Always dreamed about staring your own day care business? The perfect self employment situation which allows you to be with your kids whilst bringing in much needed money and being your own boss. However, you haven’t gone beyond dreaming about it due to a fear of the unknown. The fear of taking a risk on something you’re not even sure you’ll be suited to.
My advice to you is remove the fear. Get a taster of the childcare business first and see if it is a profession you would enjoy. Immerse yourself in this environment for research purposes. Get a job or offer your services at a day care. Try to find one that will allow you to bring your children with you or get a kindly family member to help out while you are researching. Do whatever it takes get the time off work. Remember, this is your future you are planning.
Observation and practical application is great for figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Plus there is nothing like on the ground experience to figure out your suitability for a particular profession. You can learn so much from an existing daycare that could save you a lot of time and effort in the future. They’ve already made the mistakes so you don’t have to.
Your research period should be your sponge phase. Use it to soak up every atom of information possible. Take a copy book with you and jot down notes on your breaks, while it’s still fresh in your head. Do the same thing when you get home in the evening before you forget those little nuggets. Oogle all paperwork, policies and procedures every chance you get. There’ll be a lot so just try to remember key points for now. You can flesh that stuff out later. Just get an overview of how it all fits together.
Ask lots of questions particularly of the senior, experienced staff and the owner. Observe how they work, their methods of interaction with children, parents and other staff. Try to identify different staff roles e.g. does each room have a keyworker and assistants? How is the team dynamic and could it be improved? Hone in on any behavioural problems and notice what is the procedure for dealing with same. Note what you consider to be weaknesses and use that knowledge to your advantage as a lesson in what not to do.
Every successful business has effective systems, policies and procedures in place enabling it to run smoothly. The same applies to day care, once you remove the fear of the unknown by immersing yourself in the daily operations of a day care all the pieces will come together in your head enabling you to get beyond the fear to a more confident and constructive place. Most importantly though, it will give you a very good idea if child care is a business in which you could thrive. Passion and interest are paramount…these are what carry you through the tough times to success.
Now, what have you got to lose? Get researching. Potentially, you are gaining the perfect business for you and your family.
As a daycare owner and parent Fiona Lohrenz has extensive knowledge of childminding which she writes about on her child care website. She has also used this knowledge to produce a ‘Start a ChildCare Business’ DVD guide: StartChildCare.com You can find her at her website: ChildCareOnly.com
- Rene Sandan
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