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yes; you are correct - I wrote that wrong up top. only 20 hours each for each child, so no I wouldn't really be able to start before my license.
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Sounds like there may be some kinks to work out before you commit to licensing? What are the rates in your area? Not to get too personal, but is it a money issue? Does you husband want you to make equivalent to what you make now? I would look into your potential income at max capacity and then cut it in half. My reason being that you need to account for expenses, ability to keep your daycare spots full, and just general repairs/expenses that come up.Comment
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I'm in Kansas too!
Feel free to PM if have any state specific questions.
This forum is a great place to get advice. You will find a lot of good info here. Welcome!Comment
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Yes I have a general uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach and I know it's because I don't feel like I have my husbands support 100%. I know he is very nervous from a financial standpoint. Right now we pay $160 a week for daycare for a 14 month old, so 32 dollars a day. Max capacity would be 10 kids (which would be too much just starting out)Comment
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I was you 2 years ago. I don't live in your state but I just want to tell you that you can do it. While I was pregnant with my second child and working full time outside of the home I built my website got my CPR and first aid training and bought a house so that I could start a home daycare. I have always wanted to be a stay at home mom and my son was not happy in daycare and I wasn't happy either. Now I get to stay at home with both of them and still make money. I am not sure about your area but we have a large demand for childcare here so I started out full (6 full time kids). I took all my son's old toys and did some minor child proofing, marketing and lots of reading and prayed the rest of it in. God provided the kids and the patients because there is a lot to learn.Comment
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One thing to consider when talking to your husband about the money aspect - how much are you paying for daycare for your daughter and how many more children would you like? I thought doing daycare didn't make sense when I had one child, then when we had 2 my income at my former job equaled what we were paying in daycare. We have 3 children now and never could have afforded to have 3 in daycare, but due to my home daycare income we live comfortably.
My dh thought I would be bored and quit after a year. Now I am in it to win it
after 4 years I hope to be at it at least 6 more years.
Make a pros and cons list to bring to a discussion with him.
Check out the start up grants available in your area.
Best of luck!Comment
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I totally understand and it can be very nerve racking for both of you. Change is always hard! So, if you pay $160 a week, I will base this off of an average of $150 a week per child. If you don't have a lot of experience in childcare, I would start wit low ratios, like 4-5 kids, plus your own child, or even less, depending on what you feel okay with. If you have your own child+5 more children, at $150 a week, that is 750 a week. Now, you need to deduct a good 20-30% for expenses(supplies, utilities, food, insurance, ect), so on the higher end, that would be about $525 a week. Keep in mind, this is not contributing anything to your 401k or to health insurance, so if you need to pay for those, take even more out.
I cannot give specifics, but this is an example of what you may face and so that is why I said not to base your new income on what you used to make. Daycare is not a get rich quick type job. It takes time and can be VERY profitable, but starting out can be difficult. It is also a job that impacts the whole family if you do it out of your house. There is a lot of responsibility involved. That being said, it can be an AWESOME job and it allows you to work from home and to be home with your child! Being home to raise your child is priceless, imo, so I would try to take it one day at a time and to speak with your husband about the benefits to your own child. Go slow and do what you can handle. Many providers get burnt out because they take on too much, too soon, and mostly because of money. Just as you start at the bottom in a company and work your way up, you can d the same with daycare, only you get to control your growth! And again, the time with your child is worth every penny!
:hug:
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My husband was slightly on board when I started. He lost his job 2 months after I started (he wanted me to quit and get a real job
). At that time my enrollment was low and I started looking for outside work and looking for childcare for my kids. The first childcare home lady I coated asked if I was XYZ childcare home owner and I told her yes (I thought she was upset thinking I was checking out competition so I came clean and told her I was thinking about quiting and about my husband). This lady sent me a very lengthy email reply telling me that she saw my website and marketing and that I looked invested and to ride out my current circumstances and my husband and it will pay off and ups and downs are the nature of the business. I stuck with it because if I could do it when my husband was unemployed I could do this during any circustance. It was a test for my husband and myself and it paid off. It also helped my mentality as this business is not for the weak. Sometimes husbands cannot see what we see in regards to our kid's and it is up to you to stay the coursem for you and your child and then he will see (maybe).
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You can take 2 if they only come 10 hrs a week, or you can take one for 20 hrs if I remember correctly... I use to live in KCMO 2 blocks from the KS line the year the laws changed... you wouldn't believe how many times I was turned in for legally having 4 babies in MO because people thought I lived on the KS side of State line. Taking a PT child in evenings when you aren't working will help you get your "feet wet" if that is a possibility for you. Also depending on the city/county there can be additional hoops to jump so check out local as well as state lawComment
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I'm thinking of just telling my husband that I cannot do this without his support and him being on board. B/c, I just can't. He's got to understand where I'm coming from, or I've got to pray that God changes his heart. I truly believe that God knows my heart is home with my baby and he can make all things possible. But perhaps I'm feeling this weight b/c I'm putting all the responsibility on myself. I know this is not an overnight process but it's SO HARD for me to take it one day at a time. Maybe it will be an option when we have our second kiddo. I feel so up in the air about it after reading all the comments
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Go to the orientation, they will give you all the steps you need to make and in my state at least, we had some things we had to do to get to the next step.I'm thinking of just telling my husband that I cannot do this without his support and him being on board. B/c, I just can't. He's got to understand where I'm coming from, or I've got to pray that God changes his heart. I truly believe that God knows my heart is home with my baby and he can make all things possible. But perhaps I'm feeling this weight b/c I'm putting all the responsibility on myself. I know this is not an overnight process but it's SO HARD for me to take it one day at a time. Maybe it will be an option when we have our second kiddo. I feel so up in the air about it after reading all the comments
They are really upfront about what licensing is about and what you should expect going in. It will be helpful with your decision and also your husband's feelings about it. God will point you to where you need to go. If it's something you really want to do, it will happen!Comment
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Just curious about the worries your dh is having? Is it lack of privacy? Liability? Not making enough income?
You don't have to take dc to any level that you're not comfortable with. You don't have to rearrange your entire home to welcome it.
In my early years, yes it was difficult, especially when dh was off and dc was still open. He did, in fact, resent it. My own ds(18 months at the time) had issues. But when I ended up making better money with dc than any I could make outside the home, when he saw the deductions I could take, he started figuring out ways he could make it work for him(like staying in the basement or going golfing) when I was open. I have to admit there were tough times when I begged him if I could quit and he laid the guilt on me. But I got through those and am so glad I stuck with it. Back then there just weren't the support systems that are now in place and I think that made it worse for me. Now with added incentives, network meetings, terrific mentors and resource referral systems, wonderful families(VERY important!!), a better handbook/contract, it's so much better.
Good luck with your decision and hopefully he'll come around if it's truly what you want. Sounds like it's time for a good honest-to-goodness talk together.Comment
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Husband's aren't always on board at first but then they come around, or don't, but they learn to be quiet.
I know that sounds bad but I kind of had the attitude that this is something I felt I truly was cut out for and wanted a LOT so even though he had misgivings I presented him with a "You get to do what you really want to do for a job and I should be able to as well." He wasn't thrilled but he dealt with it. Yes, he made some concessions but that's life. We all make concessions in a marriage.
Now that I am retired (after doing it 20 years) another retired provider and I are friends and we go out to eat with her and her husband. The other night my husband said to him "I'm sure glad that's over" and her husband agreed. Then they started giving examples of things they hadn't liked and we started laughing. They said they went to work sick cause it was better than being sick and having noisy kids in the house. They liked the income part though so can't have it both ways.
You probably won't make your current level of income, at least at first, so I'd plan accordingly. I'd at least go to the orientation and see if it sounds good. I loved it but I could have made more money working outside the home. Still, I loved it and was fulfilled and my children were grown before I started doing it full time but I got to be with my grandchildren and that was worth more than money to me.
Good luck!Comment
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Not to be negative but here's my experience I've been open since June and signed my first family immediately. They were part time. I was getting at least 6 calls a week for care that ended with day care being too expensive or people setting up interviews and not showing up (I had 4 no shows in one day). 4 months later I signed my second family and my first family decided to go full time. I made 8,000 last year that's not excluding what I've spent on food and supplies. I had two families that were suppose to bring signed paper work and payment so they can start care Monday and I haven't heard back from either. I spend even less time with my kids and I'm exhausted by the end of the day. In this jlob you have to deal with a lot of personalities (parents and kids), a lot of melt downs (sometimes for no reason) "some" parents trying to get over, the list goes on and on. I love working with kids But this job can be draining at times. My advice to you is before you quit save some money for just in case. You may fill up right away or you may not. Good luck!Comment
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