< Example 2 >
Developing a welfare bed-taxi business to support bedridden people going out |
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Dozen Service Yugen Kaisha
Line of business: Home-visit nursing care service; welfare taxi service
Head quarter: Ishida, Toyo, Ehime Prefecture
Capitalization: 3 million yen
Founded: March 2003
Monthly sales: 1.3 million yen (average monthly sales for this year)
Employees: 5
Representative: Ms. Chieko Hirota
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Here is the point!
A business that introduced van-type welfare bed-taxis that can ride into urban areas full of narrow roads to transport bedridden people. |
 Introducing welfare bed-taxis
 Dozen Service Yugen Kaisha introduced for the first time in Japan welfare bed-taxis that were converted from light vans for transporting bedridden people.
Called "patient transfer car (welfare bed-taxi)," this light van vehicle, which can turn around in a tight place and smoothly park alongside a house facing a narrow road in an urban district, has brought "light" to people who live a bedridden life unable to go to hospital in a car. The bed-taxi enables them not only to go to hospital but also to go out easily.
All staff members of the company including the president herself are certified 2nd or higher grade nursing-care helpers. Each welfare bed-taxi is accompanied by two staff members aboard to provide "door-to-door" transfer service carefully attended to.
The company also has equipped all bed-taxis with radio communication for efficient bed-taxi management in response to growing demand from customers.
Another good point for customers is its low fare if nursing care insurance is used. The fare will be about 800yen per hour, which is almost equivalent to a normal taxi fare. |
| "We want to take out bedridden people" |
Ms. Chieko Hirota, representative of the company, always had been "eager to be of help to people in a difficulty". She obtained the qualification of a home-visit nursing carer and started the home-visit nursing care business. And here's how she started this welfare bed-taxi business: at that time Mr. Hideo Oiwa, a home-visit nursing care colleague who had previously worked for a taxi company, proposed to her, "We want not only to provide home-visit nursing care to bedridden people, but also help them to easily go out and get moving. Why don't we start a welfare taxi business using light vans?"
She adhered to light vans because they can easily turn around in tight places and are less expensive to maintain. The company adopted a suggestion put forth by Mr. Oiwa, who participated in setting up the company and currently serves as an officer, and converted space-limited light vans into sleepers, which added value to the vans.
Though the business started not too many days ago, users are increasing through word of mouth.
Some users have shown improved symptoms because of increased frequency of outing, which has helped lower the nursing-care grade pleasing them. Ms. Hirota and her associates feel quite delighted at the gratitude expresses by them. |
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| Using Start-up Loan Program |
Until lately a light car could be used for taxicab service only to transfer wheelchairs. So it took some time to obtain a license from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. However, Mr. Oiwa enthusiastically explained about their idea and persuaded the ministry, and they managed to get the business started off.
The majority of the capital required for the start-up was provided by the president herself, but the purchase of vehicles and installation of the radio equipment were financed by National Life Finance Corporation through its Start-up Loan Program, which requires no security or guarantor. |
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| Consultation with Chamber of Commerce and Industry on start-up |
Ms. Hirota had been told by some friends about a loan system available from National Life Finance Corporation to those who start a new business. She also learned about the chamber of commerce and industry as she was told about it by her relatives and people around her including nearby store owners. She immediately visited the Toyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry and consulted about the way of financing her business and the benefits and risks relating to its start-up. And on this occasion the company became a member of the chamber.
Ms. Hirota thinks: "We won't try to reach for what's unreachable, but we want to continue helping local people in need of nursing care. We want such people to be happy to use our service. So we will keep consulting with the chamber about the future development of our business." |
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| Steadily growing supported by local communities |
| The company's business is nothing spectacular and requires much patience. That's the business which is vigorously challenged by an inexperienced president and an idea- creative man, Mr. Oiwa. Though started only a short time ago, the business has already been covered by NHK (Matsuyama TV station) and The Ehime Shinbun. The business has been designated as a "model business operation" by the prefecture and continues growing enthusiastically encouraged by local people. This example gives confidence to women and middle-aged or senior people who intend to start up a locally established business. It's really a wonderful thing. |
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