Child Care Center Success Factors
When making the decision to enter the child care business, you should first consider a variety of important factors that can help you decide if child care is the right business for you.
Owning and running your own child care center can be an extremely fulfilling and rewarding experience, but not everyone is cut out to work in this industry. Below are some of the factors that can determine if a person is suitable for this business.
Before you take the plunge and start your own child care business, ask yourself the following six questions.
Child Care Business Success Factors
1) Do you have leadership skills? As the manager of a child care center, you will take a leadership role with both your staff and the children.
2) Are you working and organized? Setting up and running a child care center takes a lot of effort. You must be able to manage your time and resources in a way that maximizes productivity and keeps things organized.
3) Are you in good health? It’s a fact of life that children get sick more often than adults, and colds can spread through daycare centers like wildfire. Being fit and healthy will ensure that your immune system is strong and that you can avoid getting sick too often. Good health will also give you the energy to lead the entrepreneurial lifestyle of a child care center owner.
4) Can you stay calm in a crisis? To be successful in day care or in any business, you ideally want to be someone who doesn’t panic in an emergency.
5) Do you have sufficient funds to start the business? You’ll need to make sure you have enough cash to cover your living costs in the early stages before your business becomes profitable.
6) Do you like working with children? Are you capable of taking responsibility and taking care of other people’s children as if they were your own? Depending on the age groups you are working with, you may need to physically care for them, discipline them, educate them, or play with them.
Once you have decided that you are fit to open and operate a child care center, you can consider the following four factors to create a basic business model before proceeding with the preparation of a business plan.
Other Basic Considerations for Starting Child Care
1) Local home based or rented? Running a commercial daycare business requires a large investment and it may be best to start with an in-home service and then work your way up to eventually opening in rented premises. Wherever your child care center or nursery opens, be sure to comply with local zoning laws.
2) What type of legal structure will be suitable for your center? This will depend on many factors and you should seek the advice of an accountant or lawyer before deciding on a sole proprietorship, partnership or “limited liability” company. You may also need to have a business license to operate a day care center in your state.
3) Rent. Is it possible to run a small child care center from your home or will you have to rent a commercial space? Although many organizations, such as businesses, universities, and hospitals, have set up on-site childcare, many parents still prefer to use a service closer to home. So the question here is, do they settle near where the families live or near where the parents work?
4) Hours of operation. You really need to do some market research to find out more about when the local population will need your services. Some parents may want to drop off the kids very early in the morning before they go to work and others may want to pick them up late, so you may have to be open for many hours. If you are not interested in such long hours, you could target mothers who work part-time and only need your services for part of the day. Depending on the size of your market, there may also be the opportunity to offer weekend care if parents require it.
Successful businessmen and women take the time to carefully evaluate an opportunity and make sure it’s a good fit for them. Understanding the factors that will improve your chances of success is the key to getting off to a great start. Make sure opening a child care center is a positive and profitable experience for you by knowing exactly what you need to do to be successful.