Reasons to Start a Child Care Business

child care baby drawing

Reasons to Start a Child Care Business

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Michael Martin Leaño

Many parents dream of staying home with their young kids, and at the same time, earn enough to give their family a comfortable lifestyle. Sounds impossible? Not at all. One way to make this a happen is to quit your nine-to-five job and start your own child care business. If you’re not convinced, here are several more reasons why you should seriously consider it.

Reason #1: It has great potential to be profitable

Because of the economy, more and more parents are working (or are trying to find work), which means there is greater need for affordable child care services in the country. As a result, child care businesses have the potential to be quite lucrative. Furthermore, the federal government provides a range of subsidies for child care. As long as parents meet the government’s criteria, they can benefit from this funding; this allows more people to take advantage of child care services, further increasing the demand.

Reason #2: Low operating cost

Child care centres can be established with minimal operating cost and low upfront financing, especially if you’re already a parent since you already have most of the supplies needed. Your home’s family room, guest room, or basement can serve as your child care centre so you won’t have to lease space somewhere or add a new wing.

For toys, you can use the ones that you already have or hunt in bargain bins. Reading materials won’t be a problem either; just drop by your nearest used bookstore for their hoard of children’s books. The main starting costs for your home-based child care centre would be from business permits, advertising, food, and insurance.

Reason #3: You can work at home

Say goodbye to the rat race. One of the biggest benefits of running your own child care business is that you actually get to work at home and all the perks that go with it: no more traffic, business attire, bad weather while commuting, office politics, an angry boss breathing down your neck, and all the other stresses associated with being a corporate slave.

You may have to work longer at times since you’re managing your own business, but the convenience, freedom, and lesser stress afforded by working at home is much more satisfying personally and career-wise.

Reason #4: More time with your kids

If you have young children, a home-based child care business would allow you to spend more time with them, especially if they’re also enrolled in your day care. This gives you the opportunity to see your kids’ firsts and watch them grow, instead of being away from them at work.

Reason #5: Quick start-up time and returns

Home-based centres are easier and quicker to set up. You don’t need complex machinery; and unless you don’t know how to take care of children (which begs the question of why you want to open a child care centre in the first place), there’s no steep learning curve. Your business can be operational in a matter of weeks, provided that you have all the materials and gotten a hold of all the necessary permits.

You can start seeing returns quickly as well, although this would depend on a number of factors, such as the frequency of your collections and the size of your operating costs.

Reason #6: You get to be your own boss

Since you manage your own business at home, you are now the boss. You make the rules, decide what days to work, choose when to take your breaks, pick who to employ–you control pretty much everything. Once you get your day care centre up and running, you can simply hire an assistant; that way, you can delegate the work and have more time for other concerns.

Reason #7: Taking care of children is rewarding

The biggest draw of setting up a day care centre is the satisfaction of being around children. You get the unique chance to teach, care, play, and laugh with many kids during their early years. At the same time, you can influence them and play a part in their upbringing. Like any educator role, the job isn’t easy; but if you think it’s your calling, then taking care of children should be immensely rewarding for you, and that’s all the reason you need.

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