Going From In Home To Professional Daycare

[Curious]

My fiancee runs a pretty nice daycare in home, with 10 children at about 2500-3000 a month income. It varies, as we work with parents on pricing, availability, etc.

My question is, has anyone here made the jump from an in home daycare to a professional daycare in a leased or owned building? There isn't really a good market here for it, but it's not that there aren't willing parents or providers, it's just most of them aren't as committed to the task.

I'm looking for any stories, tips, etc on making this happen.

Thanks!

[SimpleMom]

I worked in a center that derived from in-home providers taking on the task of opening up the center. They brought a lot of the kids with them. The rooms were open and had low enrollment for the first year or so. It's great program and word got out. It's now full and has a waiting list at that.

Lots of staff issues they dealt with including benefits, getting some staff to show up on time, back from breaks on time. Most of the issues you deal with will be working longer hours (if you can imagine that) for awhile and adjusting with the employment issues.

They didn't make much money for the first three years and then it was a small amount. They put a lot into it, though. There are grants, second-hand items (in good shape), make your own curtains,other do-it-yourself deals you can put together to save a bit.


It's a goal of mine (at least it was at one point) to open up a small center of some sort here, but that's all I can give ya.

Good Luck!

[Sugar Magnolia]

Bravo!

First off, I want to applaude you for being a male person and involved in early childhood education!! We NEED men in this industry. Your post is on a topic very near and dear to my heart, I have been contemplating it for an hour. I will tell you how my husband and I did it and hope you find some inspiration. We wanted to start a facility, seperate from our home, for many reasons, the first being the sanctity of my home, I love leaving the business at night. Secondly, we feel like a center has more legitimacy and oversight, and parents will tell you this as well. There are many wonderful home daycares that provide great, loving and attentive care, especially for infants. I actually think home daycares are BEST for those under one year. Some, not all, lack structure and educational opportunities, and older children need more social interactions. On the flip side, some centers are too large, and high levels of staff turnover that leave children feeling uncertain. They may have a lot of structure, but not much close personal attention/interactions. Like home day cares, there are good ones and bad ones. Our concept was to combine the best of both worlds and open a SMALL center that the two of us could operate with one additional staff member. Here's how we did it....and it was NOT easy, but NOT impossible.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!!!! Find the area of your community where most people work/live, like downtown. Then start looking for either a rental or property for sale. (More on this later). Make SURE that the zoning is applicable! If you are renting commercial, it should already be zoned appropriately. But please double check with county/city zoning officials to be sure a daycare can be operated there. They know the code, real estate people may NOT! Trust me on this. Here are some things to look for: GOOD VISIBILITY on a semi-major, well traveled road. Don't go for something hidden deep in an office park. Good signage availabilty too. Being near elementary schools, even other daycares is a big plus. (CVS always opens near a Walgreens, right?). Now renting VS owning. If you can, buy. If you can get a mortgage on a place, do it. We bought a home. Zoned residential, so we had to do a "major conditional use" to be allowed to open. That meant having available parking, a 6' landscaping buffer with our neighbors, a fenced outdoor play area, and other more minor requirements. We paid about $6000 for all the zoning change requirements. It was expensive and time consuming. But WORTH IT! We paid $320,000 for it, but now own a commercial property that is valued at well over $500,000. Our mortgage is $2000 a month. Most commercially zoned properties are VERY expensive to own, and to rent. Make sure a rental has adequate outdoor area, parking, visibility and above all, a cute, homey appearance. Cinderblock and metal is a turn off. Our place is super cute, appearance matters.

So to summarize: Consult zoning FIRST, good downtown area, good visibility, cuteness, buy if you can, don't rule out a house if it is in a good spot on a well known road.
Ok. More thoughts....if you keep it small, you and your future wife and one employee could run it yourself. No boss. Your business, your hard work, your profit. Small size keeps costs lower. We don't get rich, but we pay for our business expenses, and pay our home expenses, and have a comfortable living. It can work for you, IF you want to have a hands-on approach. Now, if you just want to "administer" the facility and hire a staff to do the work, then probably not. Then you'd want to be a BIIIIIIIG center, and you loose the small-center appeal to parents. Its all up to you and your level of commitment. It can be done.ALSO: Most states I'm sure require a center to have a formal director, so be sure your fiancee or yourself meet that criteria, or you may have a problem. I could go on and on and on if you are interested more in our small center approach, details on how the financials work, our curriculm, even just what our typical day is like, let me know, would love to help!

[Blackcat31]

I purchased a home separate from where I live. I run a family childcare from from this space. I am licensed (and full) for 14 children. I pay less than most people pay for a mortgage and 100% of my expenses are tax deductible due to the fact that everything related to this property is business related. I am two blocks from the nearest school. We do pay non-homestead property taxes however, because we do not reside in the home. (I pay 3x's what I pay for my residential home. My childcare is 2 city lots on a corner and my residential home is 40 acres....so weird, but all part of the business I guess)

I am getting ready to make the chane from family child care to center care. For my state it is not nearly as complicated as others. I simply need to have the education and must meet the guidelines in regard to food preparation/serving as discussed in another thread. There are a few other things I must meet but none that can't be done.

I stand and applaud every and anyone who chooses to do this business in their own homes. I love this field but not enough to sacrifice the santictity of my home.

[jingliu]

Hi Suger Magnolia, Can you help me for this?

I am very interested your small commercial daycare center, you are very right for what you posted about a home daycare and a commerical center. I am working at a home daycare, and while looking for a commerical small center in WA. I wanted to start my daycare in my house but my home Ass't don't let me doing it. my question here is: If I am looking for a house, can I change it into a commercial one? if yes, what kind of house, size of lot, parking shell I looking for? you had gone through this, can you help for a detail: which steps do I first go to county or city for process this resident house into a commercial daycare center?

Thank you!

[nannyde]

First off, I want to applaude you for being a male person and involved in early childhood education!! We NEED men in this industry. Your post is on a topic very near and dear to my heart, I have been contemplating it for an hour. I will tell you how my husband and I did it and hope you find some inspiration. We wanted to start a facility, seperate from our home, for many reasons, the first being the sanctity of my home, I love leaving the business at night. Secondly, we feel like a center has more legitimacy and oversight, and parents will tell you this as well. There are many wonderful home daycares that provide great, loving and attentive care, especially for infants. I actually think home daycares are BEST for those under one year. Some, not all, lack structure and educational opportunities, and older children need more social interactions. On the flip side, some centers are too large, and high levels of staff turnover that leave children feeling uncertain. They may have a lot of structure, but not much close personal attention/interactions. Like home day cares, there are good ones and bad ones. Our concept was to combine the best of both worlds and open a SMALL center that the two of us could operate with one additional staff member. Here's how we did it....and it was NOT easy, but NOT impossible.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!!!! Find the area of your community where most people work/live, like downtown. Then start looking for either a rental or property for sale. (More on this later). Make SURE that the zoning is applicable! If you are renting commercial, it should already be zoned appropriately. But please double check with county/city zoning officials to be sure a daycare can be operated there. They know the code, real estate people may NOT! Trust me on this. Here are some things to look for: GOOD VISIBILITY on a semi-major, well traveled road. Don't go for something hidden deep in an office park. Good signage availabilty too. Being near elementary schools, even other daycares is a big plus. (CVS always opens near a Walgreens, right?). Now renting VS owning. If you can, buy. If you can get a mortgage on a place, do it. We bought a home. Zoned residential, so we had to do a "major conditional use" to be allowed to open. That meant having available parking, a 6' landscaping buffer with our neighbors, a fenced outdoor play area, and other more minor requirements. We paid about $6000 for all the zoning change requirements. It was expensive and time consuming. But WORTH IT! We paid $320,000 for it, but now own a commercial property that is valued at well over $500,000. Our mortgage is $2000 a month. Most commercially zoned properties are VERY expensive to own, and to rent. Make sure a rental has adequate outdoor area, parking, visibility and above all, a cute, homey appearance. Cinderblock and metal is a turn off. Our place is super cute, appearance matters.

So to summarize: Consult zoning FIRST, good downtown area, good visibility, cuteness, buy if you can, don't rule out a house if it is in a good spot on a well known road.
Ok. More thoughts....if you keep it small, you and your future wife and one employee could run it yourself. No boss. Your business, your hard work, your profit. Small size keeps costs lower. We don't get rich, but we pay for our business expenses, and pay our home expenses, and have a comfortable living. It can work for you, IF you want to have a hands-on approach. Now, if you just want to "administer" the facility and hire a staff to do the work, then probably not. Then you'd want to be a BIIIIIIIG center, and you loose the small-center appeal to parents. Its all up to you and your level of commitment. It can be done.ALSO: Most states I'm sure require a center to have a formal director, so be sure your fiancee or yourself meet that criteria, or you may have a problem. I could go on and on and on if you are interested more in our small center approach, details on how the financials work, our curriculm, even just what our typical day is like, let me know, would love to help!

I like Sugar posts.

You are so smart

[jingliu]

no answer? anybody please! any advice will help,thanks!

I am very interested your small commercial daycare center, you are very right for what you posted about a home daycare and a commerical center. I am working at a home daycare, and while looking for a commerical small center in WA. I wanted to start my daycare in my house but my home Ass't don't let me doing it. my question here is: If I am looking for a house, can I change it into a commercial one? if yes, what kind of house, size of lot, parking shell I looking for? you had gone through this, can you help for a detail: which steps do I first go to county or city for process this resident house into a commercial daycare center?

Thank you!

would like to hear from experience people.

[Sugar Magnolia]

I am very interested your small commercial daycare center, you are very right for what you posted about a home daycare and a commerical center. I am working at a home daycare, and while looking for a commerical small center in WA. I wanted to start my daycare in my house but my home Ass't don't let me doing it. my question here is: If I am looking for a house, can I change it into a commercial one? if yes, what kind of house, size of lot, parking shell I looking for? you had gone through this, can you help for a detail: which steps do I first go to county or city for process this resident house into a commercial daycare center?

Thank you!

Sorry it took me awhile to reply Jingliu, been crazy busy. YES, you can turn a home into a commercial property, BUT it is not the easiest thing to do. You MUST consult with your county or city zoning office. I would stear clear of homes wedged among other homes. Your city will be more accepting of a rezone if you are on a major road. Use a realtor, but also talk to zoning BEFORE you buy!!! Look for a house that has at least a 10000 sq foot lot. You also need a BIG fenced yard and hadicapped accessibility. All my other advise is listed, can't think of anything additional. Go make an appointment with your local zoning office first, get a copy of the city's development code and ask 50 million questions. Its a daunting task. Good luck!

[Sugar Magnolia]

I like Sugar posts.

You are so smart

Awww shucks! Thanks Nannyde. I appreciate that. A lot. But you're the ultimate daycare whisperer. I am just the "zoning whisperer" LOL! It took 14 months of dealing with zoning to get this show on the road!

[Sugar Magnolia]

If you can be so lucky as to find a home that is historically designated, BOOM, you just won the lottery. You can do many commercial uses with a historic home and they are often ADA exempt. I found this out AFTERWARDS, of course. My dummy realtor said "oh no, historic designation would be bad" boy was he WRONG!

[Unregistered]

Thank you Suger!

Sorry it took me awhile to reply Jingliu, been crazy busy. YES, you can turn a home into a commercial property, BUT it is not the easiest thing to do. You MUST consult with your county or city zoning office. I would stear clear of homes wedged among other homes. Your city will be more accepting of a rezone if you are on a major road. Use a realtor, but also talk to zoning BEFORE you buy!!! Look for a house that has at least a 10000 sq foot lot. You also need a BIG fenced yard and hadicapped accessibility. All my other advise is listed, can't think of anything additional. Go make an appointment with your local zoning office first, get a copy of the city's development code and ask 50 million questions. Its a daunting task. Good luck!

You are nice, thank you very much, it helps me a lot down the road. I have been looking for this kind of house ( like you told me that bigger property, coner lot...) for months. Recently, there is one, I am calling city office to give me a code for it. This house is not a ideal location. What do you think Suger Magnolia, the location has to be the best one? or can be off a little? do you think if my daycare programs are goood, parents will drive a mile to my place for their kids?

Sorry, I am asking too much for your valuable time.

[Sugar Magnolia]

You are nice, thank you very much, it helps me a lot down the road. I have been looking for this kind of house ( like you told me that bigger property, coner lot...) for months. Recently, there is one, I am calling city office to give me a code for it. This house is not a ideal location. What do you think Suger Magnolia, the location has to be the best one? or can be off a little? do you think if my daycare programs are goood, parents will drive a mile to my place for their kids?

Sorry, I am asking too much for your valuable time.

There is absolutely nothing more important than location, location and location. You must have good visibility, good access, and convenience. If you are looking at a house, and turning the house into a commercial daycare center, you do NOT want to be in the middle of a residential neighborhood, where no one will see you and you likely cannot rezone anyways. Look for RMF2 or RMF3. Stuff zoned RSF are probably gonna be a no-go. Look near elementary schools, other daycare centers. If you have a certain house you like, go up to a friend and say "I'm thinking about buying a house on Middleton Rd to turn into a business" . If your friend says "Where's Middleton Rd?" then you don't want that house. Generally, no, people will not drive a mile out of their way. If you are not centrally located, it will hurt your enrollment.
YOU MUST SPEAK TO YOUR LOCAL ZONING OFFICIAL!!! This (re-zone) is NOT EASY! Nor is it cheap! If you are looking at homes, be SUPER careful!! The less neighbors, the better. Be prepared to fight city hall, hire architects, build a parking lot, install handicapped ramp, install landscape buffers, attend "neighborhood workshops" where every neighbor near you will ask questions, have a traffic impact study done....the list goes on and on. Its a huge undertaking so be very very careful. If you want, send me a private message and I will even look at photos you have of potential properties, I am a goooood judge of house, trust me on this.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Oh and here's a good way to look at locations....
Do you have a massive advertising budget? If not, your location IS your advertising. When I ask people "How did you hear about us?" I get "I was just driving by and saw your cute house" at least 50% of the time.

[Unregistered]

Thank you Suger! but the house in Pending sale now.

Oh and here's a good way to look at locations....
Do you have a massive advertising budget? If not, your location IS your advertising. When I ask people "How did you hear about us?" I get "I was just driving by and saw your cute house" at least 50% of the time.

It is hard. the place I found today is in Pending inspection. That is a very difficult part of all. While you want to check with city, county, or so on.... that house is gone! I live in WA, Seattle. Where do you live Suger?

[Unregistered]

Thanks Suger, RSF is Resident use? WA King county, I have often seeing is R5 or R4.

There is absolutely nothing more important than location, location and location. You must have good visibility, good access, and convenience. If you are looking at a house, and turning the house into a commercial daycare center, you do NOT want to be in the middle of a residential neighborhood, where no one will see you and you likely cannot rezone anyways. Look for RMF2 or RMF3. Stuff zoned RSF are probably gonna be a no-go. Look near elementary schools, other daycare centers. If you have a certain house you like, go up to a friend and say "I'm thinking about buying a house on Middleton Rd to turn into a business" . If your friend says "Where's Middleton Rd?" then you don't want that house. Generally, no, people will not drive a mile out of their way. If you are not centrally located, it will hurt your enrollment.
YOU MUST SPEAK TO YOUR LOCAL ZONING OFFICIAL!!! This (re-zone) is NOT EASY! Nor is it cheap! If you are looking at homes, be SUPER careful!! The less neighbors, the better. Be prepared to fight city hall, hire architects, build a parking lot, install handicapped ramp, install landscape buffers, attend "neighborhood workshops" where every neighbor near you will ask questions, have a traffic impact study done....the list goes on and on. Its a huge undertaking so be very very careful. If you want, send me a private message and I will even look at photos you have of potential properties, I am a goooood judge of house, trust me on this.

What is RMF2? Mix use of Resident and other? Thank you!