Business Plan for a Child Day Care: My Checklist

The Day Care Business Plan Checklist – What You Need to Start a Day Care Center

By Dolson McArt

If you’ve decided that a day care center is the perfect business for you,

here’s a list of a few things that you will need to get it off the ground. Print our handy checklist out and keep it somewhere you can see.


Resolution, Grit and Determination. Any new adventure needs determination and guts to bypass whatever obstacles you run into along the way.

Your business plan. The business plan that you carry is a blueprint for your business. It will give a clear idea of what you need to have. You need your business plan to pitch to potential investors, potential clients and potential partners for the day care business. You need this to get organized and to keep yourself organized.

Knowledge. Some states require day care owners to either complete a child care course or be a certified teacher. Not sure if

yours is one of them? Read up on your local laws and legislations on child care. Check out your business associations and other local government offices for what you might need.

Capital or Funding – There are various ways to come up with the capital for your day care center. What you need depends largely on your business plan and location. You can use savings, find an investor, take out a loan from your local bank or association or apply for government grants.

Apply for business licenses and permits. Your knowledge of your state and federal licenses come in handy here. These are very important as potential clients will look for your qualifications. Don’t skip this part. It is very important.

Insurance. You need insurance for both the day care itself, against accidents, medical insurance and for your clients. This will come in handy in the future. It is better to protect yourself from unexpected occurrences in the future. Having insurance means you don’t have to worry that your venture will get wiped out by some weird catastrophe. And if it ever does happen, you’re safe.

Advertising.
Call up friends. Spread the word that you’re opening a day care center. Take out ads in your local paper or radio station. Post bills and hand out flyers. Go to your community center and post it on the billboard. Open a website or free blog on the Internet. No matter what you choose, you’ll find a way of advertising that you’ll be comfortable with.

Employees.
You can begin to scout for potential employees. Place want ads. Conduct interviews and make your selections. Starting up, you may not have enough to pay for a full time employee, so think about hiring a part-time employee to help you with the daily nitty-gritty.

Equipment.
Your day care will need the best equipment you can afford. Educational kits, mats, toys, books, first-aid, chairs and carpeting come into play here. Will you install a playground? What about utensils and cups? What supplies do you need? Again, this will largely be determined by the type of day care center you have and what you want to do.

Of course, the most important of all: your clients! You can’t run a day care center without them kids. By the time your clients start coming in, you should be well-prepared for the challenging, rewarding work that comes with day care. Keep in mind that while you may not cover all the bases in your first few days of operation, soon you’ll be an expert in juggling whatever comes your way.

See: Start a daycare Business.

Dolson McArt – Author of: [http://www.ownadaycare.com]The Daycare Checklist – What You Need to Start a Day Care Center

Contributing to EzineArticles.com since March 2007.