Child Care Business Plan Template
Download our Child Care Business Plan Template here
What Is a Business Plan?
Why You Need a Business Plan
If you’re looking to start a child care business or grow your existing one you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your child care in order to improve your chances of success. Your child care business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.
Source of Funding for Child Care Businesses
With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a child care business are bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable. But they will want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.
The second most common form of funding for a child care is angel investors. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who will write you a check. They will either take equity in return for their funding, or, like a bank, they will give you a loan. Venture capitalists will not fund a child care business.
Executive Summary
Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.
The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of child care business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a child care that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of child care businesses.
Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the child care industry. Discuss the type of child care you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.
Company Analysis
In your company analysis, you will detail the type of child care business you are operating.
For example, you might operate one of the following types:
- Home-Based Child Care: this type of child care business operates out of your home and typically has one or two caregivers on staff.
- Child Care Center: a child care center operates out of a commercial building. It typically has multiple staff and caregivers and can serve many, many children.
- Pre-School Child Care: a child care business that primarily serves preschoolers
- School-Age Child Care: a child care business that primarily serves school-age children.
In addition to explaining the type of child care you operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.
Include answers to question such as:
- When and why did you start the business?
- What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include sales goals you’ve reached, new program offerings, etc.
- Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.
Industry Analysis
In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the child care business.
While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.
First, researching the child care industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.
Secondly, market research can improve your strategy particularly if your research identifies market trends. For example, if there was a trend towards child care that includes transportation, it would be helpful to ensure your plan calls for such a service.
The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.
The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your child care business plan:
- How big is the child care business (in dollars)?
- Is the market declining or increasing?
- Who are the key competitors in the local or national market?
- What trends are affecting the child care industry?
- What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
- What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your child care. You can extrapolate such as figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.
Customer Analysis
The customer analysis section of your child care business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.
The following are examples of customer segments: soccer moms, young families, baby boomers caring for grandchildren, etc.
Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. Because most child care businesses primarily serve customers living in their same city or town, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.
Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.
Competitive Analysis
Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.
Direct competitors are other child care businesses.
Indirect competitors are other options that customers have that aren’t direct competitors. This includes keeping children at home and/or after school programs among others.
With regards to direct competition, you want to detail the other child care businesses with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be child care businesses located very close to your location.
For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:
- What types of customers do they serve?
- What child care services do they offer?
- What times are they open?
- What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
- What are they good at?
- What are their weaknesses?
With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective.
The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:
- Will you provide superior child care services?
- Will you provide child care services that your competitors don’t offer?
- Will you offer better pricing?
Marketing Plan
Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a child care business plan, your marketing plan should include the following:
Product : in the product section you should reiterate the type of child care that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific services you will be offering. For example, will you over technology or exercise classes to the children?
Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the menu items you offer and their prices.
Place : Place refers to the location of your child care. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your child care located next to a heavily populated office building, or gym, etc. Discuss how your location might provide a steady stream of customers.
Promotions : the final part of your child care marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:
- Social media marketing
- Reaching out to local bloggers (particularly “mommy” bloggers) and websites
- Local radio advertising
- Banner ads at local venues
Operations Plan
While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.
Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your child care such as discussions with prospective new customers, procuring supplies, keeping the child care center, etc.
Management Team
To demonstrate your child care’s ability to succeed as a business, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.
Ideally you and/or your team members have direct experience in the child care business. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.
If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in child care businesses and/or successfully running retail and small businesses.
Financial Plan
Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.
Income Statement : an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.
In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you serve 10 children per day or 50? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.
Cash Flow Statement : Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt. For example, let’s say a company approached you with a massive $100,000 child care contract, that would cost you $50,000 to fulfill. Well, in most cases, you would have to pay that $50,000 now for employee salaries, etc. But let’s say the company didn’t pay you for 180 days. During that 180 day period, you could run out of money.
In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a child care center:
- Child care center build-out including design fees, construction, etc.
- Cost of fixtures like tables, chairs, couches, etc.
- Cost of equipment used like computers and televisions
- Payroll or salaries paid to staff
- Business insurance
- Taxes and permits
- Legal expenses
Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your child care center design blueprint or location lease.
Putting together a business plan for your child care is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the child care business, your competition and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful child care.
Download Our Child Care Business Plan PDF
You can download our child care business plan PDF here . This is a business plan template you can use in PDF format.
How to Finish Your Childcare Business Plan in 1 Day!
Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your business plan?
With Growthink’s Ultimate Childcare Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!
OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You
Since 1999, Growthink’s business plan consulting team has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.
Click here to see how our professional business plan writers can create your business plan for you.
Childcare Business Plan FAQs
What is the easiest way to complete my child care business plan.
Growthink's Ultimate Child Care Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Child Care Business Plan.
Where Can I Download a Free Child Care Business Plan PDF?
You can download our child care business plan PDF template here . This is a business plan template you can use in PDF format.
Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates
Daycare Business Plan Template
Business Plan Outline
- Daycare Business Plan Home
- 1. Executive Summary
- 2. Company Overview
- 3. Industry Analysis
- 4. Customer Analysis
- 5. Competitive Analysis
- 6. Marketing Plan
- 7. Operations Plan
- 8. Management Team
- 9. Financial Plan
Daycare Business Plan
You’ve come to the right place to easily complete your daycare business plan.
We have helped over 100,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their daycares.
How To Write a Daycare Business Plan & Example
Below are links to each section of your daycare business plan template:
- Executive Summary – This is a brief overview of your daycare business plan. The executive summary should be no more than 2 pages long, with brief summaries of other sections of the plan.
- Company Overview – This is where you provide a business description, including your company history, business structure, and any pertinent information about the daycare center.
- Industry Analysis – The industry analysis describes the daycare industry, including market size and trends.
- Customer Analysis – This section of your daycare business plan describes your target market and potential customers. You will detail the demographics, needs, and wants of your target audience and how you plan to meet those needs.
- Competitive Analysis – The competition in your local area will be described here, along with how your daycare business will compete in the market.
- Marketing Plan – Your marketing plan will describe your daycare’s marketing strategy, including your advertising and promotion plans.
- Operations Plan – This section of your business plan describes how your daycare will be operated on a day-to-day basis. It may also include your long-term plans for expansion and the milestones you want to achieve to get there.
- Management Team – The management team section of your business plan should describe the experience and qualifications of your management team including the director, teachers, and support staff.
- Financial Plan – The financial plan section of your daycare business plan should include your financial statements, such as your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.
Next Section: Executive Summary >
Daycare Business Plan FAQs
What is a daycare business plan.
A daycare business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your daycare business. Among other things, a good daycare business plan will outline your business concept, identify your target customers, present research about the child care industry, detail your marketing plan, and provide your financial plan.
You can easily complete your daycare business plan using our Daycare Business Plan Template here .
What Are the Main Types of Daycare Businesses?
There are different types of daycare businesses that parents can choose from for their child's needs. A traditional daycare center is most sought after by working parents since it provides child care during regular work hours. There are also in-home daycare centers that are licensed to provide child care in a home setting with fewer children. Other child care centers provide hourly care services by trusted babysitters or nannies and are operating on an as-needed basis.
What Are the Main Sources of Revenues and Expenses for a Daycare Business?
The primary source of revenue for a daycare business is its child care services.
Some key expenses for a daycare business is rent, salaries for staff, utilities and snacks expenses for the children.
How Do You Get Funding for Your Daycare Business Plan?
A daycare business is typically funded through small business loans, personal savings, credit card financing and/or angel investors.
What are the Steps To Start a Daycare Business?
Starting a daycare business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.
1. Develop A Daycare Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed daycare business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.
2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your daycare business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your daycare business is in compliance with local laws.
3. Register Your Daycare Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your daycare business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws.
4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your daycare business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms.
5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations.
6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events.
7. Acquire Necessary Daycare Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your daycare business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation.
8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your daycare business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.
Learn more about how to start a successful daycare business:
- How to Start a Daycare Business
© 2023 PlanBuildr.com
How to Write a Business Plan for Daycare and Preschool
- brightwheel
- Running a business
Writing a daycare or preschool business plan is a big task, but due diligence and hard work will help you understand what you’ll need to launch and run a daycare or preschool successfully.
What do daycare investors want?
Your local government will have rules and regulations you’ll need to follow as a small business owner and childcare provider. Start by reviewing the Child Care Aware of America's licensing guidelines for your state and city. Once you’re clear on licensing guidelines, you’re ready to start writing your childcare business plan.
The purpose of a business plan is to help secure funding. You’ll likely need financing to launch your preschool or daycare, especially if you want to avoid the monthly repayment of a loan.
Investors provide businesses with money in exchange for partial ownership. As a result, they expect a larger return on their initial investment. Because many investors work in business, they prefer to invest in an established company.
Most investors look for:
Industry background and experience
Financial performance and promise.
Investors want to make money. Therefore, they are more inclined to work with experienced entrepreneurs and business owners to guarantee a return on their investment.
This might sound discouraging for those with little experience or without a business management background, but the opportunity doesn’t end there. You could consider bringing on a partner with a business background. Additionally, many investors act as a source of business advice.
You need to demonstrate that your business will make money. Investors will likely want to see signs of business growth before they give you money.
Additionally, investors will want to know about your financial stability. Questions an investor might ask are:
- What do you plan to do with the money?
- Has your business been up or down in recent years?
- Is your company losing money? Are there signs of growth for the future?
- How do you plan to repay your investment?
Of course, every investor is different, so they’ll consider various factors. While experience and financial promise are at the top of the list for most investors, they might also look for uniqueness, business readiness, an effective business model, and more.
Writing a daycare business plan
We’ve discussed licensing and investors. Now, you’re ready to begin the framework of your business plan for daycares and preschools. Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
Business description
Needs assessment, insurance policies, operating policies and procedures, marketing strategy.
Start with the basics: what does your daycare do ? Detailing the service you’re offering will help you create a clear business plan. Next, you might want to write some goals or even a mission statement outlining your purpose and motivation.
Start by looking at general daycare or preschool industry trends, then narrow your scope to the preschools or daycares in your local area. Next, you’ll need to figure out who your target customers are and confirm that there is a need for a business like yours in your community.
Are there a lot of young families in your neighborhood? Are you located somewhere convenient for commuting parents? Does your business offer a specific service that your competitors don’t, like early check-in or extended hours?
Also, check out the competition. Research the existing daycare or preschool options in your community. Look at current preschool or daycare business plan samples. What makes your daycare or preschool unique?
Developing detailed budgets will help you run your small business. You’ll need to compare your current cash flow and expenditures to determine whether you’ll make a profit.
Build a budget for unexpected costs. For example, how many children do you need to serve to be able to pay your bills and stay afloat? Child Care Aware offers some terrific budgeting resources for this process.
Depending on the type and size of your preschool, you’ll need insurance policies of several different types, including liability, property, workers’ compensation, and business insurance. Check the licensing requirements for guidance in building this part of your preschool business plan.
Create a comprehensive handbook for families and staff that includes you center's policies and procedures. For instance, you'll need to develop an emergency plan , daycare sick policy , and other safety protocols according to your local childcare licensing requirements.
Your staff handbook should be a helpful resource your employees can reference and include all your employment policies including work and pay schedules, benefits, and information about professional growth and development. You can also include information on your center's philosophy and curriculum, classroom procedures, and expectations for working with children and families.
Your marketing strategy is the key to attracting customers. Decide what type of advertising you will use in front of potential customers. For example, list your school in local directories and participate in parenting and kid-friendly community events. Run a social media campaign focusing on your target population.
Another big part of childcare business marketing is differentiating yourself from other preschools. These days adopting daycare software is a surefire way to attract families with young children. A tool like brightwheel's center management feature will streamline your center's admission process, record keeping, and reporting, saving you up to 20 hours per month.
You can also use brightwheel for recording and tracking daily events and activities, and sending real-time updates to families throughout the day. It also offers secure, digital check-in/check-out and a paperless billing system. This is a great way to keep your families looped in on daily activities and handle all of your administrative tasks in one place.
Your business is ready!
Writing a business plan can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Once you secure the proper licensing, use the information in this article to guide you through creating a solid daycare business plan that drives investors and financing to your business.
These are just the basics to get you started. For further information, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s website has detailed instructions on creating each necessary part of a successful business plan.
Childcare and Preschool Supply List
A list of everything you need to start an early education program.
Subscribe to the brightwheel blog
Recent Posts
- How to Handle Difficult Parent Conversations at Your Preschool March 2, 2023
- Exploring Nature in Preschool: 9 Garden and Plant Activities March 2, 2023
- 20 Educational Outdoor Activities for Preschoolers [Updated 2023] March 2, 2023
- The Complete Guide to Preschool Lesson Plans March 1, 2023
- What are Motor Skills? The A-Z of Gross and Fine Motor Skills March 1, 2023
Posts by Tag
- Child development (127)
- Running a business (82)
- Staff development (59)
- Curriculum (43)
- Family engagement (38)
- COVID-19 (31)
- Technology (28)
- Family communications (16)
- Staff retention (15)
- ECE career growth (12)
- For Parents (11)
- Financial health (9)
- Enrollment (6)
- Marketing (6)
- Public policy (6)
- Staff appreciation (6)
- Staff hiring (6)
- ECE current events (4)
- Family retention (4)
- Salary guides (4)
- Small business funding (4)
- Diversity and inclusion (3)
- Leadership (3)
13+ SAMPLE Child Care Business Plan in PDF
Child care business plan, 13+ sample child care business plan, what is child care, what is a child care business plan, what are the types of child care, essential elements of a child care business plan, step by step process in preparing an effective child care business plan, why is having child care a necessity, at what age should the child be receiving child care, are there issues with child care.
Child Day Care Services Business Plan
Child Care Center Developing Business Plan
Child Care Business Plan Example
Standard Child Care Business Plan
Registered Family Child Care Business Plan
Child Care Business Plan in PDF
Printable Child Care Business Plan
Child Care Initiative Business Plan
Family Child Care Business Planning
Child Care Development Center Business Plan
Home Child Care Business Plan
Child Care Center Business Planning Process
Child Care Program Business Plan
Sample Child Care Business Plan
1. analyze the target market and start with the basics., 2. assess the needs of your business., 3. write down the parts of the plan and advertise it., 4. proofread and polish the business plan., share this post on your network, you may also like these articles, 23+ sample sports action plan in pdf | ms word.
Setting up a sports event at a school, an arena or a field is no easy task and will require a lot of careful planning. Organizing one in today's…
9+ SAMPLE HR Strategic Action Plan in PDF
Planning with solid ideas and successfully structuring them is the most critical step before establishing an organization. Therefore, roll up your sleeves and put aside your fears of having…
browse by categories
- Questionnaire
- Description
- Reconciliation
- Certificate
- Spreadsheet
Information
- privacy policy
- Terms & Conditions
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Explain to them the type of child care business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a child care that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of child care businesses. Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan.
Marketing Plan – Your marketing plan will describe your daycare’s marketing strategy, including your advertising and promotion plans. Operations Plan – This section of your business plan describes how your daycare will be operated on a day-to-day basis.
Your business is ready! Writing a business plan can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Once you secure the proper licensing, use the information in this article to guide you through creating a solid daycare business plan that drives investors and financing to your business. These are just the basics to get you started.
A. Business Plan Outline for Child Care Centers B. Sample Survey for Parents C. Curriculum and Instruction in Early Childhood Education D. National Organizations E. Information Resources _____ INTRODUCTION Owning and operating a child care business can be a very challenging and rewarding career. Success in this field requires dedication, love ...
A child care business plan is an essential Important business document that describes in clear detail how a business (in this case, a child care center) defines its objectives and how to go about achieving its respective goals trackers. This document will also serve as a blueprint for attracting investment even before a child care center has ...