Providing children with a great start in their early life can be enormously rewarding and fulfilling. After some years, when you see the tiny tots flourishing in their career and life, it gives you a great sense of pride because you nurtured their early childhood.
If you have a passion for working with children, starting a childcare business can be an excellent career choice.
With 75% of families in the UK relying on childcare services to look after their children while they’re aware of work, starting this business can prove profitable in the long run. This presents a world of opportunities for those looking to take the next step and start their own childcare business.
Planning to start a childcare business is one side of the coin. The other is understanding the steps required to ensure you start a legal childcare business that attracts potential parents.
In this article, we explore some steps you can take to start a childcare business that’s fulfilling and financially rewarding.
How to start a childcare business in 8 steps
Follow these eight steps to start your childcare business:
Step:1 Search for child management software.
Technology should be the center of a childcare business because this business requires complicated tasks. However, going digital doesn’t mean following a challenging process to start and run a childcare business.
So, before searching for anything else, look for child management software that can help you automate all your pen and paper-based tasks.
A child management software automates childcare administrative tasks, streamlines communication, and increases the monitoring of children and the childcare center employees, thereby achieving efficiency in your childcare business.
From enrollment to child monitoring, reporting, billing, class scheduling, and communication with parents, childcare management software helps you remain at the top of your center’s operations.
What’s more fulfilling is that you get to operate your business using a single dashboard. This eliminates inefficiencies and fatigue that’s synonymous with manual childcare management.
When you know you have child management software in place, you can focus on other things required to start a new childcare business.
Step 2: Know about the childcare licensing requirement
After knowing the best childcare management software, it’s essential to understand how to start a childcare requirement that meets the country’s or city’s legal requirements in which you want to start.
Knowing the licensing requirement is essential to ensure that your business doesn’t run into legal troubles. An excellent step would be to contact your state’s childcare development department to understand the specific regulations required to start such a business.
Consider contacting your local area’s childcare licensing agency. You don’t have to visit the office physically. Instead, you search for the information to ensure you develop a legal business.
Many cities require you to have a license to start a childcare business along with clean driving records. So, when in doubt, consult a legal expert or a childcare agency for the licensing requirement in your area.
Step 3: Find a location for your childcare
If you plan to run a childcare business out of your home, location will not be a problem. When starting a childcare business in a commercial place, you need to search for space available to host the childcare.
Search online, within your network, and in your local newspaper to find options in your area.
Work out your finances and decide whether to rent a space or purchase it. Once you’ve found your right fit, confirm from the zonal or city’s office regarding the laws required to make sure that your chosen location complies with government rules and regulations.
So, find a big enough location to host a daycare or childcare business. This way, you can avoid any legal trouble down the road that your business is likely to face. It can help impress parents who want their children to spend time in a friendly but spacious environment.
Step 4: Work out your finances
The cost of starting and running a childcare business depends on various factors. There are many financial aspects that you need to sort including location, premises, equipment, hours of business, and employees you hire. Common childcare costs include insurance policies, energy bills, disposable resources like art and craft supplies, and consumables.
Having a clear idea of the overall cost of running a childcare business helps you create a strong business plan and set the fees you charge from parents.
Determine the amount of money you’re willing to invest in your business. After creating a business plan, you need to raise capital to get started. You can even raise equity funds by providing shares in your company.
You can even apply for bank loans and business start-up packages. Knowing your ability to invest and raise capital for your business can be a great way to start a business that’s fruitful in the long run.
Step 5: Hire the right employees
One of the most challenging aspects of starting a childcare business is hiring the right employees. The personal qualities these employees impart can be the difference between success and failure for your childcare business.
So, when hiring employees, ensure they have relevant qualifications for the job they’re being recruited for. Also, carry out background verifications before their employment starts. This helps in ensuring you hire candidates who are eligible and trustworthy.
Also, hire the right number of employees to maintain an appropriate child-to-teacher ratio. Verify your local daycare licensing requirement to know the child-to-teacher ratio. Make your hiring decision wisely to keep your facility safe and maintain a stellar reputation.
The right set of employees can help in attracting parents to your daycare. Also, ensure that you only hire qualified employees who are eligible to teach toddlers.
Step 6: Create a contract
As a small business owner, creating a contract that clearly outlines everything about your childcare business is essential. Having a solid contract in place can protect you from any legal issues.
So, contact a legal lawyer to create a contract according to your requirement.
You can use this contract to define your expectations for the parents and their children. Some questions to consider when creating a contract can include:
- What times do parents need to pick up their children?
- How do you want your parents to pay you?
- What services do you provide?
- What penalties do parents face on late payments?
- Do you offer refunds? If so, under what circumstances?
- How do you handle injury in the childcare facility?
A contract in place can secure your business and set clear expectations from day one.
Step 7: Market your childcare facility
Unless people know and hear about your childcare business, they will not send their children. Building a brand that parents can resonate with is essential to attract potential parents.
You can create flyers and posters and post them in your local communities, including coffee shops, restaurants, schools, and other areas that attract parents.
If you have a significant budget, you can run paid ads on Facebook or Google to draw families looking for a childcare facility for their tiny tots and toddlers.
For establishing your facility as a professional business, consider building a website that provides more information about who you are and what you do. Investing in a custom-designed website can help you create a strong online presence. With parents looking for websites to make an educated decision about their children, a website can help you achieve your goals.
To further increase your online presence, focus on using search engine optimization or SEO to attract organic traffic from Google and other SERPs. That way, when families search for childcare near them, your facility or business may show up in their search results.
Step 8: Provide a top-quality childcare facility
The success and number of children who enroll in your childcare depend on the quality services you provide to your families.
If kids and tiny toddlers at your facility feel cared for, enjoy coming to the daycare, and parents see constant progress in their learning, your business is likely to earn referrals.
Positive reviews on Yelp, Google, or Facebook can work wonders for your business. The more positive reviews your business can collect, the higher would be your chances of increasing your business. So, ask parents of children who come to your childcare to leave reviews on various review websites.
Invest in education, ask families for feedback and hire the right employees to make your childcare facility the obvious choice for families in your area.
Starting your childcare business
While starting a childcare business can be challenging, it can be lucrative and rewarding. With a roadmap in place, it becomes easier to kickstart your business.
Use these steps to get started and create a childcare business that provides quality education and childcare services to everyone who comes knocking on your door.
Start developing your childcare facility today!