You might find, if you have your business plan in order, that a
church or labor union will sponsor your business, or even offer
financial backing. Arranging some sort of partnership or sponsorship
agreement with an established local organization will solve a lot of
problems for you, not only in the area of space but in assistance with
start-up costs and city-father approval.
Incidentally, a day care center is perhaps the ideal business for
absentee ownership or a group of professional investors. Keep this fact
in mind as you organize your plan and seek financing.
Generally, a "shoestring entrepreneur" in this business
will do very well to locate in a vacant convenience store, or even a
vacant grocery store in a larger shopping center. The zoning will be in
your favor, plus you'll have adequate parking space, and less expense in
partitioning or remodeling the building to suit your needs.
Ideally, your day care center should be located on a main
thoroughfare, with
the building set back from the street. You should be
on the right hand side of the street as the traffic heads towards the
major business or industrial areas of your community. In larger
metropolitan areas, this would be on the city-side of the
"bedroom" communities. In smaller communities, you can locate
just about anywhere except in the downtown area.
If at all possible, you should plan your facility similar to a
hospital or motel entrance. This would be a driveway from the street to
your door, usually under a covered drive-thru, with the driveway
continuing back out to the street. Your long-term parking space would
then be located in the center of the "U" or between the
driveway and the street. You want to strive for the convenience for the
parent in being able to drive right up to your door. She can drop off
the child with only a few steps into your facility and easy access back
onto the main thoroughfare.
Depending on your city sign ordinances and your finances, go all out
with your sign. Advertise the name of your day care center, the hours
you're open, whether you accept drop-ins, overnighters, or weekenders,
and of course, your phone number.
The sign makers and advertising people may strongly advise you
against so much wording on your sign, but in this instance, don't listen
to them. Your sign should state all essential information, and serve to
convince passers-by that you can handle their child- care problems
whenever the need arises.
If you initially locate in, or through the sponsorship of a church or
labor union, these people can assist you tremendously by including a
mention of your services in their membership bulletins, and by passing
out circulars or flyers.
(article continued below ...)
Operating a
Daycare Center
You'll need to decide on your regular day care hours. Generally,
these are from 6 a.m. through 6 p.m. You'll also need to decide whether
you want to offer breakfast for the children. If so, you'll have to plan
for a cook and food supplies for morning meals. We'll discuss kitchen
facilities and kitchen help later, but the first decision must
be if you
will include breakfast. You'll already be set up with kitchen facilities
and a cook because you will be serving a noon meal. If you do decide to
offer breakfast for those parents not wanting to feed their children at
home, you'll be able to add $8 to $12 per week to their billing. By
buying your food supplies in bulk, you'll probably be able to realize
some savings in overall food costs.
Mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks are required in some states, but
even where they're not required, they are pretty much standard fare in
most day care centers. Fresh fruit, cookies, and juice are the usual
snack foods served in most day care centers.
As mentioned earlier, you'll definitely be providing a hot meal for
the children at noon. This entails a cook, dishes, planned menus, food
supplies in bulk, and perhaps even small size table and chairs. You'll
also have to have kitchen help and facilities for washing the dishes.
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