Longtime readers will know we’re full of ideas about how to start a low-cost business. But we haven’t covered the concept of a home daycare in quite a while, and because it’s such a promising possibility for so many people, we want to make sure it gets the attention it deserves. There are a lot of reasons to consider this as a new line of work. We’ll just cover a few, but these should be enough to help out anyone who is considering this line of work in your own home.
- Eligibility Requirements are Open to Most Adults. If you are an adult over the age of 18, without any history of felony or child endangerment behavior, you’ll likely be eligible to open up a daycare in your house. Each state has specific requirements for daycare professionals, including health screening in some regions. Just do a quick Google search and see where your state stacks up with regulations. You’ll likely find it’s a very reasonable process.
- Licensing is a Reasonable Process. The federal and individual state governments know that childcare is necessary, and that it’s important for there to be a lot of options available to parents. First, you’ll need to contact your local Department of Child Welfare, or agency equivalent. Then you’ll have to get a licensing orientation and submit information regarding health and criminal history. You may also have to have a home inspection. Business licensing, residential business permissions, state childcare standards, and insurance requirements will vary by state, but these will be explained during the licensing process. All are meant to protect children, without providing an unreasonable workload or cost to child service entrepreneurs. Most of these steps are a commitment of time, not money.
- Business Costs Aren’t Expensive. Up till this point, home childcare startup costs will have been well beneath $1000. Once licensed, it usually doesn’t take a lot of money to get your home to your state’s standard for childcare. From there, you’ve just got day-to-day operations and overhead to cover. Because you are operating out of your own home, your rent or mortgage is already paid for. And for daily management, you’ve got SkyChildCare which provides free childcare management solutions. With this service, you can track pickup lists, medical records, account information for each child on your roster, and a whole lot more. It makes childcare administration easy and, most importantly, very affordable.
As you can see, opening a childcare service in your home isn’t that difficult or prohibitively expensive. This is by design. Regulatory agencies understand that many parents want their children cared for in environments that are small, with lots of attention from trusted caregivers. Individual homes are the obvious solution: they’re located within the neighborhoods they serve, and they have small capacities to ensure that each child is safe and attended to. As such, the government makes it easy and affordable to open up shop. From licensing to daily operation, you’ll find that an in-home childcare service is an affordable business you can run out of your own home.