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Starting a daycare is an exciting adventure and a great career move for daycare providers. We asked the OwnADaycare on Facebook members, “If you had to give a new daycare provider or family daycare business owner one or two important tips, what would they be”? Our veteran daycare owners provided their best tips for new daycare owners:

• Make sure that clients pre-pay, get a deposit, and create good contract, but most of all have a good social outlet for yourself. You will burn out quicker if you don’t get out and talk to grownups often enough.
• ‎1st off Check your state sex offender list. I recently had to shut a facility down because I did not know a registered sex offender lived close by and I lost all my clients before i could legally do anything and the law protected him because he had lived there all his life, also if you are going to rent a building make sure that the building is up to code.
• Stick to your policies across the board. Remember, 15 minutes turns into 30 into 45 and so on … So enforce the fees and provide stellar service.
• Remember, you do NOT work FOR your clients, you PROVIDE a service TO them. Get your contract agreed with a settling in period which works both ways. ENJOY!!!
• Make a plan and stick to it. Take time off. Don’t be afraid to voice your opinion. Never forget it’s your house, your rules and it’s OK to say NO once in a while! Most of all, remember it’s a blessing to do this for a living and you are touching the lives of not only children in your care, but in the families lives that trust you.
• Everyone wants something for free! And the daycare provider will be the first place they try to get it! Parents WILL try to take advantage of you! Put your foot down, stand firm in your policies and don’t let your families walk all over you!
• Try not to OVER ENROLL!! Providers get caught every time!! Get a good feel from parents too! If your gut instinct is bad,  stay away from enrolling that family!!!
• Don’t lower your rates out of fear of not getting children. Don’t forget to take time for yourself and your family!
• Have a contract, don’t expect the parents to remember all of your rules….just remind them if they break a rule. If someone asks you for something extra (later hours, transporting their child to school, whatever) tell them to give you some time to think about it and take 24 hours to think it thru. If you decide you can do this for them, tell them that you can do that for now but if it doesn’t work out, you’ll have to stop doing it.
• It’s your business make sure that neither the parents nor the kids try to take over. Remember if you do for one there all going to want you to do for them.
• Be friendly with your families, but not friends. It’s too hard to stick to your policies and enforce rules when you get too friendly with your families.

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Marketing your daycare business on Craigslist is easy, free, and a great way to increase your enrollment and keep all of your slots filled.

1. First go to the Craigslist website: http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites and select the city or region where your daycare center is located.

2. Once you have selected the city/region closest to you, look in the upper left hand corner for “Post to Classifieds”. Click on “Post to Classifieds”.

3. Click on “Services Offered”, then click on “Household Services”.

4. Do you have a Craigslist account? If you do not have a Craigslist account, in the upper right hand corner, click on “Apply for an Account” and sign up for a Craigslist account. If already have a Craigslist account, click on “Log in to Your Account” and log in.

5. Your account may need to be authenticated by phone to post to household services. Complete this process.

6. Once your account has been authenticated, it is time to set up your advertisement. Create a “Posting Title”. Your posting title should be succinct, to the point, and grab the attention of potential clients.  For example: “Professional In-Home Family Daycare Available, 2 F/T Spots Open”.

7. Type in your specific location. For example, if you live in Los Angeles, specify what part of Los Angeles you live in (i.e. Los Feliz or Silverlake).

8. Type in Your Post Description: This is where you will type in the actual copy (wording) of the advertisement. This information will be similar to what is written on your daycare flyers.  The flyer should detail days and hours of service, the age ranges of children you care for, details about your meal service.

Be sure to mention the best and/or unique features of your daycare. For example, if you have a bachelor’s degree in child development, early childhood education or you have completed a number of early childhood education units, make note of it. If you have special certifications or have attended special workshops, list that. If you offer drop in care or extended hours, or you own an environmentally friendly daycare center, be sure to highlight these aspects of your business. Do NOT list your full address, but describe the neighborhood (i.e., quiet residential area close to parks), but do list your phone number.

9. To finalize your post, you will need to type in a verification code and click continue.

You may also use Craigslist to advertise your daycare business’ open house or grand opening, or daycare jobs.

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Start a Daycare Business, Photo by monozygotic.com

Owning a daycare business is an undertaking not to be entered in to lightly. If you are trying to decide whether or not to take that leap read on. We asked our readers and OwnADaycare Facebook fans who are daycare owners to describe what they love about owning their own daycare business.

Reasons that daycare providers appreciate owning a daycare business fell into two categories: Owning a daycare is convenient and owning a daycare is rewarding:

Owning a Daycare Business is Convenient:

• I love the fact that I can be home with my own children while they are young and still earn an income to help support our family.
• I can wear what I want, I have no commute, I set my own hours, I love children, and I am passionate about my job.
• I couldn’t ask for a better career. The best part of my daycare job is I am able to be home caring for our own kids, helping raise others kids, extended families, to have fun and “play” all day, to do the housekeeping and tend to other business, and all the while, making an income that has many tax deductions.
• I can take a holiday or vacation without having to check and make sure no one else is taking the same time. You can get a raise without consulting anyone else.
• If you want to jump in the sprinkler with the kids your boss won’t get mad. You are the boss.
• I also don’t like to drive in bad weather so this business is perfect for me since my work get delivered to my door.

Owning a Daycare Business is Rewarding:

• I like the fact that parents can trust that their most valuable asset is being well cared for physically, emotionally, lovingly, AND economically.
• As a child I abused was and I didn’t have anyone I could turn to or a place that I felt safe. So for me the best part of owning a daycare is it’s offering a safe loving environment for children, free of abuse and humiliation! I feel I can help guide parents when they get frustrated and also give children the confidence that if something is going on at home that doesn’t feel safe or right, they have me to talk to! Children here see what a loving family can be like so they can break the cycle like I did.
• I like the idea that I am helping raise these children and know that as they grow up I have had some kind of impact in their lives no matter how big or small it may be.
• The best part of owning a daycare business is you are developing minds and instilling morals into young lives. You get free hugs and snuggles anytime you want.
• For 30 years I have been blessed, rewarded not in monetary value, but in the love and appreciation of the children and the parents of these prized little ones. Life is more than building your castle and making an unforgettable name for yourself. When you open your home up to many different kinds of families you invite opportunities along with it. I am Aunt to over hundreds of children. Some will never remember me because they were too young. But the foundation I built with them and for them still stands now in their adult lives.
• I love working for myself and helping other families who were in the same position as myself: Being in need of child care and relying on someone to raise my children. That was the main reason for me opening the business in the first place.
• It’s a family. It maybe small or large, short or tall, young or old, but the kids will always be a part of your family.
• I have been through two years of MMSR which prepares the children for kindergarten and I really enjoy teaching the children and parents telling me “thank you” for what I am doing. Although it is not as often as one would hope to hear “thank you”, I really appreciate the ones who do care.
• I love being part of so many lives. I love the kids and want to help them in any way that I can to grow up to become wonderful additions to this world. I just read an article that said that children who have good early educators are making more money and have a better chance of graduating from college. It doesn’t show up on the standardized testing that they make all of these kids take but shows where it really counts: In where they are when they become adults and are in charge of running things.

Hopefully this will inspire you to become a daycare owner as well.

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The internet is chock full of information about how to start a daycare business in Canada. This resource list will direct Canadian family and in-home daycare care business hopefuls to information about daycare licensing, daycare grants, and child care organizations.

Organizations

Daycare organizations: Professional organizations provide an excellent opportunity for networking with other child care and preschool professionals, exchanging ideas, and exercising leadership.

Canadian Child Care Federation
BC Family Child Care Association
Co-ordinated Access for Child Care: Registry of Home Based Care
Albert Child Care Association
Manitoba Child Care Association
Home Child Care Association of Ontario

Daycare Licensing and Regulations in Canada
The Government of Canada’s Canada Business website is a goldmine of riches for daycare business owners. The website will provide information about licensing and planning a daycare business. Here is a sampling of free publications.

Ontario: Child care Licensing in Ontario
Quebec:  Opening a Daycare Service (in French)
British Columbia: Community Care Licensing Branch
Nova Scotia: Family Home Daycare Program Regulations
New Brunswick: Daycare Regulations
Regulations for Child Care, Schools and Educational Institutions
Operations Planning
Manitoba: Online Services for Child Care Providers
Overview and Comparison of Provincial Licensing Information : This may be an older document but it has tons of information and may point you in the direction of other resources.
Family Daycare Regulations by Province

Daycare Grants
A daycare grant is a one-time payment given to a childcare center for a specific need or project that does not need to be repaid For information on funding and improving your daycare business in Canada, try the following websites:

New Brunswick: Child Care Improvement Support Funding
Grants in Alberta: Child Care Space Creation Innovation Fund
Saskatchewan: Grants for Daycare for special needs children: Child Care Inclusion Program
Nova Scotia: Child Care Stabilization Grant
Nunavut: Inuit Childcare Initiative

For Daycare Grant Listings in the United States, see Daycaregrants.org

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A child care contract assures that there are no misunderstandings between you and your clients. It also protects you and your business from potential litigation. The contract states requirements and policies that both you and your clients must follow. A daycare contract form should include at least the following:

Hours of Operation: List the days and hours your child care center will be open for business.  Also detail any holidays you will be closed or any other days that the child day care center will be closed, if applicable.

Fees and Payments:  State the fees per week or month. Be explicit about whether or not sick days, holidays and vacation days are paid days. Some things to consider and disclose: When are weekly and month fees due? What are the consequences if fees are unpaid? (Termination? Suspension? ) How much will you charge for returned checks? How many returned checks will you allow before the client must pay in cash?

Arrival and Pick-Up Policies:  State your cut-off times for pick-up. Establish your late fees for late pickups. Also explain that only pre-authorized persons may pick up a child and that verbal and written permission must be received before a child may be picked up by an unauthorized person.

Illness Policies: Your contract should include a statement that explains when a child is too sick to attend daycare and how long the child must be symptom free before returning to daycare. Also detail your procedures for your course of action when a child becomes sick in daycare. You will also need to have a separate medical consent form in place. Also note what by time the parents must notify you if their child will not be attending daycare due to illness.

Withdrawal and Termination: What are the grounds for termination? What type and length of notice do you require for withdrawal from your daycare center? List that information in this section.

Damages: Sometimes children purposely break household items, toys, and other child care equipment. Who will pay for damages beyond the normal everyday wear and tear (when a child purposes to cause damages)? Your contract should be explicit about who will shoulder the burden of damages and repairs.

Toy Policies: Are children allowed to bring their own toys to your daycare center? What about other personal items of comfort like pillows or stuffed animals? State your policy here.

Potty Training and Diapering Policies:  In this section, detail whether or not you potty train and what your potty training philosophy might be. Do you supply diapers or pull-ups? Is there an extra fees associated with potty training? Do you allow cloth diapers?

Subsidies:  Does your childcare center participate in federal government programs that offer daycare subsidies? If so, state that any fees that are not covered by the subsidy are the parents’ responsibility and that fees are payable in advance on the first of day of the month.

The client (parent or guardian) and the childcare provider must sign and date the form.  Give a copy to the client and keep copy for yourself.

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