Starting In-Home Daycare Business

chloelavon

Hi ladies! I currently work full-time at a wonderful company with great insurance and other benefits. That aside, I am pregnant with our second child. Reliable and trustworthy daycares in our small town are few and far between. Our current provider will most likely be retiring soon-she’s 70! I’m heartbroken because she is absolutely wonderful and has been doing in-home daycare for over 30 years. Anyways, what are your opinions on opening an in-home yourself? Pros are obvious-I could care for my littles knowing they are in a safe environment, and also I would be able to be more creative with curriculum than my current position, no daycare cost for my kids. Cons-no insurance/401k, and I might pull my hair out with other people’s kids lol. Thoughts?!

lovesclimbing

I know several moms who do it. 

With your cons, those are things you need to research. In theory, when you own your own business as opposed to being an employee, you make substantially more money (an hourly rate that's double or more than what it would be as an employee) specifically because you're paying all that stuff yourself as well as taxes and such. 

Definitely do some research first. See what local daycares, in-home and otherwise, charge. Look up the laws! So important! You will probably need a business license or potentially multiple licenses (the state, the city and your county/borough could potentially each require their own license). You will need to see what local taxes might apply besides federal. Also, specifically look up laws that govern daycares. There are sometimes rules about how many children you can have and of what ages. I believe my state will only allow two non-walking babies per adult worker. The idea is if there's a fire or something, you can grab a non-walker in each arm and usher the walking children out and not need need to go back for more infants. 

Also, keep good paperwork! It doesn't have to be complicated, but track how you're paid and when. It's probably a good idea to have some sort of basic contract that lays out fees, penalties for late pickups, what the parents will provide (will they send their own sippy cups, diapers, snacks, etc.), notice to quit requirements (how much, if any, advance notice they should give to stop using you, and what sort of refunds might be given for partial months.)

Also, to that last point, remember once you take on children, it's a commitment. You can't just decide quickly that you can't handle it anymore and stop. You need to give the parents a reasonable amount of time to look for something else, and that should be in he contract, too.