A Home Daycare Business May Be In Your Future
By Robert Markovsky
Starting a day care business can involve a number of different factors that are very
important. Your first port of call should be to contact your local state licensing agency
for child care operations. They will be able to give you application forms to acquire your
license and information on how everything works, etc.
Bear in mind that not all states require you to be licensed, but you will still have to be
registered, depending on how many children you will be looking after. You will need to
check with the state you live in to see whether there is a minimum requirement regarding
how many children should attend your day care center.
Something else you will need to take into account is the premises you are going to be
using. You need some amount of money to start your business and to buy or rent a suitable
equipment for the children. A large ranch style house may be suitable at first. You just
have to weigh your options and see what you can afford. Remember to make the business
easily accessible wherever you are in order to gain more clients!
To get the start up funds you might need you may need financial assistance from somewhere.
Unfortunately, as with most businesses, you do need some money in order to start your
child care business. Not only do you need a proper physical location, but you also need
toys and equipment for the children too. Luckily, you should find that there are places
you can get financial assistance and that may come in the form of a church or a labor
union. Failing that, you could always try to get a business loan. However, that could be
quite risky so a partnership or sponsorship is definitely worth looking into instead.
Before operating your business to its full potential you need to realize what the ordinary
day care hours usually are. Your choices are to operate early mornings, in the afternoon,
or late at night. If you are competing with other centers you may wish to operate later
hours than most others do in case parents work late, etc. Try to come up with the best
hours for you and your business, as well as working out the most profitable times. For
example, you could perhaps charge more for later at night.
You may decide to give the children snacks. For example, a mid-morning snack of an apple
and some milk, perhaps. If you do plan to offer breakfast, you will need an area in your
facility where you can prepare food, etc. Adding breakfast to your Daycare business
enables you to charge up to $12 more per week.
Overall, this type of business has the potential to earn decent money. The average charge
per child for five days a week is between $35-$65 and, again, you can add a surcharge if
you are planning to serve breakfast. Generally, it is advisable for you to ask for some
pay in advance to avoid getting into debt quite quickly.
In summary, in order to have a successful Daycare business, you really need to have
financial backing, the right type of premises, proper advertising and a thorough
investigation of the laws in your home State to see what their restrictions and
regulations are for child care. With good planning this kind of operation can provide
a good living.
See Start Your Own Service Business
for a wealth of information on home business ideas. This is one site provided by
Millennium Services Group,
run by R.T. Markovsky.
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