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Daycare Business Plan Template

Download our template and create a business plan for your daycare!

Updated September 22, 2023 Reviewed by Brooke Davis

When you are ready to start a daycare business, you need an effective plan outlining how to get there. High-quality child care is in high demand, but you must be prepared for the challenges of starting a new business.

A solid business plan will get you off on the right foot before you even open the doors of your new facility.

With these helpful tips, you can learn how to make a business plan for a daycare center. Whether you are looking to watch over young children or even need a dog daycare business plan, Legal Templates is here to help you get started.

Why You Need a Business Plan for Your Daycare Business

How to write a business plan for a daycare.

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Daycare Business Plan Sample

A business plan sets the stage for how you will operate your business and how you will get it running. A daycare is no different. Opening a daycare requires intensive planning, legal compliance, and understanding of your market.

A daycare business plan template walks you through the steps to build a proper path forward. Every successful business is planned correctly, not as you go along.

A sample daycare business plan pdf or Word document lays it out for you. You can learn how to put it together and what you must include. Many business plans help you understand what you must do to prepare.

Some are designed to recruit potential investors to your cause. Either way, you need a business plan to prepare you for the challenges and successes ahead.

Knowing how to write your daycare business plan can be tricky without some help. You may not have done this before, but a daycare business plan example can help.

Follow these writing tips in each section to create a strong business plan for your future daycare.

1. Executive Summary

The initial section of your business plan is the executive summary. This part of your plan is an introduction for whoever reads it. It is designed to offer an overview of the remaining sections. It should be concise and add only summary details—this is not the section for intensive information or data.

The executive summary will highlight what your daycare business will look like and the most crucial section of your entire plan.

This section may provide information such as:

• A business address
• Phone number, email address, and other contact information
• List of owners
• Banking information
• Start date for the daycare
• Client base
• Market niche
• Factors for success

The executive summary lets you make a case for why your particular daycare will be successful and competitive. It is also the section that helps you sell yourself and your business to potential investors who may play a critical role in starting your daycare.

Provide a mission statement that reflects your goals for the daycare and your motivation for starting your business.

2. Management Team

Your daycare business plan should include important information about your management team. The first part of this section may address ownership of the business itself. It should outline all essential ownership details, such as:

• Legal names of every owner
• Each owner’s proportionate share
• The format of ownership percentage (i.e., stocks, capital investments, etc.)
• The format of the business (Corporation, LLC, etc.)
• Contact information for each owner

You want everyone who reads this business plan to know who has a stake and how their interests are represented. These details are a crucial part of business formation and preventing costly legal disputes in the future.

The management team section should also include the profiles of your management staff. These people will run the business daily, and they should be properly vetted before being put in charge.

Your business plan should list the management teams’:

• Names and positions
• Summary of responsibilities
• Credentials and education background
• Prior employment or experience
• Early childhood education licensing or other credentialing
• Management experience
• Salary and benefits
• Past success in a similar role

This information should demonstrate why these are the right people for the job. Not only does it help you know how your business will run, but it also shows others you have a proper plan in place for your daycare.

3. Products and Services

This section lets you talk about why you are starting this business in the first place. You will outline the services or products you intend to sell to consumers. For a daycare, it should outline the following:

• Who is being cared for: Children, elderly adults, or pets?
• Business hours
• Staff costs and required credentials
• Will you offer food, diapers, and other child-care products?
• How will you measure sales metrics

Daycare is typically considered a service, but product sales are also often a part of this model. Your plan should adequately account for how you will handle this dual purpose and how it fits into your business model.

4. Customers and Marketing

You must identify your market and how you will get customers into your daycare. This section will focus on your area’s need for daycare services and the types of customers you expect to get.

Identification of customers is a vital part of a business plan and should include details like:

• How many parents need childcare services?
• What costs can families be expected to pay for your services
• The community you will target
• Demographic data for potential customers

With your customers in mind, you can focus on your marketing strategies. You want to differentiate yourself from competitors and ensure the community knows your new business. The daycare business plan must outline how you will achieve these goals.

A marketing strategy should combine both traditional and digital marketing methods, including:

• Open houses
• Word-of-mouth advertising
• Advertisements in the paper or yellow pages
• Billboards or other ads
• Television, radio, or internet advertisements
• Social media pages

5. SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis will address your daycare’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and potential threats. This analytical method examines your company and how it will operate.

It puts each of the four metrics into a visual matrix to help prospective business owners quickly identify favorable and unfavorable factors that may affect their business venture.

A SWOT analysis should focus on how your daycare services can perform against competitors. It may address factors like:

• Any threats the daycare may face
• Competitive advantages and why they would be successful
• Areas that may be improved over time
• Technology or resources the company may use to increase efficiency
• Internal factors that may affect economic success

Detailed SWOT sections show investors you have done your homework and give you valuable data to make informed business choices.

6. Financials

A business plan should address the unique financial situation you face. Your daycare business plan should demonstrate your break-even amounts and expected profit margins.

It will also address the costs and the areas of revenue you expect. You will want to address the following:

• Enrollment fees
• Payment plans
• Cost of supplies and materials
• Employee costs
• Regulatory costs
• Additional program offerings and revenue
• Necessary loans or capital improvements

A well-developed budget can demonstrate expected cash flows versus expected expenditures. Knowing how to handle these costs will be incredibly helpful in starting your daycare.

7. Operations

Your operational plan should outline specific procedures your business and staff will follow. It will list employees and those in management positions and their responsibilities.

As in your management section, a detailed “chain of command” is essential. Staff are an important part of your operations and should be detailed here.

One of the most important aspects of a daycare operation is its location. It would be best if you addressed the following:

• The facility’s address
• The type of area it is in (residential, commercial)
• The space available and amenities
• Why is it a prime location
• Accessibility to the community for drop-off

You should also list your business hours and the services you will have available at different times. Child daycare centers differ in when they offer care—whether during the day, evenings, or even on weekends.

If you are doing other forms of daycare, you may even utilize late or overnight hours. You can decide how you run your business, but operations should be clearly outlined in your business plan.

8. Appendix

The appendix section allows you to include other documents that add to your business plan. They may include legal documents like licensing credentials, insurance information, and business formation documents.

Additional documents in this area are meant to support your business plan. The appendix might also include the following:

• Reference letters
• Photographs of the facility, locations, or general area
• Market research data
• Compliance Requirements

The appendix is a flexible section that lets you add supporting documents and other relevant information. Only add details that are helpful to your business plan. The appendix does not need to be lengthy or filled with fluff.

Legal Templates has the daycare business plan sample you need to construct your plan. With this sample at your disposal, you can formulate a business plan for your daycare to show to investors or for your purposes.

You may also use a business plan builder template to help you construct your daycare business plan step by step. See the sample below to help you get started.

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Child Care Business Plan

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The Toddler Warehouse

Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">, opportunity.

The education of our children needs to start earlier and earlier. The school system is failing.  Those who can hire private teachers and tutors to help with their children’s education should.

The Toddler Warehouse is a full-service child care/development facility that cares for toddlers from age three to five. The Toddler Warehouse will be concentrating on the upper end of the market: double-income professional parents. These personally ambitious parents are typically eager in terms of their children’s development and will be willing to pay to have their children attend the best facilities.

The Toddler Warehouse will be offering child care/development for toddlers age three to five. The Toddler Warehouse will be targeting double income professional families who, because of work obligations, do not have the time during the day to care for their child. The Toddler Warehouse will be targeting families that are interested in something more than simple baby-sitting facilities, they would like the children to be enrolled in a program that offers development of many different skills including: socialization skills, arts and crafts, large muscle group workouts, reading, numbers, etc. Parents who are professionals, who are ambitious by nature themselves, are typically eager for their children to move ahead and are willing to pay for the best development care services for their children.

Competition

The Toddler Warehouse will be competing in the child care industry. This industry is fairly broad and populated, there are companies at all levels, from the basic baby sitter services, to competitors of The Toddler Warehouse. There are service providers that offer standard business hours as well as services that offer night and evening hours. There are scheduled services and no reservation drop off services. Price, quality, and gut feeling drives a lot of parental choices. The Toddler Warehouse believes the secret to success is to 1) concentrate on only a portion of the market, and 2) choose a portion of the market that is growing.

The Toddler Warehouse’s mission is to provide top level child care. We exist to attract and maintain customers. When we adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place. Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers.

Expectations

We will be profitable in the first year. By year 3 we will be able to hire more general help which focuses on care since we are all set for teachers

Financial Highlights by Year

Financing needed.

Matt will invest $85,000

Problem & Solution

Problem worth solving.

The education of our children needs to start earlier and earlier. The school system is failing.  Those who can hire private teachers and tutors to help with their children’s education should.

Our Solution

The Toddler Warehouse is a full-service child care/development facility that cares for toddlers from age three to five. The Toddler Warehouse will be concentrating on the upper end of the market: double-income professional parents. These personally ambitious parents are typically eager in terms of their children’s development and will be willing to pay to have their children attend the best facilities.

Target Market

Market size & segments.

The Toddler Warehouse is targeting one specific customer group, the middle to upper class, two income professional family. This group of families have both parents working, not allowing them time to raise their child during the day. This group has the money for child care, and are willing to spend a little extra to get a higher level of care.

This customer segment has already begun teaching it’s child advanced concepts like reading, singing, socialization, etc. The Toddler Warehouse will continue to develop the children’s skills.

This customer group is typically made up of two professional parents. This would explain why the parents 1) have the money for more sophisticated child care, and 2) are ambitious in terms of their children’s learning and development.

Current Alternatives

There are many different competitors in the child care space. The Toddler Warehouse will only detail the direct, or reasonably direct competitors, and will not detail the myriad of other service providers that offer some sort of child care option. The direct competitors are:

• Established, often franchised, child care centers. These are typically larger facilities that offer care to a wide range of ages. The number of children serviced is usually quite large. The child care is adequate, although somewhat impersonal by virtue of its large size.
• Small, home based child care. These competitors are people that have a child care facility based out of their house. The quality of these ranges considerably, some are great, some are sub par.
• Medium sized companies. These are typically independently owned facilities. Some of theses will handle a wide range of ages, others will specialize with a specific age group.

Our Advantages

The Toddler Warehouse’s competitive edge is two-fold:

• Specialized training – The facility can only be as good as the teachers and assistants. With this in mind, The Toddler Warehouse has a specialized training program that all teachers and assistants are put through so they are proficient at teaching the specific programs that The Toddler Warehouse has developed for toddlers age three to five. The employees are put through an intensive week long course and only after they pass the intensive training will they be allowed to work with the children.
• Innovative learning programs – Typical learning programs for toddlers this age focus on specific traits and only work on one trait/ skill at once. While this is successful in reinforcing the skill, it is often very difficult for the child to appreciate the interrelationships of the different skills. Consequently, the child can learn the skill, but has difficulty applying the skill when faced with multiple stimuli. When the child is unsure of what to do because of the multiple stimuli and these several skills that they have learned independently, the child tends to shut down out of confusion. Matt’s Master’s thesis was based on Intertwined Learning Systems that teaches skills not in isolation from each other, but taught together. Matt’s research strongly supports the assertion that when the skills are taught together, just as you would expect to encounter them in real life, the children are able to assimilate the new task into their skill set much quicker.

Keys to Success

Our keys to success are: 

• To create a service based operation whose primary goal is to exceed customer’s expectations.
• The utilization of The Toddler Warehouse by at least 40 different families in the first eight months.
• To increase the number of client’s served by 20% each year.
• To develop a sustainable, profitable, start-up business.

Marketing & Sales

Marketing plan.

The Toddler Warehouse intends to concentrate on the double income working professional families because they are the segment that can most readily afford day care, are the ones who need day care because of their work obligations, appreciate the advanced learning and development The Toddler Warehouse has to offer, and lastly are a growing segment of our society.

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As America continues to be a society of people working long hours, there will always be the need for child care. The trend of longer work weeks is increasing and this drives The Toddler Warehouse’s business.

The Toddler Warehouse’s sales strategy will be targeting double income working professional families. These families have the money to spend on child care and these parents are much more likely to appreciate the advanced learning systems taught at The Toddler Warehouse based on Matt’s thesis.

The sales strategy will be based on a communication effort to explain the virtues of the program and how time at The Toddler Warehouse can speed up the children’s development considerably. In addition to one on one explanations of the program and its merits, the prospective parents will be given tours of the facilities. The tour of the facility will serve two purposes:

• The tour will be used as a way to impress the prospect of the facilities that The Toddler Warehouse has. These facilities were custom designed to achieve very specific educational goals and The Toddler Warehouse is immensely proud of the facilities.
• The tours typically occur during the day and this becomes a perfect opportunity for the potential customer to view the care as it is occurring. This will serve to build a trust bond between The Toddler Warehouse and the parent who naturally is cautious about leaving the child with strangers to have the child cared for and taught the entire day.

In essence, The Toddler Warehouse  is letting the facilities and teacher/student interactions speak for themselves. Because of the high level of service, this is entirely possible.

Locations & Facilities

The Toddler Warehouse, soon to be located in Salem, OR, will offer child care services for kids between the ages of three and five. The Toddler Warehouse will offer services from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The children will be exposed to a wide range of activities including arts and crafts, socialization, large muscle group activities, and general learning. The Toddler Warehouse will be priced out of some people’s budget, but will offer a low student to teacher ratio and well trained staff. The Toddler Warehouse will be located in a recently purchased and converted home that now is solely a child care center.

Equipment & Tools

The Toddler Warehouse offers Salem an upper-end child care facility for toddlers age three to five. The Toddler Warehouse offers a low teacher to student ratio, custom facilities, and innovative learning programs. The Toddler Warehouse hours will be a bit wider rage than normal business hours to accommodate the working parents, the target customer.

The two income families have children, yet both parents work. The Toddler Warehouse is an innovative solution that acts as virtual parents, broadening the children’s skills during the day. This is not a baby sitter facility. The children are engaged throughout the day, learning new skills and reinforcing already acquired ones.

Milestones & Metrics

Milestones table, key metrics.

Key metrics are: 

• The # of families paying fees to breakeven 
• increase the # families paying fees by 20% year over year 
• training teachers and assistants 
• keep on top of the educational tools 

Ownership & Structure

The Toddler Warehouse will be an Oregon Corporation, founded and owned by Matt Ernal.

Management Team

Matt Ernal, the founder and owner of The Toddler Warehouse will be running the daily operations. Matt got his undergraduate degree in English from the University of Oregon. Upon graduation, Matt was unsure of what he wanted to do so he travelled to Indonesia and taught English for three years. For the first year, Matt lived with a local family. In exchange for room and board, Matt cared for the family’s two children. Although he had never done any child care before, Matt found this very satisfying.

Upon returning to the US, Matt was contemplating pursuing something with teaching. His experience in Indonesia was quite positive, both the English classes and caring for the young children. Ultimately, it was the experience with the young children that led Matt to consider a career teaching young children. Matt entered Western Oregon University’s nationally recognized Master of Education Program to pursue toddler development. After graduation, Matt was confident of his abilities and decided that he would appreciate the autonomy of running his own business. He purchased a house for the facility has been working hard on this project ever since

Personnel Table

Financial plan investor-ready personnel plan .">, key assumptions.

Our key assumptions: 

• Kids need to have a place that caters to the way they learn 
• Kids need somewhere that teaches them life skills
• Education starts at a very young age
• Parents need somewhere safe and nurturing to leave children while they finish their workday. 

Revenue by Month

Expenses by month, net profit (or loss) by year, use of funds.

The Toddler Warehouse’s start-up costs include:

• Legal: $1,000
• Stationery etc: $100
• Brochures: $350
• Art supplies: $150
• Kitchen supplies: $200
• Cleaning supplies: $100
• Medicine kits: $100
• Matts and pillows: $150

Total $ 2150 

Sources of Funds

Our founder will invest $85,000 to get the operation up and running. 

Projected Profit & Loss

Projected balance sheet, projected cash flow statement.

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How to Write a Business Plan for Daycare and Preschool

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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 childcare 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 of America 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 will 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. 

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Daycare Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

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 Day Care Business Plan?

A daycare or child care center is typically funded through small business loans, personal savings, credit card financing and/or angel investors. This is true for a business plan for daycare or a childcare business plan.

What are the Steps To Start a Daycare Business?

Starting a daycare 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 Day Care Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed child care business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include market research on the childcare industry and potential target market size, information on the services you will offer, marketing strategy, pricing strategies and detailed financial projections.

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 chlidcare 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 childcare   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 to reach your target audience.

Learn more about how to start a successful daycare business:

• How to Start a Daycare Business

Where Can I Get a Daycare Business Plan Example PDF?

You can download our daycare business plan PDF template here. This is a business plan template you can use in PDF format.

The Daycare Business Plan Blueprint (Examples + Template)

April 14, 2022

Adam Hoeksema

Starting a daycare business can be a daunting task. There are so many things to think about and plan for. You need to find the perfect location, get the right licenses and permits, hire qualified staff, and, most importantly, create a daycare business plan. 

Creating a daycare business plan is one of the most important steps in starting your business. A well-thought-out business plan will help you get funding, attract investors, and operate your business effectively. 

The bad news is that there is a lot of advice out there on writing a business plan. With so much information and tons of daycare business plan examples to choose from, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. 

The good news is, we've got you covered. In this article, we'll give you a comprehensive guide on how to write a daycare business plan. We will also provide some examples and a free daycare business plan template to get you started. 

But First...Is a Daycare a Good Business to Start? 

Before we talk about how to create a daycare business plan, let's first answer the question: is starting a daycare a good business to get into? 

The answer is a resounding yes! The daycare industry is growing rapidly. It is one of the few businesses that are not only recession-proof but also thrives in uncertain economic times. 

According to the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), the demand for child care services has increased by 26% over the last decade. This demand is only expected to grow in the coming years. 

When it comes to profitability, the daycare industry is very attractive. According to IBISWorld , the average profit margin for a daycare business is around 15%. That's higher than the average for most other industries! 

If you're thinking about starting a daycare business, know that you are getting into a very profitable and in-demand industry. Now let's talk about how to write a daycare business plan that will help you start and grow your business successfully.

How to Create a Daycare Business Plan 

A daycare business plan is as simple as a word document with the following sections:

• Business Description
• Market Analysis

Business Model

• Location and Facility
• Marketing Plan
• Financial Plan

Executive Summary

This article will provide context of what to include in each section of your daycare business plan. As you work on writing your business plan, you will want to grab our daycare financial projection template as well in order to complete the financial plan section.

Your daycare business plan should be an elevator pitch in itself. It should be attractive to potential partners and investors. Basically, it should give them a clear idea of your business, where it is located, what services you offer, who your target market is, and how you plan to make money. 

Creating a daycare business plan doesn't have to be complicated. In fact, the cheapest and easiest approach is to simply start with a blank word document and work through each of the above sections, it can be pretty easy. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to create a daycare business plan: 

Create a Compelling Business Description

Your daycare business's unique selling point (USP) should be the first thing you include in your business plan. What is it that makes your daycare center different from all the others? 

This description should be the foundation of your marketing efforts as well.

There are a few questions you should answer in your company description. They include:

What's your Curriculum Based On?

Potential investors, partners, and even customers will be interested in knowing what your curriculum is based on. This will help them understand the environment children will be in a while under your care. 

When describing your curriculum, make sure to include:

• What age ranges do you cater for?
• The type of care you offer (full-time, part-time, drop-in) 
• Your educational philosophy 
• The activities and programs you offer 

For example, if your daycare is unique by offering a Montessori curriculum, you will want to highlight that.  In fact, you can learn more about how to start a Montessori program here . 

How Big is Your Facility? 

The size of your facility will say a lot about the type of operation you're running. Are you a small, home-based daycare or a large center with multiple classrooms? 

This section of your business plan may include: 

• A floor plan of your facility 
• The capacity of your facility 
• The number of employees you have 
• Type of equipment and furniture you have 

Who Is Your Target Market? 

You can't market to everyone, so you must identify your target market. This will help you focus your marketing efforts and ensure that you're reaching the right people. 

Below is a daycare business plan example that shows how your business description should be:

“ABC Daycare is a small, home-based daycare located in San Francisco, CA. We cater to children aged 0-12 years old and offer full-time, part-time, and drop-in care. 

Our curriculum is based on the Reggio Emilia approach, emphasizing hands-on learning and collaboration. Activities and programs include arts and crafts, music, and outdoor play. 

Our facility can accommodate up to 12 children at a time. We have a staff of four employees who are all CPR and First Aid certified. 

Our target market is working parents in the city who need quality child care but can't afford the rates of larger daycare centers.  We've created an affordable subscription-based pricing model for our target market to fulfill the demand. We generate revenue through monthly subscriptions and have low operating costs due to our small size. 

Our suppliers are local businesses that provide us with food, toys, and other supplies.” 

Do a Thorough Market Analysis

After writing a compelling description of your business, you need to do a thorough marketing analysis. This analysis will help you determine your target market, what type of advertising and promotion will work best, and how to price your services. 

You should also research the competition and see what they are doing right and wrong. This information will be invaluable as you create your daycare business plan.

Keep these things in mind when doing a market analysis:

The Size of Your Market

This is determined by the number of potential customers in your area who need or want your services. 

For example, if you live in a small town with only a few thousand people, there may not be enough demand to support a large daycare facility. 

On the other hand, if you live in a city with hundreds of thousands of people, there may be room for multiple daycare facilities. 

Your target market is the segment of the population that is most likely to use your services. This includes factors like age, income, education, and location. 

After you've identified your target market, you need to show how you plan on fulfilling the demand. This is where your business model comes in. 

Your business model is a detailed description of how your daycare will operate daily. It should include: 

• How do you plan on acquiring customers? 
• What are your pricing strategies? 
• How will you generate revenue? 
• What are your operating costs? 
• Who are your suppliers? 

Your business model should be detailed and easy to understand. It should also be realistic and achievable. 

Here is a daycare business plan example of a business model for a small daycare center: 

“The daycare will be open Monday through Friday from six in the morning to six at night. We will offer care for children ages six weeks to twelve years old. 

Our rates will be $50 per week for one child and $40 per week for each additional child from the same family. We will offer a discount of $20 per week for families who enroll their children for an entire year. 

We will generate revenue by charging weekly rates for our services. Our operating costs will include rent, utilities, supplies, and salaries for our employees. Also, we will acquire customers through online advertising and word-of-mouth.” 

As you can see, a business model is a detailed description of how your business will operate. It's essential to have one in place before promoting and selling your services. 

One thing you should not forget to include in your daycare business plan is the location of your business and your rental agreement. If you are renting a space, including the terms of your agreement and how long you have the space. If you are purchasing a property, include information on the property, such as square footage and any special features that will help your business stand out. 

This daycare business plan example shows you how to include this vital information: 

“The daycare will be located at 123 Main Street in a commercial space currently leased by the owner. The lease agreement is for three years with an option to renew for an additional three years. The monthly rent is $2000, and the security deposit is $3000. 

The daycare will have exclusive use of the main floor, including a large open play area, a small kitchen, two bathrooms, and four classrooms. The daycare will also have access to the outdoor playground.

80% of our space will be used for childcare, with the other 20% used for our administrative offices and staff lounge. 

We have chosen this location because it is close to several residential neighborhoods and has easy access to public transportation. The space is also large enough to accommodate our future growth.” 

There are many daycare business plan templates you can use to help you get started. This is a basic outline of what should be included.

Daycare Marketing Plan

Most daycare business plan templates will include a section for your marketing plan. Most people overlook the marketing aspect of their business, but it is one of the most important pieces of your puzzle. 

In your business plan, you need to outline your target market, your marketing strategies, and how you plan on executing those strategies. 

You also need to set aside a budget for your marketing efforts. Many people make the mistake of thinking that they don't need to spend money on marketing, but that couldn't be further from the truth. 

The following daycare business plan example shows you how you should describe your marketing efforts:

"Our target market is working for families with children between six weeks and five years old. We will reach our target market through online and offline marketing efforts. 

Some of the offline marketing strategies we will use include print advertising, flyers, and word-of-mouth referrals. We will use a mix of SEO, content marketing, and social media for online marketing. 

We have set aside a budget of $500 per month for our marketing efforts."

As you can see from the example above, your marketing plan should be clear, concise, and to the point. Don't forget to include a budget!

Daycare Financial Plan

Your business plan should include a financial plan section. This is where you'll lay out how much money you need to start or grow your business. Be specific and include dollar amounts. If you're seeking a loan, including information on how much you're requesting and how you'll use the funds.

You should also include a detailed budget in your business plan. Your budget should include all of your projected income and expenses for at least the first year of operation. Creating a budget will help you get a clear picture of what it will cost to start and operate your business.

This section should include projected costs for:

• Rent or mortgage payments
• Advertising and marketing
• Operating expenses such as utilities, supplies, and more. 

Startup costs are another vital item to include in your business plan. This is the money you need to purchase equipment, furniture, or any other items to get your business up and running.

If you plan to secure a loan, your lender will want to see a detailed business plan with information on how you plan to use the loan funds. Ensure you include this information in your business plan to increase your chances of securing funding.

If you're seeking funding from investors, you'll need to include information on how they will be compensated. This is typically done through equity, a percentage ownership stake in your business. 

For example, if you seek $100,000 in funding and offer a 20% equity stake, the investor will own 20% of your business. 

Make sure you use a daycare business plan template that includes a section on funding to ensure you include all the necessary information. If you’re planning to get a loan or seek investment, you’re going to need full financial projections. Our daycare financial model will provide up to 5 years of projected income statements, cash flow and balance sheet forecasts.

Next I want to answer some key financial questions for you as you consider how to forecast your daycare financials. I am going to hit on:

• Daycare Startup Costs
• Daycare Revenue 
• Daycare Facility Operating Expenses
• Daycare Profitability

Let’s dive into some key questions. 

How much does it cost to start a daycare? 

It costs between $10,000 and $50,000 to start an in-home daycare business according to Bizfluent . 

It costs between $59,000 and $3 million dollars to start a daycare facility according to Bizfluent . 

So obviously this is a huge range in startup costs.  The main thing that will determine your startup costs is your daycare facility.  Depending on how large your daycare is, whether you are buying, building, or leasing the space, and how much renovation needs to be done, your startup costs can vary drastically.  

Some tips to help you estimate a cost of a daycare facility:

• A daycare facility should have 35 square feet of open floor space indoors per child. 
• So if you wanted a facility that could care for 100 children you would need 3,500 square feet of indoor space for children, plus additional space for offices, kitchen, bathrooms, etc.  Let’s assume that you would need at least 5,000 square feet of space for a daycare facility that served 100 children.  
• A daycare center would cost at least $295 per square foot to construct in the U.S. based on data from Levelset . 
• Constructing a new 5,000 square foot daycare center would likely cost at least $1,475,000 based on $295 per square foot.  
• Now you might not be constructing new, rather you might rent an existing facility which could require renovations.  You will need to get a specific quote for the specific renovations that you need for your space. 

How much revenue can a daycare business make?

A daycare facility can generate $17,680 in revenue per year per child according to Zippia .  

A daycare business with 100 children can generate over $1.75 million per year in annual revenue based on our average revenue per child of $17,680. 

How much does daycare cost?

The average cost of daycare is $17,680 per year, per child in the U.S. according to Zippia . 

This means that the average monthly cost of daycare in the U.S. is roughly $1,475.

What is the typical child to staff ratio for a daycare? 

The typical child to staff ratios for a daycare are:

• 1 adult staff for every 4 infants (age 0 to 12 months)
• 1 adult staff for every 6 toddlers (age 1 to 3 years)
• 1 adult staff for every 10 pre schoolers (age 3 to 5 years)
• 1 adult staff for every 12 school aged children (5+ years old)

Source - Childcare.gov

These ratios will help you estimate how many staff members you will need.  Our financial projection template makes this easy.  Just enter in your ratios and the number of children you expect to have in each age group and the model will automatically calculate the number of staff required to maintain your ratios.  See the input daycare staffing table below:

What are the typical operating costs for a daycare? 

Your largest operating expense for a daycare facility is likely to be your rent. 

It should cost between $20 and $30 per square foot to rent a daycare center space based on available spaces on Loopnet . 

Other operating costs for a daycare center include:

You can see how you can enter in your operating costs into our financial model below:

How much profit can a daycare make? 

The average daycare profit margin is 6.5% according to Daycare Business Boss . 

Once you complete your projections you will want to take a look at our At a Glance tab to make sure that your projected profit margins aren’t way out of line with the industry norms.  You can find projected profit margins for your daycare below:

This is an important aspect that you may not find in most daycare business plan templates, but it's still essential. An appendix includes any additional information to help you understand your business plan. This might include things like your:

• Business licenses 
• Insurance policy 
• Lease agreement 
• Sample contracts 
• Staff bios 

This section adds credibility to your daycare business plan and shows that you've done your homework. Including all of the necessary details in your appendix will give investors peace of mind and show that you're serious about starting a daycare center.

An executive summary is a brief overview of your business plan and is often considered the most important section. It should be two pages long, with a clear description of your business, your goals, and why you will achieve them.

There are several key elements to include in your executive summary:

• Business Name: This is the name you have chosen for your business.
• Location: Include the city, state, and country where your business will be located.
• Business description: Describe what type of business you will be operating.
• Target market : This is the group of people you will be targeting as customers.
• Competition: Who are your competitors, and how will you compete with them?
• Product or service : What product or service will you be offering?
• Sales and marketing: How will you generate sales?
• Financials: Include a five-year income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.
• Management team: Introduce your management team and their experience.
• Exit strategy : This is the plan for how you will eventually sell or otherwise exit the business in case you decide to retire or move on to other projects.

The executive summary is the most crucial section of your business plan because it gives investors and lenders a quick overview of your company and its prospects. Be sure to include all of the key elements listed above, and keep it under two pages in length.

What Are The Benefits of Creating a Daycare Business Plan?

Research shows that a business plan helps business owners make better decisions, turn abstract goals into tangible objectives, and track progress over time. But what does this mean for those who want to open a daycare? 

Creating a business plan forces you to think through every step of starting your company. It's a valuable exercise that can save you time and money in the long run. Even if you don't end up following your business plan to a tee, the process of writing it will help you better understand your business and what needs to be done to make it successful. 

There are many benefits to creating a daycare business plan, including: 

Gives You a Roadmap to Follow

As with any journey, it's always helpful to have a map. A business plan is that map for your daycare business. It will give you a clear idea of where you want to go and how you can get there. 

Helps You Secure Funding

A business plan is essential if you're looking for investors or loans. It will show potential lenders and investors that you've put thought into your business and have a solid strategy for making it successful. 

Ensures Your Daycare Business is Feasible

When you're starting a business, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement and overlook potential problems. A business plan forces you to take a step back and assess whether your business is truly viable. It also helps you identify any areas where additional research is needed. 

Final Thoughts

A daycare business plan is a valuable tool to help you make your business successful. 

It is worth noting that your business plan is not a one-time exercise but should be updated regularly as your business grows and changes. This document is meant to be a living document that evolves as your business does. 

If you're unsure where to start, there are plenty of resources available to help you, including daycare business plan examples online, books, and daycare business plan templates. 

You can also use our daycare projection template to get your financial plan ironed out and ready for your business plan.

The most important thing is just to get started. The sooner you create your business plan, the better prepared you will be for success.

You can get the Daycare Facility financial projection template here!

The template is simple to use and will save you loads of time while still producing professional looking daycare projections. ProjectionHub has helped more than 50,000 businesses create financial projections so you can be confident that you can do it too.

The daycare business projection template includes:

5 Year Daycare Facility Pro Forma Financial Statements

CPA Developed & Completely Customizable

Free Support & Projections Review

Compatible with Google Sheets

Free expert review of your completed projections

The template is easy to use and you do not need to be an excel wizard to fill it out. Editable cells are highlighted in blue, a video guide is included, and our team is available to answer any questions you have.

You can see the complete walkthrough and demonstration of the daycare business forecast template here:

Get the template today for just $79

If you have any questions before purchasing, please feel free to begin a live chat or email us at [email protected]

100% money back guarantee in accordance with our terms and conditions

‍ Photo by Pixabay

About the Author

Adam is the Co-founder of ProjectionHub which helps entrepreneurs create financial projections for potential investors, lenders and internal business planning. Since 2012, over 40,000 entrepreneurs from around the world have used ProjectionHub to help create financial projections.

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ZenBusinessPlans

Home » Sample Business Plans » Education » School

How to Write a Preschool Business Plan [Sample Template]

Do you want to start a preschool and need to write a plan? If YES, here is a complete sample preschool business plan template & FREE feasibility report. There are various business ideas that you may want to start.

However there are some businesses that guarantee good returns on investment. Chief amongst it is the preschool business. One of the reasons why this business is good is the point that you are able to help mound lives whilst you are making good money.

Why Start a Preschool?

Running a preschool can be a very rewarding and profitable venture. An entrepreneur who is interested in children education and also having a business might find that opening a preschool would meet both desires. Before starting a preschool, one must be prepared by ensuring that they carefully plan out the venture from the beginning, by researching on local and state laws that govern pre – school education business.

What Does It Take to Start a Preschool Successfully?

There must also be planning as regards space, getting insurance, developing a curriculum, hiring additional staff, advertising and registration of children. A pre – school program is a business that requires that no details be overlooked.

The first thing that needs to be done before starting out is in contacting the local governing body of child care for relevant information regarding the opening of a preschool. When approaching the governing agency, ask to meet with the administrators, so as to discuss your business idea, and get information on how to become a licensed preschool program provider.

After gathering all the information that you would need including written literature, you would need to contact the local government as regards getting a license to start. Depending on the state you will be operating in, you might be required to register and pay a fee to obtain licensees.

You will also need to ensure that the property you intend to use as a facility is in an acceptable area from which the business can be started, even if it is a section of your own residence, this can be done by contacting the zoning department of your local government, and if the area you choose is not suitable, you will be advised on suitable areas.

After applying for a business license as required by the state and meeting any other special requirements needed in order to become a preschool, you should then consult with insurance agencies regarding the right coverage for your facility. Ensure you choose a plan that will adequately cover you, your clients, as well as your business.

Lastly, ensure that you prepare your location for safety inspections, while ensuring that your facility has emergency evacuation plan in place for any unforeseen circumstances or disasters. Also prepare a curriculum for your pre – school program.

You can either choose an established program from a particular publisher or choose various materials from several publishers, while not forgetting that you have an option of creating your own curriculum. Do not also forget to hire qualified staff after running background checks, and marketing your school.

A Sample Preschool Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

The Preschool industry operators provide day care services for children under the ages of three and four to prepare them for kindergarten.

The dispersion of the preschool programs reflects in the geographic distribution of the children, which is also influenced by the cost and supply of pre – school programs, income and housing affordability patterns, labor, and child care subsidy policies. Also, varying state and local regulations and licensing requirements affect employment in this industry.

According to research and statistics, this industry generates $53 billion annually, and is projected to have an annual growth rate of 2.5% by 2016. The number of business in this industry amounts to 768,021, employing 1,664,311 people.

There are about 53,000 commercial facilities, plus about 21,000 facilities run by non-profit organizations. The industry is highly fragmented as the top 50 companies generate less than 20% of revenue for the entire industry.

Preschool programs became popular especially as more percentage of women in the workforce grew by nearly 71% in 2007. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 28% of mothers with young children worked in 1975, which has more than doubled by 60% by 2013.

Over the same period, employees in the daycare industry increased by nearly 250%. The bureau also noted that investment in childcare by non-profit and government agencies, as well as new tax credits, also helped to fuel the industry’s growth.

According to the Child Care Aware group, about 11 million children under the ages of 5, spend an average of 35 hours a week in childcare. Infants in center-based care had an average annual cost that ranged from $5,496 in Mississippi to $16,549 in Massachusetts; 4 year olds had care in a center ranging from $4,515 in Tennessee to $12,320 in Massachusetts; with the quality of care and degree of regulation varying widely.

Also, childcare workers were seen to be paid the lowest wages in any professional field, $21,490 on average. However, the recovery of the economy is already impacting greatly on the preschool market.

Parents and especially mothers are going back to work, thereby causing the demand for preschools and preschool services to grow. This means that disposable income will increase which will let parents especially women put more resources towards child care like the high value early educational programs.

Even though this might seem like a saturated field, it isn’t, as there is always a constant demand for parents to prepare their children for proper schooling. The incentives in venturing into or starting a pre – school are having an impact on toddlers who are struggling academically and getting them engaged so that their parents will carry out their businesses or other activities.

2. Executive Summary

Future Stars® Pre – School is a standard and well – equipped pre – school that will be located in a well – populated residential estate in Ashville – North Carolina, united states of America. We are a preschool that provide day care services for children under the ages of three and four to prepare them for kindergarten.

Aside from the fact that we will operate a preschool center, we will also engage in home tutoring – we will go to the homes of our students as demanded by their parents.

Future Stars® Preschool is a client-focused and result driven preschool that provides day care services and broad-based learning approaches and experience at an affordable fee that won’t in any way put a hole in the pocket of our clients (parents).

We will offer a standard and professional pre – school daycare and teaching services designed for toddlers in a highly secured, neat and conducive learning environment. We will ensure that we work hard to meet and surpass all our parents’ expectations and educational goals whenever they enroll their kids in our pre – school.

At Future Stars® Preschool, our kids’ and their parents’ overall best interest would always come first, and everything we do is guided by our values and professional ethics.

We will ensure that we hire professional educationist and care – giver who are well trained to handle kids that are of pre – school age in various kids development learning areas who are well experienced and passionate in imparting knowledge to toddlers at various learning ladder (potty training, rhymes, walking, dancing and talking et al).

Future Stars® Preschool will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as an educational organization, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible.

We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our clients’ (parents) needs precisely and completely. We will cultivate a working environment that provides a human, sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our students.

Our overall business goal is to position Future Stars® Pre – School to become the leading Pre – School brand in the educational industry in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina, and also to be amongst the top 50 pre – schools in the united states of America within the first 10 years of operations.

This might look too tall a dream but we are optimistic that this will surely come to pass because we have done our research and feasibility studies and we are enthusiastic and confident that Ashville – North Carolina is the right place to launch our pre – school; they have the right demographic composition that can support and sustain our business model.

Future Stars® Preschool is founded by Mrs. Clara Jake – MacPherson. She has a Degree in Education with bias in children education and she has well over 16 years of experience in the educational industry in the United States of America. She will be bringing in her wealth of experience to help build Future Stars® Pre – School to enviable heights.

3. Our Products and Services

The Future Stars® Preschool is going to offer daycare services within the scope of the education board in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our pre – school is to soundly prepare toddlers who are under the ages of three and four for kindergarten and of course to make profits from the education industry and we will do all that is permitted by the law in the US to achieve our aim and business goal.

Our service offerings are listed below;

• Provide daycare services for children under the ages of three and four to prepare them for kindergarten.
• Running a Standard and licensed Daycare Center
• Offering Home Tutor Services for toddlers as requested by their parents
• Retailing of Kids Educational Books and Materials

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to build a highly competitive pre – school / daycare center that will become the number one choice for parents in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina.
• Our vision reflects our values: integrity, service, excellence and teamwork.
• Our mission is to provide professional, safe and conducive daycare and learning environment to toddlers.
• Our overall business goal is to position our tutorial college to become the leading pre -school brand in the educational industry in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina, and also to be amongst the top 50 preschools / daycare center in the United States of America within the first 10 years of operations.

Our Business Structure

Future Stars® Pre – School will build a solid business structure that can support the growth of our pre – school. We will ensure that we hire competent hands to help us build the business of our dream. The fact that we want to become the leading pre – school / daycare brand in the educational industry in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina makes it highly necessary to deliberately build a well – structured business from the onset.

At Future Stars® Preschool we will ensure that we hire people that are qualified, hardworking, creative, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all the stake holders (the owners, workforce, and customers).

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our long serving senior staff members and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more as agreed by the board of trustees of the company. In view of the above, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;

• Head of The Pre – School (Daycare) / School Coordinator

School Administrator

• Tutors for Various Learning Areas
• Nannies / Caregivers / Aux Nurse

Marketing and Sales Executive

Accountant / Bursar

• Client Service Executive / Front Desk Officer
• Security Officer

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Head of the Pre – School / School Coordinator:

• Responsible for providing direction for the pre – school / daycare center
• Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for handling high profile clients and deals
• Responsible for fixing fees and signing business deals (partnership)
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the tutorial college
• Coordinates all arms of the pre – school
• Evaluates the success of the pre – school / daycare center
• Reports to the board of the pre – school / daycare center
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the pre – school
• Design job descriptions with KPI to drive performance management for all staff members
• Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders (parents and member of the school board) to review the effectiveness of the schools’ Policies, Procedures and Processes
• Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
• Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
• Defining job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Oversee the smooth running of the daily activities of the tutorial college.

Tutors for Various Learning Areas for Toddlers

• Effectively teach subject / subjects as assigned by the school coordinator
• Access the progress of kids under their care
• Ensure that kids participate in learning activities such as potty trainings, rhymes and dancing et al
• Contributes his / her quota towards growing the pre – school
• Receives complaints from parents and channel it to the appropriate quarters
• Handle any other duty as assigned by the school coordinator.

Nannies / Caregivers / Aux Nurses

• Responsible for changing diapers for kids and cleaning them up when they messed up themselves
• Responsible for feeding toddlers
• Ensures that toddlers sleep as at when due and help calm them when they are crying
• Goes the extra mile to ensure that toddles are comfortable and well taken care of.
• Contributes his / her quota towards growing the pre – school / daycare center
• Handles any other duty as assigned by the school coordinator.
• Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new parents, and business opportunities et al
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of development projects.
• Writing winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
• Responsible for handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for clients
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Develops, executes and evaluate new plans for expanding increase sales
• Document all customer contact and information
• Represents the company in strategic meetings
• Help increase sales and growth for the company
• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for the tutorial college
• Serves as internal auditor for the tutorial college

Client Service Executive

• Welcomes toddlers and their parents by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
• Ensures that all contacts with parents (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides them with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with parents on the phone, uses every opportunity to build their interest in the school’s products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the school coordinator in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the schools’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to students when they make enquiries
• Receives parcels / documents for the Pre – school
• Handles any other duties as assigned by the school authority
• Maintain a clean daycare facility by sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning of glass doors and windows, etc. if required.
• Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
• Responsible for handling laundry

Security Officers

• Ensure that the daycare facility is secured at all time
• Control traffic and organize parking
• Give security tips to staff members from time to time
• Patrols around the building on a 24 hours basis
• Submit security reports weekly
• Any other duty as assigned by the school coordinator.

6. SWOT Analysis

Future Stars® Pre – School engaged the services of a core professional in the area of business consulting and structuring to assist our pre – school in building a well – structured educational business that can favorably compete in the highly competitive education industry.

Part of what the team of business consultant did was to work with the management of our organization in conducting a SWOT analysis for Future Stars® Pre – School. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of The Future Stars® Pre – School;

Our core strength lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team that has the right passion and drive for taking care of toddlers, a team with excellent qualifications and experience in daycare / pre – school education. We are well positioned in a community with the right demographic composition and we know we will attract loads of parents who would want to enroll their kids from the first day we open our doors for daycare services.

As a new pre – school / daycare center in Ashville – North Carolina, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and gain acceptance in the already saturated pre – school / education industry; that is perhaps our major weakness. Also we might not have the required money to pump into advertising and promoting our brand the way we would want to.

• Opportunities:

The opportunities in the pre – school / education industry is massive considering the number of parents who would want their kids under school age to be in safe place and to get them prepared for kindergarten. As a standard, safe and highly comfortable daycare center, we are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes our way.

Every business faces a threats or challenges at any part of the life cycle of the business. These threats can be external or internal. This shows the importance of a business plan, because most threats or challenges are to be anticipated and plans put in place to cushion what effect they might bring to the pre – school.

Some of the threats that we are likely going to face as a pre – school operating in the United States of America are unfavorable government policies that might affect daycare centers, the arrival of a competitor within our location of operations and global economic downturn which usually affects spending / purchasing power. There is hardly anything we can do as regards these threats other than to be optimistic that things will continue to work for our good.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

The trend in the pre – school / daycare center line of business is that the keys to attracting parents to enroll their wards is the safety, cleanliness, location and of course the overall comfort of their toddlers.

The trend in the daycare center industry is such that players in this industry can now comfortably start their daycare business in an business district; a place where it is easier for working class parents to take advantage of their launch breaks and even tea breaks to dash down to breast – feed and cuddle their children before dashing back to work.

The demand for pre – schools is driven by the fact that most parents work or are engaged in businesses that takes them away from their kids that are under school age and one of the options left is to enroll such kid in a daycare center.

The economic downturn hasn’t really affected this industry, especially in countries that believe in the efficacy of early education. The areas you would need to spend heavily on is in ensuring that your school is up to standard, is the facility, your advertisements, and insurance.

8. Our Target Market

As a standard preschool / daycare center, Future Stars® Pre – School offers a wide range of pre – school services hence we are well trained and equipped to services a wide range of kids are different growth level irrespective of any challenges et al.

Our target market as a preschool / daycare center cuts across parents with kids under school age of different class and people from all walks of life.

We are coming into the pre – school / education industry with a business concept that will enable us work with the toddlers at different learning stages. Below is a list of the parents / toddlers that we have specifically design our pre – school services for;

• Working class parents with toddlers under school age
• Parents with toddlers under school age who run their own business and are too busy to take care of their wards during business hours

Our Competitive Advantage

This field is a highly intense one because of the level of quality service offerings by the pre – schools, who are more pressured to deliver better services. Due to this pressure, there is a jostling amongst the different pre – schools to get more parents to enroll their toddlers in their daycare center, thereby increasing their earnings as well.

We are quite aware that to be highly competitive in the preschool / education industry means that you should be able to deliver consistent quality service, parents should be able to experience remarkable difference and improvement in their toddlers and you should be able to meet the expectations of the educational governing board in the United States of America.

Our competitive advantage lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team that has the right passion and drive for taking care of toddlers, a team with excellent qualifications and experience in daycare / preschool education. We are well positioned in a community with the right demographic composition and we know we will attract loads of parents who would want to enroll their kids from the first day we open our doors for daycare services.

Lastly, all our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (startups pre – school / daycare center in the United States) in the industry meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Future Stars® Preschool is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the preschool / education industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to attract parents on a regular basis.  Future Stars® Preschool will generate income by offering the following services;

10. Sales Forecast

One thing is certain; there would always be parents who may want their kids under school age to be in safe place and to get them prepared for kindergarten. As a standard, safe and highly comfortable daycare center, we are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes our way.

We are well positioned to take on the available market in Ashville – North Carolina and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from the first six month of operations and grow the pre – school and our student base.

We have been able to critically examine the preschool / daycare center market and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projection is based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to similar startups in Ashville – North Carolina.

Below is the sales projection for Future Stars® Pre – School, it is based on the location of our daycare center and of course the wide range of pre – school services that we will be offering;

• First Year-: $75,000
• Second Year-: $150,000
• Third Year-: $350,000

N.B : This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and natural disasters within the period stated above. So, there won’t be any major competitor offering same additional services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

We are mindful of the fact that there is stiffer competition amongst pre – schools / daycare centers in the United States of America hence we have been able to hire some of the best marketing experts to handle our sales and marketing.

Our sales and marketing team will be recruited base on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of Future Stars® Pre – School. We want to build a standard and first – class pre – school / daycare center that will leverage on word of mouth advertisement from satisfied parents

Our goal is to grow our preschool to become one of the top 50 pre – schools / daycare center in the United States of America which is why we have mapped out strategy that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in Ashville – North Carolina but also in other cities in the United States of America.

Future Stars® Pre – School is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;

• Introduce our pre – school / daycare center by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to parents / household and key stake holders in Ashville – North Carolina.
• Print out fliers and business cards and strategically drop them in religious centers, libraries and public facilities.
• Use friends and family to spread word about your pre – school / daycare center
• Post information about our pre – school / daycare center on bulletin boards in places like churches, maternity clinics, parks, libraries, and local coffee shops et al
• Place a small or classified advertisement in the newspaper, or local publication about our pre – school / daycare center
• Leverage on referral networks such as agencies that will help match parents with toddlers under school age with our pre – school/ daycare center.
• Join relevant association or body that will enable you network and meet others in same industry.
• Advertising online by using an advertising platform such as Google Adwords, that will allow us place text advertisements alongside on websites with related contents, and along results from search engines.
• Advertise our pre – school in relevant educational magazines, newspapers, TV stations, and radio station.
• Attend relevant educational expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
• Engage direct marketing approach
• Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied parents

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We have been able to work with our brand and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market. We are set to become the number one choice for both parents and students in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our pre – school / daycare center.

Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Future Stars® Pre – School;

• Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community based events / programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
• Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around Ashville – North Carolina.
• Engage in road show from time to time in targeted neighborhoods
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
• Contact corporate organizations by calling them up and informing them of our pre – school / daycare center, and the advantage we over the others.
• Passing general information via our social media handles like twitter, Facebook, Google hangouts etc.
• Ensure that all our staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our schools’ logo et al.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Generally for pre – school and daycare services flat fees on a weekly or monthly basis is what is obtainable. As a result of this, Future Stars® Pre – School will charge our parents who enrolled their toddlers in our daycare center flat fees except for few occasions where there will be need for us to charge special students on hourly basis.

At Future Stars® Pre – School we will keep our fees below the average market rate for all of our students by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance. In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to all our students at regular intervals.

We are aware that there are some kids that would need special assistance, we will offer flat rate for such services that will be tailored to take care of such kids’ needs.

• Payment Options

At Future Stars® Pre – School, our payment policy will be all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that we will make available to our clients;

• Payment by via bank transfer
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft
• Payment via mobile money
• Payment with cash

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our plans with little or no itches.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

In setting up a pre – school business, the amount or cost will depend on the approach and scale you want to undertake. If you intend to go big by renting a place, then you would need a higher amount of capital as you would need to ensure that your employees are well taken care of, and that your pre – school’s environment is conducive enough to keep kids.

This means that the start-up can either be low or high depending on your goals, vision and aspirations for your business. The materials and equipment that will be used are nearly the same cost everywhere, and any difference in prices would be minimal and can be overlooked.

As for the detailed cost analysis for starting a pre – school business; it might differ in other countries due to the value of their money. However, this is what it would cost us in the United of America;

• Business incorporating fees in the United States of America will cost – $750.
• The budget for Liability insurance, permits and license will cost – $3,500
• Acquiring a facility / property that will accommodate the number of kids that we want to take care of for at least 6 months (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) will cost – $35,000.
• Equipping the office (computers, printers, projectors, markers, pens and pencils, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – $10,000
• The budget for paying staff members and utility bills for at least 3 months – $70,000
• The budget for start – up inventories (toiletries, toys, cots, and mats et al) – $2,500
• Launching an official Website will cost – $500
• Additional Expenditure such as Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will cost – $5,000

Going by the report from the market research and feasibility studies conducted, we will need about two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) U.S. dollars to successfully set – up a medium scale but standard and well equipped pre – school / daycare center in the United States of America.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Future Stars® Pre – School

Future Stars® Pre – School is a private business that will be owned by Mrs. Clara Jake – McPherson and family. They are the sole financial of the business which is why they decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital for the business to just three major sources.

These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings and sale of his stocks
• Generate part of the start – up capital from friends and other extended family members
• Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the bank (loan facility).

N.B: We have been able to generate about $100,000 (Personal savings $85,000 and soft loan from family members $15,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $150,000 from our bank. All the papers and document has been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

It is easier for businesses to survive when they have steady flow of business deals / customers patronizing their products and services. We are aware of this which is why we have decided to offer a wide range of tutorial services and other related services to high school students, students with disabilities and elderly students (adult education).

We know that if we continue to deliver excellent daycare services, there will be steady flow of income for the organization. Our key sustainability and expansion strategy is to ensure that we only hire competent and selfless staff members, create a conducive working environment and employee benefits for our staff members.

In the nearest future, we will explore the options of either selling out franchise or expanding our scope beyond Ashville – North Carolina to other major cities in the United States of America. We know that if we implement our business strategies, we will achieve our business goals and objectives in record time.

Check List / Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check:>Completed
• Business Incorporation: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts various banks in the United States: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of All form of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating part of the start – up capital from the founders: Completed
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Pre – Schools’ Logo: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: Completed
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the Needed furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the Pre – School: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the pre – school in Ashville – North Carolina: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
• Establishing business relationship with vendors and key players in the education industry: In Progress

More on School

Daycare Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs create business plans to start and grow their businesses. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning for your daycare. We will then go through a good daycare business plan template step-by-step to help you outline and create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Daycare Business Plan Template here >

What Is a Daycare Business Plan?

A daycare business plan provides a snapshot of your daycare business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan

If you’re looking to start a daycare business or grow your existing one, you need a solid business plan. This plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your daycare in order to improve your chances of success. It is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Source of Funding for a Daycare Business

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a daycare business are bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, a lender will want to review your daycare 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 daycare 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 daycare business.

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A good daycare business plan should include the following 10 key elements:

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your daycare 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 daycare that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of child care centers.

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the daycare industry. Discuss the type of daycare you are operating. Include detailed information about your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will describe the type of daycare company you are operating, including a business description.

For example, you need to decide which type of child care business you plan to operate:

• Home-Based Daycare: this type of daycare business operates out of your home and typically has one or two caregivers on staff.
• Daycare Center: this kind of child care center operates out of a commercial building. It typically has multiple teachers and personnel and can provide care to many kids.
• Preschool Daycare: a daycare business that primarily serves preschoolers
• School-Age Daycare: a daycare business that primarily serves school-age kids.

In addition to explaining the type of child care you operate, the Company Analysis section needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start your daycare 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 industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the daycare 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 daycare 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 daycare business plan:

• How big is the daycare 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 daycare 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 daycare. 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 must detail the community 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 audience in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the families you seek to serve. Because most daycares primarily serve customers in the same local area, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target families. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your families.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your daycare business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other daycare providers in your local area.

Indirect competitors are other options that parents have that aren’t direct competitors. This includes keeping children at home and/or after-school programs among others.

With regards to direct competitors, you want to detail the other daycare or child care centers with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be daycare businesses located very close to your location.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their services and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ daycare 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 parents do they offer services to?
• What daycare 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 parents’ perspective.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide superior daycare services?
• Will you provide daycare services that your competitors don’t offer?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a child care business plan, you should include the following:

Product : in the product section, you should reiterate the type of daycare that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, describe 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 child care services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your daycare. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your daycare located next to a heavily populated office building, or gym, etc.? Discuss how your location might provide a steady stream of potential customers.

Promotions : the final part of your daycare marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive families 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 daycare 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 procedures include all of the tasks involved in running your daycare such as discussions with prospective new customers, procuring supplies, keeping the center clean, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to serve your 100th child, or when you hope to reach $X in sales. It could also be when you expect to hire your 4th employee or launch a new location.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your daycare’s ability to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ and teachers’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills, and experiences that prove their ability to grow your child care business.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in the daycare or child care business. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience or certification that you think will help your daycare business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your daycare business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in daycare centers and/or successfully running a retail or small company.

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 creating 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 company. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : While these financial statements include much information, to simplify them to the key items you need to know about, balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. For instance, if you spend $100,000 on building out your daycare center, that will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $100.000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement : Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your company, 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 daycare 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 financial projections be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a daycare center:

• Daycare 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 daycare center design blueprint or location lease.  

Putting together a good business plan for your daycare is an exciting process to help you develop and grow your child care business into the future. If you follow the template above including all the key sections, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the daycare industry, your competition, and your target parents. You will have developed a comprehensive business plan and will really understand what it takes to launch your daycare business, obtain the financing you need, and expand your business.

Daycare Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my daycare business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Daycare Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Daycare Business Plan.

Where Can I Download an Example Daycare Business Plan PDF?

You can download our daycare business plan sample PDF  here . This is a business plan example you can use in PDF format.

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• May 29, 2024
• Business Plan

Creating a comprehensive business plan is crucial for launching and running a successful kid’s clothing store. This plan serves as your roadmap, detailing your vision, operational strategies, and financial plan. It helps establish your kid’s clothing store’s identity, navigate the competitive market, and secure funding for growth.

This article not only breaks down the critical components of a kid’s clothing store business plan, but also provides an example of a business plan to help you craft your own.

Whether you’re an experienced entrepreneur or new to the retail industry, this guide, complete with a business plan example, lays the groundwork for turning your kid’s clothing store business concept into reality. Let’s dive in!

Our kid’s clothing store business plan is structured to cover all essential aspects needed for a comprehensive strategy. It outlines the store’s operations, marketing strategy , market environment, competitors, management team, and financial forecasts.

• Executive Summary : Offers an overview of your kid’s clothing store’s business concept, market analysis , management, and financial strategy.
• Store & Location : Describes the store’s design, amenities, and why its location is appealing to potential clients.
• Supply & Products : Lists the types of clothing and related products provided by your store, including pricing structure .
• Key Stats : Shares industry size , growth trends, and relevant statistics for the kid’s clothing market.
• Key Trends : Highlights recent trends affecting the kid’s clothing sector.
• Key Competitors : Analyzes main competitors nearby and how your kid’s clothing store differs from them.
• SWOT Analysis : Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis.
• Marketing Plan : Strategies for attracting and retaining customers.
• Timeline : Key milestones and objectives from start-up through the first year of operation.
• Management: Information on who manages the kid’s clothing store and their roles.
• Financial Plan: Projects the store’s 5-year financial performance, including revenue, profits, and expected expenses.

Kids’ Clothing Store Business Plan

Fully editable 30+ slides Powerpoint presentation business plan template.

Download an expert-built 30+ slides Powerpoint business plan template

Executive Summary

The Executive Summary introduces your kid’s clothing store’s business plan, offering a concise overview of your store and its product offerings. It should detail your market positioning, the range of children’s clothing and accessories you offer, its location, size, and an outline of day-to-day operations.

This section should also explore how your kid’s clothing store will integrate into the local market, including the number of direct competitors within the area, identifying who they are, along with your store’s unique selling points that differentiate it from these competitors.

Furthermore, you should include information about the management and co-founding team, detailing their roles and contributions to the store’s success. Additionally, a summary of your financial projections, including revenue and profits over the next five years, should be presented here to provide a clear picture of your store’s financial plan.

Make sure to cover here _ Business Overview _ Market Overview _ Management Team _ Financial Plan

Dive deeper into Executive Summary

Business Overview

For a  kid’s clothing store, the Business Overview section can be concisely divided into 2 main slides:

Store & Location

Briefly describe the store’s physical environment, emphasizing its design, comfort, and the overall atmosphere that welcomes customers. Mention the store’s location, highlighting its accessibility and the convenience it offers to customers, such as proximity to shopping centers or ease of parking. Explain why this location is advantageous in attracting your target clientele, which includes parents and guardians shopping for children’s clothing.

Supply & Products

Detail the range of children’s clothing and accessories offered, from everyday wear to special occasion outfits. Outline your product sourcing strategy, ensuring it reflects the quality and variety of items provided and matches the market you’re targeting. Highlight any exclusive brands, unique product lines, or special deals that provide added value to your customers, encouraging repeat business and customer loyalty.

Make sure to cover here _ Store & Location _ Supply & Products

Market Overview

Industry size & growth.

Examine the size of the children’s apparel industry and its growth potential. Discuss current market value, projected growth rates, and key factors driving expansion, such as rising birth rates and increasing disposable incomes.

Key Market Trends

Highlight recent trends, including the demand for sustainable and organic clothing, gender-neutral fashion, and ethically produced apparel. Note the shift towards online shopping and the influence of social media on parents’ purchasing decisions.

Key Competitors

Analyze the competitive landscape, covering high-end boutiques, budget-friendly chain stores, and online marketplaces. Emphasize your store’s unique selling points, such as exceptional customer service or a distinctive product range, to show how it stands out in the market.

Make sure to cover here _ Industry size & growth _ Key competitors _ Key market trends

Dive deeper into Key competitors

First, conduct a SWOT analysis for the kid’s clothing store , highlighting Strengths (such as a wide range of products and high-quality, stylish offerings), Weaknesses (including high operational costs or limited brand recognition), Opportunities (for example, growing market demand for unique and fashionable children’s clothing), and Threats (such as economic downturns that may decrease consumer spending on non-essential items).

Marketing Plan

Next, develop a marketing strategy that outlines how to attract and retain customers through targeted advertising, promotional discounts, an engaging social media presence, and community involvement.

Finally, create a detailed timeline that outlines critical milestones for the store’s opening, marketing efforts, customer base growth, and expansion objectives, ensuring the business moves forward with clear direction and purpose.

Make sure to cover here _ SWOT _ Marketing Plan _ Timeline

Dive deeper into SWOT

Dive deeper into Marketing Plan

The management section focuses on the kid’s clothing store’s management and their direct roles in daily operations and strategic direction. This part is crucial for understanding who is responsible for making key decisions and driving the kid’s clothing store toward its financial and operational goals.

For yourkid’s clothing store business plan, list the core team members, their specific responsibilities, and how their expertise supports the business.

Financial Plan

The Financial Plan section is a comprehensive analysis of your financial projections for revenue, expenses, and profitability. It lays out your kid’s clothing store business’s approach to securing funding, managing cash flow, and achieving breakeven.

This section typically includes detailed forecasts for the first 5 years of operation, highlighting expected revenue, operating costs and capital expenditures.

For your kid’s clothing store business plan, provide a snapshot of your financial statement (profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow statement), as well as your key assumptions (e.g. number of customers and prices, expenses, etc.).

Make sure to cover here _ Profit and Loss _ Cash Flow Statement _ Balance Sheet _ Use of Funds

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