Drawing up a business plan for your daycare business is mandatory, even if you intend to operate a home based daycare. It may sound like a mammoth task but if you were to break it down into smaller parts, it is actually fairly simple. In addition, there are starter's kits available such as How to Start a Daycare to help you along.
Here are the elements which you should be addressing in your business plan:
Regulatatory affecting daycare businesses
You will need to find out from your local authority about the legalities of operating a daycare facility such as licenses and safety regulations. In some instances, there are regulations on the maximum number of children you can provide care for as well as mandatory certifications which the owner would have to possess such as Degree/Diploma in Early Childhood Development or First Aid, CPR.
Managing human resource issues of your daycare centre
You’ll need to think about human resources issues to determine how many staff you may need, what sort of qualifications you would like them to possess and how much you intend to pay them.
If you are opting for a home based daycare business and will be the only person running the daycare operations, you will need to ensure that additional help is available on days when you are sick or if there is an emergency.
Day-to-day operations of your daycare
Next you need to think about how you intend to operate your daycare centre. You’ll need to workout operational issues such as operating hours, the services you intend to provide, curriculum development, course materials, the children's meals, contracts and agreements etc.
You’ll decide how you intend to market your daycare services. See Marketing Plan.
Managing your daycare business finances
You will need to decide what your revenue model is. You need to sit down and list down your estimated expenses. Then, based on your intended charges, calculate how many children you will need to provide care for to breakeven. Anything more than that is profit.
