Default Style Register
Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>New Idea to Daycare
nabilino 07:31 AM 03-28-2016
Hello,
I'm a parent to two young children. At my post graduate school, we're doing a project around a new idea for day care.

We provide the space, parents choose the
care

Benefits include:

Control over who cares for your child

Confidence in quality of the center

Easier to coordinate a nanny-share, which can
make childcare more affordable

Provide care outside the typical working hours

Increased visibility to activities via webcams

My question to the group is how interested are you in this idea and concept.

Thank you,

Reply
Thriftylady 07:48 AM 03-28-2016
I don't see it being feasible. Parents choosing who works there just wouldn't work. To many trainings and other things the providers would have to have and someone would have to be paid just to keep up with making sure all those regs were followed. Also it would be expensive. If each parent wants a different care giver, that is more employees to pay. Parents would basically be paying nanny rates at that point, only higher due to the cost of overhead. Most nannys work in the parents home, keeping the overhead low. Then you factor in the employment taxes and such. Sounds like a nightmare to run to me.
Reply
Ariana 07:54 AM 03-28-2016
Have you ever worked with children and their parents? Have you ever run a full time childcare program?
Reply
MunchkinWrangler 08:09 AM 03-28-2016
Not at all, my reason being, working outside of 'normal daycare hours' . . . so what would the operating hours be? Most people have families and this wouldn't necessarily work for the people(human being) providing care. How would parents choose care, I'm not understanding that concept. I offer a service, in which I provide activities and equipment that my training, personal research, and experience working with children. I would not be ok with someone telling me how to schedule my day according to only one child's needs i.e. what a nanny would be hired for and payed accordingly.

If you are providing center care, nanny-sharing is a totally different concept and most children, unless granted permission are not allowed to be taken off the premises or switched around, licensing wouldn't allow it. When a specific address is licensed that is where you would be doing the bulk of the caregiving.
Reply
Laurel 08:13 AM 03-28-2016
Originally Posted by nabilino:
Hello,
I'm a parent to two young children. At my post graduate school, we're doing a project around a new idea for day care.

We provide the space, parents choose the
care

Benefits include:

Control over who cares for your child

Confidence in quality of the center

Easier to coordinate a nanny-share, which can
make childcare more affordable

Provide care outside the typical working hours

Increased visibility to activities via webcams

My question to the group is how interested are you in this idea and concept.

Thank you,
I don't understand the concept. Is this some huge building with various daycare rooms with various providers for parents to choose from? Kind of like a school with classrooms and each classroom is it's own daycare?

Do provider's work for this 'school' or pay rent to secure one of the rooms?

Sorry, I just don't get it.

If it is like the above, off the top of my head, without knowing details, it sounds like it could be a logistical nightmare.
Reply
Blackcat31 08:19 AM 03-28-2016
Originally Posted by nabilino:
Hello,
I'm a parent to two young children. At my post graduate school, we're doing a project around a new idea for day care.

We provide the space, parents choose the
care

Benefits include:

Control over who cares for your child

Confidence in quality of the center

Easier to coordinate a nanny-share, which can
make childcare more affordable

Provide care outside the typical working hours

Increased visibility to activities via webcams

My question to the group is how interested are you in this idea and concept.

Thank you,
I don't understand how the "control over who cares for your child" part works but I think the idea of care outside of typical working hours is fantastic!

We have a center in my community that is open 24/7. It's ALWAYS full! We also have several family providers that offer weekend care and/or non-standard hours of care and they too are always busy so the need for care outside of standard hours is definitely needed IMHO.

The only comment I have on access to video feeds is that I don't think it's a good idea at all. Too risky.

Others can hack into the feeds, the privacy of families is compromised and allowing families to "check in" periodically through out the day provides for too many cases of not understanding the situation as a whole and that opens up a whole 'nother field of liability.
Reply
Unregistered 08:19 AM 03-28-2016
Give more details so that people can give an informed response.

Who pays for space.
Who arranges "nanny-share".
Who does background checks? (My children are exposed to your nanny in a "shared space.")
How is licensing coordinated?
Who/how/where is food prepped?
Who is responsible for providing safe sleep environs for infants? (Parents may or may not care, but it could have HUGE liability repercussions for the entity that provides the space.

Tons more unanswered questions.
Reply
nabilino 08:55 AM 03-28-2016
Thank you all for the feedback!

The center will include many spaces for individual nannies to use with the child(ren) they're caring for.
We anticipated contact between parents and providers to be initially via an app, much like Uber where a parent needing child care can go and select the provider then drop their kid(s) at the center where the nanny will be working.

The center will be licenced by the state and have up to date standards.
Nannies are only added to the app database once their background is checked. After accumulating care, they are reviewed and have a rating that let other parents know the good providers from excellent ones and maybe rates are different depending upon the rating.
Food is likely to be provided by parents i.e. snacks and light meals. The center will have a cafeteria space.
Reply
Thriftylady 08:59 AM 03-28-2016
Originally Posted by nabilino:
Thank you all for the feedback!

The center will include many spaces for individual nannies to use with the child(ren) they're caring for.
We anticipated contact between parents and providers to be initially via an app, much like Uber where a parent needing child care can go and select the provider then drop their kid(s) at the center where the nanny will be working.

The center will be licenced by the state and have up to date standards.
Nannies are only added to the app database once their background is checked. After accumulating care, they are reviewed and have a rating that let other parents know the good providers from excellent ones and maybe rates are different depending upon the rating.
Food is likely to be provided by parents i.e. snacks and light meals. The center will have a cafeteria space.
In most states to license the facility you will also have to license the caregivers. Meaning, that you will have to have someone in charge of making sure all classes and background checks are up to date. The other problem will be what if I don't want my child around another caregiver that is there? How would you keep them separated? I know that sounds silly, but parents can come up with some crazy demands sometimes.
Reply
Unregistered 09:03 AM 03-28-2016
In my experience, parents who want nanny care do not want to have to abide by the rules and regulations of licensed care. This can be in regards to anything from infant sleeping, using baby carrying wraps that are not always allowed in licensed care, immunizations, paperwork, food choices, schedules, etc.
Reply
Unregistered 09:05 AM 03-28-2016
Would the nannies be free to come and go at will with the children? Parents who use nannies have schedules of playdates, classes, etc.

It seems like it has the potential for disaster. Nanny care is a very different animal than licensed care.
Reply
Blackcat31 09:27 AM 03-28-2016
Originally Posted by Thriftylady:
In most states to license the facility you will also have to license the caregivers. Meaning, that you will have to have someone in charge of making sure all classes and background checks are up to date. The other problem will be what if I don't want my child around another caregiver that is there? How would you keep them separated? I know that sounds silly, but parents can come up with some crazy demands sometimes.
Not necessarily, in my state the licensing process for in family care is TOTALLY different than licensing a facility.

The provider is the license holder in family care where the facility is the licensed entity in center care (which is what the OP's facility would be in my state.

The requirements for the facility to be licensed would require a director. The director handles the operation of licensing requirements.
Reply
midaycare 09:37 AM 03-28-2016
What is the benefit to the caregivers? How are you planning to attract quality people while offering parents to pay a lot less?
Reply
CalCare 09:42 AM 03-28-2016
So, I think what I see as a real confusion I have with this, as a business model, is that you are actually making things less convenient for the parent. A business has to solve a problem, right? What problem does this solve when you compare it to what is already available? If your competition in group care, this is more expensive and that's okay because you are solving the problem of wanting one on one care. BUT if parents want one on one care, they could have a nanny come to their house- they wouldn't have all the inconveniences of going somewhere else: drive time, pack clothes, diapers, food, prepped bottles, ointments, bring home wet peed on muddy sandy painted clothes in their cars, etc. Those things are a pita for people dropping off, but are accepted as part of the lower price of group care. If they are paying the higher price of individual care, they will want convenience. I guess I'm really wondering who is your target market? Wealthier parents- they want a nanny to come to them. Low income families- they want to pay less and will settle for group care. Occasional, drop in types- easily use a babysitter that comes to them. I'm wondering who is the target market and are there enough of that small group in any one location to support the overhead: rent, power, water, maintenance, regular staff like a director or manager of some sort in addition to the contractual staff- nannies, insurances, accountant, marketing, etc...
I'm interested in your response- I'm interested in entrepreneurialship and business planning!
Reply
MunchkinWrangler 10:02 AM 03-28-2016
I do think that, with the hopes of making money off of this business venture, you are trying to offer what a nanny offers but in one building with separate rooms. Most people would just choose a nanny that can provide care in the comfort of the child's own space and being able to be mobile for other activities. Also, I agree, that you would have a logistical nightmare. How much would you pay your employees, what would be the benefit of them working for such a company. Most center employees don't make that much and do a lot of work, so what would be the incentive for the employee's pay rate, do they get to keep all the monies made by their enrollment or would they have to rent a space, pay fees and dues to the center, etc. In my opinion, it could be financially beneficial to just the center operator but for the employee's, it would be more lucrative to be licensed on their own account or nanny to make better money.
Reply
MissAnn 10:45 AM 03-28-2016
Originally Posted by nabilino:
Hello,
I'm a parent to two young children. At my post graduate school, we're doing a project around a new idea for day care.

We provide the space, parents choose the
care

Benefits include:

Control over who cares for your child

Confidence in quality of the center

Easier to coordinate a nanny-share, which can
make childcare more affordable

Provide care outside the typical working hours

Increased visibility to activities via webcams

My question to the group is how interested are you in this idea and concept.

Thank you,
I used to work at a place where parents where in charge of the program. The parents were all about low fees. Quality suffered. Negativity abounded. I opened my program. Parents left the old program and came to me. So much better!
Reply
MissAnn 10:50 AM 03-28-2016
Originally Posted by Thriftylady:
In most states to license the facility you will also have to license the caregivers. Meaning, that you will have to have someone in charge of making sure all classes and background checks are up to date. The other problem will be what if I don't want my child around another caregiver that is there? How would you keep them separated? I know that sounds silly, but parents can come up with some crazy demands sometimes.
I don't want my child to nap comes to my mind.
Reply
mommyneedsadayoff 10:51 AM 03-28-2016
I don't really understand the concept. Parents can choose who they want to provide care for their kid already, so what problem does it solve? Kind of just sounds like daycare where the parents are in charge of who is employed in it, and that is a VERY slippery slope to have numerous parental voices controlling who works at it or not.
Reply
MissAnn 10:58 AM 03-28-2016
Who would make the policies? Parents who don't know rules and regs? Yes, this happened where I worked. I had to constantly educate them on rules and regs. I was not even invited to participate in the making of the policy handbook.....but I showed up any way.
Reply
Ariana 12:08 PM 03-28-2016
Originally Posted by nabilino:
Thank you all for the feedback!

The center will include many spaces for individual nannies to use with the child(ren) they're caring for.
We anticipated contact between parents and providers to be initially via an app, much like Uber where a parent needing child care can go and select the provider then drop their kid(s) at the center where the nanny will be working.

The center will be licenced by the state and have up to date standards.
Nannies are only added to the app database once their background is checked. After accumulating care, they are reviewed and have a rating that let other parents know the good providers from excellent ones and maybe rates are different depending upon the rating.
Food is likely to be provided by parents i.e. snacks and light meals. The center will have a cafeteria space.
I have no idea how this could work or how you could get a license for this. It makes very little sense. Unless this is a drop in type of centre with 24/7 care? But even then it doesn't make sense. If you have one nanny scheduled to take care of one child do you keep your whole centre open for this? Does the nanny still get paid the going rate no matter how many kids she has? How do you keep track of finances with so many revolving parents and caregivers? How do you control the rating system if a disgruntled parent gives bad reviews? What if 7 parents call with 7 children under the age of 1?

I personally do not see this as a viable business plan. This isn't like doggy daycare.
Reply
Unregistered 12:44 PM 03-28-2016
Originally Posted by Ariana:
This isn't like doggy daycare.
BEST comment EVER
Reply
Snowmom 12:55 PM 03-28-2016
I guess I don't fully understand this concept.
It just sounds like extended hours center care, but the parents can choose the teacher/caregiver?

Is there more than one caregiver to a "room"?
That's the only way I see this being profitable.

Do the parents have the option to say what other children (ages) are around their kids in this room? Do the caregivers have their own schedule & activities or is it designed by the center?
Are the caregivers all employed by the center and the parents only have a choice between these employees?

Unconventional hours may be appealing to some parents.
But, how exactly do you define these hours? By evenings and weekends? That's a big jump in operating expenses.
I think you'd need to charge more than center rates to cover the larger rent for the larger space you'd need as well as the longer hours (especially if you're talking lower ratios as a selling point).

As an example:
If you charged 30% more than center rates in my area (to cover longer operating expenses/labor/larger space).

For an infant, the parent would compare it as:
Nanny in their home for 10 hours/day at $12/hr: $600/wk
Your rate: $422.50/week (plus food/diapering/gas & time)
Center rates: $325/week (plus diapering/gas & time)
FCC: $180 (plus diapering/gas & time)


That's a pretty big difference.
To me, a parent willing to pay over $400/week would probably choose a live-in Nanny, which gives them complete control over the child's environment and absolute convenience.
Reply
Miss A 02:42 PM 03-28-2016
I have been peeking in and mulling this over all day, and I keep coming back to the co clusion that this whole setup would be a logistical nightmare. Between dealing with the parents who have had power go to their heads when it comes to choosing their child's care provider, to making sure all care providers employed met the state licensing standards, I would be running for the hills.

In my humble opinion, start by working in a traditional center. I understood the OP as bei g in school, and when I was in school for ECED, I was also working full time in a center. Many of my classmates got to the point of student teaching, and left the ECED program because it wasn't what they thought it was.

Maybe starting a nanny service would be a better option for you, or managing/marketing a children's activity center such as a children's museum or a rec center.
Reply
LindseyA 04:01 PM 03-28-2016
My understanding is that this is a school project, not something that the OP is looking to actually open. In this case, I agree that the extended hours would be good, but 'take your pick' caregiver (though pretty different) would realistically turn out to be a negative. I can picture higher rated caregivers having completely mixed age groups because everyone wants the best right? A lot of people are wary when it comes to mixing infants with older children. And the pricing will most certainly become an issue. They would obviously need to charge enough to keep the place open, but low enough to be a good candidate for a lot of people.
Reply
nannyde 06:57 AM 03-29-2016
You would have to follow center regulations including having a director, assistant director, and staff on site for substitute directors.

You would basically have to pay the wages to the director and all required staff PLUS pay the employer portion of each "nanny" used... that is a huge amount of money.

You would have to find a director, assistant director etc who was willing to have her salary paid by multiple parents based on use.

You are talking about employees working under someone who is not their employer and who could change as soon as the participating parents decided they wanted a different director.

Then you would have to pay for the physical setting, repairs, cleaning, and inventory. The utilities and all common use items. You would have to have a state approved kitchen and refrigerators. The grease trap alone in your building could cost tens of thousands of dollars depending on the current state and city requirements. You would also have to pay for the sprinkler system, camera system (very expensive to maintain) and the fire marshall requirements including dedicated land lines for the sprinkler system.

First find out how a center runs and then take it from there.

Parents don't realize that housing in both home and center based care is the biggest expense.

Then the nanny share... she won't be able to legally do mixed age groups so you will have multiple nannies who have to be switched out nearly every year of every kid you have. She can also turn down your business so she will only keep the highest paying clients with the easiest kids. The competition would drive her to switch out clients for the better deal.

Since you employ her you get to pay into unemployment so when your kid ages out of her age group and she can't find or doesn't want a replacement, you get to keep paying her a portion of her salary till she does.

If you did a parent co-operative in your own homes you could avoid most of that except for the employer portion of taxes.

That's the traditional nanny share in your home.

Aint gonna work. No way no how. It would be so expensive you could have your own nanny instead of paying your portion of the above.
Reply
nabilino 03:41 PM 03-29-2016
We think there is a market there to serve. Maybe it's both parents are working and do not want their house to be used by a baby sitter and prefer to use the flexibility of a center. The nannies will be contractors setting their own time and availability. Our App or website will connect the parents to the nannies.
Let's say Sue is a busy working mom to a 4 month old baby Tom, and is looking for a date night w. her husband. She quickly pops our App, and sees that Anna is available from 6pm-8:30pm. She taps her profile and sees that she has several positive reviews.
Anna stops by and picks up Tom and she's able to view on the App if Tom has any allergies etc. Diapers, formula and food is to be provided by the center.
We understand it will be expensive but it's a niche market and the idea is still rough.
Reply
daycare 03:58 PM 03-29-2016
Originally Posted by nabilino:
We think there is a market there to serve. Maybe it's both parents are working and do not want their house to be used by a baby sitter and prefer to use the flexibility of a center. The nannies will be contractors setting their own time and availability. Our App or website will connect the parents to the nannies.
Let's say Sue is a busy working mom to a 4 month old baby Tom, and is looking for a date night w. her husband. She quickly pops our App, and sees that Anna is available from 6pm-8:30pm. She taps her profile and sees that she has several positive reviews.
Anna stops by and picks up Tom and she's able to view on the App if Tom has any allergies etc. Diapers, formula and food is to be provided by the center.
We understand it will be expensive but it's a niche market and the idea is still rough.
so basically care.com but with more responsibility on the nanny. Car insurance for those nannies is going to cost a fortune. and if it's at night, the centers insurance is going to cost a fortune. HOw are you going to market this so that it is affordable. PLUS will a parents really just leave their child with someone they have never met based on reviews. Do you know how many FAKE yelp reviews there are. No one post the bad stuff or they wouldn't be posting it.
Reply
MunchkinWrangler 05:52 PM 03-29-2016
Originally Posted by daycare:
so basically care.com but with more responsibility on the nanny. Car insurance for those nannies is going to cost a fortune. and if it's at night, the centers insurance is going to cost a fortune. HOw are you going to market this so that it is affordable. PLUS will a parents really just leave their child with someone they have never met based on reviews. Do you know how many FAKE yelp reviews there are. No one post the bad stuff or they wouldn't be posting it.
I think you need to research licensing regarding centers in your state, that would be the number one resource you should check out first to get a realistic look into what is all involved. For example, my state requires certification to transport a child in my care, plus the car insurance alone would be astronomical. Imagine what would happen if this nanny got into a car accident, especially at night. Most parents want to meet people that are caring for their child. I don't know a single person who would have someone care for their child without sitting down and talking to the actual person first. The comforts of home outweigh a fully stocked center IMO.
Reply
Jazzii 08:44 PM 03-29-2016
I don't think parents should have the opportunity to pick the staff- I do think they should know the staff and feel comfortable with them bit thats what interviews and trial periods are for

Our daycare is open non traditional hours - 6am-11pm 7 days a week and its a HUGE positive for us because we are the only in the area to do so , this works especially well because we have a few parents in the food industry. I personally am.not a fan of the live feed cameras . not because I'm doing anything wrong but I'm confident in my job and should an issue arise I would prefer the parent to come to me instead of arriving at the daycare with a (usually wrong) perception of what happened
Reply
nannyde 03:51 PM 03-30-2016
Originally Posted by nabilino:
We think there is a market there to serve. Maybe it's both parents are working and do not want their house to be used by a baby sitter and prefer to use the flexibility of a center. The nannies will be contractors setting their own time and availability. Our App or website will connect the parents to the nannies.
Let's say Sue is a busy working mom to a 4 month old baby Tom, and is looking for a date night w. her husband. She quickly pops our App, and sees that Anna is available from 6pm-8:30pm. She taps her profile and sees that she has several positive reviews.
Anna stops by and picks up Tom and she's able to view on the App if Tom has any allergies etc. Diapers, formula and food is to be provided by the center.
We understand it will be expensive but it's a niche market and the idea is still rough.
How is the nanny going to be their own contractor?

What State can you have a building where multiple children are on site all day with child care providers caring for them where they don't have to follow center regulations for that state?

You could meet up at Chuckie Cheese I suppose... but if you have children in a building anywhere where the purpose is to care for the kids.... center regs apply in every state.

You also assume the "nanny" will just take a family that chooses them. There's an interview process and she has to accept them.

This isn't a new idea... it's a parent fantasy idea with a little technology thrown in.

The cost of this would be through the roof and the liability to the owners of the building would be sky high to the heavens.
Reply
Thriftylady 03:56 PM 03-30-2016
Originally Posted by nannyde:
How is the nanny going to be their own contractor?

What State can you have a building where multiple children are on site all day with child care providers caring for them where they don't have to follow center regulations for that state?

You could meet up at Chuckie Cheese I suppose... but if you have children in a building anywhere where the purpose is to care for the kids.... center regs apply in every state.

You also assume the "nanny" will just take a family that chooses them. There's an interview process and she has to accept them.

This isn't a new idea... it's a parent fantasy idea with a little technology thrown in.

The cost of this would be through the roof and the liability to the owners of the building would be sky high to the heavens.


Totally agree with this. There is NO way I would take on the liability. And as a parent, the what ifs would drive me away. A large group of kids and just as large of group of caregivers? Sounds like an accident looking for a place to happen.
Reply
SnowGirl 04:10 PM 03-30-2016
Brainstorming here...

I think the biggest issue you're running into is the idea that parents can contract a nanny and a room in a building. There are simply too many state regulations (in pretty much all 50 states) to make this at all profitable, if not a downright loss to the owner of this business.

However, if you scale back the idea a little bit, I can see something like this being very appealing to younger parents.

As owner/director, you would hire all the staff and teachers. You could run the place like a drop-in center. The app that parents access could allow them to book the teacher they prefer (so like you said, it says that Miss Lucy is available on Tuesday evening, you book the slot for your child, and then you have drop in care ready for your date night). That way, the parent can have the comfort of the control of choosing their preferred teacher (if that teacher is available of course), and the director can hire and manage the employees. The care isn't one-to-one, it's still large group, making the business model feasible. The app appeals to younger parents and allows them more "control" without it being too much control.
Reply
Snowmom 04:36 PM 03-30-2016
Originally Posted by nabilino:
We think there is a market there to serve. Maybe it's both parents are working and do not want their house to be used by a baby sitter and prefer to use the flexibility of a center. The nannies will be contractors setting their own time and availability. Our App or website will connect the parents to the nannies.
Let's say Sue is a busy working mom to a 4 month old baby Tom, and is looking for a date night w. her husband. She quickly pops our App, and sees that Anna is available from 6pm-8:30pm. She taps her profile and sees that she has several positive reviews.
Anna stops by and picks up Tom and she's able to view on the App if Tom has any allergies etc. Diapers, formula and food is to be provided by the center.
We understand it will be expensive but it's a niche market and the idea is still rough.
With this scenario:
So, is Anna, the independent contractor, just sitting around waiting to see if anyone books her? I'm assuming since you said she's independent, that she isn't getting paid unless she's booked?
I see lots of turnover happening with that unless you're crazy busy, all the time.
And if you DO become crazy busy:
What happens in the case of overlapping times? Having parents show up late is bound to happen. I see negative reviews coming Anna's way if she can't start at the reserved time.
Reply
NillaWafers 08:20 PM 03-30-2016
Originally Posted by SnowGirl:
Brainstorming here...

I think the biggest issue you're running into is the idea that parents can contract a nanny and a room in a building. There are simply too many state regulations (in pretty much all 50 states) to make this at all profitable, if not a downright loss to the owner of this business.

However, if you scale back the idea a little bit, I can see something like this being very appealing to younger parents.

As owner/director, you would hire all the staff and teachers. You could run the place like a drop-in center. The app that parents access could allow them to book the teacher they prefer (so like you said, it says that Miss Lucy is available on Tuesday evening, you book the slot for your child, and then you have drop in care ready for your date night). That way, the parent can have the comfort of the control of choosing their preferred teacher (if that teacher is available of course), and the director can hire and manage the employees. The care isn't one-to-one, it's still large group, making the business model feasible. The app appeals to younger parents and allows them more "control" without it being too much control.
That could work. That's the only way it could work. As a former nanny, I would never want to care for children who's parents I had just met. It's a two-way process. What if our discipline styles varied? I just don't see it working out.

But the selling point of this all is really using an app to book a night out, daycare, or anything else. That could work in a typical center, with employees you employ, interview, and certify. I would totally think about using a service like that.

Contracting nannies is too much of a pain, and its a turnoff to parents IMO.
Reply
NeedaVaca 05:41 AM 03-31-2016
Originally Posted by nabilino:
We think there is a market there to serve. Maybe it's both parents are working and do not want their house to be used by a baby sitter and prefer to use the flexibility of a center. The nannies will be contractors setting their own time and availability. Our App or website will connect the parents to the nannies.
Let's say Sue is a busy working mom to a 4 month old baby Tom, and is looking for a date night w. her husband. She quickly pops our App, and sees that Anna is available from 6pm-8:30pm. She taps her profile and sees that she has several positive reviews.
Anna stops by and picks up Tom and she's able to view on the App if Tom has any allergies etc. Diapers, formula and food is to be provided by the center.
We understand it will be expensive but it's a niche market and the idea is still rough.
Parents have very specific brands they like for their children. So your facility will have every size of every diaper on the market including cloth diapers as well as every brand of formula on the market? Who prepares the food? The nanny or a cook that is there all day? Cook to order for every child or set meal times? Allergies? Will this cook or nanny be able to accommodate all of the different kinds of allergies these children could have with no chance of cross contamination? How would you keep fresh food stocked without knowing how many kids you will have every day if people can decide at the last minute to use the service?

Most of the people I know that hire babysitters for a date night are out past 8:30, dinner and a movie puts them well past 10 which is past bedtime for these kids.
Reply
Jazzii 06:12 AM 03-31-2016
Originally Posted by NeedaVaca:
Parents have very specific brands they like for their children. So your facility will have every size of every diaper on the market including cloth diapers as well as every brand of formula on the market? Who prepares the food? The nanny or a cook that is there all day? Cook to order for every child or set meal times? Allergies? Will this cook or nanny be able to accommodate all of the different kinds of allergies these children could have with no chance of cross contamination? How would you keep fresh food stocked without knowing how many kids you will have every day if people can decide at the last minute to use the service?

Most of the people I know that hire babysitters for a date night are out past 8:30, dinner and a movie puts them well past 10 which is past bedtime for these kids.

My daycare provides all food and baby cereal/jars.

Parents bring in PREPARED bottles and if they have specific dietary needs they bring that in to (like we have a holistic all organic mom) and unless their child has a wipe sensitivity, parents bring in a pack (either refill or box) of wipes and we use these as communal supplies

Because we are open so late we provide dinner and evening snack as well and if a child has to go to bed we put them down in a crib or mat at 8/83 . When this is the case we have parents bring in pajamas
Reply
Ariana 06:35 AM 03-31-2016
Originally Posted by nannyde:
How is the nanny going to be their own contractor?

What State can you have a building where multiple children are on site all day with child care providers caring for them where they don't have to follow center regulations for that state?

You could meet up at Chuckie Cheese I suppose... but if you have children in a building anywhere where the purpose is to care for the kids.... center regs apply in every state.

You also assume the "nanny" will just take a family that chooses them. There's an interview process and she has to accept them.

This isn't a new idea... it's a parent fantasy idea with a little technology thrown in.

The cost of this would be through the roof and the liability to the owners of the building would be sky high to the heavens.
Agree 100%

This is clearly someone who has never worked in a centre and has never worked with children. An interesting business idea for sure but this isn't Uber or renting out space to a hairdresser where everyone is responsible for themselves as adults. Once there are children involved the regulations are very heavy handed, not to memtion the logistical and financial nightmare this would cause.
Reply
Laurel 06:40 AM 03-31-2016
Originally Posted by SnowGirl:
Brainstorming here...

I think the biggest issue you're running into is the idea that parents can contract a nanny and a room in a building. There are simply too many state regulations (in pretty much all 50 states) to make this at all profitable, if not a downright loss to the owner of this business.

However, if you scale back the idea a little bit, I can see something like this being very appealing to younger parents.

As owner/director, you would hire all the staff and teachers. You could run the place like a drop-in center. The app that parents access could allow them to book the teacher they prefer (so like you said, it says that Miss Lucy is available on Tuesday evening, you book the slot for your child, and then you have drop in care ready for your date night). That way, the parent can have the comfort of the control of choosing their preferred teacher (if that teacher is available of course), and the director can hire and manage the employees. The care isn't one-to-one, it's still large group, making the business model feasible. The app appeals to younger parents and allows them more "control" without it being too much control.
This idea could work. I was visualizing all day care and that just seems impossible. But drop-in date night or mom's day out might work.

We have a drop-in center in our area. You don't pick the caregivers but they are open day and night. They are very expensive but I had a parent use it once when I was sick.
Reply
daycarediva 10:32 AM 03-31-2016
Originally Posted by nannyde:
You would have to follow center regulations including having a director, assistant director, and staff on site for substitute directors.

You would basically have to pay the wages to the director and all required staff PLUS pay the employer portion of each "nanny" used... that is a huge amount of money.

You would have to find a director, assistant director etc who was willing to have her salary paid by multiple parents based on use.

You are talking about employees working under someone who is not their employer and who could change as soon as the participating parents decided they wanted a different director.

Then you would have to pay for the physical setting, repairs, cleaning, and inventory. The utilities and all common use items. You would have to have a state approved kitchen and refrigerators. The grease trap alone in your building could cost tens of thousands of dollars depending on the current state and city requirements. You would also have to pay for the sprinkler system, camera system (very expensive to maintain) and the fire marshall requirements including dedicated land lines for the sprinkler system.

First find out how a center runs and then take it from there.

Parents don't realize that housing in both home and center based care is the biggest expense.

Then the nanny share... she won't be able to legally do mixed age groups so you will have multiple nannies who have to be switched out nearly every year of every kid you have. She can also turn down your business so she will only keep the highest paying clients with the easiest kids. The competition would drive her to switch out clients for the better deal.

Since you employ her you get to pay into unemployment so when your kid ages out of her age group and she can't find or doesn't want a replacement, you get to keep paying her a portion of her salary till she does.

If you did a parent co-operative in your own homes you could avoid most of that except for the employer portion of taxes.

That's the traditional nanny share in your home.

Aint gonna work. No way no how. It would be so expensive you could have your own nanny instead of paying your portion of the above.
Originally Posted by nabilino:
We think there is a market there to serve. Maybe it's both parents are working and do not want their house to be used by a baby sitter and prefer to use the flexibility of a center. The nannies will be contractors setting their own time and availability. Our App or website will connect the parents to the nannies.
Let's say Sue is a busy working mom to a 4 month old baby Tom, and is looking for a date night w. her husband. She quickly pops our App, and sees that Anna is available from 6pm-8:30pm. She taps her profile and sees that she has several positive reviews.
Anna stops by and picks up Tom and she's able to view on the App if Tom has any allergies etc. Diapers, formula and food is to be provided by the center.
We understand it will be expensive but it's a niche market and the idea is still rough.
Originally Posted by daycare:
so basically care.com but with more responsibility on the nanny. Car insurance for those nannies is going to cost a fortune. and if it's at night, the centers insurance is going to cost a fortune. HOw are you going to market this so that it is affordable. PLUS will a parents really just leave their child with someone they have never met based on reviews. Do you know how many FAKE yelp reviews there are. No one post the bad stuff or they wouldn't be posting it.

Who is paying for the building?
Who owns/rents the space?
It will have to be licensed as a child care facility? If so- it will require a director. Who will pay the director's salary?
All 'nannies' will be required to have CPR/FIRST AID/AED, (AED machine will need to be on site- those are thousands)
equipment, cribs, tables, food, paper towels, toilet paper, food? Who buys these items?
A Nanny picking up a child? oh my the insurance alone, plus the car seat safety aspect?
Gas, electric, water....
Nannies won't want to be 'on call', most want FT employment.
licensing ratios/safety


I could go on and on and on... Call your local licensing agency and ask them.

In all honesty, it sounds like you AT MOST, will be able to operate a 24/hour drop in facility. Parents wont be able to chose their caregiver, but that is a HUGE niche market that will be full in pretty much any area.
Reply
Tags:daycare environment, extended hours
Reply Up