Starting a Daycare

I

I_LUV_KIDS

New Member
Hello! I'm new here. Just wanted some local advice on starting a daycare.I'll give you a little idea of what me and my sister are thinking and I would love a list of pros, cons, thats a bad idea, it wouldn't work, would it be a good buissness around here, are there to many already, or whatever someone could help me out with.

We live on an 80 acre farm near Leonardtown. Our dad owns the farm.
We (my sister and I) both want to start our own daycare, we are currently both full time nannys. We hardly have enough room for the kids that do come to our house (some days we bring them home and some days not), plus we are kinda crowding the rest of the family.Our dream is to build a house/daycare on the farm and become a small liscenced daycare. It would be very small, we are not interested in started a big money making buissness, but small enough to be personal with all the kids. Maybe ten or so children. We both love kids and are not interested in moving away or going to college(now anyway).

Also what is the going rate for children not yet in school? Private care and daycare rates are a little differant.

Thanks so much!
 
kwillia

kwillia

n/a
I_LUV_KIDS said:
I don't know. But it would be our house as well so it would not be built officially as a daycare.
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Then I believe you'd have to build and live in your house first before you could get it inspected and qualified for daycare. You will want to read up on what is required for home daycare so that you can build to the specifications needed to pass. You and sis have classes you have to pass as well.

Do you have money to build your own house already?
 
I

I_LUV_KIDS

New Member
kwillia said:
Then I believe you'd have to build and live in your house first before you could get it inspected and qualified for daycare. You will want to read up on what is required for home daycare so that you can build to the specifications needed to pass. You and sis have classes you have to pass as well.

Do you have money to build your own house already?
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Yes, we would build according to the rules and then get liscenced.
Classes are not a problem, and if the parents want them, we would have excellent referances to show them.
No, we do not have the money yet. Its just something we would like to seriously consider. Our brother recently got a house, kinda like we would get and his scary big loan did not quite cover it! I know its alot of money and would be quite some time before it would really start.


Maybe the dream is too big......
 
kwillia

kwillia

n/a
I_LUV_KIDS said:
Maybe the dream is too big......
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Not necessarily... it just may take you longer to live it than you want... meanwhile, you've given yourself something to shoot for so in the least, you should be banking every spare penny and not spending it on frivolous things such as expensive cell phones/plans, designer shoes/clothes, going out to eat and boozing it up every weekend. etc.

Truth be told, there is a need for additional daycare for the Leonardtown area so if you plan it right... you'll be successful and will be having to put many on a waiting list.
 
Dymphna

Dymphna

Loyalty, Friendship, Love
What you are talking about is a "small center." A Family Child Care is limited to 8 children, while a "small center" can have up to 12. A small center can be run out of a residence, but must follow the regulations of a center.

You can find those regulations here: Child Care Center Manual
 
Dymphna

Dymphna

Loyalty, Friendship, Love
I_LUV_KIDS said:
Maybe the dream is too big......
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You might consider starting out as a family child care and gradually make improvements to your home until you qualify to become a small center.

I recently received some documents in the mail about applying for grant money to turn my family child care into a small center. Certain counties in the state, including St. M's have been targeted for this money because there aren't enough licensed child care spots for the children who need them.

I don't know how long this grant will last, but if it's like most of the grants out there, if it proves successful for those who get it, then they'll do it again next year.
 
I

I_LUV_KIDS

New Member
kwillia said:
Not necessarily... it just may take you longer to live it than you want... meanwhile, you've given yourself something to shoot for so in the least, you should be banking every spare penny and not spending it on frivolous things such as expensive cell phones/plans, designer shoes/clothes, going out to eat and boozing it up every weekend. etc.

Truth be told, there is a need for additional daycare for the Leonardtown area so if you plan it right... you'll be successful and will be having to put many on a waiting list.
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Thanks! Just for the record, I don't think I own a pair of designer shoes, use the cheapest phone/plan I can, and don't go out a lot!! Nice to hear it is still in demand, seems like there are a lot around but I guess there are still a lot of parents working.

So what are most parents will to pay for quality daycare? My nanny job pays about $5.25 an hr. Plus they provide a car to take him places(w/ paid gas).
 
I

I_LUV_KIDS

New Member
Dymphna said:
You might consider starting out as a family child care and gradually make improvements to your home until you qualify to become a small center.

I recently received some documents in the mail about applying for grant money to turn my family child care into a small center. Certain counties in the state, including St. M's have been targeted for this money because there aren't enough licensed child care spots for the children who need them.

I don't know how long this grant will last, but if it's like most of the grants out there, if it proves successful for those who get it, then they'll do it again next year.
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Wow, have any idea what kind of money is involved in the grant?
We wanna do a family daycare but there just is not enough room in the house and my sis and I don't want to live in our parents house for the restof our lives....
 
RoseRed

RoseRed

American Beauty
PREMO Member
I_LUV_KIDS said:
Thanks! Just for the record, I don't think I own a pair of designer shoes, use the cheapest phone/plan I can, and don't go out a lot!! Nice to hear it is still in demand, seems like there are a lot around but I guess there are still a lot of parents working.

So what are most parents will to pay for quality daycare? My nanny job pays about $5.25 an hr. Plus they provide a car to take him places(w/ paid gas).
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Isn't minimum wage $6.15 per hour? I could be wrong...
 
Dymphna

Dymphna

Loyalty, Friendship, Love
I_LUV_KIDS said:
So what are most parents will to pay for quality daycare? My nanny job pays about $5.25 an hr. Plus they provide a car to take him places(w/ paid gas).
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Like everything else, the price is going up....
Infants (under 2) $150 - $250 per week
Age 2-5 $120 - $150 per week
Before/after school $75 - $100 per week

But you get to write off part of your home, utilities, food. You can also get food subsidies, grants from the state for education and improvements and incentive money from the state just for staying in business and continuing to take classes.
 
Dymphna

Dymphna

Loyalty, Friendship, Love
I_LUV_KIDS said:
Wow, have any idea what kind of money is involved in the grant?
We wanna do a family daycare but there just is not enough room in the house and my sis and I don't want to live in our parents house for the restof our lives....
Click to expand...
I threw the paperwork away for the grant, because as much as I wanted it, there was no way I'd be able to turn my house into a small group center. But the figure of $10,000 comes to mind. The catch is that you have to have an existing family child care home and are looking to make improvements to be able to accommodate more children. The improvements couldn't go so far as building an addition, putting up walls or installing a bathroom, but would cover remodeling an existing space.
 
I

I_LUV_KIDS

New Member
Dymphna said:
Like everything else, the price is going up....
Infants (under 2) $150 - $250 per week
Age 2-5 $120 - $150 per week
Before/after school $75 - $100 per week

But you get to write off part of your home, utilities, food. You can also get food subsidies, grants from the state for education and improvements and incentive money from the state just for staying in business and continuing to take classes.
Click to expand...

My child is in the 2-5 range and I get paid $250 a wk.
 
Dymphna

Dymphna

Loyalty, Friendship, Love
I_LUV_KIDS said:
My child is in the 2-5 range and I get paid $250 a wk.
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The parents are paying for your exclusive time. When you have to divide your time among multiple families and are operating in your own space, rather than theirs you can't expect the same rate of pay. However, you can make more overall because you have multiple clients.
 
I

I_LUV_KIDS

New Member
yeah, I knew the individual rates would be lower. But overall better by far. Just one child is a little hard to put any kind of savings away.
 
tyky

tyky

eieio
I paid $150 when my child was under two and just last week my daughter turned two so my rate went down to $125:diva: This is in a home daycare and my provider is the greatest. She is even off for CWS and I still wouldn't change
 
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