A Simple Guide for Home Care Providers on a £250 Budget

👋 Why This Matters

If you run a home care business and want to grow your private client base, you might be wondering:

How much should I earn from each client?

How much is it safe to spend to get one?

Can I grow my business without wasting money?

This guide is for small care providers who offer 1-hour visits and want a simple way to understand their numbers, even if they’ve never done marketing before.

We’ll keep it plain and practical.

💷 What Does a Private Client Bring In?

Let’s say your average private client:

Gets 1 hour of care a day

Pays £30/hour

Receives care 7 days a week

That’s £210 per week.

If they stay for 3 months (12 weeks), you’ll earn:

👉 £210 × 12 weeks = £2,520 total per client

This is called the Lifetime Value (LTV) of your client, the total amount your business earns from them.

💰 What Can You Spend to Win a New Client?

You might use:

Local Google or Facebook ads

Leaflets delivered door-to-door

Your or your manager’s time doing phone calls and home visits

All of that adds up. What you spend to bring in one client is called your Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC).

To grow safely, you want to earn much more from a client than you spend to get them.

✅ A Safe Rule for Home Care Businesses

You should aim to earn 4 to 6 times more than what it costs to win a client.

Here’s what that looks like if your average client brings in £2,520:

Ratio	You Earn (LTV)	You Can Spend (CAC)
4:1	£2,520	£630
5:1	£2,520	£504
6:1	£2,520	£420

But even if you only spend £250, you’re in a great position.

🧠 What Does £250 in Marketing Look Like?

Here’s an example of how to use a small, realistic budget:

£100 on Google Ads (targeting people searching for care in your area)

£75 on flyers delivered to local homes

£75 worth of your time doing:

Phone calls to enquiries

Home assessments

Following up with families

Total spend: £250

If that £250 gets you just one client, you’ve made £2,520, that’s a 10:1 return.

If you get two clients, it’s a 20:1 return.

And you didn’t need a big agency or complicated marketing funnel to do it.

📈 How to Make This Work for Your Business

✅ 1. Keep Clients Longer

Call families regularly
Show them small improvements in their loved one’s wellbeing or routine
Offer extra support as needs change (e.g., weekends, evenings)

The longer a client stays, the more you earn and your business grows without extra marketing.

✅ 2. Use Low-Cost, Local Marketing

Set up a Google Business Profile
Ask happy families to refer others
Drop leaflets at GP surgeries, pharmacies, or church halls
Share tips on Facebook groups or WhatsApp community groups

These methods are cheap (or free) and build trust in your local area.

✅ 3. Track Your Leads

Start simple and use a notebook or spreadsheet.

Track:

Where each enquiry came from (Google? Leaflet? Referral?)
How many turn into paying clients

This helps you see what’s working, so you can stop wasting time and money.

📌 Final Takeaway

You don’t need a big budget to grow your home care business.

Just remember:

An average private client brings in around £2,500
You can safely spend £250 or less to win a client
That’s a 10:1 return – very strong
Focus on trust-building, local marketing
Track your numbers and improve over time

With a little planning, you can build a strong private client base, one step at a time.

Grow Your Home Care Business on a £250 Budget