This is an important aspect of the decision making process. You want to make enough money to make your business a success. At the same time your rate has to be similar to local daycare prices. If the going rate for daycare in your town is 20 dollars a day then that is what you should charge. If you are offering an educational component and you have a degree you may be able to charge 25 dollars a day. In larger cities you can check online for local prices. In a smaller town or community you might have to make some phone calls. Start with your friends that work and then if that doesn’t help contact local daycare centers. Keep in mind if you overcharge you are going to have plenty of open slots in your daycare.
Make space
An extra room or a child’s play room is the perfect place to set up your daycare. You want to have a defined area in the house so the children know where they are to be at all times. You also want to be able to have all of the toys and furniture easily accessible when you need it. This does not mean that you have to build an addition onto your house. Take a basement that is not being used and turn it into your daycare room. Use the kids’ playroom. This is perfect since it is already set-up for kids. If you are planning on doing this for a while then you can always add onto the house. If it is used only for your daycare the space is a tax write off.
Acquire age-appropriate toys
You may think just because you want to open a daycare you have to go out and buy all new toys. That is not the case. Look around your house for toys that your children no longer play with that may be age-appropriate. Hit the local thrift store or consignment shop. As you know, kids today have so many toys that they rarely play with them for longer than a minute before they discard them for something new. You can find great deals on toys, furniture, books and more at local yard sales. Don’t go broke in the set-up phase before you know if you are going to make any money.