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Start Your Own
Highly Profitable
Home-Based Day Care Center
By starting your own daycare, you have the opportunity to not only make
some extra money, but you'll be able to stay home and spend time with your
own kids. Both benefits are very important -- who doesn't need to make
extra money? -- and your kids will only be young once.
But starting a daycare isn't as easy as buying a sandbox and handing out
flyers with your name, phone number and address. There are things that
you'll need to do before you actually start minding other people's
children.
First, do you actually like being with children? Do you like playing with
them? Does it bother you having to run after unruly children (and they're
all unruly sometime or another)? Will you be able to feel affection for
the children of strangers? Children need affection from their caregivers
-- parents and daycare providers alike. Some people can be very loving to
their own children, but can't seem to feel the same affection and love for
the children of others. If you can't provide that loving, patient
affection, then running a daycare is not for you.
Personal suitability is obviously the first requirement to starting and
running your own daycare service. Just like any business endeavor, you
have to love the work you'll be doing, and you'll have to want to do it.
But if you love kids in general, and you have more patience than your
friends and family can comprehend, you ought to do well.
The market for daycare services is booming. More and more, families are
finding that they need two incomes to support their lifestyles, and are
turning to home-based daycares to look after their children. Plus,
single-parent homes are more prevalent than ever before. Single moms have
to go out to work everyday, and need a safe, nurturing place to send their
children.
But, while there are many opportunities, please keep in mind
that you won't make your fortune minding the children of others. However,
it'll provide a much-needed second income for you, and will allow you to
stay home and care for your own kids.
If you've passed the personal suitability "test", the next thing you need
to do is to find out what laws and regulations apply to home-based
daycares. There are usually limits on the number of children that a
daycare can take in, and requirements on the ratio between adult
caregivers and children.
You must find out all the laws and
regulations that apply before you can prepare to open a daycare service.
Other legal obligations might include first aid requirements, the
provision of meals and snacks, and even planned curricula for the
children. Know the details before you start up.
Next, you need to work out a budget, so you can determine how much you'll
charge for minding the children. Keep in mind that a small home-based
daycare will never be a source of instant riches and easy money. In fact,
if you don't watch your finances closely and plan in advance, you may
actually find yourself losing money instead of making it.
Next, you'll need to come up with written contracts that both you and the
parents will sign spelling out in detail how much they'll pay, the drop
off and pick up hours, and just what you'll be providing. There'll also be
forms to create that will record the details of each child's week -- drop
off and pick up times each day, how the child was, what he did or learnt,
the food he ate, etc.
Karen Childs
(Karen Childs is a veteran home worker, as well as author of several
best selling books, including
"Starting a Day Care",
an complete guide that you can download, that
will help you in your preparations, providing sample contracts and forms,
lots of information. Remember, learning all you
can before you start will save you lots of time, energy and money in the
future. Be prepared!) |
