how do i write a business plan for a daycare center

How to Write a Business Plan for Daycare and Preschool

brightwheel
Running a business

People sitting at a table reviewing business graphs

Writing a daycare or preschool business plan is a big task, but due diligence and hard work will help you understand what you’ll need to launch and run a daycare or preschool successfully.

people sitting around a table reviewing a business graph

What do daycare investors want?

Your local government will have rules and regulations you’ll need to follow as a small business owner and childcare provider. Start by reviewing the childcare licensing guidelines for your state and city. Once you’re clear on licensing guidelines, you’re ready to start writing your childcare business plan.

The purpose of a business plan is to help secure funding. You’ll likely need financing to launch your preschool or daycare, especially if you want to avoid the monthly repayment of a loan.

Investors provide businesses with money in exchange for partial ownership. As a result, they expect a larger return on their initial investment. Because many investors work in business, they prefer to invest in an established company.

Most investors look for:

Industry background and experience

Financial performance and promise.

Investors want to make money. Therefore, they are more inclined to work with experienced entrepreneurs and business owners to guarantee a return on their investment.

This might sound discouraging for those with little experience or without a business management background, but the opportunity doesn’t end there. You could consider bringing on a partner with a business background. Additionally, many investors act as a source of business advice.

You need to demonstrate that your business will make money. Investors will likely want to see signs of business growth before they give you money.

Additionally, investors will want to know about your financial stability. Questions an investor might ask are:

What do you plan to do with the money?
Has your business been up or down in recent years?
Is your company losing money? Are there signs of growth for the future?
How do you plan to repay your investment?

Of course, every investor is different, so they’ll consider various factors. While experience and financial promise are at the top of the list for most investors, they might also look for uniqueness, business readiness, an effective business model, and more.

A women using a calculating and holding cash

Writing a daycare business plan

We’ve discussed licensing and investors. Now, you’re ready to begin the framework of your business plan for daycares and preschools. Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

Business description

Needs assessment, insurance policies, operating policies and procedures, marketing strategy.

Start with the basics: what does your daycare do? Detailing the service you’re offering will help you create a clear business plan. Next, you might want to write some goals or even a mission statement outlining your purpose and motivation.

Start by looking at general daycare or preschool industry trends, then narrow your scope to the preschools or daycares in your local area. Next, you’ll need to figure out who your target customers are and confirm that there is a need for a business like yours in your community.

Are there a lot of young families in your neighborhood? Are you located somewhere convenient for commuting parents? Does your business offer a specific service that your competitors don’t, like early check-in or extended hours?

Also, check out the competition. Research the existing daycare or preschool options in your community. Look at current preschool or daycare business plan samples. What makes your daycare or preschool unique?

Developing detailed budgets will help you run your small business. You’ll need to compare your current cash flow and expenditures to determine whether you’ll make a profit.

Build a budget for unexpected costs. For example, how many children do you need to serve to be able to pay your bills and stay afloat? Child Care Aware of America offers some terrific budgeting resources for this process.

Depending on the type and size of your preschool, you’ll need insurance policies of several different types, including liability, property, workers’ compensation, and business insurance. Check the licensing requirements for guidance in building this part of your preschool business plan.

Create a comprehensive handbook for families and staff that includes you center's policies and procedures. For instance, you'll need to develop an emergency plan , daycare sick policy , and other safety protocols according to your local childcare licensing requirements.

Your staff handbook will be a helpful resource your employees can reference and include all your employment policies including work and pay schedules, benefits, and information about professional growth and development. You can also include information on your center's philosophy and curriculum, classroom procedures, and expectations for working with children and families.

Your marketing strategy is the key to attracting customers. Decide what type of advertising you will use in front of potential customers. For example, list your school in local directories and participate in parenting and kid-friendly community events. Run a social media campaign focusing on your target population.

Another big part of childcare business marketing is differentiating yourself from other preschools. These days adopting daycare software is a surefire way to attract families with young children. A tool like brightwheel's center management feature will streamline your center's admission process, record keeping, and reporting, saving you up to 20 hours per month.

You can also use brightwheel for recording and tracking daily events and activities, and sending real-time updates to families throughout the day. It also offers secure, digital check-in/check-out and a paperless billing system. This is a great way to keep your families looped in on daily activities and handle all of your administrative tasks in one place.

Your business is ready!

Writing a business plan can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Once you secure the proper licensing, use the information in this article to guide you through creating a solid daycare business plan that drives investors and financing to your business.

These are just the basics to get you started. For further information, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s website has detailed instructions on creating each necessary part of a successful business plan.

Childcare and Preschool Supply List

A list of everything you need to start an early education program.

Subscribe to the brightwheel blog

Download our free Childcare and Preschool Supply List Template - brightwheel

Daycare Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Business Plan Outline

Daycare Business Plan Home
1. Executive Summary
2. Company Overview
3. Industry Analysis
4. Customer Analysis
5. Competitive Analysis
6. Marketing Plan
7. Operations Plan
8. Management Team
9. Financial Plan

Daycare Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to easily complete your daycare business plan.

We have helped over 100,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their daycares.

How To Write a Daycare Business Plan & Example

Below are links to each section of your daycare business plan template:

Executive Summary – This is a brief overview of your daycare business plan. The executive summary should be no more than 2 pages long, with brief summaries of other sections of the plan.
Company Overview – This is where you provide a business description, including your company history, business structure, and any pertinent information about the daycare center.
Industry Analysis – The industry analysis describes the daycare industry, including market size and trends.
Customer Analysis – This section of your daycare business plan describes your target market and potential customers. You will detail the demographics, needs, and wants of your target audience and how you plan to meet those needs.
Competitive Analysis – The competition in your local area will be described here, along with how your daycare business will compete in the market.
Marketing Plan – Your marketing plan will describe your daycare’s marketing strategy, including your advertising and promotion plans.
Operations Plan – This section of your business plan describes how your daycare will be operated on a day-to-day basis. It may also include your long-term plans for expansion and the milestones you want to achieve to get there.
Management Team – The management team section of your business plan should describe the experience and qualifications of your management team including the director, teachers, and support staff.
Financial Plan – The financial plan section of your daycare business plan should include your financial statements, such as your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.

Next Section: Executive Summary >

Daycare Business Plan FAQs

What is a daycare business plan.

A daycare business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your daycare business. Among other things, a good daycare business plan will outline your business concept, identify your target customers, present research about the child care industry, detail your marketing plan, and provide your financial plan.

You can easily complete your daycare business plan using our Daycare Business Plan Template here .

What Are the Main Types of Daycare Businesses?

There are different types of daycare businesses that parents can choose from for their child's needs. A traditional daycare center is most sought after by working parents since it provides child care during regular work hours. There are also in-home daycare centers that are licensed to provide child care in a home setting with fewer children. Other child care centers provide hourly care services by trusted babysitters or nannies and are operating on an as-needed basis.

What Are the Main Sources of Revenues and Expenses for a Daycare Business?

The primary source of revenue for a daycare business is its child care services.

Some key expenses for a daycare business is rent, salaries for staff, utilities and snacks expenses for the children.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Day Care Business Plan?

A daycare or child care center is typically funded through small business loans, personal savings, credit card financing and/or angel investors. This is true for a business plan for daycare or a childcare business plan.

What are the Steps To Start a Daycare Business?

Starting a daycare can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A Day Care Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed child care business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include market research on the childcare industry and potential target market size, information on the services you will offer, marketing strategy, pricing strategies and detailed financial projections.

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your daycare business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your daycare business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Daycare Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your daycare business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws.

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your daycare business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms.

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations.

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events.

7. Acquire Necessary Daycare Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your chlidcare business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation.

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your childcare business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising to reach your target audience.

Learn more about how to start a successful daycare business:

How to Start a Daycare Business

Where Can I Get a Daycare Business Plan Example PDF?

You can download our daycare business plan PDF template here. This is a business plan template you can use in PDF format.

500+ business plans and financial models

How to Write a Business Plan for a Daycare: Complete Guide

January 30, 2023

how do i write a business plan for a daycare center

👇 Check all our resources on daycares 👇

Whether you’re looking to raise funding from private investors or to get a loan from a bank (like a SBA loan) for your daycare, you will need to prepare a solid business plan.

In this article we go through, step-by-step, all the different sections you need in your daycare business plan. Use this template to create a complete, clear and solid business plan that get you funded.

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary of a business plan gives a sneak peek of the information about your business plan to lenders and/or investors.

If the information you provide here is not concise, informative, and scannable, potential lenders and investors will lose interest.

Though the executive summary is the first and the most important section, it should normally be the last section you write because it’s the summary of the different sections included in your business plan.

Why do you need a business plan for your daycare?

The purpose of a business plan is to secure funding through one of the following channels:

Obtain bank financing or secure a loan from other lenders (such as a SBA loan )
Obtain private investments from investment funds, angel investors, etc.
Obtain a public or private grant

How to write an executive summary for your daycare?

The executive summary of your daycare business plan should include the following important information:

Business Overview

Introduce your company (its name, its mission) and the history behind it: why did you decide to create a daycare in your area today? Why you?

Also, that’s where you should expand on the business: where will the daycare facility be located? How old are the children you target? How many children will you be able to take care of? What are the amenities (classrooms, playground, cafeteria, etc.)?

Market Overview

Provide here a deep market analysis that backs your decision to open a daycare business in your area today. Why would your business succeed given current market conditions?

For example, the market analysis should include information like: what are your competitors in the area? What are their characteristics, strengths and weaknesses ? Who are your target audience (parents and children)? Is that in line with the demographics in your area?

Management & People

Who is the management team? What is your/their experience in the daycare industry?

Financial plan

What is your expected revenue and profitability for the next 5 years? When do you expect to break-even? Simply include here a chart of your key financials (e.g. Revenue, Gross Profit, Net profit )

Funding Ask

What loan/investment/grant are you seeking? How much do you need? How do you intend to spend the money?

Daycare Financial Model

Download an expert-built 5-year Excel financial model for your business plan

2. Daycare Business Overview

The business overview section of the daycare business plan summarizes the basics of your facility, including the background information, business model, services, target audience, and legal structure.

a) History of the Project

When you launch a daycare business, you want it to grow and even become the best in the region if possible. One small element that can catalyze your company’s growth is its history. You don’t have to exaggerate the information here, but try to include useful details that will make your daycare business stand out.

For a business as sensitive as daycare, trust overrides anything else. So, make sure to include in your business plan your experience and passion for children to demonstrate to investors you are qualified and the right person to successfully run a new daycare facility.

Also, flesh out the history behind the project: why are you starting a daycare now? For example, you may have noticed a lack of child care services for toddlers and infants in the city.

b) Business Model

Next up is the business model. This is the revenue-generating plan that identifies how your business operates. A daycare business model should be succinct and address specific things about the business.

For instance, is it a commercial daycare facility or a family daycare? Is it an independent facility or a partnership? And should you opt for a daycare franchise?

Keep in mind that daycare facilities vary by the target age group. So, you can opt for a childcare center, a family daycare, a kindergarten/pre-school, or a nursery school.

c) Daycare Services

It takes a lot to raise a child. So, be clear on the services you want to offer in your newly founded daycare facility. The quality of services will make your business more attractive. But an even bigger factor will be the type of services you provide at the facility.

Indeed, a lot happens inside a daycare facility, from hands-on learning (classrooms, private tuition) to field trips, games and community events.

d) Pricing Strategy

Age is a key factor when setting the prices of your daycare services. On average, parents across the US pay about $9,400 per year on child care per child. Of course, the actual figure will vary based on a number of factors, but this is a great starting point when getting into the industry.

An accurate pricing strategy can help you outshine your biggest competitors. However, don’t forget that setting cheaper prices isn’t necessarily the best strategy, just in the same way overpriced services may turn off potential clients.

e) Target Audience

Daycare centers are so named because they are about a child’s well-being. However, the final decision rests with the parents, who must buy into your idea and long-term vision for the facility.

For this type of business, you have a definite target market . And all you have to do is ensure your facility is closer to a busy neighborhood with many children. Find out if the families truly need child care services, why they need these services and the children’s average age.

Finally, make sure your services are aligned with your target audience. For example, you wouldn’t necessarily succeed with a daycare operating 9am – 4pm in an area where parents typically work long hours in the city and need time to commute back to their neighborhood to pick up their kids.

Same goes for pricing: if you offer high-quality expensive daycare services, make sure your daycare is either located close to offices or in an area where affluent parents work or live.

f) Legal Structure

Finally, your business overview section should specify what type of business structure you opt for. Is this a corporation or a partnership (LLC)? Who are the investors? How much equity percentage do they own? Is there a Board of Directors? If so, whom? Do they have experience in the industry?

3. Daycare Market Overview

In the market overview section of your business plan, you must cover 2 important areas:

Market trends : how big is the daycare industry in your area? How fast is the market growing? What are the trends fuelling this growth (or decline)?
Competition analysis : how many competitors are there? How do they compare vs. your business? How can you differentiate yourself from them?

a) Daycare Market Trends

How big is the daycare industry in the us.

It’s always helpful to base your business decisions on the latest trends in the US market. For instance, the US daycare market had a value of approximately $54.3 billion in 2019 . And it is projected to grow at an annual rate of 3.9% from 2020 through 2027.

According to reports, the high number of parents occupying full-time and part-time jobs is a major driving force behind the increasing demand for daycare services. No matter how you look at it, these statistics make the daycare business even more lucrative, provided you get all the basics right through your business plan.

How big is the daycare industry in your region?

After the US, assess the size of the daycare market in your city or area. Focus on the zone where you plan to offer daycare services.

Naturally, you might not be able to get the data for your specific city or region. Instead, you can estimate the size of your market, for more information on how to do it, read our article on how to estimate TAM, SAM and SOM for your startup . To give you an example, let’s assume you plan to operate in an area where there are already 10 competitors:

As we know the US daycare industry is worth $54 billion today, and there are about 230,000 child care centers , therefore the average annual turnover per child care center is around $235,000.

Now, we can safely assume that the daycare industry is worth $23 million in your area (10 centers).

How fast is the daycare industry growing in your region?

Growth is an important metric for assessing the status of the daycare industry in your region.

Here if you don’t find information online or via your research, you can calculate growth using the total number of competitors in your area.

For example, assuming there were 8 daycare competitors in the region in 2018, and 10 in 2022, the annual growth rate is 6% per year.

b) Daycare Competitor Analysis

At the very least, your competitor analysis should answer all the questions below:

How many daycare businesses are the area where you plan to open yours?
What type of daycare businesses are there: home-based vs. center-based home care, early care vs. early education & daycare, etc.
What age range do they specialise in?
What services do your competitors offer?
What amenities do your competitors have (playground, classrooms, etc.)
What’s their average price (daily rate / monthly rate)?
What is the child / staff ratio of your competitors?

4. Sales & Marketing Strategy

For some existing daycare facilities, marketing isn’t the most important aspect of running the business. But you’ll probably have to implement a few marketing strategies at the beginning to attract the first families , especially if you’re starting a new daycare facility.

a) Daycare Market Channels

A daycare business doesn’t have diverse marketing channels like retail stores or other businesses. So, this may limit your options when it comes to new marketing channels.

Apart from word of mouth, other marketing channels include;

Social media
Online listing (Google business, Facebook business page)
Word-of-mouth

b) What are Your Unique Selling Points (USPs)?

Daycare facilities offer pretty much the same services, and it’s not easy to stand out from the competition. However, a few factors can be useful when evaluating your opportunities in a competitive market, including:

Target age group : You may cover a unique age group as opposed to your competitors
Opening hours : you may offer longer opening hours to accommodate for different parents’ jobs and availabilities
Price : Your services may be cheaper than your competitors
Quality & amenities : Quality services and extra amenities (outdoor playground, etc.) will make your daycare facility more attractive vs. competitors
Services : Your services may go beyond the standard hands-on learning and kid games

5. Management & People

The 5th section of your daycare business plan should be about people. It should include 2 main elements:

The management team and their experience / track record
The organizational structure: what are the different teams and who reports to whom?

a) Management

Here you should list all the management roles in your company.

Of course, the amount of details you need to include here varies depending on the size of your company. For example, a small daycare business run by 1 or 2 persons doesn’t need the same level of detail vs. a large center with 50 children or more.

If you plan on running your business independently, you may write a short paragraph explaining who are the co-founders and/or senior managers (if there are any in addition to yourself). It’s important to highlight their experience in the industry and previous relevant professional experiences.

b) Organizational structure

No matter how many leadership roles there are, you should now explain how you intend to run the company from a management standpoint.

What are the different teams (management, childcare staff, cooking staff, human resources, finance, etc.)?

Note that you should include these details even if you haven’t hired anyone yet. It will show lenders and investors that you have a solid hiring and management plan to run the business successfully.

A great addition here is to add an organizational chart that list all the roles, from Directors to managers, key supervisory roles and employees. Make sure to highlight with reporting lines who manages/supervises whom.

6. Financial Plan

The financial plan is perhaps, with the executive summary, the most important section of any business plan.

Indeed, a solid financial plan tells lenders that your business is viable and can repay the loan you need from them. If you’re looking to raise equity from private investors, a solid financial plan will prove them your daycare is an attractive investment.

There should be 3 sections to your financial plan section:

Your historical financials (only if you already operate the business and have financial accounts to show)
The startup costs of your project (if you plan to start a new daycare facility, or add capacity to an existing daycare center, renovate your facilities, etc.)
The 5-year financial projections

a) Historical Financials (optional)

In the scenario where you already have some historical financials (a few quarters or a few years), include them. A summary of your financial statements in the form of charts e.g. revenue, gross profit and net profit is enough, save the rest for the appendix.

If you don’t have any, don’t worry, most new businesses don’t have any historical financials and that’s ok. If so, jump to Startup Costs instead.

b) Startup Costs

Before we expand on 5-year financial projections in the following section, it’s always best practice to start with listing the startup costs of your project.

For a daycare, startup costs are all the expenses you incur before you open the space to your customers. These expenses typically include: renovation costs, equipment and furniture, etc.

The startup costs for opening a child care center depend on various factors such as the location and size of your daycare facilities, the capacity (the number of children you plan to have), the quality of the amenities, etc.

We’ve identified that it costs anywhere between $130,000 to $490,000 to start a daycare business with 50 children . See below the cost estimates.

Note that these costs are for illustrative purposes and depend on several factors which might not fully apply to you. Let’s first start below with startup costs.

c) Financial Projections

In addition to startup costs, you will now need to build a solid daycare financial model over 5 years.

Your financial projections should be built using a spreadsheet (e.g. Excel or Google Sheets) and presented in the form of tables and charts in your business plan.

As usual, keep it concise here and save details (for example detailed financial statements, financial metrics, key assumptions used for the projections) for the appendix instead.

Your financial projections should answer at least the following questions:

How much revenue do you expect to generate over the next 5 years?
When do you expect to break even?
How much cash will you burn until you get there?
What’s the impact of a change in pricing (say 10%) on your margins?
What is your average customer acquisition cost?

You should include here your 3 financial statements (income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement). This means you must forecast:

The number of children over time ;
Your expected revenue ;
Operating costs to run the business ;
Any other cash flow items (e.g. capex, debt repayment, etc.).

When projecting your revenue, make sure to sensitize pricing and the number of members as a small change in these assumptions will have a big impact on your revenues.

When it comes to the costs, consider both startup and operating costs. For more information, read our complete guide here .

7. Funding Ask

This is the last section of the business plan of your daycare center. Now that we have explained what type of daycare services your company would offer, at what price, your marketing strategy , management and people, this section must now answer the following questions:

How much funding do you need?
What financial instrument(s) do you need: is this equity or debt, or even a free-money public grant?
How long will this funding last?
Where else does the money come from? If you apply for a SBA loan for example, where does the other part of the investment come from (your own capital, private investors?)

Use of Funds

Any business plan should include a clear use of funds section. This is where you explain how the money will be spent.

Will you spend most of the loan / investment to buy the real estate and do the renovations? Or will it cover the cost of the salaries of your childcare staff and other employees the first few months?

Those are very important questions you should be able to answer in the blink of an eye. Don’t worry, this should come straight from your financial projections. If you’ve built solid projections like in our daycare financial model template , you won’t have any issues answering these questions.

For the use of funds, we recommend using a pie chart like the one we have in our financial model template where we outline the main expenses categories as shown below.

Privacy Overview

The Daycare Business Plan Blueprint (Examples + Template)

April 14, 2022

Adam Hoeksema

Starting a daycare business can be a daunting task. There are so many things to think about and plan for. You need to find the perfect location, get the right licenses and permits, hire qualified staff, and, most importantly, create a daycare business plan.

Creating a daycare business plan is one of the most important steps in starting your business. A well-thought-out business plan will help you get funding, attract investors, and operate your business effectively.

The bad news is that there is a lot of advice out there on writing a business plan. With so much information and tons of daycare business plan examples to choose from, it can be overwhelming to know where to start.

The good news is, we've got you covered. In this article, we'll give you a comprehensive guide on how to write a daycare business plan. We will also provide some examples and a free daycare business plan template to get you started.

But First...Is a Daycare a Good Business to Start?

Before we talk about how to create a daycare business plan, let's first answer the question: is starting a daycare a good business to get into?

The answer is a resounding yes! The daycare industry is growing rapidly. It is one of the few businesses that are not only recession-proof but also thrives in uncertain economic times.

According to the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), the demand for child care services has increased by 26% over the last decade. This demand is only expected to grow in the coming years.

When it comes to profitability, the daycare industry is very attractive. According to IBISWorld , the average profit margin for a daycare business is around 15%. That's higher than the average for most other industries!

If you're thinking about starting a daycare business, know that you are getting into a very profitable and in-demand industry. Now let's talk about how to write a daycare business plan that will help you start and grow your business successfully.

How to Create a Daycare Business Plan

A daycare business plan is as simple as a word document with the following sections:

Business Description
Market Analysis

Business Model

Location and Facility
Marketing Plan
Financial Plan

Executive Summary

This article will provide context of what to include in each section of your daycare business plan. As you work on writing your business plan, you will want to grab our daycare financial projection template as well in order to complete the financial plan section.

Your daycare business plan should be an elevator pitch in itself. It should be attractive to potential partners and investors. Basically, it should give them a clear idea of your business, where it is located, what services you offer, who your target market is, and how you plan to make money.

Creating a daycare business plan doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, the cheapest and easiest approach is to simply start with a blank word document and work through each of the above sections, it can be pretty easy. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to create a daycare business plan:

Create a Compelling Business Description

Your daycare business's unique selling point (USP) should be the first thing you include in your business plan. What is it that makes your daycare center different from all the others?

This description should be the foundation of your marketing efforts as well.

There are a few questions you should answer in your company description. They include:

What's your Curriculum Based On?

Potential investors, partners, and even customers will be interested in knowing what your curriculum is based on. This will help them understand the environment children will be in a while under your care.

When describing your curriculum, make sure to include:

What age ranges do you cater for?
The type of care you offer (full-time, part-time, drop-in)
Your educational philosophy
The activities and programs you offer

For example, if your daycare is unique by offering a Montessori curriculum, you will want to highlight that. In fact, you can learn more about how to start a Montessori program here .

How Big is Your Facility?

The size of your facility will say a lot about the type of operation you're running. Are you a small, home-based daycare or a large center with multiple classrooms?

This section of your business plan may include:

A floor plan of your facility
The capacity of your facility
The number of employees you have
Type of equipment and furniture you have

Who Is Your Target Market?

You can't market to everyone, so you must identify your target market. This will help you focus your marketing efforts and ensure that you're reaching the right people.

Below is a daycare business plan example that shows how your business description should be:

“ABC Daycare is a small, home-based daycare located in San Francisco, CA. We cater to children aged 0-12 years old and offer full-time, part-time, and drop-in care.

Our curriculum is based on the Reggio Emilia approach, emphasizing hands-on learning and collaboration. Activities and programs include arts and crafts, music, and outdoor play.

Our facility can accommodate up to 12 children at a time. We have a staff of four employees who are all CPR and First Aid certified.

Our target market is working parents in the city who need quality child care but can't afford the rates of larger daycare centers. We've created an affordable subscription-based pricing model for our target market to fulfill the demand. We generate revenue through monthly subscriptions and have low operating costs due to our small size.

Our suppliers are local businesses that provide us with food, toys, and other supplies.”

Do a Thorough Market Analysis

After writing a compelling description of your business, you need to do a thorough marketing analysis. This analysis will help you determine your target market, what type of advertising and promotion will work best, and how to price your services.

You should also research the competition and see what they are doing right and wrong. This information will be invaluable as you create your daycare business plan.

Keep these things in mind when doing a market analysis:

The Size of Your Market

This is determined by the number of potential customers in your area who need or want your services.

For example, if you live in a small town with only a few thousand people, there may not be enough demand to support a large daycare facility.

On the other hand, if you live in a city with hundreds of thousands of people, there may be room for multiple daycare facilities.

Your target market is the segment of the population that is most likely to use your services. This includes factors like age, income, education, and location.

After you've identified your target market, you need to show how you plan on fulfilling the demand. This is where your business model comes in.

Your business model is a detailed description of how your daycare will operate daily. It should include:

How do you plan on acquiring customers?
What are your pricing strategies?
How will you generate revenue?
What are your operating costs?
Who are your suppliers?

Your business model should be detailed and easy to understand. It should also be realistic and achievable.

Here is a daycare business plan example of a business model for a small daycare center:

“The daycare will be open Monday through Friday from six in the morning to six at night. We will offer care for children ages six weeks to twelve years old.

Our rates will be $50 per week for one child and $40 per week for each additional child from the same family. We will offer a discount of $20 per week for families who enroll their children for an entire year.

We will generate revenue by charging weekly rates for our services. Our operating costs will include rent, utilities, supplies, and salaries for our employees. Also, we will acquire customers through online advertising and word-of-mouth.”

As you can see, a business model is a detailed description of how your business will operate. It's essential to have one in place before promoting and selling your services.

One thing you should not forget to include in your daycare business plan is the location of your business and your rental agreement. If you are renting a space, including the terms of your agreement and how long you have the space. If you are purchasing a property, include information on the property, such as square footage and any special features that will help your business stand out.

This daycare business plan example shows you how to include this vital information:

“The daycare will be located at 123 Main Street in a commercial space currently leased by the owner. The lease agreement is for three years with an option to renew for an additional three years. The monthly rent is $2000, and the security deposit is $3000.

The daycare will have exclusive use of the main floor, including a large open play area, a small kitchen, two bathrooms, and four classrooms. The daycare will also have access to the outdoor playground.

80% of our space will be used for childcare, with the other 20% used for our administrative offices and staff lounge.

We have chosen this location because it is close to several residential neighborhoods and has easy access to public transportation. The space is also large enough to accommodate our future growth.”

There are many daycare business plan templates you can use to help you get started. This is a basic outline of what should be included.

Daycare Marketing Plan

Most daycare business plan templates will include a section for your marketing plan. Most people overlook the marketing aspect of their business, but it is one of the most important pieces of your puzzle.

In your business plan, you need to outline your target market, your marketing strategies, and how you plan on executing those strategies.

You also need to set aside a budget for your marketing efforts. Many people make the mistake of thinking that they don't need to spend money on marketing, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

The following daycare business plan example shows you how you should describe your marketing efforts:

"Our target market is working for families with children between six weeks and five years old. We will reach our target market through online and offline marketing efforts.

Some of the offline marketing strategies we will use include print advertising, flyers, and word-of-mouth referrals. We will use a mix of SEO, content marketing, and social media for online marketing.

We have set aside a budget of $500 per month for our marketing efforts."

As you can see from the example above, your marketing plan should be clear, concise, and to the point. Don't forget to include a budget!

Daycare Financial Plan

Your business plan should include a financial plan section. This is where you'll lay out how much money you need to start or grow your business. Be specific and include dollar amounts. If you're seeking a loan, including information on how much you're requesting and how you'll use the funds.

You should also include a detailed budget in your business plan. Your budget should include all of your projected income and expenses for at least the first year of operation. Creating a budget will help you get a clear picture of what it will cost to start and operate your business.

This section should include projected costs for:

Rent or mortgage payments
Advertising and marketing
Operating expenses such as utilities, supplies, and more.

Startup costs are another vital item to include in your business plan. This is the money you need to purchase equipment, furniture, or any other items to get your business up and running.

If you plan to secure a loan, your lender will want to see a detailed business plan with information on how you plan to use the loan funds. Ensure you include this information in your business plan to increase your chances of securing funding.

If you're seeking funding from investors, you'll need to include information on how they will be compensated. This is typically done through equity, a percentage ownership stake in your business.

For example, if you seek $100,000 in funding and offer a 20% equity stake, the investor will own 20% of your business.

Make sure you use a daycare business plan template that includes a section on funding to ensure you include all the necessary information. If you’re planning to get a loan or seek investment, you’re going to need full financial projections. Our daycare financial model will provide up to 5 years of projected income statements, cash flow and balance sheet forecasts.

Next I want to answer some key financial questions for you as you consider how to forecast your daycare financials. I am going to hit on:

Daycare Startup Costs
Daycare Revenue
Daycare Facility Operating Expenses
Daycare Profitability

Let’s dive into some key questions.

How much does it cost to start a daycare?

It costs between $10,000 and $50,000 to start an in-home daycare business according to Bizfluent .

It costs between $59,000 and $3 million dollars to start a daycare facility according to Bizfluent .

So obviously this is a huge range in startup costs. The main thing that will determine your startup costs is your daycare facility. Depending on how large your daycare is, whether you are buying, building, or leasing the space, and how much renovation needs to be done, your startup costs can vary drastically.

Some tips to help you estimate a cost of a daycare facility:

A daycare facility should have 35 square feet of open floor space indoors per child.
So if you wanted a facility that could care for 100 children you would need 3,500 square feet of indoor space for children, plus additional space for offices, kitchen, bathrooms, etc. Let’s assume that you would need at least 5,000 square feet of space for a daycare facility that served 100 children.
A daycare center would cost at least $295 per square foot to construct in the U.S. based on data from Levelset .
Constructing a new 5,000 square foot daycare center would likely cost at least $1,475,000 based on $295 per square foot.
Now you might not be constructing new, rather you might rent an existing facility which could require renovations. You will need to get a specific quote for the specific renovations that you need for your space.

How much revenue can a daycare business make?

A daycare facility can generate $17,680 in revenue per year per child according to Zippia .

A daycare business with 100 children can generate over $1.75 million per year in annual revenue based on our average revenue per child of $17,680.

How much does daycare cost?

The average cost of daycare is $17,680 per year, per child in the U.S. according to Zippia .

This means that the average monthly cost of daycare in the U.S. is roughly $1,475.

What is the typical child to staff ratio for a daycare?

The typical child to staff ratios for a daycare are:

1 adult staff for every 4 infants (age 0 to 12 months)
1 adult staff for every 6 toddlers (age 1 to 3 years)
1 adult staff for every 10 pre schoolers (age 3 to 5 years)
1 adult staff for every 12 school aged children (5+ years old)

Source - Childcare.gov

These ratios will help you estimate how many staff members you will need. Our financial projection template makes this easy. Just enter in your ratios and the number of children you expect to have in each age group and the model will automatically calculate the number of staff required to maintain your ratios. See the input daycare staffing table below:

What are the typical operating costs for a daycare?

Your largest operating expense for a daycare facility is likely to be your rent.

It should cost between $20 and $30 per square foot to rent a daycare center space based on available spaces on Loopnet .

Other operating costs for a daycare center include:

You can see how you can enter in your operating costs into our financial model below:

How much profit can a daycare make?

The average daycare profit margin is 6.5% according to Daycare Business Boss .

Once you complete your projections you will want to take a look at our At a Glance tab to make sure that your projected profit margins aren’t way out of line with the industry norms. You can find projected profit margins for your daycare below:

This is an important aspect that you may not find in most daycare business plan templates, but it's still essential. An appendix includes any additional information to help you understand your business plan. This might include things like your:

Business licenses
Insurance policy
Lease agreement
Sample contracts
Staff bios

This section adds credibility to your daycare business plan and shows that you've done your homework. Including all of the necessary details in your appendix will give investors peace of mind and show that you're serious about starting a daycare center.

An executive summary is a brief overview of your business plan and is often considered the most important section. It should be two pages long, with a clear description of your business, your goals, and why you will achieve them.

There are several key elements to include in your executive summary:

Business Name: This is the name you have chosen for your business.
Location: Include the city, state, and country where your business will be located.
Business description: Describe what type of business you will be operating.
Target market : This is the group of people you will be targeting as customers.
Competition: Who are your competitors, and how will you compete with them?
Product or service : What product or service will you be offering?
Sales and marketing: How will you generate sales?
Financials: Include a five-year income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.
Management team: Introduce your management team and their experience.
Exit strategy : This is the plan for how you will eventually sell or otherwise exit the business in case you decide to retire or move on to other projects.

The executive summary is the most crucial section of your business plan because it gives investors and lenders a quick overview of your company and its prospects. Be sure to include all of the key elements listed above, and keep it under two pages in length.

What Are The Benefits of Creating a Daycare Business Plan?

Research shows that a business plan helps business owners make better decisions, turn abstract goals into tangible objectives, and track progress over time. But what does this mean for those who want to open a daycare?

Creating a business plan forces you to think through every step of starting your company. It's a valuable exercise that can save you time and money in the long run. Even if you don't end up following your business plan to a tee, the process of writing it will help you better understand your business and what needs to be done to make it successful.

There are many benefits to creating a daycare business plan, including:

Gives You a Roadmap to Follow

As with any journey, it's always helpful to have a map. A business plan is that map for your daycare business. It will give you a clear idea of where you want to go and how you can get there.

Helps You Secure Funding

A business plan is essential if you're looking for investors or loans. It will show potential lenders and investors that you've put thought into your business and have a solid strategy for making it successful.

Ensures Your Daycare Business is Feasible

When you're starting a business, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement and overlook potential problems. A business plan forces you to take a step back and assess whether your business is truly viable. It also helps you identify any areas where additional research is needed.

Final Thoughts

A daycare business plan is a valuable tool to help you make your business successful.

It is worth noting that your business plan is not a one-time exercise but should be updated regularly as your business grows and changes. This document is meant to be a living document that evolves as your business does.

If you're unsure where to start, there are plenty of resources available to help you, including daycare business plan examples online, books, and daycare business plan templates.

You can also use our daycare projection template to get your financial plan ironed out and ready for your business plan.

The most important thing is just to get started. The sooner you create your business plan, the better prepared you will be for success.

You can get the Daycare Facility financial projection template here!

The template is simple to use and will save you loads of time while still producing professional looking daycare projections. ProjectionHub has helped more than 50,000 businesses create financial projections so you can be confident that you can do it too.

The daycare business projection template includes:

5 Year Daycare Facility Pro Forma Financial Statements

CPA Developed & Completely Customizable

Free Support & Projections Review

Compatible with Google Sheets

Free expert review of your completed projections

The template is easy to use and you do not need to be an excel wizard to fill it out. Editable cells are highlighted in blue, a video guide is included, and our team is available to answer any questions you have.

You can see the complete walkthrough and demonstration of the daycare business forecast template here:

Get the template today for just $79

If you have any questions before purchasing, please feel free to begin a live chat or email us at [email protected]

100% money back guarantee in accordance with our terms and conditions

‍ Photo by Pixabay

About the Author

Adam is the Co-founder of ProjectionHub which helps entrepreneurs create financial projections for potential investors, lenders and internal business planning. Since 2012, over 40,000 entrepreneurs from around the world have used ProjectionHub to help create financial projections.

How to Acquire a Business in 11 Steps

Many people don't realize that acquiring a business can be a great way to become a business owner if they prefer not to start one from scratch. But the acquisition process can be a little intimidating so here is a guide helping you through it!

How to Buy a Business with No Money Down

Learn the rare scenarios enabling the purchase of a business with no money down and delve into the complexities of selling via seller notes, highlighting the balance of expanded opportunities and inherent risks in these unique financial transactions.

Have some questions? Let us know and we'll be in touch.

How to Start a Daycare Business Plan

A Step-by-Step Guide for Childcare Planning with Tips to Help Entrepreneurs Start Their Daycare Business

What is daycare and why should i start one.

Types of Daycare Providers
Before Starting Your Daycare Business Essential Planning Steps
Decision Journey Map Definitions

Assess the Competition

How to start your daycare business.

The Importance of an Execution Plan
Execution Plan: Marketing and Sales
Form Your Daycare Business

Get Familiar with Daycare Licensing Requirements

Choose Your Insurance and Liability
How to Gain Enrollment at Your Daycare
Invest In Childcare Experience Software to Build Your Daycare with Less Work

Build an Expert-Level Business Plan for Daycare

The childcare industry is full of passionate, hard-working individuals. Entrepreneurs just like you are starting a daycare from the ground up. In this guide, we'll give you guidance and provide templates to build a solid daycare business plan.

According to Forbes , daycare businesses were projected to have some of the fastest employment growth of all industries through 2020. Starting a daycare is a great opportunity for aspiring business owners who have a passion for early childhood education and child development.

‘Daycare’ is an umbrella term for various childcare options (such as Montessori, head start programs, preschool, and many more) where parents and guardians drop their children off and leave them in your care to...

Socialize with other children in their age group
Learn basic fundamentals for future academic success
Reach important developmental milestones

Is Starting a Daycare Business Worth It?

Starting a childcare business or franchise is profitable, emotionally rewarding, and sustainable – the need for committed childcare entrepreneurs has never been greater.

As of 2021, there were 856,238 childcare centers in the United States. The growing popularity of childcare centers comes from the demand. Parents will always need a form of care for their kids. Plus, there’s a necessity, especially beyond COVID-19, to socialize children in an environment that fosters development.

Types of Daycare Providers

In-home daycare
Relative care
Preschool
Independently-owned daycare
Daycare franchises

The Difference Between Individual Centers and Franchises

An independently-owned daycare often has an individual owner, a center director, and possibly a few other administrative staff members – along with teachers, cooks, bus drivers, etc. The owner is typically an individual who puts their own money and savings into opening the daycare, so all business rights (name, branding, etc.) belong to them.

Alternatively, a daycare franchise falls under a corporate brand that has made an agreement with an individual to legally establish a business – using the company’s brand or trademark. In this scenario, the franchisee usually pays an initial fee, as well as ongoing royalties to the corporate franchisor. In return, the franchisee gains the use of a trademark, support from the franchisor, and the right to use the franchisor's system of doing business (including unique business policies and procedures, such as their method for advertising or enrollment). This model can be particularly beneficial for individuals who are passionate about early childhood education but don’t know how to get started on their own.

For example, Kids R Kids and Kiddie Academy are both successful daycare business plans in the United States. Each center operates similarly, has the same name (aside from a unique location number or city/county name), and the same branding as all locations fall under the franchisee umbrella.

Daycare Franchise Terms

A franchisor is a daycare company that provides its services, brand, and business operations to the individual. This may also be known as a ‘ franchise system ’.
A franchisee is an individual owner that is being supported by the company (franchisor). Buying into a daycare franchise makes you the franchisee.
The franchise refers to the legal agreement between the company and the franchisee.
The franchise disclosure document is the legally binding contract between the company and the individual.

Essential Planning Steps Before Starting Your Daycare Business

1) conduct market research.

When it comes to starting your childcare center, relying on assumptions about your customers and competitors leads to wasted time, money, and effort. In contrast, businesses that conduct regular market research improve customer retention and are 76% more likely to see an increase in revenue.

Market research is a data collection process that evaluates both consumer behavior, competitor habits, and industry trends to determine the viability of your center and build a foundation for future business operations.

Prepare for success upfront by conducting thorough market research to understand your competition, improve communication with your target audience, and identify new market opportunities. This research should result in actual data that you can use to drive your business and marketing strategies as you launch your center.

There are a variety of tools available to help you conduct market research - all from the comfort of your own office. Gone are the days of hiring team members with clipboards to approach consumers face-to-face. Survey Monkey, Attest, and Sprinklr all offer digital market research tools to help guide you through the process of understanding your audience, your competitors, and your industry.

2) Determine Your Target Market

A market segment is a group of consumers that could potentially enroll at your childcare center. First, identify your daycare target market segments and determine how big each segment is.

Be careful not to fall into the trap of defining your market as “everyone in your community.” This often leads to a ‘spray and pray’ approach to your marketing and as we know, a message for everyone really speaks to no one. When you generalize your advertising in favor of not isolating a potential consumer, you aren’t able to effectively communicate with your ideal customers – forgetting to recognize how your childcare center can appeal to them and their needs.

A classic example is a shoe manufacturer. While it would be tempting for a shoe company to say that their target market is anyone who has feet, realistically they need to target a specific segment of the market in order to be successful. If they sell adult athletic shoes, they should be building their message to target athletes or individuals who enjoy staying active and exercising. Likewise, if you offer programs for children aged 6 months to 4 years old, you should prioritize advertising toward young adults in their 20s and 30s.

A common strategy when identifying target markets is to use the TAM, SAM, and SOM approaches to look at market sizes from a top-down approach as well as a bottom-up approach.

Target Market Terms

This should include everyone you wish to reach.

Example: Your entire local community.

SAM: Your Segmented Addressable Market or Served Available Market

This is a portion of the TAM you will specifically target because they align with your offerings.

Example: Families with young children.

SOM: Your Share of the Market

This is the group of your SAM that you will realistically reach—particularly in the first few years of your center’s opening, as you may expand and grow your service over time.

Example: Families with young children who make at least $65,000 each year in household income.

For childcare organizations with multiple brands, schools, or programs - increasing revenue and keeping families happy is vital for growth. Your Millennial parents need a uniform, high-quality experience, regardless of location.

Standardizing business processes has a significant impact on time savings, costs, and most notably quality. In fact, standardization improves quality by 61.9% , on average. Create consistent enrollment processes across all your franchise locations to ensure every family has a great experience and a positive association with your brand – leading to higher conversion success and profitability.

To achieve consistency, your franchisees’ marketing approach and advertising material must follow all your corporate brand guidelines. Your organization should have a lead management system that supports your childcare franchise staff as they guide families through the decision-making journey while also ensuring each location is delivering a consistent parent experience.

3) Develop Your Buyer Personas

Before you begin writing your daycare marketing plan, make sure you’ve defined your market and buyer personas. Without a deep understanding of whom you’re speaking to, a daycare marketing plan will have little value.

Audience personas allow you to dive even deeper into your target market and help you understand more than just who your customer is. These identities inform you how to communicate with your customers in a way that relates to their pain points and needs.

Building a daycare business plan is no joke! Check out childcare business tips at a glance .

When you understand your customer’s motivations, you can uniquely address their concerns and questions in your marketing materials - leading to increased tours, enrollments, and revenue.

Start by listing out the various kinds of programs and classes you’d like to offer at your center.

Then, determine who the primary decision-maker is and who the primary influencers might be in each scenario.

Primary decision-maker : typically the individual(s) taking financial responsibility and remitting payment at your center.

Primary influencers : are also crucial in the purchasing process as they often have the ability to sway decision-makers.

For example, imagine you’re promoting availability for Summer camp programs at your center. In this instance, the primary decision-maker might be the parent(s) or guardian(s) whereas the primary influencer would likely be the child who’s deciding what kind of activities they want to do this Summer.

Audience Overview

List the audiences, personas, or segments that you want your center’s marketing and messaging efforts to reach.

Select one audience from above and describe it to the best of your knowledge. Go beyond the traditional persona to consider motivations & behavior.

Identify the key stages in your audience’s enrollment journey from beginning to end, knowing there may be multi-dimensional steps within a stage. Complete the table for each journey at the individual stages from the specific audience’s point of view.

Decision Journey Map Terms & Definitions

Stage : This refers to each stage of the enrollment journey - awareness, consideration, action, and advocacy.

Awareness : This is when a family is first learning of your center and your brand. They are researching multiple daycare centers and eventually send an inquiry to tour your facility or learn more.

Consideration : During this stage, a family is touring your center and may be deciding between you and 1-2 other providers. Tip: Proactively equip your staff with key talking points so they can highlight your unique center features.

Action : This is when a parent decides to register their child for care, pay fees, and is either placed on your waitlist or enrolls.

Advocacy : After a successful, happy experience, this parent or guardian has become an advocate for your business. They’re telling friends and family about your center. This is vital for your word-of-mouth marketing strategy.

Emotion : Identify what the persona is feeling at each stage of the customer’s journey. They may be anxious, curious, excited, or satisfied at various points. Put yourself in their shoes.

Key Actions : What actions would a consumer take at each stage? For example, during the awareness stage, they may see your ad on Facebook, look you up on Google, or visit your website. In the consideration stage, they may call your center to get more information, look at your services online, or read reviews.

Questions : What questions is the consumer asking in each stage? These are the questions you need to be answering for them in your advertising and marketing efforts.

Competitive research helps you understand why customers choose your center over other alternative care options. This information provides you with insight into how your competition is marketing their services and over time, this can help you improve your own marketing campaigns and business offerings.

Look up similar daycare centers in your area, and see what programs they offer, the type of facilities, their capacity, and their curriculum. Then, highlight the features that make your center stand out. Showcase your selling points in all marketing and advertising efforts. Get started with these key questions...

Who are my direct competitors and what do they offer?
Who are my indirect competitors
What does my competition's pricing look like?
Do they offer promotional pricing or payment plans?
What do they do best?
What do they do poorly?

Download the guide to stay up to date on the latest industry news, trends and best practices for growing and managing your childcare business.

Download the Guide

Build a Daycare Business Plan

A good business plan will guide you through each stage of starting and managing your childcare organization- including how to structure, run, and grow your new business.

There’s no correct or incorrect way to write your business plan. What’s most important is that you identify your business objectives and use this document as a roadmap for how to achieve these goals.

A strong business plan can help you recruit business investors, gain funding, or find new partners. Prospective investors want to feel confident they’ll see a return on their investment and your center’s business plan is the perfect tool to assure potentials that working with you — or investing in your business— is a smart and profitable decision.

Write a Day Care Executive Summary (Daycare Business Plan Outline)

Although this section is the first thing people will read, it’s advised that you write it last, once you know the details of your business inside and out. At this stage, you will be able to articulate your business more clearly and summarize all the information in a succinct, concise manner.

Ideally, your executive summary will be able to act as a stand-alone document that covers the key highlights of your detailed business plan. In fact, it’s common for investors or loan providers to ask for just the executive summary when they start evaluating your business. If they like what they see in the executive summary, they’ll often follow up with a request for a complete plan, a pitch presentation, and more in-depth daycare business plan financials.

As your executive summary is such a critical component of your business plan, you’ll want to make sure that it’s as clear and concise as possible. Cover only the essential components of your daycare, ensuring your executive summary is one to two pages maximum. This section is intended to be a quick read that hooks your potential investors’ interest and excites them to learn more.

The executive summary is a tell-all first paragraph that details...

The city and state of your center (you can decide on the exact location later)
A potential open date
A projected enrollment count (number of full-time enrollments)
Programs you plan to offer
Ages you hope to serve
A quick financial summary (based on grants, funding, and potential revenue from projected enrollments)

This may seem like a lot of information upfront, but it’s simply a high-level overview of your plan.

Conduct an Opportunity Analysis

The opportunity section of your business plan includes information about:

The problem that you’re solving within your community
P rograms and classrooms do you plan to market your center(s) to
How your daycare facility fits into the existing competitive landscape

Opportunity Analysis: An Example

The opportunity analysis portion of your business plan is important for outlining what distinguishes your daycare from your direct and indirect competitors. It details how you can continue to expand and grow your center in the future.

Use your previous competitive research to determine your daycare business’s competitive advantage and position. Analyze potential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Problem and Solution

Describe the problem that you are solving for your customers. Childcare centers are need-oriented, meaning your consumers have tangible pain points that you must resolve to be successful.

So, what is the primary pain point for them? Maybe it’s that busy, working parents need a caring, safe place for their child during the day, or perhaps families are seeking after-school care options for their elementary-aged children, or maybe parents need 24-hour childcare options when they’re traveling or working odd hours.

Now, assess how they are solving their problems currently and where there’s room for improvement. If there's only one childcare center in your community and it has no open seats, you could be the solution. Or maybe there are lots of existing care providers in your city but they’re expensive or have rigid pickup and drop-off times that working parents have trouble meeting. Or perhaps there aren’t any existing childcare businesses within a reasonable driving distance of where you’d like to place yours.

Defining the problem you are solving for your customers is by far the most critical element of your business plan and is crucial for your daycare business’ success. If you can’t pinpoint a problem that your potential customers have, then you might not have a viable business concept.

To ensure that you are solving a real problem, try conducting your own survey with potential customers to get a better understanding of their needs and validate that they have the problem you assume they have. Then, take the next step and pitch your potential solution to their problem.

Do they agree that it’s a good fit or does it seem to fall flat? See how to come up with a strategic plan for your business.

The Importance of Creating an Execution Plan

The execution chapter outlines how you’re actually going to make your childcare center work . You’l l address your marketing and enrollment plans, operations, success metrics, and any key milestones that you expect to achieve.

Execution Plan: Marketing and Sales

The marketing and sales plan section of your business plan details how you propose to reach your target market segments, how you plan on converting those target markets, what your pricing model looks like, and what partnerships you may need to make your center a success.

Your Positioning Statement

Once you understand your audience, the first part of your marketing and sales plan is your positioning statement. Refer back to your value proposition to create a simple, straightforward sentiment, explaining where your company sits within the competitive landscape and what differentiates your venue from the alternatives that a customer might consider. This statement should be written for an investor or loan provider, rather than for your customer.

One daycare business plan example - a positioning statement for a 24-hour childcare center in Austin, Texas may look like this:

“For the Austin-based family who is seeking childcare around the clock, Jenny’s 24-Hour Daycare is a safe option for young children with nutritional meals, best-in-industry sleeping arrangements, a clean outdoor play area, and highly trained care professionals. Jenny’s 24-Hour Daycare is the first center of its kind within 30 miles of the Austin metroplex and offers competitive pricing and tuition payment plans.”

Use this formula to develop a positioning statement for your center:

Your Mission Statement

Your mission statement is a scaled-down version of your positioning statement. This should be just one or two sentences that are geared toward your target consumer and describe what your business plans to accomplish. This statement usually includes company core values that explain your daycare’s purpose and how you serve your audience.

For example, Cadence Education is a leading early childhood education provider with the mission of “providing parents with peace of mind by giving children an exceptional education every fun-filled day in a place as nurturing as a home .”

Pricing

Your positioning strategy will typically determine how you price your memberships and packages. There are some basic rules that you should follow when deciding on your price point:

Cost-plus pricing : For the most part, you should be charging your customers more than it costs you to host them at your center to ensure your venue is profitable and appealing to investors.
Market-based pricing : Look at what your competitors are charging and then price based on what your audience is expecting.

Strategic Alliances

As part of your marketing plan, you may wish to collaborate with other organizations such as local camps, after-school programs, pediatricians, or even other childcare centers that don’t offer the same activities that you do.

This partnership should benefit both of you – it may help provide access to a target market segment for your venue while allowing your partner to offer a helpful recommendation to their customers. If you’ve already established an alliance, it’s important to detail that in your business plan.

The operations section is all about how your business works. This portion details the essential logistics such as staffing and sourcing and fulfillment. But remember, your goal is to keep your business plan as short as possible, so too much detail here could easily make your plan much too long.

Milestones and Metrics

It’s critical that you take the time to look forward and schedule the next critical steps for your business. Investors will want to see that you understand what needs to happen to make your plans a reality and that you are working on a realistic schedule.

Then, determine how you will measure the success of each milestone by listing out the key performance indicators and metrics needed to see progress. These will be the numbers you monitor on a regular basis to evaluate the trajectory of your business. For example, you may look at how many families tour your center each week, how many children you enroll each month, or the amount of revenue you bring in per quarter.

Company and Management Summary

The structure of your staff and teams sets your daycare up for success. In a new daycare center, there’s typically an owner (or franchisee), a center director, staff members, an enrollment or marketing team, accounting/administration, teachers, assistants, cooks, bus drivers, and janitorial staff. For example, the average small daycare business plan includes 8-10 fully licensed and/or certified early education teachers.

Financial Forecasts

A typical financial plan will have monthly sales and revenue forecasts for the first 12 months, and then annual projections for the remaining three to five years. Break your sales forecast down into several rows, focusing on just high-level buckets at this point.

Knowing how much your daycare will cost to open ahead of time can save you money, stress, and time. Daycare business plan start-up expenses vary by size, enrollment capacity, and miscellaneous needs.

Keep in mind that you can save on staffing costs and cut down on overhead with technology that helps to streamline your center’s operations. After all, 40% of Millennials prefer self-service over human contact when interacting with businesses.

It’s essential that you find ways to enable families to book tours and enroll online without ever having to make a phone call to the center- reducing time spent on necessary-but-manual tasks for both your staff and inquiring families.

Finally, articulate your profits and losses based on the data from your sales forecast and your personnel plan plus a list of all your other ongoing expenses associated with running your childcare center.

New Website Blue Mockup Instagram - Laptop (500 × 500 px) (700 × 700 px) (800 × 800 px) (860 × 860 px) (940 × 940 px) (400 × 400 px) (900 × 900 px) (450 × 900 px) (450 × 450 px) (450 × 300 px) (450 × 350 px) (450 × 3-27

See this Formula for Financial Forecasts

Step 1 : Average cost of tuition per child x your expected enrollments x 12 (annual revenue – assuming each family enrolls their child in one of your summer programs).

Step 2 : Daycare businesses make around 16% profit from their overall revenue, after daycare expenses. Multiply your number from step 1 by .16 to get your predicted profit.

Example : Let’s say you plan to charge families an average of $315 per week for childcare. With that, your goal is to enroll 60 students by the time your daycare center opens. Multiply $315 x 60 x 12 (annual revenue). This should come out to $226,800. Lastly, multiply your revenue of $226,800 by .16, which equals a net profit of $36,288 per year.

Consider Various Funding Sources

Depending on your situation, there’s both loan and grant funding in childcare. Between state tax credits, loans, and grants – there are financing options for a variety of situations.

Review Your Tax Deduction Options

Collecting tax credits is one way to receive an annual deduction on daycare costs. Based on your state, you can claim tax credits for...

1F019DF4-3511-410E-8537-710922DF0E2D_4_5005_c

Collect Daycare Grants for Your Business

Often, startup costs for opening a daycare are high. Certain states and counties offer grants for new daycare businesses. There are several grant options, depending on your child and family details.

For example, there’s a Preschool Development Grant Program and a Head Start/Early Head Start grant to provide funding that expands early childhood centers and developmental programs.

Know Which Loans Are Available to Daycare Business Owners

While grants are a wonderful option for freshly opened daycare businesses, loans are occasionally easier to come by. They’re offered widely and often have fewer requirements to qualify. Check out a few loan examples for your daycare center.

SBA Loans , otherwise known as Small Business Administration loans, have exceptional rates, low interest, and flexible repayment options.
SBA 7(a) Loans are beneficial for covering pricier equipment funds and real estate. Loans of up to $5 million are available to daycares.
SBA 504 Loans – these are wonderful for business expansions and involve a loan for 50% of the project cost.

Take Actionable Steps to Bring Your Daycare Business to Life

Both Limited Liability Companies and Incorporations offer the significant legal advantage of helping to protect assets from creditors and provide an extra layer of protection against legal liability.

The main difference between an LLC and a corporation is that an LLC is owned by one or more individuals, and a corporation is owned by its shareholders. In general, the creation and management of an LLC are considered simpler and more flexible than that of a corporation.

Find the Right Vendors

Choosing the right suppliers for your business is essential. If your vendors aren’t reliable or don’t deliver quality products, your new center will struggle to attract families. As a childcare provider, you will likely need the following vendors at one point or another:

Electrician
Plumber
Food and Beverage Supplier
Educational Materials Supplier
Substitute Staffing Provider
Accountant
Childcare Licensing Consultant
Cleaning & Maintenance
Childcare Management System (CMS)
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software
Digital Payments Provider
Online Forms Software
Childcare Experience Software

All states have different daycare licensing requirements. Generally, you'll follow the steps below.

1) Take a Course

Attend and complete a pre-application course (you’ll receive a certificate at the end – remember to save it).

2) Submit Your Application

Submit your online licensing application. It'll ask for details about your business that were outlined in the executive summary.

3) Pay Fees

Pay your application fees. The fee depends on your center's capacity or the number of children you plan to enroll.

4) Complete Inspections

An inspection of your business property must be conducted.

5) Submit Your Service Payment

6) Conduct Background Checks

Submit background checks (this may also be an additional charge).

For More Information on How to Operate In Licensing Excellence, Listen to the Podcast Below

Choose Your Insurance and Liability

Provide general liability – stay covered if your center has any property damage or injuries to third parties (children).
Abuse coverage protects your childcare business or franchise. If employees turn out to be abusive towards children, this policy covers defense costs and defends you against financial losses.
Professional liability insurance provides coverage for your business and workers if there is a neglect claim.
Hired and non-owned auto liability ensures everyone is covered if there is a pick-up/drop-off vehicle accident.

*Liability requirements may vary by state.

How to Gain Enrollment at Your Daycare

From a business owner's perspective, the next step after successfully starting your daycare is to grow your center and gain enrollments.

Begin by building a strong company culture, actively marketing your daycare center, and finding the right childcare technology to optimize your enrollment process and save time.

See how to elevate your business plan for daycare with better waitlist management.

Create a Culture Where Staff Want to Work

A daycare center that stands out from the rest has happy staff members that want to work hard. Create a diverse employee culture that feels comfortable openly talking about situations. Provide support, patience, and room for growth. See more tips for creating a healthy and positive culture for your daycare staff .

Market Your Center

A daycare marketing strategy starts with an achievable goal. Do you want to fill your enrollment spots? Do you want to build a waitlist? Should you focus on scheduling more tours or gaining new leads ?

Choose a goal with measurable results. That way, you can track and analyze your marketing performance. When it comes to how to promote daycare business, marketing helps families realize you're the best childcare center on the block. Promote your centers through...

Social media (especially Facebook – 83% of Millennials have a Facebook account).
Landing pages and contact forms on your website
Listing directories
Email and text marketing campaigns
Referrals
Digital advertisements
Flyers
Word-of-mouth marketing

Tip: childcare experience software that automates the reports you need helps you to save time and improve your return on investment (ROI). For example, a Source of Families report shows you where your leads are coming from to optimize your efforts.

Invest In Childcare Experience Software to Build Your Daycare with Less Work

LineLeader is revolutionary childcare software that automates lead capture, follow-up, scheduling tours, and reports. Craft beautiful, personalized marketing campaigns to continually grow your business. Plus, easily manage your curriculum, attendance, and billing with automated center management

Get more from your marketing while saving franchisees 10 hours every week with LineLeader. Automate everything from lead capture and reporting to center management—all from one place.

Download Your Guide

Resources to help you run your childcare business.

5 Easy Ways to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Children

CEO Brett Neller and Head of Finance and Biz Ops visit Concordia Place in Chicago

[Press] LineLeader Celebrates Week of the Young Child by Honoring Early...

Code Ninjas, Stretch-n-Grow, after school care, youth enrichment, after school software

Unveiling the Future of Out-of-School Time & Youth Enrichment Programs: A...

Additional resources.

For more information on specific childcare resources regarding marketing tools, campaigns, tips, and best practices - see below.

1. Learn hidden secrets no one tells you about starting a childcare business .

2. See how to operate in childcare licensing excellence to boost enrollment.

3. Beth Fiori of Tiny Treasures provides expert tips. check out ways to improve your business plan for daycare with enhanced waitlist management.

4. Discover tips to maintain the best childcare center on the block.

5. Gain advice for strengthening your daycare staff culture.

6. Learn the benefits of building a daycare business plan , at a glance.

LineLeader Video Resources

ZenBusinessPlans

Home » Sample Business Plans » Education

How to Write a Daycare Business Plan [Sample Template]

Do you want to start a daycare (childcare)? and need to write a business plan? If YES, here is a sample daycare business plan template & feasibility report. Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a daycare center. We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample daycare marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for child care centers.

Why Start a Daycare Business?

It is the duty of every parent- especially the mothers to see to it that their kids are properly taken good care of. However, there are times when circumstances just makes this totally challenging, as there may not be the luxury of time available to them to sit closely with their children and monitor them.

That is one of the reasons why parents would always want to take their kids to a daycare center. The question therefore is: how reliable are day care centers in seeing that the children are totally given the best of care and attention?

Before the daycare businesses came into existence, parents who could afford the luxury of hiring a home nanny whom they thought were vast and experienced in the care of children. However, as things changed and the crime rates in some areas went haywire-where some folks gained entrance into the houses of people for the sole aim of robbing them, the daycare trend took over.

And ever since the emergence of this trade, we have come to see more and more people who have a penchant for kids, dive into the industry just to tap into the profits that the day care business offers.

What Does It Take to Start a Daycare Center Successfully?

More often than not, in some parts of the world we find that some folks begin a day care business after they have been successful with running a school. Conversely, that is not to say that one couldn’t possibly start only a day care business. As a matter of fact, starting first with a day care center, helps to start on a right footing so that you are able to determine whether you will be able to have a school as an addendum business in the near future.

So, if you have scaled the hurdle of being in love with children, then starting your own day care business might be a smart business choice. Having this wish or aspiration as it were on the front burner of your mind, isn’t all that is required. As a matter of fact there are legal necessities that you have got to tidy. As well as draw up a comprehensive business plan that will guide you as you start out and trudge ahead in business.

A Sample Daycare Center Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

Day care business is one of the easy businesses that just about anyone who has a flare for kids could readily start. There is no doubt that as the zeal to make more money heightens with parents, then the need for newer and more seasoned day care centers to arise becomes highly important. That is why investors are beginning to leverage on the high demand for day care services, to establish even better ones.

As such, in all of the states of America, there is hardly one neighborhood that doesn’t have a day care centre. The business is indeed a lucrative one and those who are into the trade of establishing them are smiling to the banks every day. However, that is not to water down the fact that loads of work has to be put in place in order to satisfy parents who use these daycare centers.

Whether you are looking to start a small or big one, truth is that there would always be the need to have kids put in these places. This is why some folks who do not have the wherewithal in terms of finance may choose to start from their homes, whilst some may want to start from very little spaces they get.

Over and above one bright ray of light as it concerns the day care business is that there is always room for expansion, as one learns on the job and then improves the services that one renders.

Setting up a day care business means that one would be dealings with little babies, and as such, care have got to be taken in order to hire not just mere employees, but to hire those who are way too vast in the trade and are capable to help the day care business to a great level. There will always be the need to garner plenty of knowledge that would be useful in giving the children the very best of experience.

The returns on investment that one attracts here is so huge that one have just got to keep at doing those things that would continue to guarantee repeat customers as well as give the kids whom are being cared for a growth experience that they wouldn’t forget in a hurry.

2. Executive Summary

Tiny Thoughts ® is a foremost day care center in Ohio, America. It has the best of aims to prepare its pupils to come out tops in all they do- given that they would be the leaders of tomorrow. We propose to achieve this and more by merging an all exclusive curriculum custom-made explicitly for children.

Our type of curriculum is enriched with extra super child care services. This is nothing like what our competitors have to offer because we offer forward-thinking technology plans, after-school training, and activities that help the kids grow better. Activities such as; arts, dance, crafts, gymnastics, theatre, sports, amongst others.

Tiny Thoughts is a privately held establishment run by its owner, Mrs. Mary McGregor. Mrs. Mc Gregor has 10years of Educational training experience. As a matter of fact she is a master’s degree holder of child psychology. So that when it comes to child management and psychology, she is always at the top of her game.

Her advanced degree in child psychology and interest in kids is the driving force behind the establishment of Tiny Thoughts . She will be supported in daily operations by another educationist and psychologist, amongst other employees.

With the inflation bane that continues to affect the American economy, there will always be the need for parents to work more than one job per time for additional income. It is for this reason that there will always be a need for excellent child care services.

With the least population of Ohio which is at 11.59 million people, there will always be the need to have capable day cares to cater for them. That is why we have decided to position our establishment so as to meet the teeming needs of parents who want the very best for their children.

At Tiny Thoughts , we leave no stone unturned to see that we put in place high- quality child care services, thorough bred educated instructors, as well as personal skills that will allow us compete well in our market . We shall also offer competitive price as part of one of our success factors so that we can attract all and sundry to our prestigious day care center.

Furthermore, we know the importance of having an excellent rapport with parents, and the community we serve, which is why we train and even retrain our workforce so that they bring the best of skills and attitude to the table at all times.

With the aforementioned points in place, we therefore do not intend to look for long before we attract customers as we go all-out to build a loyal customer base by offering the kids at the day care a very hospitable- yet educating experience in a comfortable and beneficial environment.

3. Our Products and Services

At Tiny Thoughts ®, we are first all about making the day care center a very conducive one. We are aware of the fact that some parents might hold back when it comes to the type of vicinity their kids will be put in; which is why we have taken time to research and learn the various ways to build a world class establishment. This we have done in the state of Ohio. Our services include the following;

Taking care of the infants, toddlers and preschoolers
Cleaning the infants and toddlers up whilst they are dirty
Have all kids well fed when hungry
Keep them active with some extracurricular activities

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

Our vision is to build a most standard day care business, where parents can unreservedly leave their kids in our hands, and be totally satisfied in the long run.
To establish an international standard day care center where kids can be groomed and prepared to be leaders of tomorrow.

Our Business Structure

Big establishments know that one of the greatest selling points is to have the best hands. As such; we plan to only hire the most competent and seasoned employees. This is particularly important since it is uttermost on our minds to run our day care center with an intercontinental approach. This means that we are looking to have all races enroll in our establishment.

We came up with outright buying our own building, instead of having to make do with a leased one. This is why we have resolved to have quite a number of employees to be on our pay roll because of the ample room we have. Therefore, below is the type of structure we look to build our business on;

Chief Executive Officer (Owner)
Assistant Director

Administrative Assistant

Accountants / Cashiers
Infant room Supervisor

Toddler Room Supervisor

Preschool room supervisor

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer – CEO:

Responsible for providing direction for the business
Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals.
Responsible for recruitment
Responsible for payment of salaries
Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
Evaluates the success of the organization
Responsible for managing the daily activities in the day care center.
Ensures that all orders and guidelines given by the CEO are adequately carried out.
Interfaces with other employees
Reports to the Chief Executive Officer
Attends to Parent’s complaints and enquiries
Prepares budget and reports for the organization
Responsible for Training and Development in the day care center
Any other duty as assigned by the CEO

Assistant Director:

Responsible for assisting the director to carry out all that have been assigned by the CEO.
Ensures that all employees carry out the agenda of the day care center to the latter.
Responsible for quality control
Any other duty as assigned by the CEO and director

Accountant / Cashier:

Receives payments on behalf of Tiny Thoughts®
Issues receipt to customers
Prepare financial report at the end of every working Month
Handles all financial transaction on behalf of Tiny Thoughts
Interfaces with our bankers
Responsible for payment of tax, levies and utility bills
Any other duty as assigned by the CEO / Director
Assists the director in seeing to it that all the kids are thought are line
Ensures that all documents are safely kept
Handles customers enquiries and keeps all records of kids and employees well
Any other duty as assigned by the director

Infant Room Supervisor

Responsible for supervising the nannies that take care of the infants.
Makes sure that everything is in place
Reports to the Director
Relates with the nannies and cleaners
Carries out any other task as assigned by the superiors
Responsible for supervising the nannies that take care of the toddlers.

Preschool Room Supervisor

Responsible for all the kitchen activities at the center
Attends to the foods of all kids
Takes orders that will advance the establishment from the Director, CEO and others.
Responsible for cleaning the day care facility at all times
Washes the mugs, spoons and other utensils
Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
Cleans both the interior and exterior of the daycare
Any other duty as assigned by the day care director.

6. SWOT Analysis

Our purpose of starting a day care center is to compete favorably with other schools, and surpass them. We have also decided to have a test run on the business for a period of 5 years. This is to know how we are able to fare during this time, as well as to determine if we are to devote more resources, additional money, for the expansion of the business.

We shall start with just one center for now and then see how we are able to succeed despite the myriad of competition. In arriving at all these, we deemed it fit to employ the services of an expert who has helped us with conducting a SWOT analysis.

It was expedient that we did this, so as to ensure that we have what it takes to run a day care school and perhaps even build more branches. Here is a summary of the result from the SWOT Analysis that was conducted on behalf of Tiny Thoughts;

Our area of strength to a very large extent lies in the fact that the owner of our day center is well versed in child psychology. This is really a positive one for us, because we believe that we shall be able to really handle the kids that are put in our care, unlike some folks who have no background knowledge in education and psychology.

The perceived weakness for our business could be that we are starting out as newbies and it really isn’t easy to convince people to come and enroll their kids at the day care. This is why we have got to really work hard at our advertising strategies, as well as solidify how to seal deal with our potential clients.

Opportunities:

The fact that we intend to lower the fees involved in enrolling a kid at our daycare, seems to be one of the ways at which we will attract all and sundry. We are certain without a doubt that with the quality of our employees and services, we shall attract clients that would be highly satisfied with us.

Some of the threat our business may likely faced with might be a scenario where a kid has an illness and yet comes to the center. There may be likelihood that such an epidemic might spread to other kids. As such; this might not be nice because that might make some guardians want to withdraw their kids to a safer place.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Trends

In the united states of America, you will quite agree that there are lots of guardians who need to work almost round the clock to eke out a living for them and their families. As such and as stated earlier, the need for someone to care for the kids whilst working in non negotiable.

That is why there will always be the need to have kids at day care centers. Furthermore, there is no indication that the day care trade would plummet anytime soon based on the statistics of parents who work that is found by experts.

There is always a boom in this business all year round, as the weather or state of the economy has nothing to do with it. That is why the services being rendered by us have to be top notch at all times. We do not want to be found wanting in any area, that is why we are sure to invest a lot in training our employees at all times.

Our positioning, as is always the case of determining the amount of customers that patronize a business is of importance to us, which is why we have chosen to start from Ohio.

Despite the fact that there loads of day care businesses who have done so well for themselves in the past, we plan to not leave any stone unturned as we continue to work at better ways to make our services known to people. Part of the marketing and sales strategies to be adopted includes;

Commencing operation by first having a grand opening. This means that we will have a big party where we can invite those who reside in the neighborhood we propose to start out from, as well as those from other neighborhoods.
Ensure that we have all our professional employees present at the party and if possible show them off.
Make use of attractive hand bills to create awareness and also to give direction to potential clients
Position our signage / flexi banners at strategic places around the vicinity.
Advertise our day care center on business directories, magazines and yellow pages.

8. Our Target Market

When it comes to the day care business, of course our target market is the guardians and parents. That is why we have got to primarily focus on these types of people. The people we intend offering our services to are;

Corporate Executives
Business People
Sports Men and Women
Government Officials
Low class, middle class and high class people

Our Competitive Advantage

Going by the state where we have chosen to start from, we found that there are no day care centers in the vicinity we are, which is why if we are able to do our due diligence, and we are able to attract a crowd of customers there, then there is the possibility of hitting success in the first few years of operation.

We plan to run a standard day care business which is why we hired one of the leading business consultants to work with us in setting up our business. The business consultant we have hired has over 10 years of experience in business management and has successfully opened several day care businesses in major cities across the United States of America.

So far, there are clear indications that with what he has brought up, we shall no doubt do well and even surpass other businesses in the state. We believe that for us to have hired one of the experts in town, without a shadow of doubt, we will do exceptionally well when eventually we kick start.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Sources of Income

Our sources of income for Tiny Thoughts is limited to the services of taking proper care of the children that have been placed in our care. However, we are not relenting when it comes to opening different branches.

10. Sales Forecast

It is important to state that our sale forecast is based on the data gathered during our feasibility studies and also some of the assumptions readily available on the field. Below is the sales projection based on the location (Ohio), which already has an avalanche of day care schools.

200 pupils per session

N.B : Our annual projected sales for TinyThoughts ® is put at about $4,800-$16,500, or $400 -$1,375 monthly per child. Over and above, as Tiny Thoughts gets established, our net profitability will likely witness a boom as that indeed is what we project.

Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Tiny Thoughts will throw a grand opening party when it does start. One of the very unique things that we plan to do on that day is to; unveil some of the professionals and junior employees that we have. That is those who will help us get things started on the right footing. Why is this a big one for us? It is a big one for us because parents will have an opportunity to interact with this people, as well as ask all the questions they want.

The location of our day care center is strategically positioned to attract ample customers with little or no effort from our own part, which is why we do not make provisions for marketing and sales executives in our company’s structure. In view of that, we are going to adopt the following strategies to ensure that we do not only attract customers but generate a high number of people;

Position our greeters to welcome parents and the kids as they arrive
Create a loyalty plan that will enable us reward our regular customers
Position our flexi banners at strategic positions all around the vicinity
Advertise our Tiny Thoughts Business on yellow pages magazines
Partner with child’/ education agencies to refer parents who are looking for a good day care center

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

When it comes to publicity and advertising, we have a low budget for it simply because our business is located in a place that can easily attract the numbers of customers we would need with little or no stress on our own part.

But for the fact that we hope to some day in the near future have more branches, we have decided to create a budget for publicity and advertisement for the major aim of introducing our brand in the market place. Everything that we will do in this regard is geared towards communicating our brand. Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise our business;

Place adverts on both print (travel magazines) and electronic media platforms
Sponsor relevant educational community programs
Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, et al to promote our brand
Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations
Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas where guardians can be found.
Position our Flexi Banners at strategic positions around the airport

12. Our Pricing Strategy

When it comes to fixing prices for our services, we will ensure that we set pricing in line with what is available in the day care trade. We are very aware that we have got to lower our price so that we will be able to attract customers like never before as we seek to gain recognition as newbies. When this is achieved, then bottom line is that our customers will derive real satisfaction when they bring their kids to us.

Payment Options

Our payment policy is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that will be available in every of our outlets;

Payment by cash
Payment via Point of Sale (POS) Machine
Payment via online bank transfer (online payment portal)
Payment via Mobile money

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our plans without any itches.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

This is the key area where we will spend our start – up capital;

The Total Fee for Registering the Business in Ohio: $750.
Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services totaling $1,300.
Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of Coffee4All® in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $3,580.
Cost for hiring Consultant – $2,500.
Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,400.
Cost for payment of rent for 12 month at $1.76 per square feet in the total amount of $52,800.
Cost for building remodeling – $25,000.
Other start-up expenses including stationery ( $500 ) and phone and utility deposits ( $2,500 ).
Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $60,000
The cost for Start-up inventory – $16,027
The cost for office supplies (one month) – $287
Daycare hardware ( bins, utensil rack, shelves, food case ) – $3,720
Cost for client reception area equipment ( plates, glasses, flatware ) – $3,000
Cost for equipment ( cash register, security, ventilation, signage ) – $13,750
Office equipment and furniture – $3,600
The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, tables and chairs et al): $4,000.
The cost of Launching a Website: $600
The cost for our opening party: $5,000
Miscellaneous: $2,500

We would need an estimate of about $100,000 to successfully set up our day care business. The amount includes the salary of all employees and the CEO (Owner) for 3 months.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for our Daycare Business

Tiny Thoughts is a private business that is solely owned by Mrs. Mary McGregor and she does not have the intention of welcoming any external partners except immediate family members which is why she has decided to restrict the sourcing of her start – up capital to 3 major sources. These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings
Source for soft loans from family members and friends
Apply for loan from my Bank

N.B : We have been able to generate about $60,000 ( Personal savings $40,000 and soft loan from family members $20,000 ) and we are at the final stage of obtaining a loan facility of $80,000 from our bank. All the papers and document has been signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited and we will be able to execute all the things that needs to be executed.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

Our plans of establishing Tiny Thoughts is basically to test – run the Day care trade. We have decided to start our first outlet in a competitive location like Ohio. Although we don’t have the intention of running chains of day care centers now, but we have plans to set up branches in years to come. It is pertinent to state that we shall not allow our standard operating process to drop so that we do not lose our loyal customers.

Check List / Milestone

Business Name Availability Check:>Completed
Business Registration: Completed
Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
Obtaining of health permit : Completed
Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
Application for business license and permit: Completed
Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
Purchasing a building and remodeling it: In Progress
Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
Generating capital from family members: Completed
Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
writing of business plan: Completed
Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
Recruitment of employees: In Progress
Purchase of the Needed furniture, beddings, toys, electronic appliances, office appliances and other equipment: In progress
Creating Official Website for the day care center: In Progress
Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the neighborhood of location: In Progress
Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress

More on Education

BUSINESS STRATEGIES

How to create a daycare business plan

Nirit Braun
Sep 11, 2023

When you're getting ready to launch your daycare business, one of the first things you'll want to do is create a solid business plan. Think of it as your roadmap for success. This document spells out your goals, strategies and financial projections within the childcare industry.

It serves as your trusty guidebook, helping you navigate the path to success and providing solutions for any challenges that come your way. Keep reading to learn more about the specific elements of a strong daycare business plan, and use the template at the end to get started.

Ready to launch your daycare business? Create a business website today with Wix.

Top benefits of creating a daycare business plan

Starting a daycare business demands careful planning, and a well-structured business plan offers numerous benefits that can significantly contribute to its success:

Helps raise money for your business : Experts estimate that for a home-based daycare serving four to six children, startup costs can exceed $36,000 . A comprehensive business plan is essential when seeking investors or financial support. It showcases your clear vision, market research and growth strategies, demonstrating your commitment and knowledge about the daycare industry. Potential investors are more likely to provide funding when they see a thoughtfully crafted plan that outlines potential returns on their investment.

Helps allocate resources : Writing a business plan forces you to conduct thorough research on what resources, supplies and staff are needed to launch and run your daycare center successfully. From facilities and equipment to educational materials and safety protocols, this detailed analysis ensures that you're fully aware of the startup and operational costs, preventing any unexpected surprises down the road.

Provides operational clarity : A well-constructed business plan outlines your daycare center's daily operations, including schedules, curriculum and staffing requirements. This clarity not only helps you understand the practical aspects of starting a business but also provides a structured approach to managing day-to-day activities effectively.

Highlights market insights : Through the process of writing your business plan, you delve into market research, identifying your target demographic, understanding their needs and analyzing your competitors. According to Zippia, 58% of working parents depend on childcare centers, which means you have a very large market to work with. This information is invaluable in tailoring your services to stand out in a crowded niche, creating a unique selling proposition that attracts parents and caregivers.

Helps with risk management : Starting a daycare business involves addressing potential challenges and risks. A business plan encourages you to identify these risks upfront and develop contingency plans to mitigate them. This proactive approach increases your preparedness and helps you navigate unexpected obstacles with more confidence.

Creates a profitability timeline : Financial projections included in your business plan offer insights into the revenue and expenses expected in the early stages of your daycare business. This information is crucial for determining when your business will become profitable and ensuring that you have a sustainable financial strategy.

Learn more: How to start a service business

How to create a successful daycare business plan in 6 steps

Now we’ll walk through the six essential steps for crafting a daycare business plan tailored to your company's unique needs.

Executive summary

Business and domain names

Market analysis and research

Operations plan, marketing and advertising plan, financial plan.

Thinking of developing another type of business? Check out more service business examples .

01. Executive summary

The executive summary is a concise overview of your entire daycare business plan. It provides a snapshot of your business concept, key strategies, goals and financial projections. While it appears at the beginning of your plan, it's often written last, after you've fully developed the other sections. A well-written executive summary should capture the reader's attention and convey the essence of your daycare business in a compelling and clear manner.

To write a clear executive summary for a daycare business, incorporate the following details:

Overview : Introduce your daycare business and highlight its unique features. Mention the age groups you'll serve, the educational approach you'll adopt and any specific services or benefits that set your daycare apart.

Demand : Describe the demand for daycare services in your target area. Mention any growth trends in working parents, shifting demographics or changes in government policies that could impact your business.

Operations : Briefly outline your strategies for attracting and retaining customers, managing operations efficiently and achieving growth. Touch on your marketing, staffing, curriculum and safety plans.

Staff : Highlight key members of your management team and their relevant experience in the daycare or education sector.

Financials : Provide a high-level overview of your projected revenue, expenses and profitability. Mention the timeframe you expect to break even and showcase your potential for generating returns for investors. You can also mention the amount of initial investment you're seeking and how you plan to use the funds.

Example executive summary for a daycare business

“ABC Sunshine Daycare is a premium childcare center dedicated to providing a nurturing and educational environment for children aged six months to five years. Our play-based curriculum, experienced educators and commitment to child safety make us the ideal partner for parents seeking top-tier care. With a projected 15% annual growth in working parents in our area, we are poised to tap into a significant market opportunity.

Our key strategies include partnering with local businesses to offer exclusive discounts to their employees, implementing a comprehensive child development curriculum and maintaining a low student-to-teacher ratio for personalized attention. We anticipate achieving profitability within the first 18 months, with a projected revenue of $350,000 by the end of Year 2.

We seek $150,000 in funding to secure a prime location, equip our state-of-the-art facility and launch targeted marketing campaigns. Our leadership team comprises experienced educators and childcare professionals, ensuring the highest quality of care for our young learners.”

02. Business and domain names

Knowing how to name a business is crucial for a daycare center and a key step before you register your business . It will be the foundation of your brand identity, influencing how parents perceive your services and creating trust. When choosing a name, consider its relevance to child care, its uniqueness and its ease of pronunciation and memorability.

Using a business name generator like one from Wix can spark creativity and offer unique suggestions that align with your daycare's values and mission. Once you've settled on a name, securing a matching domain name is essential for establishing an online presence. A domain name that reflects your business name makes it easier for potential clients to find you online.

You’ll want to first conduct a domain name search to ensure that the name you want isn't already in use.

Some best practices for choosing a domain name are to keep it short and memorable, which means avoiding complex spellings or special characters. Be sure to make it relevant to your specific services and values. The recommendation is to choose a domain extension (.com, .net, .org) that's familiar and commonly used.

03. Market analysis and research

Strong market analysis is vital for understanding the competitive landscape for this type of business and identifying opportunities where you can thrive. Research the demographics and psychographics of your target audience, their needs, preferences and pain points. Analyze your competitors—both other daycare centers and alternative childcare options—to identify gaps in the market that your business can address.

Incorporate this analysis into your business plan to develop a more robust marketing strategy . Highlight how your daycare's unique value proposition will resonate with parents and differentiate you from the competition. Include plans for pricing, branding, promotions and customer retention strategies to attract and retain families.

04. Operations plan

Your operations plan outlines the practical aspects of running your daycare business. This includes details such as:

Location: Explain the rationale behind your chosen location, considering factors like accessibility, safety and proximity to potential clients.

Premises: Describe the layout and design of your facility, including play areas, classrooms, restrooms and any outdoor spaces.

Equipment: List the equipment and supplies required for daily operations, from educational materials to furniture and safety equipment.

Staffing: Outline your staffing needs, including teachers, assistants and administrative personnel. Detail their qualifications, roles and responsibilities.

Healthy and safety: Highlight your health and safety protocols, emergency procedures and compliance with relevant regulations.

By including these details in your operations plan, you demonstrate a clear understanding of how your daycare business will function and meet the needs of both children and parents.

05. Marketing and advertising plan

To get started with marketing, you’ll need to develop a suite of brand assets, starting with a company logo. You can use a free logo maker to get a professional design in minutes.

Learn more: How to make a website

Your marketing and advertising plan outlines the strategies and campaigns you'll employ to promote your daycare business. Consider a mix of both traditional and digital marketing methods, such as social media. Utilize online platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to share engaging content, showcase your facility and connect with parents. You can also use your social media accounts to collaborate with local businesses, pediatricians and schools to build a referral network and increase visibility.

Use your business website for targeted online ads to reach parents in your area who are actively searching for childcare options. Additionally, you could publish a blog on your website that offers parenting tips, educational insights and other valuable content that positions your daycare as an authority in child development.

You can also organize open houses, workshops, or parent-child events to give families a firsthand experience of your daycare's offerings.

06. Financial plan

The financial plan is a critical component of your daycare business plan, outlining your initial funding requirements, revenue projections and profitability timeline. Specify the sources of funding you're seeking—whether through personal investment, loans or investors—and detail how the funds will be allocated.

Provide a breakdown of your startup costs, including cost to start an LLC if relevant, expenses for facility setup, equipment purchase, staffing, marketing and any administrative costs. Present projected revenue based on enrollment estimates, pricing strategies and the competitive landscape.

Create a cash flow forecast that outlines your expected inflows and outflows over a specific timeframe. This projection will help you identify potential financial challenges and plan for adequate cash reserves.

Include a profitability analysis that showcases when you anticipate reaching break-even and becoming profitable. This information is crucial for both potential investors and your own financial planning.

By including a well-structured financial plan, you demonstrate your business' financial viability and your understanding of the financial aspects of running a daycare center.

Template for a daycare business plan

Note that this template is meant to serve as a starting point for your daycare business and you should customize it to reflect your specific business concept and goals.

A brief introduction to the daycare business concept

Market opportunity and growth potential

Key strategies for curriculum, staffing and marketing

Financial projections: revenue, profitability, funding needs

Company and domain name

Name: [Your Daycare Name]

Domain: www.[YourDaycareName].com

Demographics and psychographics of target audience

Competitive landscape analysis

How your daycare addresses market needs

Location details

Facility layout, safety features, outdoor spaces, etc.

Equipment, inventory and setup

Staff roles, qualifications and responsibilities

Health and safety protocols and compliance

Social media strategy

Local partnerships, collaborations with local businesses

Open houses and events

Online advertising plan and ad types

SEO and content marketing strategy

Initial investment requirement

Startup costs including facility setup, equipment, staffing and marketing

Projected revenue based on enrollment estimates and pricing

Cash flow forecast over the first year

Profitability and break-even point analysis

Looking for another business idea?

How to start an online business

How to start a consulting business

How to start a fitness business

How to start a fitness clothing line

How to start a makeup line

How to start a candle business

How to start a clothing business

How to start an online boutique

How to start a T-shirt business

How to start a jewelry business

How to start a subscription box business

How to start a beauty business

How to start a flower business

How to start a car wash business

How to start a food prep business

How to start a DJ business

How to start a pool cleaning business

How to start a baking business

How to start a trucking business

How to start a construction business

How to start a landscaping business

How to start a food business

How to start a vending machine business

How to start a contractor business

How to start a coaching business

Check out: service business ideas

Looking to start a business in a specific state?

How to start a business in Arizona

How to start a business in South Carolina

How to start a business in Virginia

How to start a business in Michigan

How to start a business in California

How to start a business in Florida

How to start a business in Texas

How to start a business in Wisconsin

Want to create another type of business plan?

How to create a real estate business plan

How to create a flower business plan

How to create a medical supply business plan

How to create a car wash business plan

How to create a contractor business plan

How to create a DJ business plan

How to create a dog walking business plan

How to create a clothing line business plan

How to create a construction business plan

How to create a painting business plan

How to create a plumbing business plan

How to create a rental property business plan

How to create a bar business plan

How to create a photographer business plan

How to create a cleaning business plan

How to create a restaurant business plan

How to create a coffee shop business plan

How to create a catering business plan

How to create a trucking business plan

How to write a coffee shop business plan

Was this article helpful?

Capabilities

How to write a business plan for your daycare center.

Here we have put together a list of key elements to help write a successful business plan for your daycare center.

Do Your Research

The first step to developing a business plan for your daycare center is to do your research. Look at what your competitors are doing – think about what makes them successful and/or their pitfalls.

Do they have a unique mission statement? Does their staff follow a specific teaching philosophy? Realizing other daycares’ competitive advantages will help you identify any gaps that these centers are not filling.

You’ll also want to research the demographics of your area. What does a typical family in your area look like? In some areas it’s typical for both parents to work, but in others it’s not. You may also want to look into things like education level, religion, income level, how many children are in a typical family, as well as grandparent involvement and common values .

Will the values and interests of your daycare center be appealing to the families that surround it? Research is a huge part of creating a daycare business , and it’s something you’ll want to be thorough with before fully diving in.

Develop a Mission Statement

When you think about what you aspire your daycare to be, a lot of things likely come to mind. You have big dreams after all! However, it is important to start with the basics and develop a mission statement.

This should be a relatively simple vision you have for your center that can be shared on marketing collateral and is appealing to prospective parents. Whether it’s a focus on early childhood development or a particular teaching philosophy you believe in, you’ll want to present your mission statement boldly and confidently.

Once you develop a mission statement, it’s time to think about your other goals and objectives. But, what’s the difference between goals and objectives?

Goals are something that is measurable – whether it’s a certain enrollment number or how much revenue you bring in after year one.
Objectives are a little less numerical – they can be the values you hope to instill into your center like teaching children life sills like effective communication, how to share, and creating a nurturing environment.

Creating a clear mission statement and supporting goals and objectives is key to setting yourself up for success. Whenever you feel overwhelmed or unsure of the direction of your daycare center, check back in with your mission statement, goals and objectives to ground yourself

Look at Your Financials

Financials may not be the most fun part of starting a daycare business, but they are certainly important. While you may have the passion and expertise needed to fuel a new business, without the right financial standing, it’s hard to turn your dreams into a reality.

A common question you may ask yourself is, “How much does it cost to start a daycare?” While the number will certainly vary wildly depending on the area you live in and whether you are acquiring an already owned building or starting from scratch, experts say it will cost you anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000. Think about whether it’s realistic to start your daycare now or continue saving up until you’re ready – it’s a big investment!

For those who are just starting out and may not have that much financial experience, daycare software can be a huge help. It helps simplify paying your bills, easily track expenses, and handle budgeting – all from a single platform.

Use daycare software to maintain a record of your expense categories like classroom supplies, maintenance, utilities, and rent, and ensure that nothing gets lost and you’re always on budget. One expense gone wrong can have a huge impact on a new business, so keeping your data and information all in one place is highly recommended.

Develop Policies & Procedures

A successful business plan needs information about the daycare center’s policies and procedures. Policies and procedures are the foundation of a new business, and they are something you’ll want parents to have a firm understanding of.

To start with, think about developing a payment policy . This will entail things like how to handle late payments, billing schedules, and more.

It’s also important to take note of any licensing requirements for staff ratios and teachers’ educational backgrounds. Child care staff are subject to fingerprinting and background checks, so be sure to verify references and education levels.

Learn About Insurance

Insurance is a requirement for opening a licensed child care facility, and having it is essential for protecting both your business and your personal assets. While understanding insurance may not come naturally to everyone, there are a lot of resources on the internet and professionals willing to help.

Talk with a licensed insurance agent who’s familiar with local requirements to review your needs and recommend coverage terms and policies. And, if you plan on offering healthcare benefits to your employees, you’ll want to meet with a healthcare provider who can help with developing a plan.

Create a Marketing Plan

Here comes the fun part. What’s going to make your daycare center stand out among the competition? How are you going to get your name out into the community?

Start by deciding how you’ll raise awareness among potential customers. Maybe it’s participating in family-friendly community events in the area or listing your school in a local directory. You can even think about running a social media campaign to build awareness and reach new parents.

And as far as differentiating yourself from other daycares, consider implementing Procare’s all-in-one daycare solution designed to help manage your daycare and stay connected with parents.

For modern parents who are on the go, joining a daycare with a tech-savvy management system in place can be incredibly appealing. With the ability to make payments online , digitally check in/check out, and read about updates on their child throughout the day, this kind of software will definitely give you a leg up.

Final Thoughts

Creating a business plan for your daycare center is a lot of hard work, but it can also be exciting. You are at the beginning stage of making your dreams a reality and by organizing your ideas, policies, marketing plans, and more in a logical document, you are setting yourself up for success – and for a lot of future happy parents and children.

Ready for next steps? Learn more about how to successfully start a daycare .

List of Sensory Activities for Infants & Toddlers
25 Questions for Daycare Providers to Ask Parents About Their Child
Daycare Age Ranges: Understanding the Differences
What a Drop in Child Care Funding Means and What States are Doing
10 Early Childhood Behavior Management Strategies

2024 Child Care Management Software Industry Trends

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Get the latest updates, subscribe today!

Name First Last
Center Name
Business Type Business Type In-Home Child Care A Child Care Center Multi-Center or Franchise Centers School District Before and After School Program
Center Status Center Status An Established Center A New Center - Opening Soon Current Procare User Other
Phone This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Procare provides comprehensive child care management software with the power to help you take control at every point of your business.

Related Resources

Full guide to starting your own in-home daycare.

If you’re interested in starting your own in-home daycare business, this is the guide for you. We’ve created a step-by-step roadmap to help you.

How to Start a Daycare in 2021

Times are changing, but child care remains a priority need in 2021. Come learn how to fill this need and answer the question, “How do I start a daycare center?”

How to Create a Child Care Center Budget Plan

A well-crafted child care budget can make or break a center. Learn how to craft yours with these tips and operate at maximum efficiency.

Upmetrics AI Assistant: Simplifying Business Planning through AI-Powered Insights. Learn How

Entrepreneurs & Small Business

Accelerators & Incubators

Business Consultants & Advisors

Educators & Business Schools

Students & Scholars

AI Business Plan Generator

Financial Forecasting

AI Assistance

Ai Pitch Deck Generator

Strategic Planning

See How Upmetrics Works →

Sample Plans
WHY UPMETRICS?

Customer Success Stories

Business Plan Course

Small Business Tools

Strategic Planning Templates

E-books, Guides & More

Sample Business Plans
Education & Training

Daycare Business Plan

With the majority of parents staying out of the home throughout the day, the daycare (childcare) business has turned into an extremely bankable one in recent years.

If you have the right resources and more importantly, are good with children. If you have ever dreamt of starting a daycare business , then you are at the right place!

Though certain sections are common to all business plans, you’ll need to customize the outline as per the needs and requirements of your business.

Industry Overview

The U.S. childcare market size was valued at USD 54.3 billion in 2019 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9% from 2020 to 2027.

This rise in demand has come from the increasing number of working parents. Earlier parents had to quit their careers to take care of their children, but that has changed due to better daycare facilities.

Now, if you plan on entering this competitive childcare market, you must know that the daycare business is based on the foundation of trust more than anything. Hence, providing quality services and having a clean image in the market is of utmost importance.

Studies show that a lot of daycare businesses fail in their first three years due to reasons ranging from poor management to lagging finances. You can combat all of these and many more troubles if you enter the industry with a well-rounded daycare business plan.

Say goodbye to boring templates

Build your business plan faster and easier with AI

Plans starting from $7/month

What is a Daycare Business Plan?

A daycare business plan is an equivalent of a roadmap in your business journey. A plan helps you understand what you’re getting yourself into.

It helps you understand the market, figure out where you stand in it, know your target audience better, and formulate better marketing and financial strategies.

Overall, it makes your decision-making process faster and more effective and prevents you from feeling clueless at any point in your business journey.

Moreover, it also helps you get investors and helps your employees and partners understand what your business stands for. It gives the people in your business a feeling that you have a vision and know what you are doing with your business.

Also, you get to set clear goals that give you a direction to work and put your efforts in.

Why is a Daycare Business Plan Important?

Everything you do for your business should add value to it. And here’s how a daycare business plan can add value to your business:

It gives you a sense of direction

There are several ways you can go with each business decision. A business plan helps you understand what would work best for your business then.

Also, it gives a set of tangible goals to look forward to when you work on your business.

It helps you understand your target audience better

Planning your business gives a better form and structure to your research. Which at the end of the day helps you understand your customers better. It also helps you analyze what it means for your business.

Making and upgrading your product or service for your customers serves the biggest purpose at the end of the day.

It helps you understand your competition better

Imagine there’s a popular daycare center in your city and several parents swear by it. Now, this could mean several things for your business.

You’ll have to pick a different location, know the daycare service’s weaknesses and offer better services by working on that area for your business.

You can also pick the things they are doing right, and inculcate the same in your strategies.

A business plan can help you do all of the above and more through a competitive analysis.

It helps you convince your investors

Though making the right prediction is difficult, having a rough idea of your business’s sales and financial potential is important to get investors on board.

Investors want to know the scalability of your business before they invest in it. A good and realistic prediction of returns makes it easier to convince investors.

And a business plan can help you make realistic financial predictions.

It keeps you updated with the latest business trends

A business plan is a living document that grows alongside your business. It also helps you have a foresight of changing trends and act on time for getting the best results for your business.

This also makes it important for you to keep updating your plan as your business grows.

What does a Daycare Business Plan Look Like?

If you are planning to start a new auto or car repair shop, the first thing you will need is a business plan. Use our sample Daycare Business Plan created using Upmetrics business plan software to start writing your business plan in no time.

Before you start writing your business plan for your new auto repairing shop, spend as much time as you can reading through some examples of Children’s & Pet business plans .

Moreover, business plans come in different forms to fit the current state of your business.

Apart from that, there are a few major sections that should be included in every business plan.

Daycare Business Plan Outline

This is the standard business plan outline which will cover all important sections that you should include in your business plan.

Executive Summary
Keys to Success
Company Summary
Timothy Bernard Kilpatrick
Start-up Summary
Locations and Facilities
Service Description
Competitive Comparison
Sales Literature
Fulfillment
Future Services
Industry Analysis
Market Segmentation
Market Analysis
Market Needs
Market Trends
Market Growth
Business Participants
Competition and Buying Patterns
Main Competitors
Strategy and Implementation Summary
Value Proposition
Competitive Edge
Positioning Statement
Pricing Strategy
Promotion Strategy
Marketing Programs
Sales Forecast
Sales Programs
Strategic Alliances
Web Plan Summary
Website Marketing Strategy
Development Requirements
Management Summary
Organizational Structure
Timothy B. Kilpatrick
Carolyn Steverson
Candice Harris
Management Team Gaps
Personnel Plan
Projected Profit and Loss
Projected Cash Flow
Projected Balance Sheet

What to Include in Your Daycare Business Plan?

A good daycare business plan consists of a certain number of well-defined sections, the following sections can help you in writing an excellent business plan.

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary section is one of the most important sections of your business plan because it not only forms the first section of your business plan but also acts as a pitch for potential investors who can provide you with funds for your daycare business.

It consists of your company’s vision and mission, its USP, objectives, and also expected revenues.

Writing the executive summary section of your plan at the very end, so you can sum up your plan properly is a good tip to remember.

2. Services

In this section, you should give out a clear idea of what your services are and whom it caters to. You should define your target market, your niche, the area your services will be extended to, etc.

As a daycare center, you should have a clear idea of the age group you will cater to, what is the preferred location of your target audience, how you come off as a service to your customers, and so on.

3. Market Analysis

Market analysis can be of great help to any business, it can help you understand what you are getting yourself into, who your competitors are, what your client base expects out of you, and where you stand in the current market situation.

Hence, market analysis immensely improves your understanding of the industry you are getting into. In the case of a daycare center knowing the best practices of childcare that exist in the market can be of great help.

4. Web Plan

In today’s internet-based world, most busy parents looking for a daycare center online. Hence, having a strong and reliable web presence is crucial to the success of your daycare business. Thus, including a web strategy in your business plan is necessary.

Always remember, as a daycare service coming off as a trustworthy and reliable institution is crucial for your business to work.

5. Management and Organizational Structure

Having a well-structured management system is especially crucial for a daycare service. It not only helps your business run smoother, but it also makes you look more responsible and reliable in front of the parents or the primary caregivers.

In this section, you should include the structure of your organization, details about people on various levels in your company, a solid system for tracking everyone’s work and progress, the areas your team is excelling at, and the areas your team is lagging in.

6. Financial Plan

One of the chief reasons for several daycare services running out of business is poorly managed finances or running out of funds to keep going.

Planning your finances in the early stages of your business saves you from encountering such a problem later on.

Hence, planning your finances is mandatory while writing a business plan.

Download a sample daycare business plan

Need help writing your business plan from scratch? Here you go; download our free daycare business plan pdf to start.

It’s a modern business plan template specifically designed for your daycare business. Use the example business plan as a guide for writing your own.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

Daycare Business Plan Summary

In conclusion, apart from having a good image as an organization, a well-managed team, a clearly defined niche, thorough research of the market and an excellent financial plan is crucial to the success of a daycare business.

After getting started with Upmetrics , you can copy this sample daycare business plan into your business plan and modify the required information and download your daycare business plan pdf or doc file.

It’s the fastest and easiest way to start writing your business plan.

School Business Plan

Daycare Financial Plan

After-School Program Business Plan

Swim School Business Plan

Key Components of a Business Plan

Business Plan Outline Creation Process

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

Plan your business in the shortest time possible

No Risk – Cancel at Any Time – 15 Day Money Back Guarantee

Popular Templates

Create a great Business Plan with great price.

400+ Business plan templates & examples
AI Assistance & step by step guidance
4.8 Star rating on Trustpilot

Streamline your business planning process with Upmetrics .

How to Create a Daycare Business Plan

Posted by Carmen Choi
February 13, 2017
in Posted in Leadership & administration / Management Tips

Childcare owners get into the daycare business through many pathways. Whether you are a business-savvy educator in the child care industry, a new parent looking to fill a need in your community, or a seasoned entrepreneur looking to expand your horizons – the first step to launching your daycare business is to create a comprehensive business plan.

Let’s get real for a moment here – writing a child care business plan, will take quite a bit of time, a lot of thinking, and even more energy to follow through. But, get this step right and you will set the tone and direction to create a successful daycare business (ad)venture!

When developing your daycare business plan, it is ideal to think in the timeframe of 3-5 years. This level of long-term thinking will serve as a map on your way to your goal of establishing a solid daycare business plan to start a daycare.

Without further ado, let’s help you get started.

Here’s an overview of 9 elements that you’ll need to build a good daycare business plan. A child care business plan should include the following:

Executive Summary

Company Overview

Service Description

Market Analysis

Marketing Plan

Operations Plan

Financial analysis , supporting documents .

Executive summary for your child care business plan

This is your introduction and “elevator pitch.” Keep it short, sweet and to the point.

The executive summary section of your daycare business plan should function to get potential investors and partners excited about what your daycare center has to offer in the following key sections.

This is an opportunity for you to include:

A brief but “wow!” business description
Your mission statement

Your executive summary is a place to express what’s unique about your daycare business plan – is it the location, approach, learning philosophy, child care services, team, diversity, or something brand new? Don’t be afraid to make this your own!

This section covers the structure of your daycare business plan and business concept.

Are you planning on being a thought leader in the daycare industry within a specific niche of childcare? A special Waldorf school? A school that prioritized multiculturalism? A center that is Montessori first with Reggio influences to prioritize independent learners? Home daycares? Or do you want to build an empire with an eye on franchising your daycare business model?

Some key elements to include in a brief overview are:

Your daycare business structure
History of the business
Core services offered
Target age group and capacity
Success milestones (accreditation, state-focused quality rating)
Mid-term business goals & requirements

Service Description

This section dives into the nitty-gritty of what daycare services you will provide to your community and how your business will go about doing so.

Things to think about for your business description are:

Full-time or part-time care
After school care for school aged children
Child Care Center capacity
Age group information
Operation hours
Extra-curricular programs (yoga, music instruction, languages, gardening)
Food program
Room layout & design
Furnishing & equipment needs
Facility management & development
Do you have a big vision for your daycare facility that needs to be broken down into different phases?
If yes, what do these phases look like?
Will consultants be hired to support each phase of growth? Is this even necessary?
Will there be a board involved in the decision making process (NFPs)

This is where your vision meets reality! Think of this piece as your ingredients list to build a good daycare business plan. Write everything down and ask people in your inner-circle for feedback.

Market analysis is a business way of saying, “Get to know your surroundings.”

Here’s a list of questions to get you on the right track:

Who is your target audience? (School age kids? Working parents? )
What are the geographic boundaries of the client base that your business will serve?
What is the population of young children & families in your area? (Are there many new young families moving in?)
What is in high demand for child care services?
What is the supply for childcare?
How many daycare businesses are there in the area?
Where are other daycare providers located?
How long are waitlists?
What kind of programming / services are offered by other child care centers?
What are childcare vacancies like in the daycare industry?
How much does childcare cost in the area?
What’s the dominant age group in the area?
What are the unique licensing & regulation requirements for child care centers in your area?

Answering as many of these questions as you can will give you a clear picture of what you’re getting yourself into and how to stand out from competition.

Okay, let’s get practical for a minute – how can you answer these questions? Drive around. Join parent communities online. Facebook groups are great resources to understand what parents and potential customers around you are talking about, stressing about, enjoying, and prioritizing in their childcare search.

In short, really get to know your community of potential customers for your business. I cannot stress the importance of this step for a good business plan. Nothing beats listening to real people from your target market with real problems when building a business case. This seems simple, but it does take a lot of work and persistence to get results.

To distill this process into 5 broad business categories for your daycare business plan:

Understand your target customers
Identify the need of your target customers
Research your competitors
Define your differentiators
Position yourself to grow your business

A note on licensing requirements and regulation : Before you take any steps towards setting up your child care business or daycare franchise, take the time to understand the center licensing guidelines and regulations that will apply to you from your local government. Make sure that you will be able to obtain the necessary licensing for your facility.

Marketing Plan

My favourite part. Now that you have an idea of your daycare business identity, you have to have a marketing plan to promote it and make a splash!

What differentiates you from existing daycare businesses or other child care centers in the area?
How can you really showcase what’s special compared to competition?
What are your initial marketing goals? Perhaps building out a waitlist before launching?
How will you connect with families you want to work with with your marketing strategy?

Building out a marketing plan for your daycare can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. Get creative with your marketing strategy and really show your personality. Here’s an in-depth post we did about marketing your child care center .

Now an idea is just a thought without a team to get it done. Your operations plan is the backbone of your business. In this section, key things to include are:

Who is on your management team?
Who are your core staff members?
What does the organizational chart for your business look like?
Training opportunities & needs for staff?
If your daycare center is a NFP, who are the board members?
If your daycare center is a for profit center, will you have a parent committee that drives operations at your center?

Think of this section as building out your A-team. Why have you chosen certain people for their roles? What do your management team members bring to the table that’s unique?

This also brings transparency to how your team is structured and career development opportunities. Remember to keep growth in the back of your mind for each section of your daycare business plan.

Now that you’ve done most of the heavy lifting, you can use all the information that you have previously gathered to come up with a financial plan for the first few years of your business operations.

Remember, starting any business is difficult and it usually takes 3-5 years to break even and start becoming profitable.

Here are the key questions to answer in this section:

What is your start up budget?
How will you secure funding?
What is your annual operating budget (income & expenses)
Income statement
Balance sheet
Revenue model
Your current revenue & expense statement

Need a template to get started on your financial plan? Check out How To Manage Your Child Care Center Budget to download the template.

Milestones

This last section is one I like to call, the “keeping us honest” section. This is where you and your team will list down milestones that you plan on accomplishing on your daycare business plan journey. Don’t leave this section blank as it’ll be your measuring stick as you launch your daycare business plan.

Some example milestones are:

Reaching 80% of capacity
Getting NAEYC accredited
Achieving the most stars in your state QRIS
Collecting 5 star reviews from parents for your Google page
Reaching 100 followers on your Facebook community

Get together with your team and pick the measures that make the most sense for your childcare business.

Here’s a list of documentation that might come in handy when pulling all of this together.

Revenue & expenses sheet
Financial projections
Income statement, balance sheets and funding
Resumes of everyone on your team
Contracts with external consultants
Letters of endorsement
Legal documents (daycare license, property documents, articles of incorporation)
Daycare business plan template
Any other relevant information

Child Care & COVID-19

While COVID-19 has thrown a wrench in many people’s business plans, that does not mean that you should give up on your dreams of becoming a daycare business owner. With all the change and uncertainty of the current climate comes the space for opportunity!

Centers now have to operate under different health and safety requirements, most notably reduced ratios.

Here’s a roundup of resources that we’ve compiled as a team to support your business plans during the pandemic and beyond.

[Survey] What Parents Value In Childcare During COVID-19
[Guide] Cold, Flu, COVID-19: A Director’s Survival Guide (with printables)
[Article] What To Do If Someone Tests Positive For COVID-19
[Webinar] HiMama Features To Build Trust During COVID-19

To quote Dwight Eisenhower, “Planning is everything, the plan is nothing.” The process of defining your vision will make a difference when facing obstacles on your journey to creating a successful business.

Things won’t go perfectly according to your daycare business plan, but because you’ve mapped out your way, you will find a way to work over, under, or around those obstacles to get there.

Good luck!

Did you know that HiMama makes it simple to get organized, stay in touch with parents, and keep on top of your operations? Contact us today to find out how we can make your daycare business plan into a reality.Do you have any pointers to add to this? We’d love to hear them. Let us know in the comments below. Don’t forget to follow us on social media @HiMamaSocial.

Carmen Choi

Carmen is the Marketing Coordinator and Preschool Podcast Manager on the HiMama team. She's been working with childcare business owners and consultants for 3 years. She is passionate making connections that empower the ECE Community through knowledge-sharing to support better outcomes for children, their families, and society!

Learn how HiMama can transform your center

HiMama brings parents, teachers and directors closer together and saves everyone time.

In 15 minutes you could be on your way with HiMama - it doesn't take longer than that!

HiMama help you foster a stronger and happier community at your child care center.

Daily reports and messaging
Staff management and billing
Lesson planning

One comment

OMG this is so helpful!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!

Exploring the impact of team culture on growth and retention in childcare [Webinar Recording]

Posted by Maddie Hutchison
April 11, 2024

How to build meaningful relationships with staff: Tips for leaders

Posted by Kayla Warburton
April 9, 2024

5 strategies for building positive relationships with children in early childhood education

March 19, 2024

Following children’s lead: How to implement play-based learning in preschool

March 14, 2024

Don't bother with copy and paste.

Get this complete sample business plan as a free text document.

Day Care Business Plan

Start your own day care business plan

Safe Kids Child Care

Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">, opportunity.

There are an increasing amount of families who have become dependent on two incomes, which has created the necessity of the child care industry. Increasing need means that there are more children that are in need of a safe enriching place to go.

Safe Kids Child Care will succeed by offering its clients’ children a safe and secure care environment, and close personal attention. The goals of the center are dual-sided: to help parents feel good about the care of their children, and to make it a safe, educational, and fun experience for the child.

Safe Kids Child Care has a focus on meeting the local need for child care services within the 10-mile radius of Lynn. Children are taken in flexibly on either a full-time or part-time basis.

Competition

There are over 300 child care providers in the local area. The larger commercial chain child care centers, such as KinderCare, have a majority of the market share. These larger chains compete well because of a good reputation among the consumer market. Safe Kids Child Care offers a lower staff to child ratio, which is appealing to most parents. Additionally, the company maintains child care fee levels that are 5-10% below the average of that of the large commercial chain child care fees.

Safe Kids Child Care offers a lower staff to child ratio, which is appealing to most parents. Additionally, the company maintains child care fee levels that are 5-10% below the average of that of the large commercial chain child care fees.

Expectations

Safe Kids is an exciting opportunity that provides safe and secure child care to the Lynn, MA neighborhood. Safe Kids will reach sustainable profitability over the next three years. Through a combination of well-priced services, outstanding customer service, and a well seasoned management team, Safe Kids will quickly gain market share and a reputation as a premier child care provider.

Financial Highlights by Year

Financing needed.

We plan on having $40,000 to start our business. Each owner will contribute $20,000 to our opening costs.

Problem & Solution

Problem worth solving.

The child care market is quite competitive in the Boston area. There are over 300 different facilities. There are two general types of facilities. The larger style is commercially run, typically a corporate franchise center. These facilities are both regional and national. Currently, the four largest child care facilities in the USA account for 29% of the market. There are also many different smaller locally run and owned faculties. While the largest facilities can host between 20-100 children, the locally run centers typically have a maximum capacity of 20 children.

Target Market

Market size & segments.

Full-Time Working Couples

The company wants to establish a significantly large full-time regular client base in order to establish a healthy, consistent revenue base to ensure stability of the business. Customer relations are extremely important, as it is imperative to keep the parents pleased in order to keep their children in the daycare center.

Part-Time Workers / Drop-Ins

Part-time workers and drop-ins comprise approximately 20% of revenues. While this market is not the primary focus, sufficient flexibility to handle this secondary market is important to producing supplemental revenues.

Current Alternatives

Our advantages.

Child care competitive edge is the facility’s efforts in obtaining all appropriate licensing and certifications. Additionally, thorough pre-hire background screenings are performed on all individuals before hired for employment.

Keys to Success

Keys to success for the company will include:

Maintaining a reputable and untarnished reputation in the community.
Quality care.
Competitive pricing.
Flexible hours.

Marketing & Sales

Marketing plan.

The differentiating effort will be benchmarked customer service. A customer-centric philosophy will be infused within the entire organization. Safe Kids will spend extra money to attract and train the best employees. This is especially important because it is the employees that interact with both the children and parents and will have the best chance to impress them enough to turn them into a loyal customer as well as to be vocal in telling their friends about their positive child care experience.

We will have a Social Media Campaign which uses Facebook and Linked in. We will have experts answer child care questions if the public wants. This gives the public confidence that we know what we doing. We will have customer reviews and allow our customers to talk to us.

Safe Kids Child Care will make a significant profit through the excellent care of children. Even though Safe Kids charges less, the company will see profit within the first year due to beneficial word-of-mouth advertising. The company expects to double its’ clientele every six months, for the first 18 months.

Locations & Facilities

The facility will originally consist of a 1,300 sq. ft. house in a quiet, residential neighborhood. The yard will be fully fenced in, to ensure no one can either come in or wander away. The yard will be furnished with safe, entertaining toys, as well as a sandbox.

Milestones & Metrics

Key metrics.

Our Key Metrics are:

Facebook page views, Twitter re-tweets, and new potential clients calling saying that a current client referred them.
The number of children we take care of daily
The number of children that are signed up for the monthly care
The amount of training our staff has to take care of children and keep incidents down to zero.

Ownership & Structure

This business will start out as a simple proprietorship, owned by its founders. As the operation grows, the owners will consider re-registering as a limited liability company or as a corporation, whichever will better suit the future business needs.

Management Team

Brought to you by

Create a professional business plan

Using ai and step-by-step instructions.

Secure funding

Validate ideas

Build a strategy

Personnel Table

Financial plan investor-ready personnel plan .">, key assumptions.

Our key assumptions are:

There are children from families where both parents work or need to work. The children need somewhere safe and enriching where they can grow and make friends while their parents get a chance to get back to him.
Adults sometimes have emergencies and they need to have a place to leave their children when they can’t be with them
The community appreciates the it takes a village mentality. They appreciate we have resources and experts that will answer their questions. We assume they will come to us if they need help, we won’t go out of our way to advise.

Revenue by Month

Expenses by month, net profit (or loss) by year, use of funds.

Our Start-up Expenses are $3000 including:

Legal $1,000

Brochures $350

Stationery etc. $100

Activity Supplies $250

Food Preparation Supplies $300

First Aid Supplies $200

Cleaning Supplies $150

Nap Time Bedding $250

Sources of Funds

Our two owners will put up 20,000 dollars each, totaling 40,000.

Projected Profit & Loss

Projected balance sheet, projected cash flow statement.

The quickest way to turn a business idea into a business plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

No thanks, I prefer writing 40-page documents.

Discover the world’s #1 plan building software

Skip to primary navigation
Skip to main content
Skip to primary sidebar
Skip to footer

Legal Templates

Home Business Business Plan Daycare

Daycare Business Plan Template

Download our template and create a business plan for your daycare!

Updated September 22, 2023 Reviewed by Brooke Davis

When you are ready to start a daycare business, you need an effective plan outlining how to get there. High-quality child care is in high demand, but you must be prepared for the challenges of starting a new business.

A solid business plan will get you off on the right foot before you even open the doors of your new facility.

With these helpful tips, you can learn how to make a business plan for a daycare center. Whether you are looking to watch over young children or even need a dog daycare business plan, Legal Templates is here to help you get started.

Why You Need a Business Plan for Your Daycare Business

How to write a business plan for a daycare.

Management Team

Daycare Business Plan Sample

A business plan sets the stage for how you will operate your business and how you will get it running. A daycare is no different. Opening a daycare requires intensive planning, legal compliance, and understanding of your market.

A daycare business plan template walks you through the steps to build a proper path forward. Every successful business is planned correctly, not as you go along.

A sample daycare business plan pdf or Word document lays it out for you. You can learn how to put it together and what you must include. Many business plans help you understand what you must do to prepare.

Some are designed to recruit potential investors to your cause. Either way, you need a business plan to prepare you for the challenges and successes ahead.

Knowing how to write your daycare business plan can be tricky without some help. You may not have done this before, but a daycare business plan example can help.

Follow these writing tips in each section to create a strong business plan for your future daycare.

1. Executive Summary

The initial section of your business plan is the executive summary. This part of your plan is an introduction for whoever reads it. It is designed to offer an overview of the remaining sections. It should be concise and add only summary details—this is not the section for intensive information or data.

The executive summary will highlight what your daycare business will look like and the most crucial section of your entire plan.

This section may provide information such as:

A business address
Phone number, email address, and other contact information
List of owners
Banking information
Start date for the daycare
Client base
Market niche
Factors for success

The executive summary lets you make a case for why your particular daycare will be successful and competitive. It is also the section that helps you sell yourself and your business to potential investors who may play a critical role in starting your daycare.

Provide a mission statement that reflects your goals for the daycare and your motivation for starting your business.

2. Management Team

Your daycare business plan should include important information about your management team. The first part of this section may address ownership of the business itself. It should outline all essential ownership details, such as:

Legal names of every owner
Each owner’s proportionate share
The format of ownership percentage (i.e., stocks, capital investments, etc.)
The format of the business (Corporation, LLC, etc.)
Contact information for each owner

You want everyone who reads this business plan to know who has a stake and how their interests are represented. These details are a crucial part of business formation and preventing costly legal disputes in the future.

The management team section should also include the profiles of your management staff. These people will run the business daily, and they should be properly vetted before being put in charge.

Your business plan should list the management teams’:

Names and positions
Summary of responsibilities
Credentials and education background
Prior employment or experience
Early childhood education licensing or other credentialing
Management experience
Salary and benefits
Past success in a similar role

This information should demonstrate why these are the right people for the job. Not only does it help you know how your business will run, but it also shows others you have a proper plan in place for your daycare.

3. Products and Services

This section lets you talk about why you are starting this business in the first place. You will outline the services or products you intend to sell to consumers. For a daycare, it should outline the following:

Who is being cared for: Children, elderly adults, or pets?
Business hours
Staff costs and required credentials
Will you offer food, diapers, and other child-care products?
How will you measure sales metrics

Daycare is typically considered a service, but product sales are also often a part of this model. Your plan should adequately account for how you will handle this dual purpose and how it fits into your business model.

4. Customers and Marketing

You must identify your market and how you will get customers into your daycare. This section will focus on your area’s need for daycare services and the types of customers you expect to get.

Identification of customers is a vital part of a business plan and should include details like:

How many parents need childcare services?
What costs can families be expected to pay for your services
The community you will target
Demographic data for potential customers

With your customers in mind, you can focus on your marketing strategies. You want to differentiate yourself from competitors and ensure the community knows your new business. The daycare business plan must outline how you will achieve these goals.

A marketing strategy should combine both traditional and digital marketing methods, including:

Open houses
Word-of-mouth advertising
Advertisements in the paper or yellow pages
Billboards or other ads
Television, radio, or internet advertisements
Social media pages

5. SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis will address your daycare’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and potential threats. This analytical method examines your company and how it will operate.

It puts each of the four metrics into a visual matrix to help prospective business owners quickly identify favorable and unfavorable factors that may affect their business venture.

A SWOT analysis should focus on how your daycare services can perform against competitors. It may address factors like:

Any threats the daycare may face
Competitive advantages and why they would be successful
Areas that may be improved over time
Technology or resources the company may use to increase efficiency
Internal factors that may affect economic success

Detailed SWOT sections show investors you have done your homework and give you valuable data to make informed business choices.

6. Financials

A business plan should address the unique financial situation you face. Your daycare business plan should demonstrate your break-even amounts and expected profit margins.

It will also address the costs and the areas of revenue you expect. You will want to address the following:

Enrollment fees
Payment plans
Cost of supplies and materials
Employee costs
Regulatory costs
Additional program offerings and revenue
Necessary loans or capital improvements

A well-developed budget can demonstrate expected cash flows versus expected expenditures. Knowing how to handle these costs will be incredibly helpful in starting your daycare.

7. Operations

Your operational plan should outline specific procedures your business and staff will follow. It will list employees and those in management positions and their responsibilities.

As in your management section, a detailed “chain of command” is essential. Staff are an important part of your operations and should be detailed here.

One of the most important aspects of a daycare operation is its location. It would be best if you addressed the following:

The facility’s address
The type of area it is in (residential, commercial)
The space available and amenities
Why is it a prime location
Accessibility to the community for drop-off

You should also list your business hours and the services you will have available at different times. Child daycare centers differ in when they offer care—whether during the day, evenings, or even on weekends.

If you are doing other forms of daycare, you may even utilize late or overnight hours. You can decide how you run your business, but operations should be clearly outlined in your business plan.

8. Appendix

The appendix section allows you to include other documents that add to your business plan. They may include legal documents like licensing credentials, insurance information, and business formation documents.

Additional documents in this area are meant to support your business plan. The appendix might also include the following:

Reference letters
Photographs of the facility, locations, or general area
Market research data
Compliance Requirements

The appendix is a flexible section that lets you add supporting documents and other relevant information. Only add details that are helpful to your business plan. The appendix does not need to be lengthy or filled with fluff.

Legal Templates has the daycare business plan sample you need to construct your plan. With this sample at your disposal, you can formulate a business plan for your daycare to show to investors or for your purposes.

You may also use a business plan builder template to help you construct your daycare business plan step by step. See the sample below to help you get started.

Legal Resources
Partner With Us
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Do Not Sell My Personal Information

The document above is a sample. Please note that the language you see here may change depending on your answers to the document questionnaire.

Thank you for downloading!

How would you rate your free template?

Click on a star to rate

Child Care Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their child care businesses. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a child care business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Child Care Business Plan Template here >

What is a Child Care Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your child care business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a Child Care Business

If you’re looking to start a child care business or grow your existing one you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your child care in order to improve your chances of success. Your child care center business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Source of Funding for Child Care Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a child care business are bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable. But they will want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.

The second most common form of funding for a child care is angel investors. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who will write you a check. They will either take equity in return for their funding, or, like a bank, they will give you a loan. Venture capitalists will not fund a child care business.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

Your business plan should include 10 sections as follows:

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of child care business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a child care that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of child care businesses.

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the child care industry. Discuss the type of child care you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of child care business you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types:

Home-Based Child Care: this type of child care business operates out of your home and typically has one or two caregivers on staff.
Child Care Center: a child care center operates out of a commercial building. It typically has multiple staff and caregivers and can serve many, many children.
Pre-School Child Care: a child care business that primarily serves preschoolers
School-Age Child Care: a child care business that primarily serves school-age children.

In addition to explaining the type of child care you operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

When and why did you start the business?
What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include sales goals you’ve reached, new program offerings, etc.
Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the child care business.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the child care industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy particularly if your research identifies market trends. For example, if there was a trend towards child care that includes transportation, it would be helpful to ensure your plan calls for such a service.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your child care center business plan:

How big is the child care business (in dollars)?
Is the market declining or increasing?
Who are the key competitors in the local or national market?
What trends are affecting the child care industry?
What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your child care. You can extrapolate such as figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your child care center business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: soccer moms, young families, baby boomers caring for grandchildren, etc.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. Because most child care businesses primarily serve customers living in their same city or town, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

Finish Your Child Care Business Plan in 1 Day!

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your business plan?

With Growthink’s Ultimate Child Care Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other child care businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have that aren’t direct competitors. This includes keeping children at home and/or after school programs among others.

With regards to direct competition, you want to detail the other child care businesses with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be child care businesses located very close to your location.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

What types of customers do they serve?
What child care services do they offer?
What times are they open?
What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
What are they good at?
What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

Will you provide superior child care services?
Will you provide child care services that your competitors don’t offer?
Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a child care business plan, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : in the product section you should reiterate the type of child care that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific services you will be offering. For example, will you over technology or exercise classes to the children?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the menu items you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your child care. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your child care located next to a heavily populated office building, or gym, etc. Discuss how your location might provide a steady stream of customers.

Promotions : the final part of your child care marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

Social media marketing
Reaching out to local bloggers (particularly “mommy” bloggers) and websites
Local radio advertising
Banner ads at local venues

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your child care such as discussions with prospective new customers, procuring supplies, keeping the child care center, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to serve your 100th child, or when you hope to reach $X in sales. It could also be when you expect to hire your 4th employee or launch a new location.

Management Team

To demonstrate your child care’s ability to succeed as a business, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally you and/or your team members have direct experience in the child care business. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in child care businesses and/or successfully running retail and small businesses.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Income Statement : an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you serve 10 children per day or 50? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : While balance sheets include much information, to simplify them to the key items you need to know about, balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. For instance, if you spend $100,000 on building out your child care center, that will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $100.000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement : Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt. For example, let’s say a company approached you with a massive $100,000 child care contract, that would cost you $50,000 to fulfill. Well, in most cases, you would have to pay that $50,000 now for employee salaries, etc. But let’s say the company didn’t pay you for 180 days. During that 180 day period, you could run out of money.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a child care center:

Child care center build-out including design fees, construction, etc.
Cost of fixtures like tables, chairs, couches, etc.
Cost of equipment used like computers and televisions
Payroll or salaries paid to staff
Business insurance
Taxes and permits
Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your child care center design blueprint or location lease.

Putting together a business plan for your child care is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the child care business, your competition and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful child care.

Download Our Child Care Business Plan PDF

You can download our child care business plan PDF here . This is a business plan template you can use in PDF format.

Childcare Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my child care business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Child Care Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Child Care Business Plan.

Where Can I Download a Free Child Care Business Plan PDF?

You can download our child care business plan PDF template here . This is a business plan template you can use in PDF format.

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Child Care business plan?

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success. Click here to see how our professional business plan writers can create your business plan for you.

How to Write a Successful Daycare Business Plan

Creating a daycare business plan can be a daunting task. A strong business plan needs to include all of your expenses, which might entail even more than you had originally thought. It is also challenging to estimate market demand and project enrollment growth.

Studying your competition is a great place to start. Next, you’ll need to choose the location of your center carefully.

A good business plan makes projections three to five years ahead. Always refer to your business plan as you move your new business forward. Make an effort to solidify your analysis so that you can successfully achieve your goals.

Determine your edge over your competitors

It’s also important to come up with a comprehensive description of your child care center. Think of this as your “elevator pitch” for potential business partners and investors. They should be excited about your programs, vision, and location.

Contemplate the following questions when creating your daycare center’s description:

What is the basis of your curriculum ?
What qualities are you looking for when hiring staff?

Discuss the market in your daycare business plan , including:

Stats and characteristics of the neighborhood
The location of your center
Assets that makes that area promising

You can also refer to real estate websites to provide you with helpful insight into the demographics and an evaluation of the neighborhood. Find out how many competitors are in the same area. Then determine if the number of children under five years of age in your region will be enough to keep your business going strong.

Perform a market analysis

The next step is to study the child care industry. Answer the following questions in your market analysis:

How vast is the child care industry?
According to analysts, what is the projected growth of this industry?

Determine your market size

It’s vital to determine your target market when writing your business plan . Find out the median age of the neighborhood near your daycare. Are you located in a commuter town? Determine how your center will cater to various kinds of parents in your location.

Create your business model

Decide how your business will operate. Think about the following aspects:

Pricing structure
Gross margin
Will discounts be offered?
Will you accept government-subsidized and lower payments from low-income families?
What types of child care discounts will you offer to your employees?

Location and rental

There are two important considerations when looking for a location to lease. First of all, find out what the square-foot-per-child requirement is in your area. Secondly, how much is the price per square foot of your location? Generally speaking, the younger a child is, the more square feet per child will be required.

Plan to negotiate for some free months with the landlord, because a daycare center will take time due to factors like construction, securing licenses and permits, and others. Make this clear to the lessor. These are the things to include in your daycare business plan’s lease information.

You may prefer a longer lease in exchange for a few months free.

Cost Projection

As your enrollment increases , hiring more staff to comply with the student-to-teacher ratio requirement is inevitable. Your center will need things like more supplies and food as well.

Here are some factors that will require projection:

Registration fees
Wait-list fees
Construction costs
Training costs
Supply costs
Utility costs
Software costs
Marketing costs
Staff appreciation day costs
Bank service charges
Accountant and legal costs
Monthly nurse consultant costs

Research competitors

When writing about competitors, answer these questions in your daycare business plan

How much is their market share?
What are their strengths and weaknesses?
What impediments could prevent your daycare center from growing?

Write down your marketing plan

Since you’re just starting your daycare center, we recommend budget-friendly marketing strategies to help you get your name out there.

Plan how you’ll reach your target market. Find out what families are looking for, and determine how your center can fill those needs. An effective marketing strategy presents a daycare center’s exceptional strengths.

Finalize your daycare business plan with an executive summary

As a new daycare center owner, the things you fully comprehend about the business may still be limited. However, there are still plenty of things to include in your plan. For example, you can include your purpose and strategy, the motivation behind the establishment of your center, the needs of your customers, and your growth projection.

No Joke Childcare has helped a variety of daycare centers with their marketing efforts through creating optimized websites, compelling ads, persuasive content, and much more. For more information about what we can do for your center, call us today!

Do you want more traffic ?

Stop wasting money and unlock the hidden potential of your advertising.

Are you using Google Ads

Try our new free ads grader ?

Boost your childcare center's ROI with Michael Tasner, Founder of No Joke Childcare. With his extensive experience and expertise in childcare marketing, Michael Tasner offers innovative strategies tailored to the unique needs of your center. From web 3.0 marketing to social media strategies, he'll guide you to achieve maximum visibility and generate quality leads. Don't miss out on this opportunity to supercharge your marketing efforts and position your center for success.

About Michael Tasner

Hey, I'm Michael Tasner. I'm determined to make your childcare center grow. My only question is, will it be yours?

Search Engine Optimization

Social Media Ads

Google Local Services Ads

Email Marketing

Content & Blog Posting

Job Recruiting

Online Reviews

Listing Management

Reputation Recovery

Website Design

Analytics & Call Tracking

Appointment Booking

Marketing Playbook

Free SEO Audit

(706) 303-3012

[email protected]

Refund Policy | Privacy

[email protected]

Childcare Marketing Playbook

Compare Programs

Fill out the form to apply for your FREE 1:1 Enrollment Accelerator Program

All features.

Item added to your cart

How to write a business plan for your daycare center.

A daycare center is a great way to provide childcare services to families who need it.

It can also be a great source of income for those who run it.

But, before launching anything, make sure you have a business plan in place.

A business plan is essential to ensure the success of any new project, such as a daycare center. It helps to identify goals, resources, and strategies for achieving them.

In short, a good business plan will help ensure the profitability of your daycare center .

What are the necessary elements for a business plan for a daycare center? How do you define the structure? Which performance indicators should be included in the financials? How can I develop an efficient business plan in less time?

Prepare yourself for a satisfying read, as all your questions will find answers in this article!

One last thing, you don't have to start your business plan from scratch.

Instead, you can download our editable business plan for a daycare center and customize it to fit your needs.

How to craft a business plan for a daycare center

Is it necessary to create a business plan for your daycare center.

Yes, you should create a business plan for your daycare center to help ensure its success.

Designing a cohesive business plan will equip you to:

gain knowledge of the daycare center market
stay current with consumer trends and infuse them into your project
uncover profitability factors for a daycare center
understand the childcare needs, educational programs, and safety requirements for children
create a solid value proposition for your child care facility
review competitor customer satisfaction
find competitive advantages for your daycare center
find a business model that will result in financial success
implement a winning strategy on the short and the long-term
evaluate risks associated with operating a daycare center, including child safety, staff training, and adherence to licensing regulations

Our team has drafted a business plan for a daycare center that is designed to make it easier for you to achieve all the elements listed.

How to organize a business plan for a daycare center?

Inside a business plan, you'll find various facts, numbers, and indicators. It should be arranged in a way that makes it simple to read and comprehend.

When we elaborated our business plan for a daycare center , we made sure it had a proper structure.

The content is split into 5 sections (Opportunity, Project, Market Research, Strategy and Finances).

1. Market Opportunity

The section number one is designated as "Market Opportunity."

Discover important data and figures about the daycare center industry in this section, helping you navigate this competitive market and cater to childcare needs and preferences.

The data here is always up to date; we update it biannually.

2. Project Presentation

The "Project" section provides an opportunity to describe your daycare center, outlining the age groups you cater to, educational programs, facilities, safety protocols, qualified staff, daily activities, and the unique value proposition that offers a nurturing and enriching environment for children.

Remember to introduce yourself at the end of this section.

Discuss your passion for childcare and early education, your safe and nurturing environment, and how you plan to provide exceptional daycare services. Highlight your qualified staff, your age-appropriate curriculum, and your dedication to fostering the cognitive, social, and emotional development of children through engaging activities and personalized care at your daycare center.

Our business plan has text for you. Customize it to fit your concept.

3. Market Research

After that, comes the "Market Research" section.

In this section, you will find a detailed market segmentation analysis for your daycare center.

It includes a presentation of other daycare centers in the area that will be competing with you. Your center's competitive advantages are also highlighted. A customized SWOT analysis is included.

4. Strategy

The "Strategy" section outlines a comprehensive 3-year action plan, detailing the initiatives and steps needed to transform your daycare center into a highly profitable endeavor.

Furthermore, you'll discover a marketing strategy, risk management method, and the Business Model Canvas.

5. Finances

Ultimately, the "Finances" section is where you can outline the financial plan and estimations for your project.

How to elaborate an Executive Summary for a daycare center?

The Executive Summary presents a compact overview of the business plan of your daycare center.

Make it concise and not more than 2 pages, highlighting only the essential facts.

When you give your business plan to a bank, this is the part they will read first. It needs to grab their attention and make them want to read the rest of the plan.

In the Executive Summary of your daycare center, answer the following questions: what services does your daycare center offer? who is your target audience? are there other daycare centers in the area? what funding do you require?

How to do the market analysis for a daycare center?

Conducting a market study for your daycare center enables you to grasp external factors like parent demands for childcare services, competition within the daycare industry, and emerging trends in early childhood education.

By conducting a comprehensive market analysis, a daycare center can understand the needs of parents and children, provide a safe and nurturing environment, optimize pricing strategies, and execute targeted marketing campaigns, ultimately leading to a loyal customer base, increased enrollment, and a prominent position in the local childcare industry.

Here is what you will find in the "Market Research" section of our business plan for a daycare center :

important statistics and figures related to the daycare industry, such as enrollment rates, average childcare costs, and safety standards
a list of potential audiences for a daycare center
the competitive analysis
the competitive advantages to build for a daycare center

The key points of the business plan for a daycare center

What's the business model of a daycare center, business model of a daycare center.

A daycare center's business model revolves around providing childcare services for infants, toddlers, and young children. Revenue is generated through enrollment fees, monthly tuition, or hourly rates.

The business model focuses on creating a safe and nurturing environment, hiring qualified staff, designing age-appropriate educational programs, maintaining regulatory compliance, building trust with parents, and offering additional services such as meals or after-school programs.

Success in the industry depends on building a reputation for quality care, securing necessary licenses and certifications, effective marketing to target families, and providing a positive and stimulating experience for children in the center's care.

Business model ≠ Business plan

Do not confuse the terms 'business plan' and 'business model'.

A business model defines how a company creates, delivers, and monetizes its offerings.

In a business plan, you outline your business model using a tool called the Business Model Canvas.

And, of course, there is a Business Model Canvas (already completed) in our business plan for a daycare center .

How do you identify the market segments of a daycare center?

Segmenting the market for your daycare center involves dividing your potential customers into different groups based on their childcare needs, age groups, and working parents.

These categories may include factors such as infant care, toddler care, preschool programs, or parents seeking part-time or full-time daycare services.

By segmenting your market, you can offer a range of daycare programs and facilities that cater to each segment's specific requirements. For example, you might provide specialized infant care programs with a low caregiver-to-child ratio, offer structured learning and play activities for toddlers, create pre-school programs that focus on early childhood education, or offer flexible scheduling options for parents seeking part-time daycare services.

Market segmentation allows you to effectively target your marketing efforts, provide a nurturing and safe environment for children, and build trust with parents by offering tailored daycare solutions that meet the unique needs of each customer segment.

In the business plan for a daycare center , you will find a comprehensive market segmentation that will help you better understand your potential customers.

How to conduct a competitor analysis for a daycare center?

Without surprise, you won't be the only daycare center in your region. There will be other centers offering child care services to parents and guardians.

A successful business plan requires a detailed study of the market and an analysis of your competitors' strengths and weaknesses.

Address their weaknesses (such as high staff turnover, inadequate child supervision, or poor parent communication).

Why should you pay attention to these points? Because these weaknesses can impact the success of daycare centers. By addressing these aspects, you can offer a safe and nurturing environment for children, provide engaging and educational activities, and deliver personalized care and attention, positioning your daycare center as a trusted and preferred choice for parents seeking quality childcare and early childhood development.

It's what we call competitive advantages—cultivate them to set your business apart.

Here are some examples of competitive advantages for a kindergarten: qualified and nurturing teaching staff, stimulating educational activities, safe learning environment.

How to draft a SWOT analysis for a kindergarten?

A SWOT analysis is useful for starting a daycare center as it can help identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats which can be used to create a successful business plan.

As you can guess, there is indeed a completed and editable SWOT matrix in our business plan for a daycare center

The strengths for a daycare center

When we use the "S" in SWOT, we're talking about Strengths, which are the project's internal assets or areas of expertise.

For a daycare center, possible strengths could include experienced staff, a safe and clean environment, a variety of activities, and a positive learning atmosphere.

The weaknesses for a daycare center

W stands for Weaknesses, which are the areas or aspects of the project where improvements are necessary.

For a daycare center, potential weaknesses could include inadequate staffing, lack of proper training, inadequate security measures, and poor communication with parents.

The opportunities for a daycare center

O stands for Opportunities in SWOT, representing the external factors or circumstances that can create opportunities for the project.

In the case of a daycare center, potential opportunities could include offering after-school programs, summer camps, weekend activities, and parent-child classes.

The threats for a daycare center

The "T" in SWOT represents Threats, indicating the potential negative factors or risks from the external environment.

How to develop a marketing plan for a kindergarten?

A marketing strategy is an essential building block of a business plan as it outlines how a business will capture customers and achieve revenue targets.

A daycare center can connect with parents in search of a nurturing and educational environment for their children by developing an effective marketing plan that emphasizes the center's experienced staff, engaging activities, and safe facilities.

Parents won't choose your kindergarten without proper promotion; showcasing your nurturing environment, qualified teachers, and educational approach is necessary.

Have you explored marketing approaches to attract parents to your daycare center? Consider offering educational programs or special activities for children, partnering with local parenting groups or community organizations, and utilizing targeted advertising campaigns in family-oriented publications or online platforms.

No worries if you have no knowledge of marketing and communication.

How to build a solid financial plan for a kindergarten?

A successful business plan requires comprehensive financial data in order to accurately forecast future performance.

Obviously, you should estimate the projected revenue for your daycare center.

It's important to include revenue projections in your business plan that potential investors can trust because they are built on realistic and strong assumptions.

Our financial plan for a daycare center is easy to use and includes built-in checks to help you identify and correct any assumptions, ensuring you create reliable projections with confidence.

Of course, you will need to create a preliminary budget for your daycare center . Don't forget any expense (we have listed them all in our financial plan !).

The break-even analysis is an essential component of your financial plan, as it provides an indication of whether your daycare center will be profitable or not.

Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
Opens in a new window.

IMAGES

15+ Daycare Business Plan Template
FREE 13+ Sample Daycare Business Plan Templates in MS Word
FREE 13+ Sample Daycare Business Plan Templates in MS Word
Child Daycare Business Plan
20 Daycare Business Plan Template
FREE 13+ Sample Daycare Business Plan Templates in MS Word

VIDEO

كيف تكتب خطة عمل
how to write business plan details will be soon coming on video #businessplan #reel
9 Step Help You to Write the best business plan
Starting a Daycare Business Tips
Write Your Business Plan Challenge: Day #1 Defines Values & Goal
How To Open a Daycare Business In India,Business Ideas,Daycare Startup Ideas

COMMENTS

How to Write a Business Plan for a Daycare Center
In noting the lease information on your business plan, aim to negotiate free months of rent with your landlord. Opening a new daycare takes a long time for construction build-outs, permits, licensing and many other factors—sometimes up to a year. Explain this to the landlord. They want a tenant and commitment.
How to Write a Business Plan for Daycare and Preschool
Writing a daycare business plan. We've discussed licensing and investors. Now, you're ready to begin the framework of your business plan for daycares and preschools. ... You can also include information on your center's philosophy and curriculum, classroom procedures, and expectations for working with children and families. Marketing strategy.
Daycare Business Plan Template (2024)
Starting a daycare can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.. 1. Develop A Day Care Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed child care business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include market research on the childcare ...
Daycare Business Plan Template & How-To Guide [Updated 2024]
Marketing Plan. Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P's: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a child care business plan, you should include the following: Product: in the product section, you should reiterate the type of daycare that you documented in your Company Analysis.
How to Write a Business Plan for a Daycare: Complete Guide
In this article we go through, step-by-step, all the different sections you need in your daycare business plan. Use this template to create a complete, clear and solid business plan that get you funded. 1. Executive Summary. The executive summary of a business plan gives a sneak peek of the information about your business plan to lenders and/or ...
The Daycare Business Plan Blueprint (Examples + Template)
It should also be realistic and achievable. Here is a daycare business plan example of a business model for a small daycare center: "The daycare will be open Monday through Friday from six in the morning to six at night. We will offer care for children ages six weeks to twelve years old.
Daycare Business Plan + Executive Summary w/ Examples
For example, Kids R Kids and Kiddie Academy are both successful daycare business plans in the United States. Each center operates similarly, has the same name (aside from a unique location number or city/county name), and the same branding as all locations fall under the franchisee umbrella.
How to Write a Daycare Business Plan [Sample Template]
Advertise our day care center on business directories, magazines and yellow pages. 8. Our Target Market. When it comes to the day care business, of course our target market is the guardians and parents. That is why we have got to primarily focus on these types of people. The people we intend offering our services to are; Corporate Executives
How to Write a Child Care Business Plan
The executive summary should include all the nitty-gritty details of your daycare such as the address, hours of operation, and the number of children it will serve. It should also include what sets you apart from other daycares. The executive summary sets the tone for the rest of the plan so the more information you include here, the better.
How to Prepare a Daycare Business Plan
Just follow the five steps below: 1. Executive Summary. Daycare business plans contain a lot of information. To make things easier on your business partners, future employees and potential lenders, start your plan with an executive summary. The executive summary section of your business plan is exactly what it sounds like: a quick summation of ...
How to create a daycare business plan
To write a clear executive summary for a daycare business, incorporate the following details: Overview: Introduce your daycare business and highlight its unique features. Mention the age groups you'll serve, the educational approach you'll adopt and any specific services or benefits that set your daycare apart.
How to Write a Business Plan for Your Daycare Center
A successful business plan needs information about the daycare center's policies and procedures. Policies and procedures are the foundation of a new business, and they are something you'll want parents to have a firm understanding of. To start with, think about developing a payment policy. This will entail things like how to handle late ...
Daycare Business Plan Template: A Step-by-Step Guide (2024)
Thus, including a web strategy in your business plan is necessary. Always remember, as a daycare service coming off as a trustworthy and reliable institution is crucial for your business to work. 5. Management and Organizational Structure. Having a well-structured management system is especially crucial for a daycare service.
How to Create a Daycare Business Plan
To distill this process into 5 broad business categories for your daycare business plan: Understand your target customers. Identify the need of your target customers. Research your competitors. Define your differentiators. Position yourself to grow your business.
Day Care Business Plan Example
Sales Plan. Safe Kids Child Care will make a significant profit through the excellent care of children. Even though Safe Kids charges less, the company will see profit within the first year due to beneficial word-of-mouth advertising. The company expects to double its' clientele every six months, for the first 18 months.
Free Daycare Business Plan Template
How to Write a Business Plan for a Daycare. Knowing how to write your daycare business plan can be tricky without some help. You may not have done this before, but a daycare business plan example can help. Follow these writing tips in each section to create a strong business plan for your future daycare. 1. Executive Summary. The initial ...
Daycare Business Plan Creation
It all starts with creating a good daycare business plan. With the right plan in place, opening a daycare has never been easier! Our comprehensive guide will walk you through creating a business plan. At the end, be sure to download our free template and hit the ground running! Video - Daycare Business Plan.
PDF Developing a Business Plan for Your Child Care Center
A business plan is a written document that describes your child care center's goals, why you think those goals are attainable, and how you plan to achieve them. Preparing a business plan forces you to think about all the things you need to plan and implement in order to start your business, expand your business, or achieve your program and ...
Child Care Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]
Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P's: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a child care business plan, your marketing plan should include the following: Product: in the product section you should reiterate the type of child care that you documented in your Company Analysis.
Daycare Business Plan: How to Effectively Write a Plan
Find out what families are looking for, and determine how your center can fill those needs. An effective marketing strategy presents a daycare center's exceptional strengths. Finalize your daycare business plan with an executive summary. As a new daycare center owner, the things you fully comprehend about the business may still be limited.
Daycare: get a solid business plan (example)
July 14, 2023. A daycare center is a great way to provide childcare services to families who need it. It can also be a great source of income for those who run it. But, before launching anything, make sure you have a business plan in place. A business plan is essential to ensure the success of any new project, such as a daycare center.
Developing a Business Plan for a Child Care Center
Writing a business plan is an important step towards managing your business more effectively and efficiently. ... Child Care Center Business Plan 123 Main Street Anytown, ND 51111 701-555-5555 [email protected] Jane Doe, Director 701-555-5555 January 1, 2014. Revised 7/15

How to Write a Business Plan for Daycare and Preschool

What do daycare investors want?

Industry background and experience

Writing a daycare business plan

Business description

Your business is ready!

Childcare and Preschool Supply List

Subscribe to the brightwheel blog

Recent Posts

Posts by Tag

Daycare Business Plan Template

Daycare Business Plan

How To Write a Daycare Business Plan & Example

Daycare Business Plan FAQs

What Are the Main Types of Daycare Businesses?

What Are the Main Sources of Revenues and Expenses for a Daycare Business?

How Do You Get Funding for Your Day Care Business Plan?

What are the Steps To Start a Daycare Business?

Where Can I Get a Daycare Business Plan Example PDF?

How to Write a Business Plan for a Daycare: Complete Guide

1. Executive Summary

Why do you need a business plan for your daycare?

How to write an executive summary for your daycare?

Business Overview

Market Overview

Management & People

Financial plan

Funding Ask

Daycare Financial Model

2. Daycare Business Overview

a) History of the Project

b) Business Model

c) Daycare Services

d) Pricing Strategy

e) Target Audience

f) Legal Structure

3. Daycare Market Overview

a) Daycare Market Trends

How big is the daycare industry in your region?

How fast is the daycare industry growing in your region?

b) Daycare Competitor Analysis

4. Sales & Marketing Strategy

a) Daycare Market Channels

b) What are Your Unique Selling Points (USPs)?

5. Management & People

a) Management

b) Organizational structure

6. Financial Plan

a) Historical Financials (optional)

b) Startup Costs

c) Financial Projections

7. Funding Ask

Use of Funds

Privacy Overview

The Daycare Business Plan Blueprint (Examples + Template)

But First...Is a Daycare a Good Business to Start?

How to Create a Daycare Business Plan

Business Model

Executive Summary

Create a Compelling Business Description

What's your Curriculum Based On?

How Big is Your Facility?

Who Is Your Target Market?

Do a Thorough Market Analysis

The Size of Your Market

Daycare Marketing Plan

Daycare Financial Plan

How much does it cost to start a daycare?

How much revenue can a daycare business make?

How much does daycare cost?

What is the typical child to staff ratio for a daycare?

What are the typical operating costs for a daycare?

How much profit can a daycare make?

What Are The Benefits of Creating a Daycare Business Plan?

Gives You a Roadmap to Follow

Helps You Secure Funding

Ensures Your Daycare Business is Feasible

Final Thoughts

You can get the Daycare Facility financial projection template here!

The daycare business projection template includes: