What Product Or Service Will Your Daycare Provide

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Editor'due south note: This article was excerpted from our Child-Care Services kickoff-up guide, available from Entrepreneur Bookstore.

The number of working parents--including unmarried-parent families and families with both parents employed--is climbing, creating an ever-growing need for quality child intendance. That demand is creating a tremendous entrepreneurial opportunity for people who love children and want to build a business caring for them.

Child-care services range from small homebased operations to large commercial centers and can be started with an investment of as little as a few hundred dollars. You can stay very small, essentially merely creating a job for yourself, or y'all can grow into a substantial enterprise with potentially millions of dollars a year in revenue.

You likewise have a tremendous amount of flexibility when it comes to the exact services y'all choose to offer. You may limit your clientele to children in sure age groups or tailor your operating hours to meet the needs of a detail market segment. Y'all may or may not want to provide transportation between your eye and the children'due south homes and/or schools. You may want to take the children on field trips. Every bit an alternative to child care, you may want to consider a business organisation that focuses solely on providing transportation for children.

Of class, the basic piece of work you lot'll be doing--caring for someone else's children--bears a tremendous corporeality of responsibleness and requires a serious commitment. When the children are in your custody, you are responsible for their prophylactic and well-beingness. Yous volition also play a key function in their overall development and may well be someone they'll remember their entire lives.

Filling an Of import Need

One of the biggest challenges facing American families today is caring for their children while the parents work. Co-ordinate to the Agency of Labor Statistics, but thirteen per centum of all families fit the traditional model of husband equally wage-earner and married woman as dwelling house-maker. In 61 percent of married-couple families, both husband and wife piece of work exterior the home. Vi out of every 10 mothers of children nether age 6 are employed, and the labor-force participation of women in their childbearing years continues to expand. Equally the number of working parents rises, and so will the demand for child intendance.

Another issue that has an touch on on kid-intendance issues is the new, 24-hour global market. Occupations with a high number of employees working nights and weekends--such as janitorial, hospitality, customer service and technical support--are experiencing substantial growth, and workers in these fields find obtaining quality kid care an fifty-fifty greater challenge than their 9-to-five counterparts.

For many working parents, there is no single solution to their child-care needs. More than than a third utilise more than than one option, such as day-care centers role of the fourth dimension and friends, neighbors or relatives on other occasions. A recent report conducted by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit policy research system, revealed that about 30 percent of working parents accept ii child-care arrangements, and another viii percent are using at least three. The study found that 65 pct of parents juggling multiple child-care arrangements use a combination of formal mean solar day-care centers, Head Start programs, and infant-sitting past relatives and friends. Another 20 percentage utilise two carve up twenty-four hours-care centers.

Exercise Yous Accept What Information technology Takes?

What are the characteristics of a person who would do well operating a kid-care center? Lois K., who began the starting time of her 6 child-care centers in Toledo, Ohio, in 1982, answers, "The person needs to be energetic, business organisation-minded, a competent leader, accept a pleasant personality, be professional, be willing to take calculated risks, be a good role model, have potent financial resources, be consequent in expectations of the staff, and be consistent in the commitment of service."

If you're going to be running a family child-care eye, Brenda B. of Stockton, Illinois, adds, "You have to really similar kids." Janet H. of Exeter, California, agrees; she says, "A person who is going to own a child-care center needs to love children, be a people person, have a high tolerance for stress, have good insurance, and have some direction skills."

A kid-intendance business tin hands exist started in your home with simply a few weeks of planning and a minor amount of startup cash. A commercially located center takes a greater investment of time, energy and money. The size and type of concern you cull will depend on your start-up resources and goals for the future. Many child-care providers are satisfied with a i-person functioning in their home that generates a comfy income while assuasive them to do work they savour (and possibly fifty-fifty care for their own children). Others may start at home and eventually move to a commercial site equally the business grows. Still others begin in commercial locations and are either content with one site or accept plans to aggrandize.

Startup Checklist

As you lot consummate your startup efforts, utilise this checklist (and tailor it to your own needs) to make sure you've covered all your bases before yous open your doors.

• Type of center: Will you operate from your abode or a commercial location?
• Licensing: What licenses are y'all required to have and from which agencies? What are the requirements, costs and lead times?
• Training and certification: What types of training and/or certification practice you need?
• Market place: What are the child-intendance needs of your customs?
• Location: Choose a site that is appropriate and affordable.
• Legal requirements: Check on zoning and any other legal problems.
• Financial problems: Judge your startup costs and place the source(s) of your startup funds.
• Wellness and safety bug: Plan for blow and affliction prevention, and develop emergency procedures.
• Programs: Develop an advisable schedule of activities for the children.
• Equipment: What practise you need to fairly equip your center, where will you get information technology, and how much will it price?
• Insurance: What coverage practice you need to adequately protect yourself and the children in your care?
• Staffing: If you plan to rent people, know the required staff-to-kid ratios and develop your human resources policies.
• Links: What community and professional resources are available to you lot?

Target Market

Prime candidates who need full-time child care are parents with infants to v-year-olds. Parents with children over five are good prospects for after-schoolhouse care programs. The market segments most likely to use child-intendance services are dual-income families and single-parent households in most income brackets. A number of government programs help low-income families pay for child care so the adults tin can stay in the work force.

Within this very broad market is the more narrow grouping of clients you'll serve. Employ market research to figure out who these people are and how y'all tin can best attract them to your center. Lois G. says the primary market at 4 of her six locations is parents who are upper-income working professionals; the other two centers serve a number of middle-income families likewise as those being subsidized by public funds. Janet H. says nigh half her clientele consists of dual-income families, and the other one-half is single mothers who receive regime assistance equally they piece of work through programs designed to become them off welfare.

The goal of market research is to place your market, discover out where information technology is, and develop a strategy to communicate with prospective customers in a style that will convince them to bring their children to you lot.

When Lois M. opened her first centre, her demographic research revealed that there were 9,000 children from infant to 5 years one-time inside a v-mile radius of the site; half the preschool children in the expanse were in day care of some sort because their mothers (or both parents) worked; and the number of households in the area was expected to double within a decade. Contained in that v-mile radius were six kid-intendance centers serving approximately 800 children.

Brenda B.'s enquiry wasn't as sophisticated. Living in a small town, she knows simply well-nigh everyone and is well aware of the lack of child-care services. "There'southward such a need for day care," she says. "I go through periods where I'll get as many as v calls a calendar week from parents needing intendance, and I don't have room for them. I've had families on my waiting list for up to two years."

Types of Services to Offering

Before you open your doors to the outset child, you should decide on the services y'all'll provide and the policies that volition guide your performance. To simply say you lot're going to "take care of children" is woefully inadequate. How many children? What ages? What hours? Will you provide food or ask their parents to? What activities will you lot offer? What sort of price and payment policies volition you have? And the list goes on.

Your showtime step is to cheque with the appropriate regulatory agencies to find out what'south involved in providing detail services. For instance, each state has its own guidelines for the maximum number of children and maximum number in each age group in a family kid-care facility. States besides accept guidelines regarding the number of caregivers required per number of children in each age grouping for commercial facilities. There will likely be other requirements and restrictions, depending on the type of facility you run.

Determine what services to offering based on your ain preferences and what your market research says your customs needs. Your choices include:

• Full-time care during traditional weekday hours
• After-schoolhouse intendance
• Nontraditional hours (very early on mornings, evenings, overnight care, weekdays and/or weekends)
• Drop-in or on-demand care, either during traditional or nontraditional hours
• Part-fourth dimension care
• Parents' night out (weekend evening intendance)
• Age-based care
• Transportation

Startup Costs

Caring for children tin can be enjoyable and rewarding, only if you're taking care of other people's children and accepting compensation for it, then caring for children is a business concern and it needs to be managed appropriately. Even though you probably want to become into this business because you love children and not because yous love to keep records, pay taxes and worry almost staffing, you lot must do these tasks effectively if y'all're going to maintain a viable performance.

The high rate of attrition in the child-care business is driven in large part past the fact that many caregivers focus about exclusively on nurturing and caring for the children in their charge, and neglect the fiscal and direction sides of their operations. Only whether your goal is a pocket-size, family kid-intendance center or to build a chain of commercial locations, you must bargain with administration and direction issues if your business organisation is going to survive. If you program ahead, that won't be hard.

Set up your financial record-keeping arrangement from the start in a way that will provide you with the information yous need to monitor your profitability and handle your taxation reporting. Y'all may desire to hire a consultant or an auditor who specializes in small businesses to assistance you lot at get-go; this pocket-sized investment could save you a substantial amount of time and money in the long run.

Await to spend a significant amount of time on management, marketing and administration. If you take employees, they need to be trained and supervised. Although the demand for child intendance is high, parents won't be able to discover you if you don't market place your service. And keeping up with administrative details--paying bills, buying supplies, doing budgets and forecasts, coming together ongoing licensing requirements, facility maintenance, etc.--is a never-catastrophe process.

If your goal is a sizable commercial heart, you're not probable to spend much time actually caring for children.

Though Lois Yard. spends plenty of time in her centers around the children, she hasn't actually been a caregiver for at least 10 years. "I made a very conscious decision when I began," she explains. "I knew I could hire a secretary to embrace the office and I could be a teacher in the classroom. Or I could be the one in the office, and I could hire the teacher. I decided it was ameliorate for me to exist the one in the function answering the phone and giving the tours because no one else had as much invested in this business as I did. A secretary might go through the motions and requite out data, simply a secretary is non going to convey the same passion that I'k going to convey when I know I'yard responsible for coming together payroll on Fri night." In the beginning, you may double every bit a caregiver besides as the manager, merely, Lois adds, "you don't desire to get in the habit of doing that on a regular basis or your program will suffer." Her vi centers employ more than 100 total-time people, plus approximately 30 substitutes.

Finding a Location

If yous're going to open up a heart on a commercial site, information technology makes sense to locate your facility close to your target marketplace. Some parents may prefer a middle close to home; others may choose a center close to their workplace. In the latter case, parents go to savor more than time with their children during their forenoon and evening commutes, as well equally the opportunity to spend time with them during the course of the day, perhaps for lunch or special programs.

Some site suggestions to consider include:

• A facility within or adjacent to a residential neighborhood or about a school
• A facility in a shopping center where parents with children are probable to pass past
• Sharing a facility with other community organizations
• Function and planned light-industrial parks with a sizable work strength

If you're going to open up a child-care center at abode, hash out your plans with family unit members and neighbors before you open. Younger children may resent other children coming into your home and changing their lifestyle. Older children--peculiarly teenagers--will need to exist told what's expected of them and what they can await as your business concern gets off the ground. Spouses may not completely understand the time commitment involved in this business organization, and then talk about things in detail well in advance of bringing the starting time client in. You may observe that your extended family unit and friends don't actually sympathize what's involved in a professional person kid-care business and may think that, since you're at dwelling house during the day, yous're "non actually working" or you lot're "just baby-sitting."

Talk to your neighbors about the impact your business will have on them in terms of traffic (as parents drop off and option up their children) and noise (recollect virtually the decibel levels five or six children can generate when playing). Let them know what steps yous'll accept to keep any irritation or inconvenience to a minimum, and reassure them that they should feel complimentary to contact you with whatsoever concerns or questions.

Some family child-care center operators have certain rooms of their homes designated for their business organisation; others utilize their entire homes. Your decision will be based on your country guidelines and personal preferences. Brenda B. has a playroom for the children, just they are not restricted to that area; she says she pretty much uses her entire house and her large, fenced backyard for her business. Sherri A.'s house in Winter Park, Florida, has a formal living room that serves equally the main child-care area.

Operations

Caring for children tin be enjoyable and rewarding, but if you're taking care of other people's children and accepting compensation for it, then caring for children is a business and it needs to be managed accordingly. Fifty-fifty though you probably want to get into this business because y'all dear children and non because yous dear to keep records, pay taxes and worry almost staffing, you must do these tasks finer if you're going to maintain a viable operation.

The high rate of attrition in the child-intendance business concern is driven in large part past the fact that many caregivers focus nearly exclusively on nurturing and caring for the children in their charge, and neglect the financial and management sides of their operations. Merely whether your goal is a small, family child-intendance center or to build a concatenation of commercial locations, y'all must deal with administration and direction issues if your business organisation is going to survive. If you programme ahead, that won't exist hard.

Set up up your financial record-keeping organisation from the outset in a manner that will provide you with the information y'all need to monitor your profitability and handle your taxation reporting. You may want to rent a consultant or an accountant who specializes in small businesses to help you at first; this small investment could save you a substantial corporeality of time and money in the long run.

Expect to spend a meaning amount of fourth dimension on management, marketing and administration. If y'all take employees, they need to be trained and supervised. Although the demand for kid intendance is high, parents won't exist able to notice you if you don't market place your service. And keeping up with administrative details--paying bills, buying supplies, doing budgets and forecasts, meeting ongoing licensing requirements, facility maintenance, etc.--is a never-ending process.

If your goal is a sizable commercial eye, you're not likely to spend much time really caring for children.

Though Lois Yard. spends plenty of time in her centers around the children, she hasn't actually been a caregiver for at least 10 years. "I fabricated a very conscious decision when I began," she explains. "I knew I could hire a secretarial assistant to cover the office and I could be a teacher in the classroom. Or I could exist the one in the office, and I could hire the teacher. I decided it was better for me to exist the one in the role answering the phone and giving the tours because no one else had as much invested in this business equally I did. A secretary might become through the motions and give out information, but a secretary is not going to convey the same passion that I'thousand going to convey when I know I'm responsible for meeting payroll on Fri night." In the start, you may double as a caregiver every bit well as the director, but, Lois adds, "you don't want to arrive the addiction of doing that on a regular basis or your program will suffer." Her six centers employ more than than 100 full-time people, plus approximately thirty substitutes.

Finding a Location

If you lot're going to open a center on a commercial site, it makes sense to locate your facility close to your target market. Some parents may prefer a center close to dwelling; others may choose a centre close to their workplace. In the latter case, parents get to enjoy more than fourth dimension with their children during their morn and evening commutes, as well as the opportunity to spend fourth dimension with them during the course of the day, perhaps for lunch or special programs.

Some site suggestions to consider include:

• A facility within or adjacent to a residential neighborhood or almost a school
• A facility in a shopping centre where parents with children are probable to pass past
• Sharing a facility with other community organizations
• Office and planned low-cal-industrial parks with a sizable work forcefulness

If yous're going to open up a kid-care center at domicile, discuss your plans with family members and neighbors before you open. Younger children may resent other children coming into your abode and changing their lifestyle. Older children--especially teenagers--will need to be told what's expected of them and what they can expect every bit your business gets off the ground. Spouses may not completely empathize the fourth dimension delivery involved in this business concern, and so talk about things in detail well in advance of bringing the get-go customer in. You may find that your extended family and friends don't really understand what'due south involved in a professional child-care business and may retrieve that, since y'all're at abode during the twenty-four hours, you're "not really working" or you're "only baby-sitting."

Talk to your neighbors about the affect your concern will accept on them in terms of traffic (as parents drop off and pick up their children) and dissonance (think virtually the decibel levels five or vi children can generate when playing). Let them know what steps you'll have to go along any irritation or inconvenience to a minimum, and reassure them that they should feel gratuitous to contact yous with whatever concerns or questions.

Some family kid-care center operators have certain rooms of their homes designated for their business; others utilize their entire homes. Your decision will exist based on your country guidelines and personal preferences. Brenda B. has a playroom for the children, merely they are not restricted to that area; she says she pretty much uses her entire house and her large, fenced backyard for her business. Sherri A.'south house in Winter Park, Florida, has a formal living room that serves as the primary kid-intendance area.

Costs

Setting Prices

The fees you lot charge will provide the financial base for your visitor and your income. They need to be competitive in your market place, reasonable and affordable for the parents, and likewise fair to you lot. You need to consider a variety of issues, including your costs, the profit you want to make, the going rates in your area and what the families you're targeting tin beget. Setting your rates, explaining--and often justifying--them to parents and then collecting the money are all part of beingness in the child-care business organisation.

Since you'll be offer a carefully planned curriculum that is far more than than a mere infant-sitting service, you are justified in establishing a fee structure similar in design to a private school. A sometime enrollment charge of half a week's tuition will hardly heighten an eyebrow, merely it volition compensate you for the cost in time, paperwork and special attention each aspirant needs.

Computing how much to accuse for space in your center volition be based primarily on three variables:

• Labor and materials (or supplies)
• Overhead
• Profit

A quaternary factor uncommon to near businesses just pregnant for a kid-care center is the limit to the number of children you tin conform. In most fields, if your business grows, you just continue hiring employees to serve the increasing number of customers. But in child care, country laws and practicality limit the number of children you can accept, putting a lid on the income potential of your business. To overcome this, successful kid-care center operators often open more locations in nearby areas to increase their client base and income.

Forms of Payment

You'll receive payments by check and greenbacks, and you may likewise want to set up up a merchant account so you can have credit cards. Check with your depository financial institution or the different credit card companies for information on accepting credit cards. Many child-care and transportation service providers find that automatically debiting parents' credit cards is the easiest way to obtain payment. "An automatic charge every calendar month is the easiest way to get your money," says Yvette B. "There are discount fees involved, simply information technology'due south well worth information technology."

Marketing

In most parts of the United states, the demand for quality child care is and then loftier that marketing your business organisation will be relatively easy. In fact, many of the providers we talked to for this volume--especially the homebased centers--do little or no marketing because they're established, with strong reputations and waiting lists. But every business organization needs a marketing plan, and yours is no exception.

All your marketing materials should exist professional person and alphabetic character-perfect. Consider hiring a graphic designer and/or professional author to help you with your marketing package. If they have children, you may exist able to negotiate their fees in castling.

Keep these questions in listen as you form your marketing plan:

• Who are your potential customers?
• How many of them are there?
• Where are they located?
• What are they currently doing for child care?
• Tin y'all offering them annihilation they're not getting now?
• How tin can you persuade them to bring their children to you?
• Exactly what services do you offer?
• How do you compare with your competitors?
• What kind of image practise you lot want to project?

The goal of your marketing plan should be to convey your being and the quality of your service to prospective customers, ideally using a multifaceted approach. The child-care center operators we talked with used a diverseness of marketing methods, from simple word-of-mouth to more sophisticated techniques.

Smart Tip

Inquire new clients how they establish out about you. Make a note of their answers and what kinds of businesses they represent (how many children they could potentially refer to your business concern). This will let you know how well your diverse marketing efforts are working. You tin then make up one's mind to increment certain programs and eliminate those that aren't working.

Resource

Associations

• American Academy of Pediatrics(AAP)
• American Lodge for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
• Child Intendance Law Center
• Children'due south Foundation
• National Association for Family unit Kid Care
• National Association of Kid Care Professionals
• National Kid Intendance Information Eye
• LISC: National Children's Facilities Network and Community Investment Collaborative for Kids (CICK)
• National Resource Center for Health and Safe in Child Care

Consultants and Other Experts

• Robert S. Bernstein
• Vicki L. Helmick, CPA

Government Agencies and Related Resources

• Environmental Protection Agency(Notation: Contact for a list of restricted chemicals that are unsuitable for use in a child-care surround.)
• U.South. Consumer Product Safe Commission (CPSC)(Note: To receive faxed notification of CPSC recalls, fax your name and fax number to (301) 504-0399; to receive e-mail notification, send an email to listproc@cpsc.gov with the subject field line "Bring together CPSCINFO-L".)
• U.S. Department of Agriculture, Child and Developed Intendance Nutrient Program

Publications

• Kid Care Information Substitution
• Early Childhood Today
• >Earlychildhood.com
• High/Telescopic
• Young Children
• Condom Ride News

What Product Or Service Will Your Daycare Provide,

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/41422

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