Is Owning a Daycare Profitable 2024?
The business of childcare is not what it used to be...
The new daycare owner isn’t what you would expect and long gone are the days of finding open spots for your child at the local daycare facility.
As a matter of fact, the demand for care is so great, but the ability to service that demand is so scarce, that it is making this industry an attractive one. Not to mention the subsidy and grant money that is flooding states with funding greater than ever before.
It’s not unheard of right now for schools to get $300k, $500k, and $800k to spend in twelve months. Many without major stipulations on how to use it.
For once, our early childhood education professionals who run our schools are being recognized as a major thread in the infrastructure of our communities. They are being found as essential, needed, and coveted.
With this shift in our communities of long waiting lists in our schools and more and more childcare centers closing their doors, what is the long-term solution?
Open more quality child care centers of course!
So who is this entrepreneur that is courageous enough to step in and provide this very essential service to our families?
If you were to create a profile of who the “typical” child care center owner is, you would most likely guess one of the following profiles:
- Early education professionals who are ready to transition to school ownership
- Home daycare providers looking to take the leap to group child care
- Churches filling a congregation/community need and/or additional profit stream
- Frustrated parents unable to find the type of care they desire in their area
Sure, we are still seeing this type of owner, however, something interesting is happening…
Enter in the new pioneers of child care:
- Entrepreneurs with no childcare background seeing this industry as the place to be
- Frustrated parents unable to find the type of care they desire in their area
- Real estate developers who have identified daycares are in shortage
- Economic development groups of local communities who listen to the needs of their communities
- Business owners who can’t staff their companies because their employees can’t find care for their children
- Universities who understand they can’t hire professors due to lack of child care
More and more, unusual contenders are reaching out to consultants like us to help them navigate fulfilling their communities in opening a daycare. Essentially, over one third of all our inquiries comes from groups like this desiring support through this journey of child care development. Though some of these groups don’t want childcare ownership, they help orchestrate building those crucial partnerships with brands that step in and save the day.
What will the impact be as communities struggle to find suitable partners to meet the demands of their families?
Personally, we worry only larger, big-box childcare centers will be noticed as these partnerships are arranged. Often these schools have the ability to come in with little to no financial help from their community partner. Our concern is not that they don’t provide quality care but that they bring a corporate feel to families looking for a personal touch, a touch of home. They bring no peculiar or unique personality that could otherwise catapult creativity in the minds of our children.
We work hard for this industry, and we love to help navigate ownership for independent child care centers and communities in need, with the hope of aligning boutique or niche schools. We do this by becoming a valuable partner with all our new "pioneer" child care entrepreneurs. This partnership includes developing their brand, and helping them through the ownership/licensing process, all without any royalty payments after.
That is our mission, to develop profitable schools that have a unique purpose - a personal touch if you will. To work side-by-side with these communities, developers, business owners, moms, and dads to help them be that new anchor for families in their hometowns.
We say all this not to brag on the services we offer but to offer a perspective of the trends we are seeing in a space we love - child care - early childhood education - our future.
We challenge you to reach out to us…
- If you are in a community of childcare providers
- If you are one of our the new pioneers in childcare
- If you are want to be part of the solution
Already have your mindset on starting a school? Join us in learning the ins and outs of how to start a daycare.
Video Course - HOW TO START A DAYCARE
In-depth video course on How to Start a Daycare. There are 24 lessons, with several downloadable assets - over 2.5 hours of how to start a daycare course content that will set you up for success in the child care industry. One of the videos takes a deep dive into what is needed in a quality daycare business plan. Go check it out now!
Need More of a TurnKey Solution?
TurnKey - Child Care Biz In A Box - This solution provides the strategic plan, hundreds of brandable documents (ie - handbook, checklists, procedures, and more), and the support system needed to start a commercial group child care center - WITHOUT the franchise fees! Get started today!
Need a Child Care Consultant to Help Walk You Through All the Steps of a Daycare Start-Up?
Child care consultant Caroline Jens can help you with the start-up process. Book a call today!
My understanding with the new National Child Care Program and with the provinces agreements, that private operators aren’t able to acquire a license to open at this time. That in order to open you must be a non profit, which therefore does not make you an entrepreneur but rather non profit founders, sure building something and meeting unique challenges….but you aren’t running your own business,
Are there provinces that are still able to access funds and licenses and operate a private program. Here in Alberta we can not…