A buddy of mine is thinking about starting a day care business. She is simply in the thinking about it stage and I was helping gather her information. I got tidbits here and tidbits there but then I hit the jackpot.
I "met" Fiona at ChildCareOnly.com. Fiona has done her own research as a daycare operator so thoroughly that she has a DVD Guide titled... you guessed it... Start a Childcare Business.
What are her top tips for managing a home daycare?
"It can definitely be challenging to operate your daycare business from home and separate your personal life from your business but it is not impossible. Here are a few tips to help make the home based day care work.
a. Designate a separate office area where you can you deal with taxes, staff paperwork, regulatory issues, advertising etc. This is your control center.
b. Ensure your business remains seperate from your personal life. If you start mixing up appointments, calendars, tasks, and so on, your business is likely to suffer. Try to have a separate telephone line and email address for your daycare. Open a bank account specificially to cater for the business and use it to purchase all business related items i.e. office supplies, art supplies, food, cleaning equipment etc.
c. Be fastidious about organising your time or you will become disorganised, inefficient and frazzled with little pieces of you spread all over. You may wish to create schedules about the activities that occur during the day in the daycare, assign family members certain responsibilities to keep track of the chores around the house, dedicate time to handling the operations of the daycare center, and to take stock of supplies and such. Don't forget to factor in breaks and relaxation time for you too. Childcare is a tiring business and you need to keep yourself in top form.
d. A disadvantage of working for yourself especially if you are home based is the tendency of friends and family to assume you are always free for visits. It is important that you inform these well intentioned people that this is a job. They must understand that you have certain hours each day that are dedicated to work and your family and this time should not be interrupted. Explain that you are a professional and as such need to focus completely on the
task at hand during these hours. Then switch on your answering machine!"
Oops... there's still more to cover. I'll continue this next week. Until then, you can check out Fiona's blog with tips on how to complete pre-employment screens and even how to deal with late payments.
Comments (2)
When you inquire about daycare regulations, your local agency will usually send you an information package which includes application forms, a document with regulations and the steps you need to take in order to get your license.
Posted by How To Start A Home Daycare | April 8, 2008 5:03 AM
Posted on April 8, 2008 05:03
Hi,The top tips for managing a home daycare Business is very usefull for those who are doing dare care business.
Posted by How to start a home daycare | April 11, 2008 5:35 AM
Posted on April 11, 2008 05:35