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!)
Remember, your future is up to
you, 
