How to Start a Babysitting Business

Do you want to earn more money? Do you need flexibility and something fun? Why not start your own babysitting business? As a teenager I built a babysitting empire and earned a ton of easy money. With these easy steps you can too!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. To start a babysitting business first you need to decide how much you want to charge. When I babysat I let the parents decide what to pay. I do not suggest doing this. Some parents would pay me $7 an hour for one kid, and others would pay me $4 an hour for 4 young kids. Talk to other babysitters and see what they are charging.

2. Now it is time to get your name out. Start with people you know. Talk to relatives, friends of your family, and neighbors. Your goal is to build a base of families that can vouch for you. Word of mouth and personal recommendation are the strongest ways to increase the number of families that use you. The more children you babysit the more business you will have and the more money you will make. I started with two families who knew my parents. From those two people I was able to expand to over 20 families and regular jobs. It takes some time, so be patient.

3. Once you have at least some experience under your belt and some happy customers, work on expansion. Try making flyers or business cards with your name and number. Ask the people you babysit to tell their friends about you. Have your parents do the same thing.

4. Ready for more business? Go to places parents go and advertise. Put up a flyer at your local library. Introduce yourself at daycares in the area and ask if you can hand out flyers or advertise in some way. Try craigslist. Another great way to meet parents is volunteering with kids at a church, daycare or other establishment.

5. Be a good babysitter! Try to always be on time. If someone calls and wants you to babysit and you have a conflict, suggest another date. I always tried to clean up after the kids went to bed. Take a babysitting class. Get certified in CPR or First Aid. All of these things help build your business. Before you know it you will not only have money in your pocket, but experience working with kids that can come in handy later on in life.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have a driver's license - charge more. Providing your own transportation is a big plus to parents.
• Try to make your time with kids fun - things are a lot better if the kids like you. Just play with the kids.
• One thing I did was babysitting several families at once. Usually the children were friends and the job was actually much easier. They would play with each other and I would have all the parents pay for each kid.
• Take advantage of the summer and do babysitting during the day. It is more work, but it is better than any minimum wage job.
• I would often run promotions where the first time would be free or if they told another family about me I would give them a free night (up to like 3 hours).
• Take your time to build your base of families. Some parents will recommend you to all of their friends, some won't.
• You might encounter a difficult child or an uncomfortable situation with a parent. I had several times when a parent was over 4 hours late in coming home. I would stop babysitting that family at the point, it just wasn't worth it!

[FrazzledNanny]

on 3/29/2009 Thanks for the well written article on starting a babysitting business. 5*

[athome]

on 3/16/2009 I have been thinking about this, thanks for the info. 5*