When it comes to opening an in home daycare (family child care) it can be very exciting, but also stressful and discouraging too. I have put together my list of pros and cons. My pros definitely out way my cons which is why I am continuing to run my own in home daycare. I have always been someone who can take the reins and run with it. I ask lots of questions so I know that I am doing everything correctly.

You can not be a motivated person and be successful at running any business. So, if that isn’t you, I would start there. Take on a small project and see if you can see it run from start to finish. It does cost money to run an in home daycare and to get one started. So, you don’t want to waste time or money if you are not motivated, committed, or a go getter!

Pros to starting an in-home daycare

• You are available more for your own children and family
• You will be able to attend the events you had to miss because you couldn’t get off work. I let my parents know in advance about a day I have to close early or can’t be open for.
• You don’t have to pay child care for your own children. That was a HUGE savings for my family since we do have three kids of our own.
• You are your own boss! You get to run this business how you want to.
• No uniforms
• Save money on gas and eating out. Now you can be more healthy and eat at home.
• Wake up everyday not stressed out because you know what to expect.
• Enjoy fun activities with kids and form bonds with kids and their families.
• You will be able to write off expenses for your utilities, rent/mortgage, and food at the end of the year.
• You set your own prices.

Cons to opening an in home daycare

• No adult interaction, only the little time to speak to families at pick up and drop off.
• You have to be very organized (receipts, paperwork, income, food costs, etc.)
• Your home and anything inside of it will get worn down. You may have to replace things quicker than normal.
• Your home may feel more like you are working and not become a place to relax for you.
• You may have to deal with difficult situations that you won’t have anyone to back you up. It is something you have to deal with on your own. Example: difficult child or parent, late payments, things being broken, etc.
• Your days will be long. You make your hours, but in order to also get enough families you need to make your hours make sense. You can’t be open 9-3 and except to be filled with families when normally parents work 8-9 hrs/day. I do have my hours set for 6:30am-6:00pm, but I am home. I don’t have to worry about driving. It is still a long day though.
• You may be full this week, but then next week you may lose a family or two because their situation changes, job change, etc. You will have to find a replacement for that family and income.

Do you choose Pro or Con?

When it comes to doing what I do, it was easy for me to make my choice. I think the pros out way the cons for sure. I hated being that employee that my boss thought they could always expect to work more than their normal shift because I was that good employee. But, at the end of the day I do have a family and I chose to have a family because I want to enjoy family things. Work is NOT life and I will never make that choice again. My kids are getting older, my husband and I are getting older. Life goes by way to fast to be stuck at work all day five days a week. You make the best decision you feel for you and your family.

Other things to consider!

A few other things you need to consider before opening an in home daycare because it can effect your business and you may not be able to do these things anymore or have are: pools, pets, free time, what type of home you live in, etc. It sometimes is the things you don’t think about would become an issue. When you open a business you have to get insurance. One of the things that we were asked were do we have pets or do we have a pool? They wouldn’t have covered my business if I had a pool or a pet because of the liability. When it comes to being licensed through the state, they don’t tell you you can’t have a pool or pets, but in order to have liability insurance in case an accident happens I couldn’t have either.

You also don’t have to have liability insurance, but in the event something happens you can lose your house, belongs, be sued, etc. I don’t want any of that to happen. I also at this time do not have an animal and we just aren’t going to put our pool back up in the summer time. Having liability insurance was way more important than to not have it. You will also have to make sure with your current home or renter insurance that they will even cover you with having extra children in your home. So when I say you don’t have to have liability insurance, I should also warn you you may have to get it anyways because your current insurance policy may not cover your business. Mine didn’t! So, we had to cancel my current policy and get my new one.

Just make the right choice…

At the end of the day, make the choice that feels right for you and your family. It did take me a few years to finally make the decision because this time was right. I finally realized the pros outweighed the cons and it is the best decision I made. Working 45-50 hours a week every week at a corporate daycare. I was wore out and just had no energy when I got home. I hated the feeling I couldn’t use my vacation time or sick time because I felt bad not being there. It was time for a change and I took that leap of faith and did it!

Check out my post about what is needed to open a daycare