Just fewer than fifty percent of all American children participate in some form of daycare during their lifetime. http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables/fam3c.asp A successful business plan relies heavily on demand. This makes starting a daycare a wise business venture as demand for daycare is high and likely will never cease to be in low demand with more than four million babies being born each year.http://www.babycenter.com/0_22-surprising-facts-about-birth-in-the-united-states_1372273.bc

There is however much more to starting a daycare than simply opening your home to some kids, smacking a daycare sign on the door and setting them in front the television to watch some cartoons for the day. There are different types of day cares. There are regulations and licenses to make a daycare legal in the United States. In addition, of course, there is the actual running of the day care, which may not be as easy as you imagine.

The simple step by step guide on how to start a daycare will cover all of the above and even a bit more to have your new business up and running in no time, state recognized as well as hopefully unproblematic and profitable. Before even preparing to start your daycare, you need to plan it out.

Step one of this process would be to decide what type of daycare you want to open and where.

There are three major types of daycare services.

In-Home Childcare Provider

This form of childcare is what most people think of as a nanny. To start this type of daycare you would acquire clients and watch their children within their own home. The disadvantage of opening an in-home childcare daycare service is that it limits the number of clients you can have, which often requires you charge more. Charging more of course makes clients harder to find. The advantage is you don‘t have to prepare or obtain a building to run the daycare out of. There also isn’t nearly as mainly regulations or requirements to open such a service.

Family Childcare Provider

This form of childcare is your typical in home daycare. This type of daycare is a common choice for stay at home moms or working mothers looking to work but still be able to care for their own children in their home. Just one person or a group may run this day care.

Child Care Center

This day care is run in a building that is not your home. Childcare centers typically have more employees so can take on more children than family childcare providers. Childcare centers are the most expensive form of daycare to open in most cases.http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-different-types-of-child-care.htm

As you can see, where the daycare is opened would depend hugely on the type of daycare you are planning. Becoming an in-home daycare service would not require a special location, a family childcare daycare would require you have a home and make sure it meets the standards set by the state for daycare use, and a childcare center would require renting or buying a building for use. Be sure to research the financial needs of each option and be prepared for the necessary expenditures.

Once you have the daycare entirely planned out the second step is to prepare to open it. First, you will want to find out what the requirements are in your state to open a daycare. These regulations and requirements vary. You can find a state-by-state list that provides this information at the source to this sentence.http://nrc.uchsc.edu/STATES/states.htm

How much preparation is required will depend on the type of daycare you choose. For in-home childcare, you simply need to get a resume ready and advertise yourself as an in-home childcare provider. The necessary safety education such as pediatric CPR or heart saver classes would be a good idea.

For a family daycare, you will need to both get a license for childcare in your state and bring your home up to code. In most cases, these codes are simple involving no more than an extreme form of childproofing. Requirements do however as stated, vary by location. Also, keep in mind that there are capacity requirements that may limit the number of children you can care for. That number would include your own if you have children you plan on caring for while running the daycare.

For a daycare center, you will need everything mentioned in the above paragraph except in a building you rent or purchase. As daycare also has adult to child ratio regulations, its likely to cover the cost of the building you’ll need to hire employees so as to take on more children.http://www.life123.com/parenting/toddlers/childcare/how-to-start-a-daycare.shtmlhttp://www.daycareresource.com/startyourowndaycare.html

Finally, once your daycare is both planned and prepared you need to open and run it. To keep parents bringing their kids back you will want to do more than just keep the kids from dying. When thinking about how to run your daycare think about what you would want from a daycare if you were looking for one for your child or children.http://www.kinderart.com/littles/litles.html

Offer plenty of activity time and play, but also educational activities. A good daycare entertains and enlightens its attendees. Keep your rates fair and your rules clear, but also be willing to listen to your clients. If a parent is arrives say ten minutes past your “closing time” just once, do not go kicking them out.

If they make a habit of being late to pick up their children, stick to your guns and find a new client. Working with other parents and children can be stressful enough. Presenting yourself not only as professional but compassionate is always a good idea when working with children. Lastly be open with the day’s activities with your parents. A paper detailing the food the child ate, length of naps and of course activities of the day is particularly helpful.