8 Months and Still No Real Income. Is It Worth It???

[DestinyAja]

I started my daycare because I love children, I wanted to stay home with my children, so they could interact with other kids, and I wanted to make money while doing it.

It's been 8 months and I'm still broke. I'm not really sure what I'm doing wrong. As soon as I get a good solid 6 or 7 kids, one of the families loses a job, or the children end up being so bad that I have to terminate them. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be this stressful. The kids are disrespectful, the parents are always defending them, and always need some sort of "deal", they pay late, they refuse to help me and work with their children at home. I cook this food, they don't eat it. They sneeze and cough and don't cover their nose or mouth, the parents swear up and down that it's "allergy season".

I've tried to hire 3 different helpers, they were all unreliable. I'm stress eating and drinking wine every night. I've gained about 35 pounds doing this business. I'm neglecting my own 2 boys (9 months old and 3 yrs old). By the time the last family leaves at 6pm, I don't want to hear another cry or fix another bottle, wipe another table, wash another dish or change another diaper.

I'm confused. Where is the joy and the satisfaction of it all?? The good thing is my ex-husband has agreed to continue to pay all of our bills and support us in lieu of child support, so the money that I make is mine. But I'm not even making enough money to do anything nice for myself or my boys. Raising them as a single mom, I don't make enough money to take a "break" from it all.

Somebody brought this dang Hand Foot and Mouth Disease up in my house a couple weeks ago, and I know it didn't come from my house or my boys because they were the last ones to get it. So I had to close down for 2 days last week and nurse my boys back to health. The parents received a credit this week since I had to close, and I ended up losing 1 family behind the virus, and another family still has their child out with it. So I'm pretty much back to square 1 again.

How long does it take before I start seeing some real money? At the end of the week after buying food and supplies, I only have about $100 left. I'm not even making enough money to invest back into the business. Is it supposed to be this stressful??? I need some serious guidance please! I dunno if I'm overreacting or what. Do I need more patience? (That is a weakness of mine). I feel like I don't want to shut it down, bcuz people say I quit at everything (another weakness). But if something isn't working, then why keep at it? Do I need to close and revamp my business and get a whole new crew of children in here? I'm lost.

[NeedaVaca]

How many kids do you currently have and how much do you charge? I would take a good look at your contract and make changes so you are happy. I charge 52 weeks per year regardless of the child's attendance, I also take 2 weeks paid vacation and 5 paid personal days plus major holidays. I always know what my income is each week and have enough time off to keep myself happy.

Save as much money as you can on food/supplies! I coupon heavily and the money saved is money in my pocket. Put money away for savings so when you lose a family you have cushion until you find a replacement.

Those are just a couple of things to think about, I'm sure more people will chime in with other ideas

[DestinyAja]

How many kids do you currently have and how much do you charge?

I have 5 kids now. I just lost 1 this week.

3 months - $130
13 months - $135
brothers 3 yrs and 9 months - $220
2 yr old - $130

The contract I have just basically says they have to give a 2 week notice before terminating.

[LysesKids]

Can you cut back on the # of kids & ditch the helper? that right there costs you at least minimum wage each hour she works & unless you can make more than what it costs you it doesn't make sense to have her. Also are you on the food program, that can help with food costs too

[DestinyAja]

Can you cut back on the # of kids & ditch the helper? that right there costs you at least minimum wage each hour she works & unless you can make more than what it costs you it doesn't make sense to have her

I don't have a helper. I can't afford one. I've tried to hire helpers in the past, but they were unreliable.

[MyAngels]

It looks like you're giving a discount of some kind to the sibling set? If that's the case, that small discount really adds up over time. I'd start by cutting that discount off and charging them full price.

[daycare]

i think one thing we all do when we are starting out is take whoever is willing to sign up. After dealing with parents and children that don't treat us well we start to realize we need to change.

I found this site after already being in business for many years. I wish I would have found it sooner, not even sure it exists back then. But I am so happy that I did find it.

I learned how to set my expectations of what I wanted, which in return I was able to learn to choose the families that fit best into my program based on me.

I changed all of my handbooks, policies with the parents, demanded respect from the families and grew a backbone. Trust me when I tell you, it didn't happen over night. It all took time.

learning how to interview was probably where I had the hardest time and where I was going wrong. I really had to learn to ask better questions, explain in full detail my expectations and really try to judge without judging if that makes sense...

Also, do you have a two week paid trial period?

[happymom]

Is the sibling set by chance your own children? (I noticed the ages were exactly the same)

[childcaremom]

I started daycare because I, too, love kids and wanted to be home with my own. I stayed with daycare because I can make some good money at it. It required a huge shift in my thinking, though.

I would look at how much you need to be making and then charge enough so that you are making that. Divide it over the 52 weeks and don't give discounts.

I really learned a lot my first year. I made a lot of mistakes and needed to make a lot of changes. Once I did, I was happier. It did involve a lot of advertising and replacing, as I had pretty much signed up anyone and everyone.

Big things that have helped me:
*setting hours and not deviating from them for anyone. I start to resent the extra hours eventually.
*strict illness policy. Very strict. I dislike very much having sick kids here. So I make very clear that I am well childcare only.
*very clear policies and sticking to them right from the get go. My clients respect me more for it.
*revamping my interview process. Being picky about who I let in has made me happier.

[wonderfullisa]

Do you meal plan and budget out your money? $550 on food and supplies each week sounds awfully high. You either have a leak in expenses (spending more money than you realise on something), or you need to change the things you are buying.
Keep reading. This board is very helpful!

[Play Care]

Ugh, I am sorry! I started out slow which helped tremendously. I also lucked out in getting great kids from a retiring great (strict!) provider. She had them trained!

But I don't think I really started making good money until after my own kids went to school, and I could fill their spaces with paying clients. Then I got bumped to Tier 1 on the food program which was a major jump.

A few things I did to make life easier for me and make me feel better about my program:

My kids rooms/toys were off limits. I bought day care toys for day care. This leveled the playing field by giving my kids the same rights as the day care kids - the right to their own space/things.

I get paid, no matter what. If I'm sick, if a dck kid is out sick, if I am off for a major holiday, etc etc etc. Doesn't matter. I get paid. I need to make a steady income to run a reliable program.

Having ONE day care area, with all other things inaccessible to the dck's. It makes my day so much more relaxing/stress free if I'm not worried that Sammy is going somewhere I don't want him to be to while I'm changing a diaper or making lunch.

Learned to handle minor issues without involving parents. I don't know your situation, but unless the behavior is completely inappropriate or dangerous, I handle it. If it becomes an ongoing issue, I will say something to the parent. But that rarely happens. I found that when I was too chatty, parents interpreted that as me not knowing what I was doing

But at the end of the day, only you know what you can handle. If you have an issue with changing jobs frequently, maybe look at some training you can take to land a job that you'd enjoy more?

[DestinyAja]

Is the sibling set by chance your own children? (I noticed the ages were exactly the same)

No those aren't my own children. Me and the parents were both very excited that our children were the exact same age. I guess that's why now she thinks she can walk in here with only a partial payment and promise to pay it next week.

[JackandJill]

I feel like you described my first year in daycare. I was so broke, tired and stressed (and I have put on 40 pounds ). I had families that I didn't really want but needed the money. I put their schedules and needs ahead of my own.

I can say, from experience, the only way I was able to stay in business was to put myself and my business first. I set hours that became non negotiable. I made a handbook - it is now 13 pages long - and I ENFORCE my handbook. Any extra service comes with a fee. I LEARNED TO SAY NO. I changed my mindset from thinking "I have to do xyz otherwise the family will leave" to "This is how I do things, if they leave, another family will come that is a better fit." I stopped doing above and beyond crafts and activities that cost a fortune and simplified our daily routine.

I am going into my third year in business. I am happier, my families are all amazing, I no longer just take anyone just to fill a spot. It didn't all happen at once, it was uncomfortable to be honest. But you need to do it otherwise you will be closing your doors!

You can do it! start tonight by writing down how you want your business to be set up, and then make a to do list with steps to get your from where you are today tow where you ultimately want to be. Each week make one change until you are happy! Best of luck!

[mommyneedsadayoff]

Is food/supplies your only expense? Do you have car pymt or cell phone bill, ect? If not, then you need to find ways to cut the food cost way down. $500 a week is outrageously high for a family of 3, even with the daycare kids.

[Heart12]

No those aren't my own children. Me and the parents were both very excited that our children were the exact same age. I guess that's why now she thinks she can walk in here with only a partial payment and promise to pay it next week.

These kinds of parents will take full advantage of you if you allow them to! It sounds like maybe you need to update your contract & follow through with your policies. Its hard at first, but it makes a HUGE difference! This is my first year in business & I've learned soooo much from this forum.