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🏠 How to Start a Sober Living Home 🚀

By   ·  2 minute read

Find out what type of sober living is needed. For example, if there's a shortage of women's houses in the community, create a women's sober living!

How do you find out exactly what's type of sober living is needed? 🤔

  • Talk to discharge planners at local rehab facilities and asking about the greatest needs for sober living.
  • Talk to other operators: they might have insights into what types of facilities have the greatest need. One sober living owner may say "well I get calls from people looking for women's housing all the time, but we don't do women's housing." This tells you that there is demand for women's house, and you will probably more successful if you started a women's house!

Once you know what's needed, target your sober living to a specific demographic. 🎯

  • Establish specific resident criteria: 
    • MAT-friendly
    • 12-step based
    • Pet-friendly
    • Women with Children
    • Faith-based vs. non-denominational 🙏
    • Highly structured vs. Unstructured 
    • LGBTQ+ 🏳️‍🌈
    • Sex Addiction / Gambling Addiction / Eating Disorders Focus 
    • Executives / Working professionals  💼
    • Upper Class / Lower Class / Middle Class 
    • Students in Recovery 🎓
    • Ex-Cons
    • Dual Diagnosis
  • Establishing specific resident criteria helps you to differentiate yourself. Start by solving a very specific niche, then you can branch out later on. 

Pick a Smart Location 📍

Consider proximity to:

  1. Public transportation 🚍 - This is particularly important in sober living as many residents won't have cars, or will have revoked licenses etc. 
  2. Support group meetings - Is there an AA club nearby? How far is the nearest IOP? 

Do the Boring Admin Work 

  • Business
    1. Choose a business structure: Decide on the legal structure of your business, such as a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), corporation, or nonprofit organization. Most sober living businesses are LLCs or 501c3 non profits. It's easiest to start with an LLC. 
    2. Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN): Apply for an EIN from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) if you plan to hire employees or if your business structure requires it (e.g., LLCs and corporations). This number is used for tax purposes and may also be required to open a business bank account.
    3. Create a business bank account. Open a separate bank account 💼 for your business to keep personal and business finances separate and to establish a clear financial history for your company. 
  • Legal
    1. Compliance - get NARR certified. While it may not be legally required, it's best practice to get your residence NARR certified. Not to mention, it will increase credibility and have solid marketing value. 
    2. Write a resident agreement: Include program requirements, recovery expectations, drug testing standards, and house rules. Have your residents sign this when they enter the house. 

Get on the Hub 🚀

Successful sober living operators take advantage of Sobriety Hub to run their sober living businesses. Not only will utilizing a purpose-based software like Sobriety Hub save you time and money, it will also guide you into running a program that keeps track of critical resident information in one safe, secure, and organized system. Book a Demo today. 

 

Lastly, another great tool is free training resources by the Fletcher Group: https://m.umu.com/globaluser/registerpage?from_url=https%3A%2F%2Fm.umu.com%2Fenterprise%2Finvite%3Ftoken%3Dd4ed9764d33a51c9142464b160db5cb7%23%2F#/