rheumatic disease and helps them to work out the affected areas to maintain and even improve mobility. I also plan on getting an additional group exercise certification that is senior specific, but focuses on more active adults. Though I am already skilled at teaching this kind of course as well, it would be beneficial to also have the certification to lend more credibility to the program.

My desire is to continue in this direction and focus all of my energies into older adult wellness programming. What I would like to do is travel to various locations in the area (churches, government community recreation centers, etc) and hold both standing and seated classes for people of varying abilities.

My estimates show a reasonable cost per person for the class wouldn't exceed what a typical person pays to visit a fast food restaurant 5 times in one month. As a trade off for giving up 5 hamburgers, fries and a soda, people would get 8 invigorating hours of fun and socialization with peers doing something beneficial for themselves in the process.

I have already received a request from one church to hold two classes two times a week and it appears a second church is interested in the same setup. I have also put a lot of effort into demographical and economic research on this market while also identifying my competitors (only five other people are doing something remotely similar and they mostly operate in the surrounding city and county area outside of where I am located) and it is apparent that the demand exceeds the supply for these services right now and the need will grow exponentially as the Baby Boomer generation reaches retirement age. Plus, the Boomers are becoming much more health conscious, so this adds to the interest level of such a program.

I have completed my business plan and also have a comprehensive proposal packet to submit to other locations as a means of promoting the classes.

Based on this information, I was curious if people here would think this to be a viable option for a business?

Good idea, don't forget local colleges. The ones in my area offer lots of informal classes (ex. knitting, estate planning, beginner spanish etc.) and they are frequented by seniors so that may be another option for you as well.

Dyan
http://www.freebiechaser.com

I think that you may need to be certified trainer, by ARC, in order to teach CPR and other such classes.


If you'd like to speak to someone who has been doing this a while, contact http://www.nursepreneurcoach.com/