Do you want to own a business that allows you to be with your children? Do you enjoy being around children? Are you creative and nurturing? If so, owning a daycare business might be for you.

There are several different types of daycare businesses. You can own a small daycare business in your own home, open a large daycare center in your town, or you can have a franchised chain of daycare centers around the country. Most people do start out small and while some remain small for all their careers, some do build empires. It’s all up to you and what you want.

There are many varieties of daycare centers, too. You can provide generic childcare, or you can bring your own special talents and abilities to the job, or you can determine what parents in your area want for their children and provide that. For example, your daycare business could be bi-lingual, or specialize in musical, artistic or sports activities. You can provide a formalized curriculum of learning activities or you could incorporate learning into everyday activities as they occur. You can also provide before and/or after school care, sick child care, or shift daycare (where you take care of children during the evening, night and graveyard shifts for parents who work those hours.)

The outlook for daycare businesses is excellent. Good daycare will always be necessary and overall demand will remain strong. Income potential will vary depending on the size of your business but also on what the market will bear in your area. It may be that an upscale daycare is needed and you can charge more based on your particular offerings, so do not always think you must be priced at the lower end of the scale. The more perks you can add to your offerings (certified workers, professional music lessons, exciting story time, and so on.) the more you can charge.

The legalities of running a daycare vary depending on where you live, so make sure to talk to your local government regarding the specific law in your area. You will likely find legislation dictating specific requirements for overall space, number of restrooms, adult/child ratio, food, outdoor space, safety, cleanliness, and more. So, be sure you check. You can find a list of national, state and local associations at Day Care Associations. And, for a list of requirements and resources for each state, just find your state and click it on this map.

For further research and to get started on opening your own daycare business, try these resources:

Click Here to Discover How to Become a Daycare Owner

The Home Daycare Complete Recordkeeping System

Have fun & good luck with your daycare!