When making the decision to go into the child care business, you must first consider a variety of important factors that can help you decide if child care is the right business for you.

Owning and managing your own child care center can be an extremely satisfying and rewarding experience, but not everyone is cut out to work in this industry. Below are some of the factors that can determine if a person is suitable for this business.

Before you take the plunge and start your own child care business, ask yourself the following six questions.

Child Care Business Success Factors

1) Do you have leadership skills? As the manager of a child care center, you will take a leadership role with both your staff and the children.

2) Are you hard-working and organized? Establishing and running a child care center takes a lot of effort. You need to be able to manage your time and resources in a way that maximizes productivity and keeps things organized.

3) Are you in good health? It is a fact of life that children get sicker than adults and colds can spread through daycare centers like a wildfire. Being fit and healthy will ensure that your immune system is strong and that you can avoid getting sick too often. Good health will also give you the energy to lead the entrepreneurial lifestyle of a child care center owner.

4) Can you stay calm in a crisis? In order to be successful in daycare or in any business, the ideal would be to be someone who does not panic in an emergency.

5) Do you have sufficient funds to start the business? You will need to make sure you have enough cash to cover your living costs in the early stages as well before your business becomes profitable.

6) Do you like working with children? Are you able to take responsibility and take care of other people’s children as if they were your own? Depending on the age groups you are working with, you may need to physically care for them, discipline them, educate them, or play with them.

Once you have decided that you are eligible to open and operate a child care center, you can consider the following four factors to arrive at a basic business model before proceeding with preparing a business plan.

Other Basic Considerations for Starting Child Care

1) Premises at home or rented? Running a commercial daycare business requires a large investment and it may be best to start with a home service and then work your way up to rented premises. Wherever you open your daycare or daycare, be sure to comply with local zoning laws.

2) What type of legal structure will be suitable for your center? This will depend on many factors and you should seek the advice of an accountant or attorney before deciding on a sole proprietorship, partnership, or “limited liability” company. You will likely also need to have a business license to run a daycare in your state.

3) Rent. Is it possible to run a small nursery from home or will you have to rent a commercial space? Despite the fact that many organizations, such as companies, universities and hospitals, have established day care centers on site, many parents still prefer to use a service closer to home. So the question here is, is it set close to where the families live or close to where the parents work?

4) Hours of operation. You really need to do market research to find out more about when local people will need your services. Some parents may want to drop off their kids very early in the morning before they go to work and others will want to pick them up late so it will likely have to be open for many hours. If you are not interested in such long hours, you can turn to mothers who work part time and only need your services for part of the day. Depending on the size of your market, it may also be the opportunity to offer weekend care if parents require it.

Successful businessmen and women take the time to carefully evaluate an opportunity and make sure it is compatible with them. Understanding the factors that will improve your chances of success is the key to getting off to a great start. Make sure that opening a child care center is a positive and profitable experience for you by knowing exactly what you need to do to be successful.