In Home Daycare Business Series – Find Your Own Niche
May 18, 2008 by Yvonne Russell
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This is the final article in a 4 part series from Debbie Yost about In Home Daycare as a home business.
Guest Post
By Debbie Yost
It is important to keep in mind our limitations when you start a daycare. Some people have a natural ability to deal with kids of all ages and rarely get riled. I am not that person. I realized early on that the terrible twos was something I didn’t like in my own kids, much less someone else’s. That testing of limits the little darlings do frustrates and irritates me. I acknowledged this and changed my daycare from infants to age three and now watch infants to age 18 months.
Some people think I’m crazy for this, but I love it. This is the age I like. In addition, I feel infants need more one on one attention and by not having older children vying for my time, I can concentrate on the infants. I use this as a selling point for my business and many parents like the idea. They don’t mind having to find new care when their child is a little older.
Running a daycare can be a full and rewarding career. You have the opportunity to help other parents support their family and give parents the comfort and knowledge their child is being well cared for and loved. However, there is a lot of stress involved as well. Some days all the kids seem to feed off each other, crying and crankiness abound. By keeping to your policies and plan, you can relieve that aspect of the stress and enjoy the little treasures left in your care.
When you take the time to present yourself and your home in a professional manner, you will build a good reputation for your business. Word of mouth and positive referrals is the best advertising you can hope for. Before you know it, you will have a successful business with a waiting list of individuals wanting to place their child in your care.
All 4 posts in this series
Read Part 1: It’s Not Just Babysitting – Intro To Running An In Home Daycare Business
Read Part 2: In Home Daycare Business Series – You’re The Boss Of The Parents Too
Read Part 3: In Home Daycare Business Series – Appearances Do Matter
Read Part 4: In Home Daycare Business Series – Find Your Own Niche
Debbie Yost is a work at home mom who has run a small in-home day care, The Tot Stop, for the last five years. She and her husband have three daughters ages 11, 5 and 3. Debbie’s youngest daughter has Down syndrome.
Because of her daughter, Debbie has become an advocate for people with Down syndrome to ensure they have the same opportunities to live a full and rewarding life as others.
Debbie writes from home whenever she finds time between bottles, diapers, naps and other parental duties. Her personal blog is Three Weddings.
© Bio photo courtesy of Debbie Yost.
© Guest Post Button Image courtesy of Yvonne Russell at Grow Your Writing Business.com
do you think that it would be too much to watch a baby or two plus two older kids (grade school age) is it better to watch just one age group?
at the daycare that i’m at now, i watch 4 babies plus at least 6 older kids (grade school and preschool). it’s ok, but it tends to get hectic sometimes. as a lone child care provider, i think i’m only allowed to have 4 kids in my care (which suits me fine). i just don’t want to overwhelm myself by mixing in too many age groups. what do you think about this?