How to Start a Christian Day Care
If you enjoy taking care of children, starting a day care center can be an incredibly rewarding career opportunity. Starting a Christian center entails the same requirements as any type of day care service. Your marketing, policies and business mission will need to follow both legal guidelines and the guidelines of your own particular Christian faith. You should also develop relationships with the larger Christian community in your neighborhood and on social media networks online.
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Instructions
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Fulfill legal requirements. To start a day care center, you will need to obtain a state license. Use the "Permit Me" tool on the federal government's official business website, business.gov, to find out what license you need in your state and whom to contact. Each state has different licensing requirements but includes attending an orientation, submitting to a background check, completing health and safety training and keeping proper records.
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Network with your community. Before you launch your new day care center, network with your local Christian community to find potential customers. Introduce your day care service with conversations at church gatherings, informal meetings, school functions and social occasions. Assess demand and ask parents what they would like to see in a day care center before you begin.
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Talk to your own Christian spiritual leaders. Get advice on the best ways to operate as a Christian business. There is a wide range of interpretation on what running a Christian day care entails. You can just be a Christian who operates a day care center or you can actively teach Christian teachings at your center. Ask your own church's leaders what works best and what parents want.
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Create a realistic business plan. Decide if you are going to operate out of your home or in a separate day care center. Make a list of the competition and their rates. Look for a location or niche that is underserved. Create a name and marketing plan that is original and innovative. Plan on offering lower rates until your day care center is established. See if you can form your business as a nonprofit. To find out if your company can qualify as a nonprofit and be exempt from paying taxes, visit the Internal Revenue Service's online home for charities and nonprofit organizations.
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Utilize business organizations. Get your business listed in established Christian networks. These include The Christian Business Network and the International Christian Chamber of Commerce. There are also local Christian-based business networks in many cities across the country. For online networking opportunities, try ShoutLife. Create a profile as well on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. List your business on location-based search engines such as Google Maps and Yahoo Local.
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