Because more than half of the workforce consists of parents, home daycare services are needed more than ever before. The Bureau of Labor reports that sixty percent of mothers with children under six and nearly ninety-four percent of fathers with kids younger than eighteen were employed in 2020. Meaning people need a safe place for their kids to stay while they go to work. A home daycare service can take some time to start but is profitable once set up and running.
Here are five steps to follow to start a profitable home daycare business:
Step One: Determine Your Community Needs
Spend time doing proper research to see what kind of daycare services your local community needs — for example, infant services or after-school daycare time. Providing exactly what your community needs is the first step to running a successful business.
Step Two: Understand Local and Federal Requirements
Every state and county in America will have different requirements to follow to run a safe and legal home daycare center. For example, you can only watch four children under the age of twelve months by yourself in the state of Florida. However, once they turn three, you can watch up to fifteen.
Step Three: Obtain a CPR and Other Similar Certifications
Being around children means you need to obtain proper certifications and paperwork to keep them safe. By far, the most important one is a CPR certification. Then, if a child gets injured or needs emergency services, you will know what to do while more help arrives.
Step Four: Choose a Name and Register Your Daycare
Choose a name that is easy to remember and makes sense to the services you want to provide. For example, if you noticed your community needs more after-hours services, choosing a name similar to “The Local After-Hours Home Daycare Center” is an excellent choice. This lets your customers know right away to whom you are marketing.
Step Five: Develop a Daycare Program and Set Your Rates
After completing your research, it is time to create your program and set your rates. Keep in mind the number of children you can watch at one time and what extra services you can or need to provide, such as homework help and providing meals or snacks. All of these costs, time, and effort need to be accounted for. Stay firm with your rates, and don’t be afraid to be competitive. If you have the skills, knowledge, and resources, your local community will have the means and desire to pay your prices.
These tips will get you started fast with your first daycare service. First, obtaining the proper certificates, training and resources are vital to operating a safe and profitable home daycare business. Then, find your value, set fair prices, and don’t forget to use the power of word-of-mouth marketing to promote your home daycare business.