The Vital Parts of a Daycare Business Plan

If you are considering opening a daycare center, then you may know by now that the success of your business goes much further than your passion for children. In order to have a successful business you will need to have a solid business so that you can stay on top of your business goals and track each milestone accordingly. Although setting up a business plan sounds intimidating and seems like something that does not apply to this particular business the truth is that it will apply to the success of your business and can ultimately make or break your business.

Writing a business plan for a daycare is not difficult, the most important thing is to analyze your competitors, develop a great marketing plan, and figure out who your target audience is. These elements are great starting points for developing a great business plan.

You do not need a college degree in business to develop a business plan! So, if you’re looking to create a solid business plan for your daycare center then this article will provide you with all the tools you need compile an excellent business plan.

Tips for Daycare Business Plan

It may seem like a very tedious task but writing a business plan is extremely important especially if you are looking to get some sort of funding. Although it may sound as easy as finding a great daycare space, packing it with kids, and buying supplies, the truth is that an organized business plan will increase your revenue, and add great value to your business because it will give you all the tools and direction you need to have a successful business.

Every business plan is different and depending on what your business is your business plan will look differently from other business plans. A daycare center is no exception, here are a few tips for a great daycare business plan.

• Discuss what makes your daycare center unique. While some daycare centers focus on providing childcare for children, others like to create a curriculum for children that will cater to their developmental needs. If your daycare center focuses on a curriculum then you should really highlight that in your business plan. This is a great component to add to your company overview section, as well as services offered.
• Take a good look at your competitors. With so many daycare centers opening up these days you should not be surprised if there’s a daycare a few feet away from your business. Whether it’s a mom and pop daycare in someone’s home, or a top of the line daycare center, you should take every competitor into account from prices to curriculum. The truth is that the cost of childcare is high, and you want to make sure that not only your service justifies your price but that your competitors are not provided the same service at a lower rate.
• Who is running your daycare center? Whether it’s a group of students working an afterschool job, or college students studying teachers, or certified educators, you want to make sure that you specify who is working at your daycare. Hiring educators will add great professionalism to your business and will possibly increase your possibility of receiving higher funding from investors.
• Layout a great marketing plan. Marketing is key for this business, so you’ll need to lay out a fully detailed plan. If you are in a suburban area you may consider advertising at mommy and me groups and PTA organizations at a school. Additionally, you can consider paid advertising on social media to maximize your reach.

With these tips you’ll be able to write out a business plan that caters perfectly to your daycare center. When writing out your business plan you want to highlight your goals, but also highlight your services and how you can set yourself apart from the rest of your competitors.

Things to Avoid When Writing Your Business Plan

Like everything in business their things, you should steer away from. Since this document is very important and is key to a successful business you want to avoid common mistakes that will devalue your business plan. Here are a few things you should avoid when writing out your business plan.

• Don’t forget who this document is for. You need to remember that you are writing this for a potential investor or banker, so you’ll need to make sure that no question is left unanswered, and that every concern is addressed.
• Don’t rule out your competitors. Even if you have a plan to compete against your competitor they may still respond, and potentially be a threat to your business. In cases like this you want to have a contingency plan in response to a possible threat to your business.

By avoiding these possible mistakes, you will have a professionally written business plan. The biggest takeaway from this is to avoid any unanswered questions and to leave your prospective investor satisfied after your business meeting.

What is a Business Plan?

Setting up a business plan is one of the first steps you should take when setting up your business.  A business plan is used to write out a detailed overview of how your business will function, the goals of the business and how you will achieve those goals.

When it comes to writing out a solid business plan you want to make sure that you layout all of the important components, that way no question is left unanswered, and your vision is stated clearly. Here are a few things that should be included in a standard business plan.

• Executive Summary: This is the first section of your business plan, and it is by far one of the most important components of your plan. For this section you will give an overview of the business, who you are serving, your overall goals, the services being offered, and most importantly your mission statement. You want to make sure that this section is compelling to any reader, and catches people’s attention, especially if you are showing this to investors or a bank for funding.
• Company Description: Who are you, and who do you serve? Use this section to answer that basic question, and give a detailed overview of your company, and the people your looking to serve.
• Market Analysis: This section is a bit more technical and involves a lot of statistical data about your target market. Use this section and your data to determine where your business fits in this particular market. Additionally, you will need to include consumer reports such as their income levels and demographic.
• Competitive Analysis: This is another very important section in your business plan and includes data from your competitors. This involves much more research because you will be comparing your services to the services that your competitors offer. A great detail to include here are the strengths and weakness of your competitors.
• Description of Management and Organization: Whether it’s a small company, or a company with a management team, you want to make sure that these roles are laid out in your business plan and provide a detailed account as to how each role will contribute to the company’s success.
• Breakdown of Products and Services: This is actually quite simple and self-explanatory; however, you want to make sure that you are very detailed in this section, and also state how your consumers will benefit from your services.
• Marketing Plan: This is another key component of any business because a marketing plan can either make or break the success of your business. Therefore, you want to make sure you specify how you plan on marketing, whether its through social media or word of mouth, and also calculate your marketing budget.
• Sales Strategy: How do you plan on selling your product? This typically caters to business that depend significantly on sale of a specific product and may potentially need to hire sales representatives.
• Request Funding: This section is where your business plan will tie together because you will use this section request funding for your business, and all the previous sections need to be detailed enough to justify the amount of funding you want to receive. In this section you will specify your need for funding and how your business will benefit from those funds.
• Financial Projections: This is where you’ll discuss your financial projections for your business, which will report your anticipated revenue for the first 12 months. In addition to your anticipated revenue for the first year you should also discuss the projected revenue for the next five years in accordance to your business plan.

With these key elements you will be able to make a business plan for any form of business especially a daycare. Although it seems like a large project, the guidelines provided above will easily map out what you need to discuss in each section and will save you a lot of time when it’s time to sit down and write out your business plan. If you follow the guidelines above, you will have a perfectly written business plan and will have a great document to provide potential investors when you request funding.

Final Thoughts

This is not a difficult task at all, the most important thing here is to take your time when writing out your business plan and being as detailed as possible to avoid any doubt. Writing a business plan for a daycare is quite unique because not only are you catering to parents you are also catering to children which really broadens your demographic.

By following the guidelines in this article, you will be able to write a great business plan without having a background in business. This business plan will highlight the possible success for your daycare center and will bring your business to the next level.

Q&A Section

• What should my numbers look like for my financial projections?

Do not go overboard and oversell yourself, its best to be as realistic as possible with your numbers. Not only will this allow you to achieve your goals easily, but you will show potential investors that you are serious about your business and are able to justify your points.

• Should I include supplies in my business plan?

Yes! Running a daycare center is expensive not only are you paying for a space, but you’ll also need to buy supplies which can be quite costly and result in having to purchase more than once. Adding supplies to your business plan will give investors a realistic idea of how much funding you’ll need.

Please note: This blog post is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a legal expert to address your specific needs.

Armed with your business plan all you need now is our startup course and documents.