Senin, 22 Agustus 2011

Starting a Daycare: Considering Community Needs

By Jennifer Dilwortz


If you're thinking of starting a daycare service, one of the first steps is to assess the need for childcare services in your local community. You can do this in a number of ways, from talking with nearby families to analyzing census demographic data. You can begin your evaluation by connecting with families in your local community about their childcare requirements and characteristics they would look for in a childcare business. This may be done by meeting with families, creating a questionnaire which people can complete via mail, or through administering a telephone survey.

Another good way to evaluate the need for childcare services in your community is to analyze local census info for your city or town. You can look at demographic info such as number of families with children ages 0-6 years, number of recent marriages, and the geographic density of families. This info can be acquired through reaching out to your nearby city or town hall, or the U.S. Census Bureau. You may also be able to locate the info online on the U.S. Census Bureau's webpage.You can use the census information to assess the present need for childcare in your city or town, as well as determine if the need for childcare will increase in the upcoming years.

A very important step in this assessment process is reaching out to your local childcare resource and referral agency to help identify existing childcare businesses in your city or town. You can then learn more about your competitors, and what types of care and services they're providing to families close by. You may have to create a unique strategy for your own childcare service, for example offering more flexible hours, services for children of different ages, or providing an after-school daycare service for older kids.

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 important for you to determine the needs for childcare services in your town or city prior to establishing your childcare service. This is going to help you to set a number of definite objectives for your business plan, and get a jump start on your competitors through providing niche services.




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