Amrit Dhaliwal's first business plan was written on the back of a brown envelope. He'd run businesses in retail, property and restaurants before buying a homecare franchise, which he took from nothing to £1 million turnover in four years. He then founded Walfinch, his own homecare franchise network.

In this episode he shows Mark Topps how he plans: decide where the business should be in 10 years, then work back to this year and the next 90 days. As he puts it, "Having a plan is better than having no plan."

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What you'll leave with‍

Amrit's answers on setting measurable goals when you're brand new, where to find the numbers for your market research, the cost breakdown he aims for, and how to get your registered manager and team to own the targets.

About Amrit

‍Amrit Dhaliwal is CEO and founder of Walfinch, a UK homecare franchise network. He was a homecare franchisee before he started it, and he's the author of Time to Thrive: The Home Care Revolution.

Who it's for

‍Owners and registered managers of homecare agencies in their first few years, who want a plan they'll actually use to grow.

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The Foundational Series is a free video series from Flock and Birdie for people starting or running a small homecare agency. In each episode, Mark Topps, co-founder of The Caring View, talks to someone who's built one. Recorded in early 2024. New to the series? Start with how to start a care agency with Camille Leavold.

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Writing your first plan? Join Flock, the free community for people running homecare agencies in the UK, and put your questions to people who've been through it.

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What does a 12-month business plan for a care agency look like?

Amrit describes a business plan as a written document that tells you which direction you're driving in. He uses the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) from Gino Wickman's book Traction, starting with a two-page plan: where the business will be in 10 years, what has to happen in three years and this year, and what that means for the next 90 days. Alongside it sits the spreadsheet, with every cost and income line.

Every goal should be measurable. If you're adding care workers, how many and by when? If you're improving your gross margin, to what, and how?

If you're preparing the business plan CQC asks for when you register in England, our guide to writing a domiciliary care business plan covers what to include.

How do you set targets when you're brand new?

Start with two numbers: your local hourly rate and the size of business you want. When Amrit started, he rang his local councils to ask what they paid, and many simply told him. Then decide how big you want to be. If you want around 30 care workers, each delivering about 25 hours of care, multiply that by your local rate and you can see roughly how long it'll take to get there. In his example, that's three or four years.

It's a finger in the air, and he says that's fine. Write it down, then revise it every three months. For a benchmark, the Homecare Association puts the minimum price for homecare in England at £34.42 an hour for 2026/27.

Where do you find market research for a care agency?

Find out what the 10 or so main providers near you are doing, so you know where to pitch yourself. Amrit says other owners will often tell you what they charge and how many people they support if you just ask, and some people mystery shop. Then use what's already public: homecare.co.uk listings, CQC inspection reports, your council, and the Homecare Association's pricing reports, which cover what providers need to charge and what councils pay in each area.

Mark adds that census projections for your region are worth a look, and that AI tools can pull the data together quickly, as long as you check the facts.

What profit margin should a care agency aim for?

First, understand how the lines on your profit and loss connect. Amrit puts care worker pay above the line: your gross profit is the difference between your hourly rate and what you pay care workers. Everything else goes below it, including registered manager and office salaries, rent, marketing and your accountant.

His rules of thumb are care worker pay at about 50% of revenue, mileage at about 10% of care worker pay, office staff at 10–15% of revenue and rent at 2–3%. That leaves 18–25% at the bottom line, which he thinks is very doable. In his view, most agencies run at 8–12%. These are Amrit's own benchmarks from early 2024 rather than sector data, so test them against your accountant's advice and our guide to healthy homecare profit margins.

He's also clear that profit isn't a dirty word in care. In his view, providers should talk about it openly and turn down work that's paid too poorly to deliver well. And if your bookkeeping isn't cloud-based, move it today: you should be able to check the health of your business from anywhere.

Why do care agency business plans fail?

Amrit sees two common problems. The first is numbers with no research behind them. That can get you through your first six months to a year, but the plan needs more thought as you grow, whether that comes from public data, asking around or an accountant who knows the sector.

The second is a gap between the owner and the team who have to hit the number. If an owner announces a £1 million target when the agency turns over £300,000, the registered manager and care coordinator can freeze, and growth stalls.

He builds the plan with them instead. Look at what happened in the last 12 months and the last 90 days, then work it through together. If one more care worker adds around £40,000 of revenue, how many can you take on in the next 90 days, six months and year? If the answer is 30, where would the 31st come from? Within two or three years, he says, your registered managers will be the ones bringing you the growth plan.

Where should a small agency start?

Amrit's three tips are to read Traction for its step-by-step method, from values to goals to the scorecard that tracks them; to let the targets come from your key people rather than from you; and to keep it simple. A one-page plan comparing what you spend on rent, utilities and the office with what you expect to come in is enough to start with. Hit some milestones and you'll add detail as you go.

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