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Financing Your Day Care Business

by Rene Sandan

Opening a day care is a dream nurtured by many people for many reasons. Some of these individuals may work in a day care center and believe they could do a better job with the added benefit of becoming self employed. Many stay at home parents figure they are already doing child care what difference would a few extra kids make except an increase in income. And lots of people are just straight tired of nine to five working for a boss who doesn't care about them. So they dream. But, most of these people that want to establish a child care business never succeed in doing so due to a lack of funding. However, there is hope and this article will introduce you to ideas on how to obtain the financing required to start a day care business.

An effective and thorough business plan is the first and most important step in starting your day care business. Your business plan exposes the building blocks of your child care business. It will outline the steps you need to take to get your business started and what you will do to ensure it's continued success. Essentially, your plan will be a professional presentation of your research and diligence which is vital when you approach any financial institution for loans. Moreover it is a fantastic insight into what is involved in starting and operating your day care business for you.

Structuring your business effectively is incredibly important When looking to obtain financing for your day business. Detailing all costs involved in getting your day care open is vital so that there are no surprises, from research phase to supplies to actually opening the doors. You will need to factor in the recurring expenses entailed in the daily operations of your day care. These are the unavoidable and necessary running costs and will include utility bills, equipment, food costs and wages (because even it is only you, you still need to pay yourself).

The third method involved when it comes to obtaining finances when you want to open a daycare in the home is to invest as much as you possibly can first. If you want to start your own business, it is important to be able to provide at least a certain percentage of the costs out of your own pocket. This will make lenders more likely to provide you with the money that you are requesting for your new home business. Many lenders find home businesses a high risk because each year millions of them fail, however, if you are willing to front some of the costs associated with the daycare, they are more likely to find lending to you appealing.

The fourth method in obtaining financing in opening a daycare center at home is to offer some sort of collateral. This is a very important, yet risky step. You must be certain that you are confident in your ability to own and operate a daycare at home prior to handing out items for collateral. This is especially true because many of these items are high priced such as the home itself, and vehicles. However, many lenders are comfortable in financing a business if they have a promise of something in return if the home business fails.

Fiona Lohrenz has been running her own day care for the past 10 years and is the founder of a childcare website that offers articles and resources for child care providers and parents. She has also produced 'Start a ChildCare Business' DVD found here StartChildCare.com. Fiona can be reached at her website here: ChildCareOnly.com

Published January 16th, 2008

Filed in Education, Women