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You've already decided to establish the center in your home rather than in a commercial space, but there are many other considerations to address. Hopping In displays your daycare’s availability to parents who need extra time. Parents can also drop spots in Hopping In and earn a partial tuition credit back when someone else books those spots. Running a successful home daycare isn’t easy and that’s exactly why you should take some time for yourself. Go to the gym or take a walk – your daycare will still be there when you come back.
Even with careful planning, these expenses are not easy money to come by. There are several different options to help you obtain financing. Still, regardless of which funding source you choose, in-home daycare owners must be prepared to present a solid business plan in order to open your center. Marketing your daycare simply means telling everyone you know about it. Friends, family, and coworkers are a great place to start when marketing your daycare. Many daycare owners blog about their days, the children, and any new or exciting things that may have happened that day.
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Now that you have taken the time to carefully write your business plan, Paper Pinecone says it’s time to develop your program. The program you decide to implement should be based on your community’s needs. For example, if you notice that the community where you reside has its fair share of daycare centers, try to specialize in infant care. Once you’ve hired your child care employees and invested in marketing efforts, it’s time to determine how your in-home daycare center will run its daily operations.
Parents will appreciate having a hub for all of your important information—just be sure you update it regularly. Spending time with kids all day is one thing, but running a business is a whole different animal. That’s why we connected with childcare directors who have seen it all to get their best tips for running a smooth, profitable operation. Though sifting through insurance policies might not be the most exciting step, it’s incredibly important. These policies are meant to protect both you and your home—and may even be a requirement of your personal homeowner’s insurance. The consequences of being underinsured when you’re living in your place of employment could be catastrophic if something goes wrong—you’re not just out a business, you could lose the roof over your head.
Crafting a Business Plan
Like in tip 1 and 2, parents may forget that you are a child care provider and send messages late in the evening. Running a successful home daycare is much easier when you’ve got a good system to guide you. Like in the tip number one, lines get blurred in home daycares. It’s your home, after all, so it might slip your friends and family’s mind that it’s your workplace, too. Beyond the basics like work hours and tuition fees, there are a lot of things an in-home child care provider has to know.
Wherever you gather with other parents, such as church, play groups, playgrounds, etc, you should be telling them about your new daycare. Make sure to point out any areas that make yours stand out, and the word of mouth should grow your business all on its own. You can also create flyers to hand out so people have a physical reminder of your daycare. If you are going to be offering services the other daycares don’t, such as the serving of organic food or a more complicated curriculum, you can think about charging a little more for your daycare. If you aren’t offering anything the others don’t, you may want to charge a little less.
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All requirements and regulations should be found on your state’s official Child Care Licensing website. If you want to be certain, you can call your state’s Child Care Licensing Center and get the answers to any questions you may have, including what is required for you to open your own in-home daycare. Creating a business plan will make things go more smoothly once you do open your daycare. Include your purpose for opening a daycare, what you hope to get out of it, and what you hope to provide to others. You’ll also need to make sure that you are up on the insurance requirements of the home, including fire and damage insurance.
Again, the answer to this question varies from state to state. A complete list of child care licensing and regulations can be found here. In fact, most in-home daycares end up spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in startup costs alone.
Insurance requirements
As each state differs on what they require, it’s important that you know the requirements for your state, even if you’ve had a daycare in a different state. Each state has different requirements when it comes to the training, licenses, and insurance that you need in order to start a home daycare. Be sure to find out exactly what your state requires for you to become licensed. For most states, that will include a certain number of training hours. Providing something that parents want is an important tool to having a successful in-home daycare.
We recommend “Sole Proprietorship,” which is the most common way for small businesses in the US. As a Sole Proprietor, you own 100% of your business, and it isn’t taxed separately—your income and your business’ income are the same thing. Plus, you don’t need to take any formal steps to set up as a sole proprietorship, which keeps it simple. Make sure it’s easily portable—you’ll have to bring it with you anytime you and the children leave the house.
Those who hope to own an in-home daycare center need to identify all potential markets in their vicinity and research them thoroughly in order to build a viable business model. These populations might include working parents, or stay-at-home parents who are looking for child care, among others. Once you’ve narrowed down your target market, it’s time to move on to step two. Sholom Strick is an expert on the business of running daycare centers and founder of Hopping In, a tool that helps childcare centers and family daycare providers fill unused spots.
“There is nothing better than a referral from a happy parent,” Lindner says. Whether you are already in the game or are considering getting started, this expert advice on how to run a daycare will inspire and challenge you to run the best business possible. This program has not been approved by any state professional licensing body, and this program is not intended to lead to any state-issued professional license. For further information on professional licensing requirements, please contact the appropriate board or agency in your state of residence. Child Care and Development Fund — a federally funded grant to states to support child care subsides. Consider posting your family handbook on a business website or Facebook group so parents can easily access the information and reference it when questions arise.
See if you qualify for one of these programs to mitigate your start-up and operational costs. Running a successful home daycare is different from running a daycare center. Parents feel much more comfortable communicating to you, and sometimes that means the boundaries get blurred.
If you decide to take those steps, a license can benefit you and your business in many ways. For one, seeing that framed license hanging on the wall may bring them some peace of mind. Earning state licensure generally means you’ve met standards for health and safety, staffing ratios, education and training and more. Not only will this reassure current parents, it may also help attract new ones. Many childcare providers say that demand is so high that they often have a waiting list without doing any marketing. However, if you are just starting out, you want to establish your reputation as a professional business.
Before you can open your daycare, you’ll need to schedule a visit with a fire inspector as well. Daycares, as we all hope, need to be determined as safe and welcoming for any child before the doors open to the public. When a parent’s interested, you should schedule a tour to show them around and discuss your daycare. After that, you’ll send a contract, get their deposit, and enroll their child in your program. It might seem strange to begin advertising your business before you receive your license, but it’s an important part of launching your daycare successfully. When you’re an employee, your employer withholds your taxes and then you may get a refund during tax season.
More parents today are deciding to stay at home with their children. And many are choosing to open in-home daycares for additional income. If you’ve thought about opening up your own home daycare, there are a few steps you should follow in order to be successful. “It saves parents from sitting at your center filling out pages and pages of forms,” Salvaris says. And it makes you look like the organized, prepared professional you are. It may seem formal, but having a handbook for your business will lead to a better customer experience for your parents and protect you as a business owner.
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