Before opening your home to care for children, you should create a business start-up plan. This plan should include your reasons for wanting to start a home-based child care service, overhead and start-up costs, day-to-day operations, and projected yearly earnings. Having a business plan will make implementing each phase of your business easier so you can concentrate on providing quality care.
Instructions
Write a Business Start-Up Plan for Home-Based Child Care
1. Research local and state laws and regulations pertaining to home-based child care. You might need to obtain a license or certificate to run your business. You might also need to increase your home owner's insurance, apply for liability insurance and complete first-aid courses.
2. Create a list of the costs associated with starting a home child care business. Costs might include:
-business/liability insurance
-certification
-equipment (high chairs, baby proofing items, cribs, blankets, toys, cleaning supplies)
-food
-labor (if hiring employees)
-marketing
3. Break your business plan into sections such as:
-child care mission statement
-day-to-day operations
-overhead and start-up costs (equipment, labor, insurance, certification, food, marketing)
-transportation costs
-projected yearly earnings
4. Include your reasons for starting a home day care and what you expect from your business in the Child Care Mission Statement section. This should be the first section of your business plan. Describe any education, experience and expectations you have that will help you provide the best care for children.
5. Describe the day-to-day operations of your home-based day care. Create a schedule that includes feeding times, nap time, play times, and drop-off and pick-up times. You can include a list of potential activities, outings and other items you plan to provide.
6. List all overhead costs for operating your home-based day care. Include start-up or one-time costs. If you will be providing transportation to school or bus stops for school-age children, calculate how much this will cost in gas and mileage on your car.
7. Calculate potential earnings for the year in the last section of your start up business plan. Determine how much to charge for your services. For example, you might charge by the hour or week. You might charge differently for infants versus school-age children. Determine hours of business, payment schedule, and whether you want to participate in government voucher programs that help parents pay child care costs.
