| Before getting too excited about setting up a daycare | | | | they use, what factors attracted them to that |
| business in your area you should firstly do a little | | | | particular service and how they feel their current |
| research into local market conditions. Market research | | | | service provider could improve. |
| is an important first step to take before you will have | | | | Keep a list of phone numbers from parents that you |
| the data that you need to be able to put together a | | | | have talked to or interviewed. When you set up your |
| business plan and a marketing strategy. | | | | daycare you can then call these parents and let them |
| If you are serious about starting off right you can look | | | | know that you have now set up your own child care |
| into outsourcing this work to a research company, | | | | business and let them know that you have |
| however the prospect of doing this is usually too | | | | incorporated some of their suggestions. Your research |
| expensive for small start-ups and you can learn more | | | | subjects may become some of your first customers. |
| by doing your own independent research. | | | | Competitors |
| You can basically divide market research into two | | | | Make sure that you know exactly how many |
| distinct areas, learning about your prospective | | | | competitors are already operating in the area that you |
| customers and learning about your competitors. Let's | | | | wish to target. Visit as many of these local |
| examine these two in more detail. | | | | competitors as you can, and even some prominent |
| Customers | | | | daycare centers that are out of your area. Pretend to |
| Try to get some solid demographic data about the | | | | be a prospective client and find out as much as you |
| area where you want to set up your daycare | | | | can about the way they do business including their |
| business. You need to be certain that your target area | | | | pricing, quality of their facilities and how they market |
| has a good population of families with young children if | | | | themselves. As you tour their center, take mental |
| you are to have a good pool of prospects to market | | | | notes about what you like or dislike about their facilities |
| to. Getting some recent census data from a local | | | | and the way they run their business. |
| library is one option. | | | | Once you have opened for business you should |
| Once you have decided that your area is perfect for | | | | remember that you need to continually do research to |
| a new child care center you then have to try to line up | | | | stay up to date with the daycare industry in your area. |
| some meetings or interviews with parents in your area | | | | Collecting market data is an extremely important |
| to learn as much as you can from listening to their | | | | phase of daycare startup planning that should be done |
| experiences and opinions. You should treat every | | | | thoroughly to ensure that time and money are not |
| parent that you come across that has children in your | | | | invested into a project that does not stand the best |
| target demographic as a valuable source of | | | | chance of success. |
| information. Try to find out what daycare services | | | | |