There are two basic ways of beginning daycare services. You can either run the service out of your own home or look for a full scale daycare center to run. If you being the operation out of your own home, you can spend as little as $500 to as much as $5,000 depending upon the remodeling you need to do, the equipment you need to buy and the licensing laws you need to meet.
If you are looking to run a daycare center that operates from an independent business location then you are looking at much greater start-up expenses that could run around $100,000!
These are some of the items that you are going to want to budget for:
– Licensing fees,
– first aid/CPR certification
– High chairs and booster seats
– Nap mats
– Bedding
– Playpens/portable cribs
– Advertising
– Liability insurance
– Safety devices
– First aid kit
– Computer
– Software
– Books
– Toys
But that’s not the whole list, you are going to need a few more items inorder to make your daycare center, the talk of the neighnourhood and be able to keep the parents happy. Happy parents will refer your daycare to their friends and family. You may find that having a well equipped daycare may end up helping you save on advertising costs, due to word of mouth advertising.
Other things you may want to include in your budget are:
– Education materials
– Arts $ crafts supplies
– Disposable gloves
– Disposable changing pads
– Antibacterial cleaners
– Good healthy food
– Child-sized tables and chairs
– Sanitary storage containers for used diapers
– Step stools for toilet and sink
– Outdoor play space – There should be sand as well as a hard surface for wheeled toys, etc.
– Make-believe clothes, props and costumes for pretending and dressing up
– Record player or CD player, radio and tape recorder
– Containers for colors, pencils, markers and other art materials
Here are some other very important items that you have to budget for no matter if you are running the daycare out of your home or you are operating it as an independent business:
1. Permits – Just like any other business, a daycare needs permits such as a business license, fire-safety permit, and other permits that each state or county may require. These permits are not cost prohibitive. They usually only cost a few dollars a year.
2. Insurance – This is a very important issue and every business should make sure they have adequate insurance. The premiums are a bit pricey, but small daycare centers will only have to pay a small premium whereas large daycare centers will have to pay a lot more for their insurance. It is best to do some comparison shopping when you go to buy your insurance.
3. Equipment – Purchasing all of the needed equipment for your daycare center will definitely cost you some money, but most of these items are a one time cost and should serve you for a long time. You may be able to get by with as little as $300 if you are just running a business out of your home. The cost will be considerably more for an independent daycare center.
The cost of starting a daycare center may seem overwhelming at first but it is far little in comparison to the potential to make money in this business. What a great opportunity this is!