Family Child Care Business Planning Guide

This book outlines a clear path that will help you to either get a new business started in a professional way or manage an existing business more effectively. Hopefully it will help you learn new skills so you can enjoy the work you love most — caring for children.

A business plan is a comprehensive blueprint for how you will run your family child care business. This guide outlines each step for writing your own and explains how to use it to manage your business more effectively, whether you are just starting out or have an established operation. You will find information on the considerations that you should weigh before you decide to become a family child care provider; how to write a start-up plan; how to create a first-year budget and estimate your first-year business income and expenses; and how to use your annual budget as a tool to help communicate with your clients and manage your business more effectively.

Free Downloads:

• Sample chapter (PDF)
• Four Sample Forms (combined into a ZIP file)
  1. Break-Even Calculator (Excel .XLS file)
  2. Blank Budget Form (Excel .XLS file)
  3. Cash Flow Projection (Excel .XLS file)
  4. Blank Start Up Plan (PDF)

Chapter One: How This Book Can Help You

• Treat Your Business Like a Business
• Why Do You Need a Business Plan?
• How to Get Your Plan Done
• What’s in a Business Plan?

Chapter Two: Is Family Child Care for You?

• Is This Business for You?
• Can You Afford to Work at Home?
• Providing Exempt Child Care
• Providing Illegal Child Care
• Remodeling Your Home for Your New Business
• Understanding Your Business Tax Deductions

Chapter Three: Write a Start-Up Plan

• Legal and Regulatory Issues
• Start-Up Costs
• Business Tax Issues
• Your Contract and Policies

Chapter Four: Write a Business Plan

• Your Hopes and Goals
• Your Marketing Plan
• Your Insurance Plan
• Your Program Plan
• Your Professional Development Plan
• Your Record-Keeping Plan
• Your Financial Plan (Budget)

Chapter Five: Prepare a Budget

• The Sample Budget
• Estimating Your Income
• Estimating Your Expenses
• Should Your Budget Show a Loss?

Chapter Six: Manage Your Business Finances

• Help Parents Understand Your Business
• Calculate Your Hourly Wage
• Find Your Break-Even Point
• Prepare a Cash Flow Projection

Appendixes

• Appendix A: Start-Up Plans
• Appendix B: Business Plans
• Appendix C: Financial Tools