The childcare industry is becoming more and more attractive since many other fields have plummeted in the last few years.
In line with that, starting a childcare business has become an interesting business idea for many potential entrepreneurs.
State-owned childcare and daycare facilities can’t accept all the kids in need of such care. Private kindergartens and daycare businesses become valuable alternatives.
In this article, we’ll show what conditions you need to meet to open such a facility.
Table of Contents
1) Make a financial plan
In terms of finances, launching a childcare business is no different from launching any other venture.
For starters, you need to conduct market research to see how many potential customers you can count on. That way, you know how many parents and kids might use your childcare services.
Consider the neighborhood where you open this facility. If it’s a new block with many young couples, you’ll probably have more customers than in an old city area with older citizens.
List the following items in your financial plan:
- Rent costs
- Overhead costs
- Number of customers
- Monthly price per customer
- Number of employees at the beginning and their salaries
- Expected initial monthly income
- Taxes
Now you’ve completed your financial plan and you can form your budget.
2) Find the right space
You probably don’t have the right space for a childcare facility up your sleeve.
So, roll up your sleeves to find a space attractive enough for parents to leave their kids there and functional enough for those kids to have fun in it.
Depending on your financial plan and budget, you can opt either for a larger apartment or a house. If you have enough assets, a house with a yard is always a better option. When parents see a yard with trees and grass, you’re halfway there in winning their trust. Kids can spend a lot of time outdoors, which is especially important for families living in cities.
On the other hand, apartments can be an alluring option, but more for nursery businesses. Babies and young toddlers spend more time sleeping and they’re less dynamic. For that target audience, a spacious apartment is a good choice, as well.
3) Adapt the space to children’s needs
When you’re looking for the right house or apartment, take into account the necessary level of adaptation.
In other words, the less you need to invest, the better for your budget and business. Shop around a bit to see if there are any available spaces that already meet most of the conditions to become a childcare facility.
Some of these requirements are:
- Adapted bathrooms. You need small toilets and sinks, adapted to little kids.
- Proper kitchen. Every childcare facility needs to have a proper kitchen that meets sanitary rules.
- Anti–fire protection. Childcare facilities need to be properly protected against fire.
- Child-proofed interior. All the furniture items and toys need to be properly secured to be as safe for kids as possible.
4) Insure the childcare center
When you’ve invested money and other assets in your childcare center, leave nothing to chance. You can never tell what accident can happen either in that space or in the surrounding area.
Therefore, insure your childcare facility against fire, natural perils, and other potential risks.
It would be wise to have your customers, i.e., kids, insured while they’re under your surveillance. If it happens that a kid gets hurt in your childcare center, parents have the right to sue you. By insuring the kids, you provide proper compensation for parents and you protect your business, as well.
5) Adopt a rulebook
Every childcare and educational institution needs to have a rulebook. Actually, you need two rulebooks. One refers to the rights and obligations of kids and parents using your services. The nannies, governesses and teachers working in your childcare center can put together these rules.
The other rulebook includes all right rights and obligations of all the staff members. Some of the features you can cover here are the work hours, as well as workers’duties and responsibilities, and their salaries. It should contain the repercussions of not meeting the work requirements, as well.
If you prescribe everything in advance, you’ll leave no room for ambiguity. As a result, you’ll minimize the number of potential issues for you as the owner.
6) Hire qualified professionals
If you’re not a childcare professional yourself, but an entrepreneur, you’ll need to hire some qualified professionals.
First and foremost, consider the candidates that have passed governess courses. They usually have enough skills and practice to work with toddlers and young preschoolers.
In some countries, there’s a syllabus for kids in the preschool year adopted by the relevant ministry of education. If you want to form groups for that age, you’ll have to hire licensed teachers for that purpose.
Furthermore, if you want to add sports sections to your childcare groups, you can’t hire just a sportsperson. For instance, if you want to organize karate training sessions for kids in your kindergarten, the person holding those sessions must be qualified to work with kids, as well.
It goes without saying that all other people working in your childcare facility – cooks, pedagogists, cleaners, janitors, etc. – need to be licensed to work in such a business.
7) Promote your childcare business
Now that you’ve organized everything for your childcare business, it’s promotion time. You should promote your business as much as possible in the following digital media:
- Social networks. Make a Facebook business page and open an Instagram account. Instagram is especially suitable to target younger generations of parents. Additional two cents: remember you can’t publish kids’ photos without their kids’ permissions.
- Business website. Launch a business website where parents can find all the key information about your childcare business.
- Google My Business. Add your childcare venture to Google My Business. People will find you much more easily that way.
- Paid online ads. Launch a paid ads campaign to see if the number of parents contacting you increases.
Launching a childcare business can be a lucrative endeavor in the long run. Be patient at the beginning and apply the tips shared above. By doing so, you’ll grow your venture and provide top-notch childcare services to your clients.
