Daycare: is this a profitable idea?

[Deleted]

H and I both work retail.  We have odd hours sometimes having to be to work as early as 4 am or as late as midnight.  We work weekends/holidays and just in general have odd hours.

We don't have kids and likely never will but I was thinking about this the other day.  Our closest family is an hour away and even if we did want children we would have a hard time coming up with childcare.  I was thinking a daycare aimed at people who don't work the traditional Monday-Friday 9-5 schedule might be a good idea. Retail workers/nurses/etc...

Good idea or not marketable?

P.S. on the off chance this is good idea: copyright/patent pending/whatever, just don't steal my idea

[karmasabiotch]

Very good idea.

[lime]

I think there is always going to be a market for people that provide services during non-traditional hours.

I don't know whether that is profitable. I think profit margins are usually rather low on regular DC, right?

[karinothing]

Marketable. But questionable if liscening would permit it. There are odd rules out there. I also sorta think when it comes to kids needing care during sleeping hours that a nanny is better so kid can be in their homes if possible anyway

[mrsfarmer]

There are a few of those in my area, but I think the licensing for overnight is different. It seems like my local FB moms page has people looking for these hours once in awhile.

[lauren170]

Well, you would likely have a harder time staffing such odd hours, and filling the classes consistently. Nurse's schedules and days on change every week. Moreso, how about a daycare that doesn't charge $1/min after 6pm. Haven't daycares heard of a-hole bosses and their critical 6pm meetings?

[CurlyQ284]

I've seen some that have hours to accommodate parents with non 9-5 schedules but not very many. It would probably be profitable if you're careful with location. Like near a hospital or a plant or some large employer with shift work.

[CurlyQ284]

I wonder abut something like a babysitters club deal where you send a sitter to the house for night shifts so the kids can be in their own beds for graveyard shift parents?

[jena]

There are 24hr daycares. I know of 2 not too far from me. I have no idea how they work though.

[cville]

Marketable? Yes. Super profitable? Unlikely. Daycare margins are tight as it is, and you'd be servicing a population largely (though of course not solely) dominated by people in low/low-middle income brackets so that gives you less wiggle room to do things like, for example, promise that all rooms will have at least one teacher with a B.A. in something related to education or childcare and then up your premiums like whoa for the yuppies who flock to that sort of thing. You might be able to run a fine program and live on it great. But you're unlikely to get rich off of it.

[katb]

I have seen a few in-home providers advertising towards nurses, police officers, swing shifts, etc - includes evening, dinner, overnights, etc. I am unsure how the rates compare to traditional daycare. However, if you provided quality care - I don't doubt you wouldn't hurt for customers as nurses, police officers, etc tend to discuss with each other how they solve daycare issues. I imagine most do rely on a spouse with different hours or a nanny.

[sporklemotion]

I think the challenge is going to be variable/unpredictable schedules. You need to maintain the right teacher:child ratio, but you might have huge demand for some shifts and none for others, and people may not know what they need until the week before. So you will either be totally overstaffed (unprofitable), or have to turn people away (which will lessen your appeal).
I was thinking about this idea the other day (I heard a story about retail and the staffing issues). I think it could work if it were grant funded/a non-profit. Or if it were, say, in a mall and catered to the mall employees.

[Deleted]

This does already exist. I have no clue though if it makes more or less money than "traditional" daycare.

My thought process would assume that this type of daycare would cater more towards middle class and lower working parents who can't afford a nanny/babysitter, therefore I would think you wouldn't be able to charge an arm and a leg.

[prettyinpink]

There is an in home one right down the street from dh and I.

[pandangie]

We have one neighboring my small town that I checked out while looking at my occupational options... She only had space left for DSHS clients, not private paying?  Didn't make sense to me.  I did have a friend who put an ad on Craigslist for in-home non-licensed 24-7 care.  She got one response for the occasional date night on Saturday nights. 
In the large city we just moved from, there were at least two that I know of that had openings.
Like the others mentioned, with retail, the unpredictability and change from week to week is what's hard to plan.  Steady plain ol graveyard or overnight is easier to work around.

[curbsideprophet]

I think there is at least one of those in our area. This is not something we need so I have not researched them, but I know that they exist.

[kristie]

It's has been very hard for me to find daycare that works with my schedule because it is varies so widely. Most centers will not do infants part time or drop in, and none of them open early enough or stay open late enough. Thankfully I have family in the area and DH at night, but it sucks not to have more options.

[moolarkey]

We have friends that own Godard School's (they are a married couple, each owns one because I think Goddard doesn't allow you to own more than one). They are very successful. I can't speak to others but they are very financially successful - a lot, of course, depends on your location and the average income where you are.

[btay]

I thought about doing something similar aimed at the doctors and nurses who do long odd hours at times, but I decided I am far too lazy to do the legwork to start any sort of business.

[toepick]

I live in a small city and we have at least two 24-day care centers. I think they not only cater to people with different work hours but also offer drop in service. We have a huge Toyota factory here, with a lot of people working third shift, as well as three major hospitals.

[grumbledore]

I think it's a fantastic idea.  I'd definitely do some market research in your area before making any leaps, but on the face of it, it's brilliant.

[luckyval]

Aug 27, 2014 20:18:05 GMT -5 CurlyQ284 said:

I wonder abut something like a babysitters club deal where you send a sitter to the house for night shifts so the kids can be in their own beds for graveyard shift parents?

I think this is a great idea! Odd shifts are tough and I think it would give parents so much peace of mind if their kids were at home - not worrying about the transition after work.

[livinitup]

Non-traditional child care hours is a BIG topic in early childhood circles. The big issue is staffing and ratios. How does a provider accurately predict how many children/at what times, with the ever-changing parent work-schedule changes? If you can crack that nut - you have a great service on your hands.

One solution that I read about was when EMPLOYERS needed workers at odd hours, so they were willing to team-up with local child care providers to provide non-traditional hours. The child care provider staffed for a certain number of kids at non-traditional hours. If parents/workers used the spots, great. If any spots when unused - the employer guaranteed payment to the center. So, it took the risk off of the center AND created reliable child care (at odd hours) for employees.  

 

[hocus2]

24 hour daycare exist. They are often near hospitals and casinos. I considered opening a daycare but I've found the margin's are low and I'd take home less than I do now for more work. I think it really depends on the costs of running a daycare in your area. These costs vary considerably across the country. FWIW I think that rotating shifts are hardest on lower paid hourly workers (vs. say a doctor who could afford a nanny or may earn enough to have a spouse at home) so I'd look into programs you state or city offers for families who are working poor. If there is a voucher program in place that might be something to consider because you'd get a fairly stable stream of income.