Is This A Crazy Idea?

[godiva83]

Okay, so I know this will be a hard question to answer with out knowing my areas needs, but here it goes.

I was thinking of becoming a 'baby sign' instructor and offering classes to parents who wish to learn sign for their babies or children with exceptionalities.
Do you think this could be a good business plan or will it be more work than profit in the end?
I was also considering offering only a preschool instead of a full fledge homeday. So have alternating groups of 5 children here from 8:30-1:00
What do you think I should charge if I were to do this?

On a side note, it is not that I don't love my HDC... I just like shorter days and would love time with my family if we can afford it
Cheers

[blessedmess8]

Okay, so I know this will be a hard question to answer with out knowing my areas needs, but here it goes.

I was thinking of becoming a 'baby sign' instructor and offering classes to parents who wish to learn sign for their babies or children with exceptionalities.
Do you think this could be a good business plan or will it be more work than profit in the end?
I was also considering offering only a preschool instead of a full fledge homeday. So have alternating groups of 5 children here from 8:30-1:00
What do you think I should charge if I were to do this?

On a side note, it is not that I don't love my HDC... I just like shorter days and would love time with my family if we can afford it
Cheers

Can't offer much advice without knowing your demographic! But, I'd love updates because the Preschool idea is something I've contemplated, too. I just don't know if there would be enough interest in it where I am at! Baby sign is awesome! But, here, our health department offers it for free.

[Blackcat31]

Okay, so I know this will be a hard question to answer with out knowing my areas needs, but here it goes.

I was thinking of becoming a 'baby sign' instructor and offering classes to parents who wish to learn sign for their babies or children with exceptionalities.
Do you think this could be a good business plan or will it be more work than profit in the end?
I was also considering offering only a preschool instead of a full fledge homeday. So have alternating groups of 5 children here from 8:30-1:00
What do you think I should charge if I were to do this?

On a side note, it is not that I don't love my HDC... I just like shorter days and would love time with my family if we can afford it
Cheers

Where I live, you are daycare unless you have a license to teach. You can say you offer a preschool curriculum but without the credentials to back it up, you are just a daycare with extra's. Preschools here aren't considered a preschool without a licensed teacher.

I would check with your licensing rules/policies. Unless of course, you have your license and in that case, if you think there is a need in your community to do what you are saying then I would go for it. Anything different always gets attention.

[kendallina]

Have you looked to see if anyone else is doing Baby Signs classes in your area? If yes, is the class full, or does the teacher struggle signing people up? What is the preschool situation like in your area? Do parents like the options they have for preschool? Do you have a preschool teaching background in addition to running the daycare? Have you talked to the parents that you know of young children, are they looking for more preschool options?

I run an in-home preschool 3 hours/day and I LOVE it! I also do daycare part-time in the afternoons, only a few days a week, so it still gives me a lot of free time. In my area, there are a few other options for preschool, but most of the options aren't looked upon favorably by the parents.

When I was considering starting my preschool I called around to the other preschools in my area to see what they were charging and I charge a slightly higher rate ($125/month for 2 3-hour days/week...it ends up being around $5/hour per child depending on the month). Fortunately, I'm full, which means I have 5 children that come to me a day and for me and my husband it's enough.

I'm not cut out for all-day daycare , so this works great for me!

[godiva83]

Thanks,
Great advice and jump off pointers- I will start doing my research!
Yes, I have been a preschool and kindergarten teacher which lead to a supervisor position since 2002 so not too long, but more than enough experience running a successful preschool program.
This was just a spur of the moment thought- and I think I am going to run with it I would be much happier if I could get by on half days, who wouldn't, right?

[mac60]

In our area, the morning/afternoon preschool sessions were closed due to low enrollment, and this was years ago. The problem was the hassle it was for parents to get the children to and from the preschool. Most employers will not let their employees leave for 15 min to transport kids to these type of things. Our centers offer preschool within their daily programs. I do understand that it may totally depend on the area of the country if it would work or not. We are just a small rural town of 8000. I think at this point we have 1 morning/afternoon preschool in our town.

[Cat Herder]

If you can earn a living doing it, it is not illegal (nobody wants to visit Mommy in jail if they can avoid it ) AND meets the goals you set out for your family.....there are no "crazy" ideas. Go for it!

Good luck, hun!! Sounds fun!

[permanentvacation]

You could offer the classes to local daycare centers instead of having only a couple of clients at your home. Maybe you can do 3 centers on Mondays and Wednesdays and 3 centers on Tuesdays and Thursdays and give yourself off on Fridays.

Your schedule would be like:

Center 1. Mondays & Wednesdays 9-10am
Center 2 Mondays & Wednesdays 10:30-11:30
Center 3 Mondays & Wednesdays 12-1

Center 4 Tuesdays & Thursdays 9-10
Center 5 Tuesdays & Thursdays 10:30-11:30
Center 6 Tuesdays & Thursdays 12-1

The half hour in between is for driving/eating time.
This would be if you only teach one age group.

If you teach multiple ages, you might be able to work in one or two centers and stay a bit longer to get to all the ages. Such as Center 1 Mondays and Wednesdays 9-10 babies, 10-11 toddlers, 11-12 preschoolers Then Center 2 on Tuesdays and Thursdays 9-10 babies, 10-11 toddlers, 11-12 preschoolers.

You can offer your services to local centers for a flat weekly rate and they can use your signing class in their advertisements.

Of course, with any business that you are considering to start, you do want to research and find out if there would be an interest/need for that business in your area.