could $5000-8000 enough to open a home childcare?

Question

I'm currently a stay at home mom and go to work partime to save some money for my plan of opening a childcare. If yes, it would be enough then what are the next steps will I havee to do? anyone have experienced with this? please help
thank you

if not, how much money do I need if i want to open a licensed day care?

Answer 1

Yes, it could but the determining factor would be what condition is the space you plan on having the service in your house. The first step should be writting a business plan to identify what you need to begin business. It's also a tool to identify problems that may have been over looked. It's a blueprint of your business before you invest.

Answer 2

It doesn't cost too much to provide childcare at your home.

First, figure out the child-care environment in your home. Which rooms for children and which are off limits? Now make sure you remove all dangers where children will hang out (e.g. plugs for all sockets, no loose strings from mini-blinds, stairways are gated, etc)

Next, figure out how many children and what ages you can care for. How many hours a day, from what time to what time, how many days a week? Be flexible on this when you are starting out, but be sure you can handle things if demands are beyond your expectations (e.g. if you expect to start at 8:30am, but someone needs to drop off a kid by 7:30am, be sure you can handle this long-term before signing up).

Now, you have to get legit as a business. Your county or state probably license daycare providers, so you have to get a license. Be sure to have business insurance, and have a flexible policy that starts cheap but can grow as your business grows. Have a way to do invoices and track payments. Have a policy on late payments and late pickups (how much penalty to charge?). You have to have an accounting system for dealing with taxes.

Figure our your holidays needs, how many vacation days (no fee) each child is entitled to a year. Create application forms and make sure the emergency numbers provided on the applications are legit so you have more than one person to call. Etc, etc, etc. These are all business things which you need to take care of as a daycare provider.

Have a few friends come over and "audit" everything to be sure all your bases are covered.

Now you are ready to advertise and socialize. There may be a few "mother's" resource or groups in your area. Sign up with them and business will be directed your way.

You don't need $5K-$8K for this unless you need to remodel your home to remove hazards or something.

Last advise, get someone who is good with tax laws and home businesses and see what's the best way to run your business and pay as little taxes as necessary. Also consider whether it makes sense to run your daycare as an LLC to minimize your liability exposure.

Answer 3

Not if you expect to be licensed and bonded.

And if you run a day care from your home without licenses and insurance, you could loose everything if a child got hurt and you were sued. You would also run a risk of fines from the city and/or state for operating an unlicensed daycare facility.

Sorry to rain on your parade.

Doc