Starting a Daycare Business: Assessing Community Needs
>> Monday, August 22, 2011
If you're thinking of opening up a day care business, one of the first steps is to assess the need for daycare services in your area. You can do this in several ways, from speaking with nearby families to studying census data. You can kick off your research by connecting with families in your city or town about their day care requirements and characteristics they would look for in a day care facility. This is frequently done by talking with families, drafting a questionnaire which families can complete through mail, or through carrying out a telephone survey.
Another excellent way to determine the need for daycare services in your community is to study local census data for your city or town. You can look at demographic information such as number of families with youngsters ages 0-6 years, number of recent marriages, and the geographic concentrations of families. This data can be found through getting in touch with your nearby city or town hall, or the U.S. Census Bureau. You may be able to search for the data online through the U.S. Census Bureau's site.You can use the census data to determine the prevailing need for childcare in your town or city, as well as predict if the requirements for childcare will increase in the near future.
An important step in this process is contacting your local child care resource and referral agency to help to identify existing day care services in your community. You may then find out more about your competition, and what kinds of services they are offering to families nearby. You'll have to come up with a completely unique strategy for your own daycare service, eg offering more flexible hours, catering to different ages, or offering an after-school care program for older children.
Before you get in touch with your nearby childcare resource and referral agency, come up with a list of things you wish to ask about daycare services in your area. These can include questions about hours, kinds of childcare, ages of children in childcare, services competitors provide for families and the total number of childcare centers which are near to your area.
It is crucial for you to evaluate the needs for childcare in your community before building your business. This will help you to set some clear objectives for your business plan, and get ahead of the competition by providing niche services.
Another excellent way to determine the need for daycare services in your community is to study local census data for your city or town. You can look at demographic information such as number of families with youngsters ages 0-6 years, number of recent marriages, and the geographic concentrations of families. This data can be found through getting in touch with your nearby city or town hall, or the U.S. Census Bureau. You may be able to search for the data online through the U.S. Census Bureau's site.You can use the census data to determine the prevailing need for childcare in your town or city, as well as predict if the requirements for childcare will increase in the near future.
An important step in this process is contacting your local child care resource and referral agency to help to identify existing day care services in your community. You may then find out more about your competition, and what kinds of services they are offering to families nearby. You'll have to come up with a completely unique strategy for your own daycare service, eg offering more flexible hours, catering to different ages, or offering an after-school care program for older children.
Before you get in touch with your nearby childcare resource and referral agency, come up with a list of things you wish to ask about daycare services in your area. These can include questions about hours, kinds of childcare, ages of children in childcare, services competitors provide for families and the total number of childcare centers which are near to your area.
It is crucial for you to evaluate the needs for childcare in your community before building your business. This will help you to set some clear objectives for your business plan, and get ahead of the competition by providing niche services.
About the Author:
Jennifer Dilwortz is a writer for Childcare Training Info, the most complete childcare training resource online. This article on assessing community needs for childcare is a part of our series on starting up a daycare business.
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