We're buying a daycare center... - Ideas/Opinions Please!!!

Mommyof3 wrote: We are possibly buying a daycare center within a week or two. We have never owned a business, but we both have been teachers. DH wouldn't quit his day job, and once all of the updates and initial maintenance are done, I would be working there during the day and we would do the administrative things at night. I am only concerned about the money risk side of things. The site is great and has 17 acres with a football field, playground, gymnasium, baseball diamond, basketball courts and a school building. We were thinking of doing community leagues on the weekend and daycare/afterschool care during the week. It needs a lot of cosmetic work and we are going tomorrow to look at the inside of the building. The realtor says it's in great shape though. I'll take pics to post.
But, what do you all think? Would you take the risk? It's not that much considering all that is offered on the property. Also, what programs do you wish your daycare provided if you send your kids to one? Even if you don't use daycare, what would you think would be neat to offer?
We came up with some ideas, but I think the best so far is that we're going to install video cameras so that the parents can view their kids online whenever they want with an access code.
Anyway...I was just wondering! Everyone on here is very creative and you all always have great ideas!

luvbug00 replied: .

we had that at the daycare i worked at and parents loved it! I think it sounds like a good investment as long as you dubble and tripple check the people you hire. One bad staff mamber can spoil the reputation of a business like that.

indywndy_04 replied: OHHH I am soooo jealous!! I want to do this!! Can I work for you atleast!!

I would do a 'mom and dad' night out once a month...my old daycare used to do that and it was so much fun, we would drop the kids off, we had to pick them back up at 11. It was like 7-11. It was real neat. The kids loved it to because they got to go to their daycare at night, watch movies, eat popcorn and play.

My husband and I help out with church leagues so I might be able to help you out with neat ideas and advice there too.

GOOD LUCK!! This sounds like it will be GREAT!!!

Mommyof3 replied:
YES!!! You're HIRED!!! lol

The mom and dad's night out is a GREAT idea! We also thought of doing the huge inflatable movie screen on the football field for a Family Movie Night once a month and sell concessions. I'm not sure about the legal deals with showing a movie though....
Your league experience would be very helpful! We started to coach Mackenzie's baseball team, but since my DH got a job where we had to move, we only got to do 3 games....so anything you can tell me is great!
I'm really excited about it!!! Keep the great ideas coming!!!

Mommyof3 replied:
I know what you mean. In order to maintain a license, we have to run three different background checks on everyone we hire. Then the Department of Human Resources sends a letter to the person who is applying and us letting us know if that person is someone we are able to hire or not. That was pretty comforting!

luvbug00 replied:

awsome then GOOD LUCK!!! i would send mya there but it would be a little out of our way to drive

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Ok, just a few things. I would reconsider the camera thing based on my own experiences. Reason being this...yes they can come in very handy in catching people who are not "fit for a job", HOWEVER, a camera used for the parents to watch is a whole other ball game. First, you will get many QUALITY people who will not want to work for you because a lot of time it will make them feel very insecure. Second, parents often times might see something when checking in for a few seconds, assume, and then an issue is made over nothing many times. That can get quite tiring and exhausting, and as the owner you will have to deal with issues that are not even issues. Third, although it can come in handy in "catching" people, as an owner and director you don't NEED a camera for the parents to watch to know if a person is fit for their job or not. My recommendation...get a camera set up for your office or whoever will be managing the center. It enables the director to see what is going on at all times, but doesn't give the room for assumption for many other people. Does that make sense? I know as a parent it would be nice to see my child 24/7, BUT...it can cause a lot more problems than good. Many centers get them, then see the hassles and then disconnect them. One in your office hooked up for YOU to see is all you need. JMO though. Many people do not understand the hassle until they have experienced it themselves.

Have you contacted your local licensing agency? If so, then I'm sure you know what to do. If not, this has to be done before ANYTHING else is done.

Make sure you provide a structured curriculum in all the classrooms (1 year olds-preschool). This will attract a lot more people who are looking for preschool type services and structure. The last thing you want to be known as is the center that babysits. I gave my teachers the free reign to do their own themes and activities, but I layed out the guidelines for them to follow and they had requirements every week. This weeds out the lazy employees as well. I also wrote out daily routines for each room.

I recommend rotating children based on their "grade" and not rotate when they turn a certain age. Meaning, all the children in classrooms rotate in the fall based on when they would go to Kindergarten. This allows all the children to stick together all year with the kids they will be going to K with, will allow the teachers to have more structure and curriculum, will refrain from a revolving door of children in each classroom all year, and also allows the kids and teachers less transition. Older babies sometimes end up being in the younger room for two years, but in the end it is a lot more rewarding than just sending a child to a new room on their b-day. Does that make sense? It is basically setting up "grades" like in normal school.

Make sure you have parents pay regardless if their children are there or not. Tuition should be based on ENROLLMENT not attendance if you want to make a decent income. Have fees for EVERYTHING...late fees for late pick up, fees for late payments, etc. There are SO many people who will take advantage if you if you do not set the boundaries right away.

At staff meeting I always have had a speaker come in and do a presentation on a subject. This allows the teachers to have to get less continuing education out of their own time. In WI we have to have 25 CE hours each year so it really helps out.

When hiring staff don't solely look at their education. Some of my best teachers were ones with less education and one gal I fired for child abuse had a 4 year degree in special ed...go figure.

Make policies about EVERYTHING!!!

That is all off the top of my head. I'm sure I can think of more as time goes on. Sounds like fun!!! Good luck! If you have any questions let me know. I've been managing my own in-home and have managed preschools and daycares for the last 8 years. I wont lie, it's A LOT of work, but as you put in more and more time you can make a great place where kids will want to come and learn.

Boo&BugsMom replied: Oh...set up a parent advisory committee! My parents loved this! It's almost like a PTA at daycare! Also make sure you are giving your teachers a really good discount on care for their own children, considering how little daycare teachers make.

lisar replied:
I think you said it all.

indywndy_04 replied:
We do a "screen on the green"...you can even call it that if you want!! LOL and we have movie nights at the park. I am not sure of the legal bindings, but as long as it is your movie that you have purchased and it is on your property, I think you are ok.

moped replied: What my freind does at christmas is once in December she allows parents to leave their kids until 8 or 9 pm so they can go do xmas shopping.

I need to keep thinking

Good idea but I have heard that licensing can be a real PITA and take a loooong time

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Licensing can be a pain, but it also depends on your state and each individual licensor. I've been blessed with good ones. That's why it's really important to gain a good reputation with your state agency.

Oh, do some local networking if you can with other businesss that have employees who might need childcare. Hand out brochures, flyers, etc. See if you can get flyers stuffed inside the local newspaper for a fee.

lovemy2 replied: I don't know alot about the ins and outs of running a daycare but am on the Board of Directors for Olivia's - all I can offer is to get a really really good lawyer for both the purchasing of the business and the land, building, etc. and a really really good corporate lawyer and accountant to protect your interests...Good luck - sounds like alot of fun!

grapfruit replied: Check out the insurance first too. Sometimes that can be really expensive because of the liability risks. Also, it may seem over kill but get an extra "Umbrella policy" if you qualify for it. It gives you an extra $1 mill (or $2 mill) for a small cost (usually less then $250/yr for the $1 mill). It's just extra coverage that in the case something happens won't make you lose everything.

All in all I think it sounds awesome!

boyohboyohboy replied: congrats on the great opportunity! I think the only other thing I always looked for in a daycare, besides all the obvious, was that all the employees were cpr certified, and that they had cont. education classes offered to them. I think that staff felt better educated and more adaptable to situations that could arise.
I also loved that our center had several meet the parents nights so we could go in and bring a dish to pass and meet the kids that our kids always talked about at night, and get to know their parents.
I also felt better knowing more about the teachers. and the teachers had email address if we wanted to write to them and ask questions.

luvmykids replied: I would definitely suggest getting some info on owning a business...it seems pretty basic until you do it There is a lot I know now that I wish someone had told us in the beginning. And I would never run a business again without an accountant who did a monthly audit for us, these days I consider myself pretty knowledgeable but am still suprised at what he catches every month when he goes over the books!

Good luck and have fun, it sounds great!

Boo&BugsMom replied:
That's a very good point. Also, running a daycare versus other businesses is a whole other ballgame because you have a lot more liability when dealing with children and state licensing issues. It's just very different.

To be honest, even though you have teaching experience, being that daycare is very different from "teaching", I would volunteer at a daycare center for a bit to get your feet wet if you have never worked at one before. Perhaps you have, which is great then, but many times when situations arise it's hard to deal with if you haven't had the experience first. There are a lot of things I learned "not to do" until I got my first management position.

Mommy2BAK replied: what a great opportunity! I don't really have any advice but I hope everything works out perfectly!

PrairieMom replied: I haven't read all the responses, but I say if you are willing to put a lot of work into it, and your relationship can handle a lot of stress than go for it!
My only suggestion would be to offer evening or night care. I work in a hospital where 75% of our staff work 12 hour shifts, and our hospital day care is 8-5. How stupid is THAT?
it would be so handy to have a place that stayed open till 8, or even had some overnight spots. If I were to open a daycare I would definitely do that.

Boo&BugsMom replied: Ooo, we have a daycare in our area that does second shift care. They do really good business too! You'd have to check out codes about how long kids can be in care in a 24 hour period though. In WI, a child can not be in care for more than 12 hours within a 24 hour period. There is some really good money in second shift care though!

3_call_me_mama replied: I used ot own a daycare center. it was a NIGHTMARE!!!!! Honestly. I would never do it agian. I pu t in LONG days and many wekends and holidays. Our family life was SHOT the parents never paid on time and the state was always late paying for subsidy kids, the licenser/agent for teh state was a PITA! She would come for an inspectionand we'd score great and she'd come back liek 2 weeks late rand score us terribel for the SAME exact things she had scored us great on. Finding good, qualiied reliabel help at a price that I dcould afford to pay was impossble. I had 2 weeks off for maternity leave and had to return to work because in VT you have to have a licensed teacher on property 90 % fo your open time. And since I was the only one with a license I had to be there. I got a waiver for the 2 weeks maternity leave. It was fun for a while but I never got a check. Seriously we put $40,000 out of pocket into that thing and it was a money pit. It was a rented space that needed cosmetic repairs and we had to do them despite not owning it. Overall it was a good learning experience as I learned that you should never go into a dead end business that relies on people paying for a service in order to pay employees. And also that a job that COSTS you money is a BAD IDEA!
But I wish you luck if you do choose to go through with this endevour. If you have a good background in business and a lot of $$ to invest and few competitors and lots of kids around then go for it!