Hi, I’m Glenn Mendez.
I owned and ran a non-medical home care agency in Illinois for seven years. I started it from scratch. I didn’t know anything about licensing: which license I needed, what the state wanted to see, or what order to do things in.
So I did what seemed sensible. I reached out to people who already owned home care agencies and asked for help. Most of them didn’t help. Instead of sharing what they knew, they discouraged me. Some told me it was too hard, and some just wouldn’t give me a straight answer. I worked it out on my own, one piece of paperwork at a time, and it took a lot longer and was a lot more stressful than it needed to be.
I’ll also tell you how my agency ended, because you deserve honesty from the start. I closed my agency during the COVID pandemic. I couldn’t market the way I needed to, and I couldn’t find caregivers willing to work. Clients were calling me, and I had no workers to send. That was hard, and it taught me something I now tell every new owner: this business depends on caregivers. Plan how you’ll recruit and keep good people long before you need them. Don’t make it an afterthought.
What I Want to Do Differently
I started Home Care Setup to give new owners the clear, honest guidance I couldn’t get. That means:
- Straight answers. If I don’t know something about your state, I’ll find out from the state agency instead of guessing.
- No discouraging, and no sugarcoating. I’ll never tell you that you can’t do this. I also won’t tell you it’s easy, fast or guaranteed. Your state decides on your license, and your effort decides a lot of the rest.
- The real lessons. That includes the ones I learned the hard way, like thinking about caregiver recruiting and marketing early.
- A real person. When you call, you’re talking with someone who has done this himself.
Who I Work With
Caregivers, CNAs, nurses, career changers and first-time business owners who want to start a non-medical home care agency and want someone to walk through the process with them. You don’t need to have it all figured out. That’s what the first conversation is for.
Let’s Talk
If you’re thinking about starting an agency and don’t know where to begin, I’d be glad to talk it through with you. The consultation is free. You can also call me at (847) 275-3096.
— Glenn Mendez, Founder, Home Care Setup