If you want to grow your care business, stop trying to do everything. Start doing the one thing that matters most.
Running a domiciliary care or supported living service is complex. Every day brings more tasks:
- Recruiting care staff
- Meeting compliance requirements
- Filling care hours
- Managing rotas and staff absences
- Building referral relationships
- Handling audits
- Keeping clients safe and happy
- Growing the business
It’s exhausting, because everything feels urgent.
But here’s the truth: You can’t grow your business by treating everything as a priority.
The Myth of “Priorities”
The word priority comes from the Latin priori, which means first or before. It didn’t have a plural. Because you can only have one true priority at a time.
When you try to grow your care business by juggling multiple “priorities,” you’re actually avoiding the hard work of choosing. And that indecision filters down to your team, leaving everyone unclear on what matters most.
Why Focus is a Superpower in Care Services
Whether you’re delivering hourly domiciliary care visits or running multiple supported living settings, the demands on your time are huge.
So, instead of trying to fix everything, fix the one thing that would unlock the most progress.
For example:
- If you’re consistently turning down new care packages because of staff shortages, recruitment is your One Thing.
- If your hours are low and staff are underworked, client acquisition is your One Thing.
- If you’re dealing with safeguarding issues, improving care quality is your One Thing.
Whatever it is, pick it. Then go all in.
How to Prioritise in Dom Care or Supported Living
- Write down your top 5 “priorities.”
E.g., recruit staff, attract new referrals, get ready for a CQC inspection, reduce staff turnover, fill hours. - Cross out everything except the one that changes the game.
Ask yourself: If we solved just this, would it make everything else easier or irrelevant? - Commit to it for 30–60 days.
Focus your energy, budget, and team around that one outcome. - Let the rest wait, temporarily.
You’re not ignoring the other stuff forever. You’re choosing to grow faster by focusing sharper.
Real-Life Examples
If your “One Thing” is Recruitment:
- Shift your blog strategy to attract carers, not clients (e.g., “Why Work for a Local Dom Care Provider in [Town]?”)
- Build out a Facebook campaign just for job ads
- Simplify your onboarding and DBS process
- Offer referral bonuses to existing staff
If your “One Thing” is Referrals:
- Create a mini content series for social workers and discharge teams (e.g., “What Makes a Good Dom Care Provider?”)
- Refresh your website to speak directly to referral partners and families
- Focus networking time on building one or two key relationships
- Share more case studies of positive client outcomes
If your “One Thing” is Compliance:
- Pause growth and focus your team on documentation, audits, training gaps
- Build internal processes that prevent repeat issues
- Update policies and align them with CQC Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOEs)
- Train your team to speak confidently about person-centred care and safety
Ask Yourself This:
“If we only did this one thing for the next 30 days and it improved our business by 2x or 3x, would anything else really matter?”
If the answer is no, you’ve found your real priority.
Final Thought for Care Business Owners
The fastest-growing domiciliary care and supported living providers don’t spread themselves thin. They choose their battles. They decide where to focus and they execute hard on that one goal.
Pick your One Thing. Go all in. Let the rest wait.