I get asked this questions a lot. “Should I open an in home daycare (family childcare) right now with how the world is?” My answer is YES!!! This is the perfect time to start your own child care business.

Reason 1: Being open and available for working families

Even though a lot of families are still working from home, they still need childcare. The nice thing about having an in home daycare for families to choose from is enrollment is small. That means there is less germs going around, less closures due to covid, etc. It is important for a parent to have good childcare so they can go to work.

When I worked at a large corporate daycare, we had to deal with covid closures, teachers and kids quarantine and closing rooms down, endless hours of trying to keep everything, etc. Where when you have an in home daycare (Type B or Type A) you only have up to 6 kids to look after and to keep the germs at a min. Yes there is still illness, but your able to keep a good eye on symptoms and make sure that child stays home until they are better. Where at a center based daycare of 50 plus kids, that is a lot of kids to look after and keep up with.

Reason 2: You set your income

When it comes to running your home based daycare, you are in charge. You get to choose what parents will pay you. Now, you can come up with a flat rate for any child of any age that walks through your door or you can break it down based upon age. Do a little research of what daycare centers and other in home daycares are charging. I live in an area where it is in need and I do my rates $75-$100 cheaper than what a center based daycare would charge. I do this because for one they do have a lot more material, furniture, toys and outdoor space to provide. But, I am not going to sell myself short either because yes having tons for kids to play with is important, but I provide a clean space, great communication, and care for my kids.

Reason 3: Being more available for Your Own Children

One of the big reasons I chose to open up an in home daycare business was because I wanted to be more available for my kids and their activities. I hated having to make sure I had time to cover my absent or feel bad for having to call off. Now, I give my families enough notice if there is a change in schedule, a day I am closing early, or time off. If you communicate with your families and give them notice, they are usually okay with it and no issues.

When I worked at a center daycare I had a set schedule 9-6, 8-5, etc. and it would be hard to take time off for an event if we didn’t have staff or there was no way I could go to my boss and say, Tuesdays I am only working until 4:00pm. If I did I took the chance of getting my hours cut and losing out on pay.

Reason 4: Not Paying Childcare Cost for Your Own Children

This is HUGE!!! I have three kids. It got expensive when I had to pay for childcare each week for us to go to work. Depending on where you go, some families put 50% of their income towards childcare. Now, I worked for a center that had a employee discount, so I didn’t have to pay as much as someone off the streets would pay. But, it was still enough that I contemplated is this even worth it. If you are doing something that you are happy doing and passionate about and still able to make your bills paying your daycare bill, keep doing it. Me working in childcare already it didn’t make sense for me to continue to work at a daycare and pay for my kids to go to daycare, when I could open one from my house.

Reason 5: Save Money on Gas and Food

Another great reason to start your in daycare business. You get to eat from home and not drive across town to drop your kids off at daycare and then go to work. I personally spent $70 a week on filling up my vehicle. I would on average spend around $10 a day on food; that’s $50 a week. So, in total I spent on average $120 a week or $480 a month on gas and food. Now, I get to save $480 a week towards a vacation I want to plan, fun activities with my own kids, etc.

Head over to this page to find out what the start up cost for me was to start my daycare business.