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How to Write a Preschool Business Plan [Sample Template]

Do you want to start a preschool and need to write a plan? If YES, here is a complete sample preschool business plan template & FREE feasibility report. There are various business ideas that you may want to start.

However there are some businesses that guarantee good returns on investment. Chief amongst it is the preschool business. One of the reasons why this business is good is the point that you are able to help mound lives whilst you are making good money.

Why Start a Preschool?

Running a preschool can be a very rewarding and profitable venture. An entrepreneur who is interested in children education and also having a business might find that opening a preschool would meet both desires. Before starting a preschool, one must be prepared by ensuring that they carefully plan out the venture from the beginning, by researching on local and state laws that govern pre – school education business.

What Does It Take to Start a Preschool Successfully?

There must also be planning as regards space, getting insurance, developing a curriculum, hiring additional staff, advertising and registration of children. A pre – school program is a business that requires that no details be overlooked.

The first thing that needs to be done before starting out is in contacting the local governing body of child care for relevant information regarding the opening of a preschool. When approaching the governing agency, ask to meet with the administrators, so as to discuss your business idea, and get information on how to become a licensed preschool program provider.

After gathering all the information that you would need including written literature, you would need to contact the local government as regards getting a license to start. Depending on the state you will be operating in, you might be required to register and pay a fee to obtain licensees.

You will also need to ensure that the property you intend to use as a facility is in an acceptable area from which the business can be started, even if it is a section of your own residence, this can be done by contacting the zoning department of your local government, and if the area you choose is not suitable, you will be advised on suitable areas.

After applying for a business license as required by the state and meeting any other special requirements needed in order to become a preschool, you should then consult with insurance agencies regarding the right coverage for your facility. Ensure you choose a plan that will adequately cover you, your clients, as well as your business.

Lastly, ensure that you prepare your location for safety inspections, while ensuring that your facility has emergency evacuation plan in place for any unforeseen circumstances or disasters. Also prepare a curriculum for your pre – school program.

You can either choose an established program from a particular publisher or choose various materials from several publishers, while not forgetting that you have an option of creating your own curriculum. Do not also forget to hire qualified staff after running background checks, and marketing your school.

A Sample Preschool Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

The Preschool industry operators provide day care services for children under the ages of three and four to prepare them for kindergarten.

The dispersion of the preschool programs reflects in the geographic distribution of the children, which is also influenced by the cost and supply of pre – school programs, income and housing affordability patterns, labor, and child care subsidy policies. Also, varying state and local regulations and licensing requirements affect employment in this industry.

According to research and statistics, this industry generates $53 billion annually, and is projected to have an annual growth rate of 2.5% by 2016. The number of business in this industry amounts to 768,021, employing 1,664,311 people.

There are about 53,000 commercial facilities, plus about 21,000 facilities run by non-profit organizations. The industry is highly fragmented as the top 50 companies generate less than 20% of revenue for the entire industry.

Preschool programs became popular especially as more percentage of women in the workforce grew by nearly 71% in 2007. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 28% of mothers with young children worked in 1975, which has more than doubled by 60% by 2013.

Over the same period, employees in the daycare industry increased by nearly 250%. The bureau also noted that investment in childcare by non-profit and government agencies, as well as new tax credits, also helped to fuel the industry’s growth.

According to the Child Care Aware group, about 11 million children under the ages of 5, spend an average of 35 hours a week in childcare. Infants in center-based care had an average annual cost that ranged from $5,496 in Mississippi to $16,549 in Massachusetts; 4 year olds had care in a center ranging from $4,515 in Tennessee to $12,320 in Massachusetts; with the quality of care and degree of regulation varying widely.

Also, childcare workers were seen to be paid the lowest wages in any professional field, $21,490 on average. However, the recovery of the economy is already impacting greatly on the preschool market.

Parents and especially mothers are going back to work, thereby causing the demand for preschools and preschool services to grow. This means that disposable income will increase which will let parents especially women put more resources towards child care like the high value early educational programs.

Even though this might seem like a saturated field, it isn’t, as there is always a constant demand for parents to prepare their children for proper schooling. The incentives in venturing into or starting a pre – school are having an impact on toddlers who are struggling academically and getting them engaged so that their parents will carry out their businesses or other activities.

2. Executive Summary

Future Stars® Pre – School is a standard and well – equipped pre – school that will be located in a well – populated residential estate in Ashville – North Carolina, united states of America. We are a preschool that provide day care services for children under the ages of three and four to prepare them for kindergarten.

Aside from the fact that we will operate a preschool center, we will also engage in home tutoring – we will go to the homes of our students as demanded by their parents.

Future Stars® Preschool is a client-focused and result driven preschool that provides day care services and broad-based learning approaches and experience at an affordable fee that won’t in any way put a hole in the pocket of our clients (parents).

We will offer a standard and professional pre – school daycare and teaching services designed for toddlers in a highly secured, neat and conducive learning environment. We will ensure that we work hard to meet and surpass all our parents’ expectations and educational goals whenever they enroll their kids in our pre – school.

At Future Stars® Preschool, our kids’ and their parents’ overall best interest would always come first, and everything we do is guided by our values and professional ethics.

We will ensure that we hire professional educationist and care – giver who are well trained to handle kids that are of pre – school age in various kids development learning areas who are well experienced and passionate in imparting knowledge to toddlers at various learning ladder (potty training, rhymes, walking, dancing and talking et al).

Future Stars® Preschool will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as an educational organization, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible.

We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our clients’ (parents) needs precisely and completely. We will cultivate a working environment that provides a human, sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our students.

Our overall business goal is to position Future Stars® Pre – School to become the leading Pre – School brand in the educational industry in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina, and also to be amongst the top 50 pre – schools in the united states of America within the first 10 years of operations.

This might look too tall a dream but we are optimistic that this will surely come to pass because we have done our research and feasibility studies and we are enthusiastic and confident that Ashville – North Carolina is the right place to launch our pre – school; they have the right demographic composition that can support and sustain our business model.

Future Stars® Preschool is founded by Mrs. Clara Jake – MacPherson. She has a Degree in Education with bias in children education and she has well over 16 years of experience in the educational industry in the United States of America. She will be bringing in her wealth of experience to help build Future Stars® Pre – School to enviable heights.

3. Our Products and Services

The Future Stars® Preschool is going to offer daycare services within the scope of the education board in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our pre – school is to soundly prepare toddlers who are under the ages of three and four for kindergarten and of course to make profits from the education industry and we will do all that is permitted by the law in the US to achieve our aim and business goal.

Our service offerings are listed below;

• Provide daycare services for children under the ages of three and four to prepare them for kindergarten.
• Running a Standard and licensed Daycare Center
• Offering Home Tutor Services for toddlers as requested by their parents
• Retailing of Kids Educational Books and Materials

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to build a highly competitive pre – school / daycare center that will become the number one choice for parents in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina.
• Our vision reflects our values: integrity, service, excellence and teamwork.
• Our mission is to provide professional, safe and conducive daycare and learning environment to toddlers.
• Our overall business goal is to position our tutorial college to become the leading pre -school brand in the educational industry in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina, and also to be amongst the top 50 preschools / daycare center in the United States of America within the first 10 years of operations.

Our Business Structure

Future Stars® Pre – School will build a solid business structure that can support the growth of our pre – school. We will ensure that we hire competent hands to help us build the business of our dream. The fact that we want to become the leading pre – school / daycare brand in the educational industry in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina makes it highly necessary to deliberately build a well – structured business from the onset.

At Future Stars® Preschool we will ensure that we hire people that are qualified, hardworking, creative, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all the stake holders (the owners, workforce, and customers).

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our long serving senior staff members and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more as agreed by the board of trustees of the company. In view of the above, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;

• Head of The Pre – School (Daycare) / School Coordinator

School Administrator

• Tutors for Various Learning Areas
• Nannies / Caregivers / Aux Nurse

Marketing and Sales Executive

Accountant / Bursar

• Client Service Executive / Front Desk Officer
• Security Officer

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Head of the Pre – School / School Coordinator:

• Responsible for providing direction for the pre – school / daycare center
• Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for handling high profile clients and deals
• Responsible for fixing fees and signing business deals (partnership)
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the tutorial college
• Coordinates all arms of the pre – school
• Evaluates the success of the pre – school / daycare center
• Reports to the board of the pre – school / daycare center
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the pre – school
• Design job descriptions with KPI to drive performance management for all staff members
• Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders (parents and member of the school board) to review the effectiveness of the schools’ Policies, Procedures and Processes
• Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
• Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
• Defining job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Oversee the smooth running of the daily activities of the tutorial college.

Tutors for Various Learning Areas for Toddlers

• Effectively teach subject / subjects as assigned by the school coordinator
• Access the progress of kids under their care
• Ensure that kids participate in learning activities such as potty trainings, rhymes and dancing et al
• Contributes his / her quota towards growing the pre – school
• Receives complaints from parents and channel it to the appropriate quarters
• Handle any other duty as assigned by the school coordinator.

Nannies / Caregivers / Aux Nurses

• Responsible for changing diapers for kids and cleaning them up when they messed up themselves
• Responsible for feeding toddlers
• Ensures that toddlers sleep as at when due and help calm them when they are crying
• Goes the extra mile to ensure that toddles are comfortable and well taken care of.
• Contributes his / her quota towards growing the pre – school / daycare center
• Handles any other duty as assigned by the school coordinator.
• Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new parents, and business opportunities et al
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of development projects.
• Writing winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
• Responsible for handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for clients
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Develops, executes and evaluate new plans for expanding increase sales
• Document all customer contact and information
• Represents the company in strategic meetings
• Help increase sales and growth for the company
• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for the tutorial college
• Serves as internal auditor for the tutorial college

Client Service Executive

• Welcomes toddlers and their parents by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
• Ensures that all contacts with parents (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides them with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with parents on the phone, uses every opportunity to build their interest in the school’s products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the school coordinator in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the schools’ products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to students when they make enquiries
• Receives parcels / documents for the Pre – school
• Handles any other duties as assigned by the school authority
• Maintain a clean daycare facility by sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning of glass doors and windows, etc. if required.
• Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
• Responsible for handling laundry

Security Officers

• Ensure that the daycare facility is secured at all time
• Control traffic and organize parking
• Give security tips to staff members from time to time
• Patrols around the building on a 24 hours basis
• Submit security reports weekly
• Any other duty as assigned by the school coordinator.

6. SWOT Analysis

Future Stars® Pre – School engaged the services of a core professional in the area of business consulting and structuring to assist our pre – school in building a well – structured educational business that can favorably compete in the highly competitive education industry.

Part of what the team of business consultant did was to work with the management of our organization in conducting a SWOT analysis for Future Stars® Pre – School. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of The Future Stars® Pre – School;

Our core strength lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team that has the right passion and drive for taking care of toddlers, a team with excellent qualifications and experience in daycare / pre – school education. We are well positioned in a community with the right demographic composition and we know we will attract loads of parents who would want to enroll their kids from the first day we open our doors for daycare services.

As a new pre – school / daycare center in Ashville – North Carolina, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and gain acceptance in the already saturated pre – school / education industry; that is perhaps our major weakness. Also we might not have the required money to pump into advertising and promoting our brand the way we would want to.

• Opportunities:

The opportunities in the pre – school / education industry is massive considering the number of parents who would want their kids under school age to be in safe place and to get them prepared for kindergarten. As a standard, safe and highly comfortable daycare center, we are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes our way.

Every business faces a threats or challenges at any part of the life cycle of the business. These threats can be external or internal. This shows the importance of a business plan, because most threats or challenges are to be anticipated and plans put in place to cushion what effect they might bring to the pre – school.

Some of the threats that we are likely going to face as a pre – school operating in the United States of America are unfavorable government policies that might affect daycare centers, the arrival of a competitor within our location of operations and global economic downturn which usually affects spending / purchasing power. There is hardly anything we can do as regards these threats other than to be optimistic that things will continue to work for our good.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

The trend in the pre – school / daycare center line of business is that the keys to attracting parents to enroll their wards is the safety, cleanliness, location and of course the overall comfort of their toddlers.

The trend in the daycare center industry is such that players in this industry can now comfortably start their daycare business in an business district; a place where it is easier for working class parents to take advantage of their launch breaks and even tea breaks to dash down to breast – feed and cuddle their children before dashing back to work.

The demand for pre – schools is driven by the fact that most parents work or are engaged in businesses that takes them away from their kids that are under school age and one of the options left is to enroll such kid in a daycare center.

The economic downturn hasn’t really affected this industry, especially in countries that believe in the efficacy of early education. The areas you would need to spend heavily on is in ensuring that your school is up to standard, is the facility, your advertisements, and insurance.

8. Our Target Market

As a standard preschool / daycare center, Future Stars® Pre – School offers a wide range of pre – school services hence we are well trained and equipped to services a wide range of kids are different growth level irrespective of any challenges et al.

Our target market as a preschool / daycare center cuts across parents with kids under school age of different class and people from all walks of life.

We are coming into the pre – school / education industry with a business concept that will enable us work with the toddlers at different learning stages. Below is a list of the parents / toddlers that we have specifically design our pre – school services for;

• Working class parents with toddlers under school age
• Parents with toddlers under school age who run their own business and are too busy to take care of their wards during business hours

Our Competitive Advantage

This field is a highly intense one because of the level of quality service offerings by the pre – schools, who are more pressured to deliver better services. Due to this pressure, there is a jostling amongst the different pre – schools to get more parents to enroll their toddlers in their daycare center, thereby increasing their earnings as well.

We are quite aware that to be highly competitive in the preschool / education industry means that you should be able to deliver consistent quality service, parents should be able to experience remarkable difference and improvement in their toddlers and you should be able to meet the expectations of the educational governing board in the United States of America.

Our competitive advantage lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team that has the right passion and drive for taking care of toddlers, a team with excellent qualifications and experience in daycare / preschool education. We are well positioned in a community with the right demographic composition and we know we will attract loads of parents who would want to enroll their kids from the first day we open our doors for daycare services.

Lastly, all our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (startups pre – school / daycare center in the United States) in the industry meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Future Stars® Preschool is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the preschool / education industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to attract parents on a regular basis.  Future Stars® Preschool will generate income by offering the following services;

10. Sales Forecast

One thing is certain; there would always be parents who may want their kids under school age to be in safe place and to get them prepared for kindergarten. As a standard, safe and highly comfortable daycare center, we are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes our way.

We are well positioned to take on the available market in Ashville – North Carolina and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from the first six month of operations and grow the pre – school and our student base.

We have been able to critically examine the preschool / daycare center market and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projection is based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to similar startups in Ashville – North Carolina.

Below is the sales projection for Future Stars® Pre – School, it is based on the location of our daycare center and of course the wide range of pre – school services that we will be offering;

• First Year-: $75,000
• Second Year-: $150,000
• Third Year-: $350,000

N.B : This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and natural disasters within the period stated above. So, there won’t be any major competitor offering same additional services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

We are mindful of the fact that there is stiffer competition amongst pre – schools / daycare centers in the United States of America hence we have been able to hire some of the best marketing experts to handle our sales and marketing.

Our sales and marketing team will be recruited base on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of Future Stars® Pre – School. We want to build a standard and first – class pre – school / daycare center that will leverage on word of mouth advertisement from satisfied parents

Our goal is to grow our preschool to become one of the top 50 pre – schools / daycare center in the United States of America which is why we have mapped out strategy that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in Ashville – North Carolina but also in other cities in the United States of America.

Future Stars® Pre – School is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;

• Introduce our pre – school / daycare center by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to parents / household and key stake holders in Ashville – North Carolina.
• Print out fliers and business cards and strategically drop them in religious centers, libraries and public facilities.
• Use friends and family to spread word about your pre – school / daycare center
• Post information about our pre – school / daycare center on bulletin boards in places like churches, maternity clinics, parks, libraries, and local coffee shops et al
• Place a small or classified advertisement in the newspaper, or local publication about our pre – school / daycare center
• Leverage on referral networks such as agencies that will help match parents with toddlers under school age with our pre – school/ daycare center.
• Join relevant association or body that will enable you network and meet others in same industry.
• Advertising online by using an advertising platform such as Google Adwords, that will allow us place text advertisements alongside on websites with related contents, and along results from search engines.
• Advertise our pre – school in relevant educational magazines, newspapers, TV stations, and radio station.
• Attend relevant educational expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
• Engage direct marketing approach
• Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied parents

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We have been able to work with our brand and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market. We are set to become the number one choice for both parents and students in the whole of Ashville – North Carolina which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our pre – school / daycare center.

Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Future Stars® Pre – School;

• Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community based events / programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
• Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around Ashville – North Carolina.
• Engage in road show from time to time in targeted neighborhoods
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
• Contact corporate organizations by calling them up and informing them of our pre – school / daycare center, and the advantage we over the others.
• Passing general information via our social media handles like twitter, Facebook, Google hangouts etc.
• Ensure that all our staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our schools’ logo et al.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Generally for pre – school and daycare services flat fees on a weekly or monthly basis is what is obtainable. As a result of this, Future Stars® Pre – School will charge our parents who enrolled their toddlers in our daycare center flat fees except for few occasions where there will be need for us to charge special students on hourly basis.

At Future Stars® Pre – School we will keep our fees below the average market rate for all of our students by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance. In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to all our students at regular intervals.

We are aware that there are some kids that would need special assistance, we will offer flat rate for such services that will be tailored to take care of such kids’ needs.

• Payment Options

At Future Stars® Pre – School, our payment policy will be all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that we will make available to our clients;

• Payment by via bank transfer
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft
• Payment via mobile money
• Payment with cash

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our plans with little or no itches.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

In setting up a pre – school business, the amount or cost will depend on the approach and scale you want to undertake. If you intend to go big by renting a place, then you would need a higher amount of capital as you would need to ensure that your employees are well taken care of, and that your pre – school’s environment is conducive enough to keep kids.

This means that the start-up can either be low or high depending on your goals, vision and aspirations for your business. The materials and equipment that will be used are nearly the same cost everywhere, and any difference in prices would be minimal and can be overlooked.

As for the detailed cost analysis for starting a pre – school business; it might differ in other countries due to the value of their money. However, this is what it would cost us in the United of America;

• Business incorporating fees in the United States of America will cost – $750.
• The budget for Liability insurance, permits and license will cost – $3,500
• Acquiring a facility / property that will accommodate the number of kids that we want to take care of for at least 6 months (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) will cost – $35,000.
• Equipping the office (computers, printers, projectors, markers, pens and pencils, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – $10,000
• The budget for paying staff members and utility bills for at least 3 months – $70,000
• The budget for start – up inventories (toiletries, toys, cots, and mats et al) – $2,500
• Launching an official Website will cost – $500
• Additional Expenditure such as Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will cost – $5,000

Going by the report from the market research and feasibility studies conducted, we will need about two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) U.S. dollars to successfully set – up a medium scale but standard and well equipped pre – school / daycare center in the United States of America.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Future Stars® Pre – School

Future Stars® Pre – School is a private business that will be owned by Mrs. Clara Jake – McPherson and family. They are the sole financial of the business which is why they decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital for the business to just three major sources.

These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings and sale of his stocks
• Generate part of the start – up capital from friends and other extended family members
• Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the bank (loan facility).

N.B: We have been able to generate about $100,000 (Personal savings $85,000 and soft loan from family members $15,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $150,000 from our bank. All the papers and document has been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

It is easier for businesses to survive when they have steady flow of business deals / customers patronizing their products and services. We are aware of this which is why we have decided to offer a wide range of tutorial services and other related services to high school students, students with disabilities and elderly students (adult education).

We know that if we continue to deliver excellent daycare services, there will be steady flow of income for the organization. Our key sustainability and expansion strategy is to ensure that we only hire competent and selfless staff members, create a conducive working environment and employee benefits for our staff members.

In the nearest future, we will explore the options of either selling out franchise or expanding our scope beyond Ashville – North Carolina to other major cities in the United States of America. We know that if we implement our business strategies, we will achieve our business goals and objectives in record time.

Check List / Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check:>Completed
• Business Incorporation: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts various banks in the United States: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of All form of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating part of the start – up capital from the founders: Completed
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Pre – Schools’ Logo: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: Completed
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the Needed furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the Pre – School: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the pre – school in Ashville – North Carolina: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
• Establishing business relationship with vendors and key players in the education industry: In Progress

More on School

Child Care Director Resources How to Make a Preschool Business Plan

How to Make a Preschool Business Plan

11th August 2020

An important early step for starting any new business is to make your business plan. Starting a preschool is no different! What expenses do you need to take into consideration? How can you think about setting your pricing? What ages should you take? What hours should you operate? Here’s how to think through each of these decisions to form your preschool business plan.

Preschool Business Plan Basics: Wonderschool’s Iron Triangle of ECE Finance

Before you think through specific business decisions you’ll need to make, it’s important to understand what you’re striving for. Meet the iron triangle. For a preschool business to be financially stable, the iron triangle must be met:

• Full enrollment: ensure that all of your spaces are full.
• Full fee collection: ensure that you are collecting all of your tuition and on time.
• Revenue covers real cost-per-child: you need to ensure you are priced in such a way that your revenue is truly covering the cost of caring for each child.

Important Business-Related Decisions You’ll Need to Make

Type of license: Most states have at least two options for in-home child care licenses . Often there’s a “small” license and a “large” license, with a large license allowing you to have more children. If you’re just getting started you’ll have to choose which type of license you want. There are usually different requirements for each. For example, in California, to obtain a large license for up to 14 children, your home must meet certain fire safety requirements like number of exits and you need to have previous experience working in a licensed child care program.

One thing to keep in mind is that just because you have a license for a certain number of children, does not mean that you need to fill all of those spots. If you qualify for a larger license, you can get it and still only serve 6-8 children if you so choose.

Regardless of what you choose to do, you’ll want to make sure you understand the details of your particular license. How many children can you have at one time? What ratio of staff to children are you required to maintain?

Hours of operation: Do you plan to run a full day program? Or a half-day program? Will you operate a more “normal” school day schedule and offer before and after care for an extra fee?

Families need all sorts of care options. Think about your immediate community when thinking about your hours of operation. If you have a lot of stay at home parents, a part-day program might be perfect. If you have a lot of dual-earning parents who commute a long distance to get to their workplaces, you might need to offer extended hours.

Keep in mind that what you decide on initially does not have to be set in stone. You can always change it later, if needed. You’ll know if you’re not offering a good match for what the families in your community need if you’re not getting much interest, or if families aren’t enrolling once they tour.

Schedules you’ll offer: Related to your hours of operation, you’ll need to think about what schedules you’ll make available. Will you allow parents to enroll part time? Or do you only want full time enrollments? If you have part time schedules available, what does that look like? Is it Monday, Wednesday, Friday? Or is it half days?

Keep in mind that you can charge a higher rate for part time spots because it can be very hard to fill the alternative spots, plus the added paperwork for you. That said, not everyone wants to offer part time care.

Ages you’ll enroll: Deciding who you’ll enroll will depend on your comfort and background. If you have a lot of experience caring for and educating a specific age group, that might be your starting point. Most in-home programs serve a variety of ages, so even if your experience is with preschoolers, you may want to consider branching out from that. If your goal is to fill up quickly, infant care might be your ideal starting place, because that is an age group that is in constant high demand.

The ages you enroll will also dictate what you can charge. Because of the lower ratios required for infant care, you can charge more for infants. Often programs have separate pricing for children under 2 and children over 2.

Meals or other things you’ll offer: Will you provide snacks or meals? Or will you ask parents to provide those every day? Will you hire a yoga teacher to come once a week? Will you provide diapers, or will parents provide diapers? These are all expenses you’ll need to account for in your tuition pricing. Remember that one part of the iron triangle is ensuring your pricing covers the actual cost of care per child. These expenses should be taken into account.

Your plan for hiring staff: You may not need to hire staff until your enrollments surpass a certain number. Determine what that number is for you– do you feel comfortable caring for three children alone, but not four? Decide at what point you’ll hire help, and how many hours you intend for them to work. Will you have a full time assistant? Or two part time assistants?

Decide on how many hours per week you will need to pay your staff, and then determine what you can afford to pay them. Researching on Indeed can be a great way to get a sense of pay scale for assistant teachers in your area. Keep in mind that paying a higher amount will likely yield more higher quality and more reliable candidates. If you’re priced too low you either won’t find anyone, or will have to deal with increased staff turnover.

Your vacation policy: You’ll want to think through your vacation policy, both for time you take off, and for time your families take off. Will parents need to pay while they’re on vacation? Or will you give them a discount? Will parents need to pay while you’re on vacation? Or will you give them a discount? There are pros and cons however you do it, but you’ll want to think this through and include your policy in your parent handbook so the expectations are set from the start. However you structure it, you deserve to get paid vacation, so if parents aren’t continuing to pay while you’re closed, you’ll want to make sure that gets added to your tuition calculations.

Use the Above Information to Determine Your Pricing

Pricing can be a bit of trial and error. Generally, it can be a good idea to price yourself a bit lower when you’re just getting started. Then, when you’re full, you can gradually increase your prices.

To determine your starting point, add up all of your anticipated monthly expenses. You’ll need to price yourself to make sure you cover those expenses, and also pay yourself. Keep in mind that as a business owner, you’ll be responsible for paying your own taxes. You can generally expect to pay 30% of your revenue to taxes.

Keeping it All Organized

Pricing might feel like a bit of a puzzle that needs to be fit together, and it should. You want to make sure your pricing reflects your real costs as a business owner. The final piece to your business plan is that you’ll want to make sure you figure out how you’re going to track all of your business expenses. This will make it easier when it comes time to pay taxes, but it will also help you keep an eye on the health of your business. There are a variety of tools available to purchase to track this stuff, or you can start out with your own spreadsheet or pen and paper system. Whatever works for you is fine, just set it up and use it. Sometimes our tendency with money is to bury our heads in the sand, but that won’t help you make informed decisions down the road.

Starting a new business always comes with a certain amount of risk. By thinking through all of the different facets of your child care business, you will better be able to mitigate that risk. It can be scary to stand up and say “this is what my time as an early educator and care provider is worth,” but your business plan should give you confidence to do just that. Good luck with your successful and sustainable child care business!

Essential reading

Why worksheets are a waste of time in preschool.

15th June 2020

Despite what we know about how children learn (hands-on, through ...

Washington, DC family child care licensing: Licensing process

25th October 2017

This post is a part of our series on Washington ...

How To Start a 24 Hour Child Care In Texas

2nd April 2022

Childcare is an essential service for many families, especially those ...

Meredith Downing

Meredith Downing is the Curriculum Lead at Wonderschool, where she supports directors to build high-quality programs that help students grow and succeed.

How to Write a Business Plan for Daycare and Preschool

• brightwheel
• Running a business

Writing a daycare or preschool business plan is a big task, but due diligence and hard work will help you understand what you’ll need to launch and run a daycare or preschool successfully.

What do daycare investors want?

Your local government will have rules and regulations you’ll need to follow as a small business owner and childcare provider. Start by reviewing the childcare licensing guidelines for your state and city. Once you’re clear on licensing guidelines, you’re ready to start writing your childcare business plan.

The purpose of a business plan is to help secure funding. You’ll likely need financing to launch your preschool or daycare, especially if you want to avoid the monthly repayment of a loan. 

Investors provide businesses with money in exchange for partial ownership. As a result, they expect a larger return on their initial investment. Because many investors work in business, they prefer to invest in an established company.

Most investors look for:

Industry background and experience

Financial performance and promise.

Investors want to make money. Therefore, they are more inclined to work with experienced entrepreneurs and business owners to guarantee a return on their investment. 

This might sound discouraging for those with little experience or without a business management background, but the opportunity doesn’t end there. You could consider bringing on a partner with a business background. Additionally, many investors act as a source of business advice. 

You need to demonstrate that your business will make money. Investors will likely want to see signs of business growth before they give you money. 

Additionally, investors will want to know about your financial stability. Questions an investor might ask are:

• What do you plan to do with the money?
• Has your business been up or down in recent years?
• Is your company losing money? Are there signs of growth for the future?
• How do you plan to repay your investment?

Of course, every investor is different, so they’ll consider various factors. While experience and financial promise are at the top of the list for most investors, they might also look for uniqueness, business readiness, an effective business model, and more.

Writing a daycare business plan

We’ve discussed licensing and investors. Now, you’re ready to begin the framework of your business plan for daycares and preschools. Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

Business description

Needs assessment, insurance policies, operating policies and procedures, marketing strategy.

Start with the basics: what does your daycare do? Detailing the service you’re offering will help you create a clear business plan. Next, you might want to write some goals or even a mission statement outlining your purpose and motivation.

Start by looking at general daycare or preschool industry trends, then narrow your scope to the preschools or daycares in your local area. Next, you’ll need to figure out who your target customers are and confirm that there is a need for a business like yours in your community. 

Are there a lot of young families in your neighborhood? Are you located somewhere convenient for commuting parents? Does your business offer a specific service that your competitors don’t, like early check-in or extended hours? 

Also, check out the competition. Research the existing daycare or preschool options in your community. Look at current preschool or daycare business plan samples. What makes your daycare or preschool unique? 

Developing detailed budgets will help you run your small business. You’ll need to compare your current cash flow and expenditures to determine whether you’ll make a profit.

Build a budget for unexpected costs. For example, how many children do you need to serve to be able to pay your bills and stay afloat? Child Care Aware of America offers some terrific budgeting resources for this process.

Depending on the type and size of your preschool, you’ll need insurance policies of several different types, including liability, property, workers’ compensation, and business insurance. Check the licensing requirements for guidance in building this part of your preschool business plan.

Create a comprehensive handbook for families and staff that includes you center's policies and procedures. For instance, you'll need to develop an emergency plan , daycare sick policy , and other safety protocols according to your local childcare licensing requirements. 

Your staff handbook will be a helpful resource your employees can reference and include all your employment policies including work and pay schedules, benefits, and information about professional growth and development. You can also include information on your center's philosophy and curriculum, classroom procedures, and expectations for working with children and families.

Your marketing strategy is the key to attracting customers. Decide what type of advertising you will use in front of potential customers. For example, list your school in local directories and participate in parenting and kid-friendly community events. Run a social media campaign focusing on your target population.

Another big part of childcare business marketing is differentiating yourself from other preschools. These days adopting daycare software is a surefire way to attract families with young children. A tool like brightwheel's center management feature will streamline your center's admission process, record keeping, and reporting, saving you up to 20 hours per month. 

You can also use brightwheel for recording and tracking daily events and activities, and sending real-time updates to families throughout the day. It also offers secure, digital check-in/check-out and a paperless billing system. This is a great way to keep your families looped in on daily activities and handle all of your administrative tasks in one place.

Your business is ready!

Writing a business plan can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Once you secure the proper licensing, use the information in this article to guide you through creating a solid daycare business plan that drives investors and financing to your business.

These are just the basics to get you started. For further information, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s website has detailed instructions on creating each necessary part of a successful business plan. 

Childcare and Preschool Supply List

A list of everything you need to start an early education program.

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School Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

School Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their schools.

If you’re unfamiliar with creating a school business plan, you may think creating one will be a time-consuming and frustrating process. For most entrepreneurs it is, but for you, it won’t be since we’re here to help. We have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you create a great business plan.

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a school business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What is a School Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your school as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a School

If you’re looking to start a school or grow your existing school, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your school to improve your chances of success. Your school business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Schools

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for schools are donations and gifts, tuition, personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for schools.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a school.

If you want to start a school or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your school business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of school you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a school that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of schools?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan.

• Give a brief overview of the school industry.
• Discuss the type of school you are operating.
• Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers.
• Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team.
• Offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of school you are operating.

For example, you might specialize in one of the following types of schools:

• Private K-12 school : this type of school typically charges tuition, and may be affiliated with a religious organization, or specialize in a particular learning method.
• Charter school: this type of school offers primary or secondary education for a tuition, and may receive some public funding, and/or donations. These schools require their students to take state-mandated exams.
• Special subject school: this type of school specializes in teaching a specific subject, such as driving, first-aid, self-defense, fine arts, language, or general tutoring.
• Preschool: this type of school typically serves children who are aged 3 and 4. These schools prepare young children to enter formal education, and are funded by some combination of tuition, donations, and government grants.

In addition to explaining the type of school you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of students served, the number of students accepted into elite formal education institutions, etc.
• Your legal business Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the school industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the school industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your school business plan:

• How big is the school industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your school? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your school business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: families with elementary-aged children, families with high-school-aged children, families with preschool children.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of school you operate. Clearly, families with high schoolers would respond to different marketing promotions than families with preschoolers, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the potential customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other schools.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes public schools, virtual schools, and families who do homeschooling. You need to mention such competition as well.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as

• What types of students do they serve?
• What type of school are they?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide specialized instruction, either in subject or in method?
• Will you offer courses or services that your competition doesn’t?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a school business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of school that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide religious-focused K-8 education, college preparatory courses, or single-subject instruction like driving or fine arts?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your plan, you are presenting the courses and/or extracurricular activities you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the site of your school. Document where your company is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your school located in a growing neighborhood, in the city center, or will you operate purely online? Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your school marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertise in local papers, radio stations and/or magazines
• Reach out to websites
• Distribute flyers
• Engage in email marketing
• Advertise on social media platforms
• Improve the SEO (search engine optimization) on your website for targeted keywords

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your school, including answering calls, planning and delivering instruction, applying for grants, fundraising, performing administrative tasks, overseeing instructors, handling discipline, scheduling and monitoring extracurricular activities, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to enroll your Xth student, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your school to a new city.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your school’s potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing schools. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in running a school or experience with public school administration or who has served on a public school board.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you enroll 100 or 1,000 students per semester, and/or offer extracurricular activities? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your school, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and ensure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a school:

• Cost of equipment and supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Other start-up expenses (if you’re a new business) like legal expenses, permits, computer software, and equipment

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your school location lease or a list of elective courses or extracurricular activities you will offer.  

Writing a business plan for your school is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will understand the school industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful school.  

School Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my school business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily write your school business plan.

How Do You Start a School?

Starting a school is easy with these 14 steps:

• Choose the Name for Your School
• Create Your School Business Plan
• Choose the Legal Structure for Your School
• Secure Startup Funding for Your School (If Needed)
• Secure a Location for Your Business
• Register Your School with the IRS
• Open a Business Bank Account
• Get a Business Credit Card
• Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits
• Get Business Insurance for Your School
• Buy or Lease the Right School Equipment
• Develop Your School Business Marketing Materials
• Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your School
• Open for Business

Learn more about   how to start your own school .

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your School business plan?

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.   Click here to learn about Growthink’s business plan writing services .

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

How to Start a Kindergarten Business

by Andra Picincu

Published on 31 Oct 2019

Opening a kindergarten can be a rewarding career path for those who enjoy working with children. This type of business will allow you to shape young minds and make a difference in your community. Plus, it can be a profitable venture, considering that more than 422,000 children were enrolled in private kindergartens in 2017.

Research the market and the legal requirements for opening a kindergarten in your state. Look at what other kindergartens around the world offer and use them for inspiration. Determine whether you want to implement your own business model or purchase a preschool franchise.

Research the Market

Kindergartens play a crucial role in children's transition from home to school. This type of education usually starts at age 5 and lasts for one year. Children are encouraged to play together and learn basic activities like subtraction, addition and skip counting. They have access to educational resources such as picture books, toys, board games and more.

If you're planning to start a kindergarten business, research the market thoroughly. Study the different types of kindergartens in the United States and other countries so you can come up with a unique business model . If you offer the same facilities as everyone else, you'll find it difficult to attract clients. Analyze your competitors, learn from them and seek areas of improvement.

Read materials on how kindergarten looks around the world. For example, some facilities in Canada and Germany use parks and other outdoor areas as classrooms. Those in China emphasize singing, dancing and physical education. Kindergartens in the United Kingdom assign one teacher to every eight students, which allows children to work closely with their supervisors and receive personalized attention.

Choose Your Niche

Children who attend kindergarten develop skills that they can apply to all parts of their life. They learn the difference between right and wrong, build connections and make decisions independently. They also learn how to use words to express their needs and wants rather than screaming or throwing things. Kindergarten also instills a sense of curiosity in children, giving them an opportunity to play, learn and try new activities.

Try to find your niche before opening a kindergarten business. Again, it's important to come up with something new to make your business stand out. For example, you could launch a kindergarten for gifted children or one that specializes in arts and crafts. Another option is to create playgroups that offer specific classes such as drama, painting, foreign languages or yoga.

Research kindergarten programs in your area and across borders for inspiration. Focus on those that help children develop literacy, numeracy and language skills, emotional skills, social skills and self-awareness. Try to incorporate outdoor activities in the curriculum. Seek ways to expose students to new ideas and concepts so they can broaden their horizons.

Assess the Costs Involved

Opening a kindergarten isn't cheap. You'll need to pay for business licenses and permits, buy or rent a building, set up classrooms and purchase educational materials. On top of that, it's necessary to hire an accountant, teachers, janitors and administrative staff. You may also need to hire web designers to create a website for your kindergarten.

The exact costs will depend largely on how you choose to operate your business. Consider the rent and utilities as well as salaries and employee benefits. The average cost of starting a child care center, which is similar to a kindergarten, is around $95,485 . The primary expenses include:

• Child care cost (toys, books and other educational supplies): $4,715
• Indoor furniture: $19,780
• Outdoor equipment: $10,810
• Office furniture: $2,300
• Fencing: $3,795
• Insurance: $3,450
• Working capital for eight months: $31,280
• Licensing: $575

How much you'll pay depends on the location of your business. Licensing fees , for example, vary from one state to another. Renovations can significantly increase your startup costs. If you purchase the building, you may need to pay for electrical work, plumbing, building and inspection permits, site improvements, landscaping and more.

Look for Kindergarten Franchising Opportunities

As a startup founder, you may not have enough money to open a kindergarten. Sure, you may apply for grants and loans, but you may still lack the experience needed to operate this kind of business. Kindergarten franchising opportunities abound and can make it easier to get your business off the ground.

Lightbridge Academy , for instance, provides franchisees with 134 hours of training and ongoing support through a dedicated business coach. Its facilities are equipped with cutting-edge technology, from iPads and whiteboards to internet monitoring. The company has had 10% revenue growth every year since 1999. The initial investment ranges between $730,000 and $5 million , which isn't cheap, but you'll receive ongoing training and access to a proven business model.

A more affordable option is Kiddie Academy . Franchisees need $250,000 to $500,000 in liquid capital, a net worth of $740,000 to $1 million and a credit score of 650. The staff at Kiddie Academy can help you design a kindergarten business plan, prepare loan applications and choose one that meets your needs. Training starts from day one, making it easier to learn the ins and outs of this business model.

Make a Kindergarten Business Plan

Next, write a kindergarten business plan that covers your vision, goals, financial projections and other key aspects. Start an executive summary followed by a brief overview of the preschool industry. The executive summary should describe your mission statement, objectives and strategy in a few paragraphs. Keep it short and to the point.

A kindergarten business plan should include the financial, legal and organizational aspects of running this type of business. Outline your goals and describe how you're planning to achieve them. Also, provide an overview of your competitors and target customers and offer information on the company's ownership and management as well as its location, facilities, services and technology. Brainstorm marketing strategies and seek creative ways to get your message across and attract clients.

If you're not sure where to start, look for preschool business plan templates online. Use them for inspiration and tailor them according to your needs. Consider forming a planning committee to discuss what it takes to start this kind of business and make a plan. At the very least, this document should include the following:

• Executive summary
• Market overview
• Competitive comparison
• Target audience
• Company description
• Management team
• Short-term and long-term goals
• Products, services and facilities
• Operating policies and procedures
• Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis)
• Funding needs, pricing strategy and financial projections
• Legal requirements
• Marketing strategy
• Expansion strategies

Satisfy the Legal Requirements

Like any other business, opening a kindergarten involves several legal steps . First, you'll need to brainstorm kindergarten school names and choose one that reflects your vision. Register it with your state and then choose a business structure, such as a limited liability company or a partnership. Apply for an employer identification number online through the IRS website so you can open a bank account, get business licenses and pay your taxes.

Be aware that each state has different guidelines and requirements regarding education. Contact a child care licensing agency in your state to determine what business licenses and permits are needed for opening a kindergarten.

In addition to business licenses, you will need an insurance plan . Ideally, reach out to a company that offers policies designed for kindergartens and day care centers. Contact the insurance department in your state to find an agent who can help you. Discuss your licensing and insurance needs with an attorney or a state representative to make sure your facility complies with the law.

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How to Write a Preschool Business Plan

Are you thinking about starting your own preschool? If so, it’s crucial to create a plan before you open your school. There are many factors that go into running a successful preschool. Your plan’s action items will depend on the specifics of your vision for your business.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss the steps that go into writing a comprehensive business plan for a preschool business. We’ll outline the essential components of a solid business plan. And we’ll also provide some helpful tips so you can write your own!

Ask yourself: What will the purpose of your preschool be?

One of the first steps of outlining your preschool business plan is determining your preschool’s purpose. Creating your mission statement will help guide you through all aspects of running your preschool. It ensures that your mission’s intended purpose is aligned with your vision.

There are a number of different types of preschools out there. Whether you’re looking to create an inclusive school environment or you intend to open an all-day preschool that caters to children who have autism or other special needs, it’s important to identify what type of preschool you intend to run before moving forward.

Determine the costs & revenue for your business plan

The next step in writing your preschool’s business plan is to determine the cost of starting your preschool. This includes the most common expenses. For example, monthly rent or mortgage payments, equipment and furniture, registration fees, and advertising/marketing materials (like flyers or brochures).

All of these expenses add up fast! You’ll want to do some research into the tuition prices of similar schools in your area. This will not only give you a helpful benchmark but can also give you a competitive edge as well.

Examine your market needs

Next, you’ll want to examine your market. This includes looking at the size of your target demographic and who they are. It also includes children’s age range and where your prospective families live in relation to where you plan to open up shop.

You’ll also need to develop a  grasp of the types of families that might be interested in enrolling their children at your school so that you can tailor your marketing materials specific to them.

If you don’t complete this step first, it will be hard to know how much time or money you’ll need to allocate toward advertising or how to determine your school’s enrollment fees. No preschool business plan is complete without this very important step!

Establish policies and procedures

Your next step in outlining your preschool business plan is establishing the policies and procedures you plan to implement. The best way to communicate your policies and procedures to new families and employees is through handbooks.

For employees, you need to ensure that you include information in your handbook about policies and procedures for requesting time-off, reporting children’s absences, your dress code if applicable, and more!

For new families, their handbook should include information about the registration process, pick-up and drop-off times, student attendance policies, and whom to contact if there is a problem with your services or facilities, for example. All of these little things go a long way with new parents and employees.

Promote your new preschool

Nowadays, most businesses have a website so people can find information including that business’s location, contact details, and what types of services they provide. Preschools are no exception. Make sure that when you set up your website , it is user-friendly, loads quickly, and reflects your preschool’s core values.

Not only does a stellar website legitimize your preschool in the eyes of prospective parents, but it also acts as a hub for all of the other channels to which you need to promote your preschool… which brings us to our next mode of promotion: social media!

If your social media presence is lacking (or even worse, nonexistent), you are almost guaranteed to be missing out on reaching an entire audience of prospective families in your area. We recommend you start by establishing pages on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Make sure that you post regularly (about three to five times per week), and ensure that your content is consistent across the board. With the availability of new automation tools that can help you schedule your posts, not having enough time is no longer an excuse!

While online marketing initiatives make it easier to measure your results, it’s also wise to incorporate some more traditional marketing methods as well. Hanging flyers at local businesses and organizations is an easy, low-cost way to get the word out about your school.

Once you start gaining enrollments, you can even offer parents incentives if they make referrals to their friends and family!

Conclusion:

Your preschool business plan needs to be clearly outlined before you open your doors. This will ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible, in both the short-term and long-term. You’ll need to make decisions regarding costs, operating policies, and procedures, examine your market needs, and develop an effective promotion strategy for attracting families.

From there, your main focus will be driving and retaining enrollments so that your preschool can thrive!

Are you thinking about opening your own preschool? Contact No Joke Childcare today for a free consultation!

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20 steps to Start A Profitable Preschool and Reduce Expenses

Congratulations on making the decision to start your own preschool! Whatever your reason, whether you’re a teacher with a vision or a parent who sees a need, opening a preschool isn’t easy. If you want to run a successful preschool, you need expert advice, a clear preschool business plan, and preschool software or a childcare management app to help you stay organized and streamline your operations.

A preschool business can be a good choice if you have a nurturing spirit, plenty of energy, and an interest in stimulating young minds. In this business, you will provide supervision, fun activities, and educational opportunities for small children. In most cases, starting a preschool business means working with 3- to 5-year-old children. You can run a preschool business out of your home, in many areas, or from a commercial space.

So does your community lack quality preschool and childcare programs that prepare them for kindergarten and beyond? Here’s a data source on the number of kids in your area.

Your success in opening a preschool will depend on careful management of the startup process. This guide will explain exactly how to start your own preschool, from writing a business plan and choosing a location, to marketing, hiring, and managing your day-to-day operations with the help of a preschool app .

Before starting any business, you need to determine if it is right for you both personally and professionally. Here are a few items to think about.

Looking to start a daycare? Read step by step guide on how to start a daycare

Related article: 10 common challenges faced by preschool teachers in 2022

1. Create a business plan

The very first step towards opening a preschool is thinking like a business, and a proven way to do so is by creating a business plan.

You’ll need to do your research, with a focus on understanding the costs involved in successfully launching a profitable preschool business.

Writing a business plan is a helpful exercise that forces you to plan ahead and anticipate many of the challenges that can often lead to failure when they are overlooked, such as:

Is there enough demand for a preschool in your area (e.g. are there more families with young children in your area than existing preschools can accommodate)?

• Are there enough working parents or big offices in your area?
• Are you able to get a favorable rental term?
• How much will it cost to operate your business?
• Validate your idea with your friends and families.
• How much will you need to charge per child, and do you have enough space?
• How will you promote your preschool business to get children enrolled?
• How many families with young children live in your area? How many of them need child care?
• Who else is providing preschool in your area? Is there a need for preschool for a specific age group?
• What is the market rate for preschool in your area?
• How much will it cost you to operate a program on an ongoing basis? What do you need to charge to have a profitable program?
• How will you attract parents?
• What will make your preschool or child care program stand out from the rest?
• Are you using your own money, or are you seeking a small business loan? Have you looked into preschool grants?

2. Find a location for your preschool

Are you opening a small, home-based preschool, looking to rent an existing preschool facility, or starting a preschool from scratch with a brand new facility? In any case, you’ll need to find a home for your preschool. Check your city’s zoning laws and preschool licensing guidelines when you’re making this decision to be sure your location is compliant.

When making this decision, consider that home-based preschool businesses generally have fewer expenses and lower overhead, have more flexible hours, and are more convenient for you and, likely, the parents whose needs you will be serving. The legal requirements to operate a home-based preschool business are also generally less strict than those for a center-based preschool business.

On the other hand, a center-based business—while probably more expensive to establish and operate—will provide greater space so you can expand your business and earn greater revenue.

3. Competitor Research

You will be able to compare services provided by competitors must be considered and compared to your own services. For example, what kind of curriculum is being offered? Is it new and innovative? If not, how can this be capitalized on? Other concerns might be special services such as longer hours, pick-up and drop services for kids, special needs children, sick child care, or after-school program. Also, what are the rates for these services? The bottom line is provided the parents with the best value!

4. Curriculum

You need to spend a lot of time in research for a good curriculum for your preschool.

Your business plan should include a mission statement that will guide your curriculum and program philosophy.

Whether you adopt an existing pedagogy or create your own written framework, provide a learning environment that starts children down a road toward academic success and enhances their skills and knowledge. You should keep the following in mind before choosing a curriculum for your preschool

Based on current child development research. It is not acceptable to just throw out a program that is purely “fun.” You must actually research how children learn best and incorporate that into their model.

Practical to implement. It should have guidelines for not only how to structure the learning activities themselves, but also on how to set up the learning environment, how to interact with parents (if you are a classroom teacher), and how to adapt lessons to meet individual’s needs.

Provide support and training. This is especially important in the beginning when teachers and support staff are learning the materials themselves.

Appealing to children. Of course, the activities that the children participate in should be engaging, as well as be instructional.

Broadly there are these curriculums which are followed the most in the world

The Montessori program

Founded by pediatrician/psychiatrist Maria Montessori in 1907, Montessori school programs (there are over 5,000 in North America) emphasize the importance and connection of all living things, and the need for each person to find meaningful work and his or her own place in the world. Children learn about other cultures, animals, and plants in addition to reading, language, and mathematical skills.

Who it’s best for

“Kids who want a hands-on learning environment suited to their own needs,” says Chelsea Howe of the Montessori Foundation. Special needs children thrive, especially those with attention deficit disorder (ADD) or other learning or psychological problems, because of the individual attention teachers pay to each student.

The Waldorf approach

According to Rudolf Steiner, founder of the first Waldorf school at the Waldorf Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1919, a person is made up of three aspects — spirit, soul, and body. The more than 750 Waldorf programs around the world aim to stimulate and develop these three elements in young children by immersing them in nurturing surroundings. Kids are encouraged to engage in creative free play rather than watching TV and videos and playing computer games because those activities get in the way of using all five senses to absorb and actively engage in life.

Waldorf programs tend to be more group-oriented than those at Montessori schools, for instance. If your child thrives on order and rhythmic repetition, this may be the best option. But a Waldorf education can benefit almost any child, says Patti Regan of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America. Waldorf teachers believe that even children with special needs can bring something important to a group. However, the program is not recommended for children with severe developmental disabilities.

The HighScope approach

The HighScope program is based on the theory that children need active involvement with people, materials, ideas, and events. It is a curriculum of “shared control” in which adults and children learn together. Like Montessori, the core belief is that children learn best by pursuing their personal goals and interests. In HighScope, however, children are encouraged to make their own choices about materials and activities — teachers are trained to support this independence and decision-making. The HighScope approach is newer than the Montessori approach but has four decades of research proving its effectiveness in promoting children’s development

The HighScope program is a good fit for any child who needs individual attention. It was originally created for at-risk urban children and used successfully in conjunction with the government’s Head Start program. Today it is more widely used in a variety of preschool settings. It’s also effective for children with developmental delays and learning disabilities because it is tailored to each child’s individual level and pace, explains Ann Epstein, a developmental psychologist and director of the preschool department at the HighScope Educational Research Foundation. If you want your child in a very structured, adult-directed environment, HighScope may not be the way to go.

In a nutshell, hundreds of independent preschools and childcare centers around the country don’t follow any one of the preceding approaches to the letter, but instead, mix and match various elements of them to form their own program. Activities and curricula based on the work of Jean Piaget, a Swiss development/education pioneer who died in 1980, are also popular, as are schools modeled after hugely successful preschools in Reggio Emilia, a town in Italy.

4. Invest in preschool software

One of the best ways to start a successful preschool in 2019 is to take advantage of the amazing preschool technology at your disposal. Streamline your administrative tasks with the best preschool app and you’ll have more time to focus on providing your families a top-notch preschool experience–which is your whole goal anyway, right?

Illumine is an easy-to-use child care app that will help you manage your preschool and stay in touch with families. Your staff can use illumine for recording and tracking daily events and activities , and parents get real-time updates delivered to their mobile devices throughout the day. Delight parents and bridge the gap between learning that happens in your program and learning at home using our preschool app for parents . Our powerful preschool app also offers secure, digital check-in/check-out , live streaming, and an automated paperless preschool billing system . This is a great way to keep your families looped in on daily activities .

5. Prepare your preschool facility

When you are starting a preschool business, you could expand or renovate an existing facility, open a small home-based program, or find a new site. Whichever option you choose, evaluate the site and neighborhood, verify with your city’s zoning laws and preschool licensing guidelines that your location is compliant, and check your state standards to learn how much space you will need based on the number of children you plan to accept.

Depending on type and size of your preschool and the state it is located in, you’ll need a different type (or types) of insurance. This will include general liability insurance, property insurance, professional liability insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance. Contact an insurance agency or your state insurance commissioner’s office for more information.

Now the fun part.

Transform your center into a place that is safe, clean, comfortable and inviting to parents and children. Purchase child-size tables and chairs, nap mats, art materials, educational toys and games, books, outdoor play equipment, and other furniture and educational supplies for your preschool or child care business. Don’t forget safety equipment such as fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and locked medicine cabinets.

6. Live Streaming / CCTV access

In our last blog, we had highlighted why allowing preschool and childcare parents to give access to school’s cctv is a good idea .Parents are full of anxiety, apprehension, and doubts when they leave their children in a school. The best way to relieve them of their anxiety is to give them live access of the classroom. You can buy preschool software that has an integrated live streaming feature so you can control the access of the parents.

Schools realized the parental concerns and apprehensions. Over time these reduce too once the child gets comfortable. But research has shown that parents prefer to put their kids in schools which has live streaming access for them. The modern chains realized that and now even smaller ones have started following it. Some of the schools that were the first movers in this were

7. Obtain necessary licenses.

In the vast majority of cases and countries, you will have to apply for and be granted the proper licensing in order to care for children. The type of licensing you will need will depend on your jurisdiction and country. Your local municipal government office should be able to tell you what licenses you will need to obtain in order to run your preschool business. Your state’s licensing office should also be able to provide you with an overview of the licensing requirements applicable to you, which you should read carefully. This process will likely involve some or all of the following .

Attending an orientation session where you will learn about state and local requirements for operating your business and complying with applicable state law.

Filling out a licensing application.

Paying a licensing fee.

Working with the licensing agency as it reviews your business plan, inspects your facility, and completes the licensing process.

Taking classes focused on CPR, first-aid, and the like. Have these instructions pasted on the prominent locations of your preschool facility?

Undergoing a background check (and fingerprinting) for you and any prospective employees.

Undergoing medical testing/immunizations for you and any prospective employees.

Get a license from the fire safety department. You should have a fire evacuation plan as well as fire-extinguishers in place.

Parents always appreciate transparency since they are leaving a piece of their heart with you. If you explain to them your process and that you have met all the safety requirements then they will have a sense of assurance.

8. Market your preschool business and seek applicants

At the very least your child care center will need marketing collateral and an online presence. Make sure you register yourself in the google business directory. You should hire a digital agency to make sure your business is marketed to parents who are searching schools for their kids. You should create a Facebook page. The Facebook page should have your business philosophy and pictures of your facility. List your business in local child care directories and participate in preschool enrollment fairs in your community. You should definitely have a professional design your website and also install live inquiry software on the website.

Let others know about your new preschool business by posting fliers in places parents frequent, such as libraries, grocery stores, and community centers. Place ads in local newspapers and phone directories as well. In addition, ask local schools that do not have preschool programs to refer parents of preschoolers to you or allow you to post fliers on their bulletin boards.

Starting a preschool center can be challenging, but running a successful childcare business is extremely rewarding. Make things easier for your preschool with the best preschool app for kids , teachers, and parents. Wishing you the best of luck on the journey to open your own preschool.

9. Arrange capital

• Here are some tips for raising capital for your preschool: Maintain a good credit score. A positive balance in your business bank account is a good sign for your investors and comes in handy in a financial crisis.
• Take a loan for investing in long-term assets like your preschool building, interiors, equipment, or furniture from the bank. Many banks fund small businesses by offering attractive low-interest rates and a long duration to return the money.
• Remember that the bank cannot fund operational expenditures such as staff salary, bills, rent, and building maintenance. You can raise capital for these utilities by getting your investors to cover for you or relying on liquid funds.

10. Name the preschool

Choosing a memorable name for your preschool is significant as your domain name will reflect it. Here are some suggestions for preschool names:

• Miles of Laughter
• Play and Discover
• Smart Start
• Sacred Steps
• Smart Beginnings
• New Adventure
• Rainbow Sparks
• Stepping Stones

When you’re buying a domain name, make sure you choose a trustworthy domain registrar like GoDaddy or A2. Secondly, use a domain availability checker tool like Namecheap to confirm that your business name is unique. If you can purchase the domain name you want, complete the registration and confirm ownership of your domain. If that domain name is owned by somebody else, find the owner’s information. Negotiate a fair price for which they’ll transfer the domain ownership to you. Opt for the former as it’s more cost-effective, and you get the bang for your buck.

11. Register your preschool

You can self-register your preschool, but getting an expert’s help understanding the law before applying would be beneficial. Consider hiring an advocate or a consultant. They will reach out to the business registration firm on your behalf and apply for your preschool’s registration.

The Private School Education Act has different regulations globally concerning opening hours, staff qualifications, taxes, etc. It can take 15-20 weeks to complete the registration process. Instead of sitting tight and waiting for your preschool’s registration, we recommend prioritizing other aspects of the business, like marketing and infrastructure in the waiting period.

12. Hire teaching and non-teaching staff

Concentrate on hiring trained staff who carry out their responsibilities efficiently and have experience looking after young children. Experienced teachers bring classroom knowledge to the table and show complete dedication and devotion to the role.

Here are a few things to keep in mind while hiring staff for your preschool:

Verify teachers’ educational qualifications and the preschool certification criteria of staff ratio.

• Do a thorough background check, criminal check, and take down the staff’s biometrics. The safety and security of the children should be your utmost priority. If something goes amiss with a child, remember that word spreads fast in the neighborhood, and you’ll be subjected to harassment and humiliation.
• The first day of school can be just as scary for moms and dads as it is for the kids. Transitioning from the comfort of the home to the unchartered school space where everything is uncertain and new can be overwhelming. Concerned parents want to ensure their kids stay safe.

To ease their worried minds, Illumine’s bus tracking feature ensures students’ safety. It lets parents track their children’s movement in real-time with a GPS on the driver’s phone. This feature enables two-way communication between the parent and the driver and smoothens operations.

13. Continual professional development

One of the ways to retain quality staff is to train them to keep up with the advancements in computers and technology. As the world has gone digital (aftermath of the pandemic), it is important to enroll teachers in workshops, activities, and seminars that hone their skills and expertise.

The teacher attrition rate has grown exponentially in the childcare industry. Preschools all over the US, India, and the world are facing low teacher ratios. Teachers are either pivoting to other fields or experiencing burnout, leading to resignations in mass numbers. Not to mention, hiring new staff can cost 1.5-2x more than retaining your staff.

Automating assessment recording, lesson planning , and observations can save teachers 45 hours monthly. With the time they save, you can arrange mental health workshops for them to show them you care. Consider investing in a childcare management tool like Illumine to un-complicate the administrative tasks teachers are haunted by.

14. Choose the right infrastructure

While equipping your preschool with child-safe furniture, keep these things in mind:.

• As children bring their fair share of food and drink spills, opt for durable furniture that offers water and stain protection. It will save you time and money in the long run.
• Pick equipment with rounded or soft edges to avoid the children from getting hurt.
• Use slipcovers on cushions and sofas to avoid reupholstering furniture in case of damage or tear.

15. Comply with tax regulations

Pay your tax on time annually to avoid incurring a late fee. The amount you pay for your income tax will depend on the type of entity you own, i.e., profit or not-for-profit. The following preschool items are exempted from service taxes in the majority of countries:

• Preschool education
• Education up to higher secondary
• Vocational education classes

Note: Check your country’s service tax regulations to make an informed choice.

16. Set operational hours

Running your preschool in the morning and evening shifts would be a good idea if you want to boost enrolments. You can have AM and PM class options to double your capacity and add to the choices parents seek. The PM classes can be held for older students, while the AM classes can be reserved for young kids.

17. Invest in automation

Childcare automation allows you to be in control of your preschool instead of your preschool controlling you!

Source: Agility CMS

Extending your market reach to new parents may seem a daunting task, but in reality, it can be 10x simpler with automation. Automation tools reduce costs, improve efficiency, eliminate manual errors, and encourage organizations to go paper-free. They’re a godsend, really.

At Illumine, we aim to provide parents with a top-notch preschool experience by streamlining parent communication. Your teachers can use our app to monitor classroom activities, and parents receive instant updates about them throughout the day. Moreover, Illumine provides a safe, digital check-in/check-out and a paperless billing system. When teachers are free to focus on more productive and critical tasks, you spend less paying them to do mundane tasks.

Another advantage of using automation is student reporting. You can use student data to predict their performance and suggest data-driven measures to improve it. With Illumine, You will have visual charts and cues to support your feedback during parent-teacher meetings.

The data also allows you to increase your productivity. You can track student and teacher attendance, perform cost analysis, and generate bills on the Illumine app. Our app can also integrate with Razorpay, UPI, and other digital payment tools for managing student fees. When you’ve got data at your fingertips, anything is possible.

Teachers who are a message away from the parents inspire trust in families. Thus, Illumine provides teachers a seamless platform to converse with parents and solve their problems. Our communication feature ensures you can chat with parents quickly, effectively, and meaningfully.

19. Improve business efficiency

Regular day-to-day operations require you to be on your toes all the time. Every day, there’s a fire to blow out. Your pre-defined schedules are thwarted by a pandemic, errant students, non-responsive parents, and kitchen mishaps.

We’re here to tell you that while running a business, you’ll see both good and bad days. On the bad days, remember that childcare management tools are your friend and can help you nip a problem at its bud quickly. To file paperwork for day-to-day operations, look into childcare management tools like Illumine, Himama, and Brightwheel. These platforms can help you streamline operations and expand your efficiency in conducting business.

20. Stay organized

It’s difficult to stay on top of your daily tasks while managing children, operations, and staff. That is why we’re huge proponents of color coding. Color coding is an age-old productivity hack to streamline your work. The Illumine app allows you to manage your lead inquiries by filtering them based on color cards.

• The advantage of color coding is you can filter the leads based on the creation month, status, and source, like a referral, online, etc.
• You can also filter them by leads you have to follow up with, leads you have closed, or those you haven’t.
• The best part is that you can customize these color cards, which makes it super convenient to remain organized. Unlike other childcare tools, you can track your leads on our app without spending money on another management platform to keep score. The feature is supported on the web portal for now.

The post How to Start a Profitable Preschool: An ultimate Step-by-Step Guide appeared first on Illumine .

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Preschool Business Plan Sample

Oct.11, 2013

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Table of Content

Do you want to start a Preschool business plan?

Are you thinking of drafting a business plan for a preschool? If you want to know how to write a business plan for a preschool, you can refer to business plans like the one presented here.

Starting a new business can be hard, especially in the education sector but it can also be very rewarding. So, if you want to know how to develop a business plan for angel investors that will get them excited and interested in your business, then start by following this document. 

Here, we will be presenting a preschool business plan with a focus on tutoring business ideas .

Executive Summary

2.1 what is the business.

This document contains the sample business plan for preschool that will be called LearnALot. LearnALot will be a preschool/ daycare center operated and managed by Theodore Krasinski. It will offer parents a chance to make their kids have fun in a safe environment. Besides, the kids will also be taught the basics.

2.2 Management of Preschool

Starting a preschool business plan can be hard. But the process to plan and manage the business becomes easier if you split it into smaller and more manageable parts. If you want to make a business plan for a preschool center , the first thing you need to do is to draft everything. 

In this business plan for a preschool pdf, we will plan out all the necessary details of LearnALot one by one. If you want to write a business plan for preschool, you can follow the guide. You can also hire business planning services to get a professional business plan written for your startup.

2.3 Customers of Preschool

The customers of LearnALot will belong to all kinds of family backgrounds. Due to our daycare services, parents or families with small or special needs children will make a major customer group.

• Working Parents
• Single Parents
• Concerned Parents
• Families with special needs kids

2.4 Business Target

The target of LearnALot is to become a reliable daycare and educational center for the residents in Florida. We aim to cater to healthy and normal children as well as those with special needs. 

The financial targets that LearnALot wants to achieve within the first three years of operation are demonstrated below:

Company Summary

3.1 company owner.

Theodore Krasinski will be the owner and manager of LearnALot. Theo got his master’s in education three years ago after which he served as a teacher for two years and as a principal in the third year. However, he always felt a need to do more so he decided to open a special preschool himself. 

3.2 Company History

Theo noticed that though public schools were trying their best, they didn’t focus on acquiring the tools to cater to children of different needs. There was also a lack of preschools and daycares in the surrounding. To eradicate this issue, Theo decided to open a preschool that would prepare students of all kinds to keep up when they got into school. 

3.3 How the Preschool will be started

Step1: Evaluate Goals

Starting up a preschool business or any business in that domain requires a lot more than money. Before you start a business, you need to be sure about the goal you want to achieve via it. The goal can be scaling up the business, earning profits or increasing the well-being of the community, or anything else. But there needs to be a solid goal to direct your operations.

In this open driving school business plan , we will list the SMART business goals adopted by LearnALot.

Step2: Plan the Business

Once you are sure about the goals of your business, you can start developing a business plan template for preschool. If you are not sure how to develop a business plan, you can take help from preschool business plan examples like this one to learn how to write a business plan for a preschool. 

Step3: Plan Structure and Logistics

Now that you know the base details of the business, you will be able to sort out the finances. This will include estimating the costs that will be involved in starting the business. 

Step4: Get Funding

Any business needs money to start and function before it can become self-sustaining. To get the initial funding for LearnALot, Theo decided to write up a strong business plan that would wow the investors. 

Step5: Find a Physical Space

Every business, big or small, needs space to function. Therefore, to start a preschool, you will need a building to set up everything. Theo decided to rent out a building with some space in the front so that he could develop an outdoor play area as well. 

Step6: Promote and Market

The final step of the business is to develop a marketing plan to promote the business both in the online and physical realm. Theo will hire a marketing plan specialist to develop a marketing plan that can be easily followed to bring more customers to the business.

All business plans including business plans for preschools include details of what services or products the business will provide. Deciding these things ahead of time allows you to develop a preschool business proposal more efficiently. 

A preschool business plan like an e-learning business plan will help you map your business in detail. That will, in turn, allow you to manage it in a better way and gain more funding. 

In the case of this preschool business plan template, Theo decided to include all the major services that he will offer to the customers through his business. 

• Day Care Services

The primary service provided by LearnALot will be daycare. The business will offer daycare services for all types of parents. This will include parents who just want to drop their kids temporarily for a few hours while they get done with their day-to-day tasks. The other option will be for parents who want to entrust their kids regularly as they are off to work. 

• Special Education Services

LearnALot will also cater to families and parents who have special needs children. This can include children who need help with physical activities or children, who, perhaps have a different way and speed of learning. 

As Theo wants to offer a one-place-for-everything business, there will also be some learning activities for the kids to learn as they play. Parents will have the choice of opting their kids out of these activities. However, Theo will try to encourage parents to allow their children, a free environment so they can adjust better when they get into school later. 

• Transportation

LearnALot is primarily a business for children with parents who are busy working for a living. So keeping their busy routines in mind, the business will also offer ‘pick and drop’ services to facilitate such parents. 

Marketing Analysis of Preschool

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Even though opening a preschool business may look like an easy task, it can be very taxing if not planned properly. To start any business, even a preschool business, you need to thoroughly research the market and understand it. 

The best way you can learn about your target market is to do market analysis as a part of your business plan for preschool center. The marketing will help you understand the past, present, and future conditions of the market, what the gaps are, and where you can fit in. 

If you are thinking of running a preschool business, you will need to learn all about your target market. This will include both your customers and competitors. Learning these things will help you develop a preschool marketing plan targeting your customers. You will not only be able to attract customers in a better way but will also be able to find ways to stand out among others. 

If you want to develop a preschool business plan sample and you don’t possess enough knowledge, you can follow this sample preschool business plan for LearnALot. 

5.1 Market Trends

Daycare and Preschool services are booming services in the US. According to IBISWorld, daycare centers have a market share of around $54 Billion. And according to Bplans, 84% of startups in daycare services succeed enough to make a good profit within the first year. Therefore, opening a business in this domain is very rewarding. 

5.2 Marketing Segmentation

The customers of LearnALot will belong to the following groups:

Business plan for investors

5.2.1 working parents.

Our main customers will be working parents living in and around Florida. These parents usually have eight-hour jobs that keep them busy. Therefore, they are expected to utilize our services most often. We will offer them a place where they can leave their children without any worry. At us, they will have a space where their kids can play and learn new things and skills. 

5.2.2 Single Parents

Our second target customer will be the single parents who need as much help as they can get. Single parents usually have to manage everything on their own. Therefore, a service of this sort will be of great help to them. By entrusting their kids to us, they will be able to do daily chores and relax for a while. 

5.2.3 Concerned Parents

A lot of parents usually get concerned that their children are not learning as fast as they could. For these parents, our educational services will be the most attractive. We will offer learning sessions in several niches so that parents can choose what they want their kids to learn. 

5.2.4 Families with Special Care Kids

Lastly, LearnALot will cater to those children as well who don’t learn at the same pace as other students. Parents can bring their children to get assessed and our preschool will try its best to cater to the children in the most helpful way.

5.3 Business Target

The target of LearnALot is:

• To become a safe and reliable place where parents can drop off their children regularly. 
• To become the best preschool/ daycare center in Florida.
• To expand the range of services we offer.
• To earn a profit margin of $10k/month after the first two years to sustain the business.

5.4 Product Pricing

Our prices for specialized cleaning are a little higher than those of our competitors. However, our other offerings are available to our customers in a similar price range as that of our competitors.

Marketing Strategy

To develop a preschool marketing plan template that will help you succeed, you will need to develop strategies that will work for your market. A good marketing plan is a part of every business plan. Therefore, you will need it for your daycare and preschool business plan as well. In this business plan for preschool pdf, we are providing the preschool business plan sample for LearnALot. 

If you are also offering physical training and game sessions, you can also see the marketing strategy for karate center business plan .

6.1 Competitive Analysis

• We have versatile offers and services to cater to parents who want to drop off their kids for different periods. 
• Our customers can directly contact us in case they need any special services.
• We are offering pick and drop service to facilitate the parents even more.

6.2 Sales Strategy

• We will advertise through local news channels, posters, and social media posts.
• We will offer discounted rates to the first 15 customers.
• We will offer different types of affordable packages to parents so that using a preschool doesn’t break their bank.

6.3 Sales Monthly

6.4 Sales Yearly

6.5 Sales Forecast

Personnel plan

A business plan preschool like any other business includes the strategy to hire the employees for your business. To get an idea of how many employees you may need, you may consult a business plan for language school sample . In this preschool business plan pdf we are providing the employee list made by Theo to run the preschool.

7.1 Company Staff

• 5 Trained Teachers
• 1 Sales Executive 

7.2 Average Salary of Employees

Financial plan.

When you look at preschool business plan examples, you will notice that all of them outline their finances in one way or another. Financial information is always a part of every preschool business plan sample pdf. Accurate financial planning enables you to fund your business, and earn revenue.

Due to the immense importance of financial planning in a business, it is advisable to not experiment with developing a financial plan. Financial planning is of utmost importance and it impacts the sustainability of a business in the long term. Keeping it in mind, you should hire a professional financial planning expert for the task. Various business frims would do the task for you even online.

Below, we are providing the financial analysis for LearnALot. You can follow this template to do financial analysis for your martial arts business plan as well. 

8.1 Important Assumptions

8.2 break-even analysis.

8.3 Projected Profit and Loss

8.3.1 profit monthly.

8.3.2 Profit Yearly

8.3.3 Gross Margin Monthly

8.3.4 Gross Margin Yearly

8.4 Projected Cash Flow

8.5 Projected Balance Sheet

8.6 business ratios.

• Are preschoolers profitable?

Opening a preschool business can prove profitable if you do a financial analysis to make sure that the cash flows are managed well.

• How can I grow my preschool business?

You can grow your preschool business by reading preschool business plans for preschools that are running successfully.

• What are the steps to start a preschool?

The first step is to make starting up a preschool business plan and then deal with every aspect of your business including the finances, marketing, and services you will offer. 

• How do you write a preschool proposal?

You can write a business plan for the preschool center by following the template provided above.

Download Preschool Business Plan Sample in pdf

OGSCapital’s team has assisted thousands of entrepreneurs with top-rate business plan development, consultancy and analysis. They’ve helped thousands of SME owners secure more than $1.5 billion in funding, and they can do the same for you.

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Preschool Business Plan

Starting a preschool business is not for the faint of heart. Even if you love the idea of working with children, reality often differs dramatically. The stress of the actual operations is even wildly different from the stress you get just preparing everything from the ground up. To help you stay on top of everything, you need a proper preschool business plan on hand. Documents like a kindergarten  business plan , and a play school business plan, among others, will help you survive the initial onslaught of the endeavor while guiding you for months or even years to come. Scroll on to learn more and to find some of the best preschool business plan examples anywhere.

Preschool Business Plan Examples & Templates

1. preschool business plan template.

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3. Preschool Business Plan Sample in PDF

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4. Free Preschool Business Plan

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5. Preschool Business Plan Template in PDF

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6. Basic Preschool Business Plan

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The Importance of a Preschool Business Plan

Like any business, a preschool comes with numerous requirements for you to meet. You will need funding, marketing strategies, materials, and equipment . With all of those variables mixing into one big goal, you need a guide. You will need something to help attract investors if necessary. This is where a preschool business plan comes into play. Sure, you can still plan things out if you don’t have one. However, there is a detail of organization that you won’t get using anything else.

Tips for Writing a Preschool Business Plan

Those with experience in writing business plans will know all about the nuanced nature of the document. Whether you are looking to create a non profit daycare business plan or one that’s for profit, the little details and the approach are all bound to change. Rather than get a free sample school business plan, here are some tips to help you in the event that you need to write your own business plan from scratch.

Tip 1: Keep it Short

It benefits you more to keep things as short as possible. Yes, there are many aspects of the preschool business to plan for. However, your expression of those plans do not have to be overly long or complicated. Be concise with your plan and you can be guaranteed that your readers will find it much more effective.

Tip 2: Keep Your Audience in Mind

With preschools, your audience should be parents with children of a specific age range. It is important to take note of that because what you offer will center around them. Your strategies, your branding , your methods, and the rest of your plans depend on your audience. Keep them in mind when planning for greater odds of success.

Tip 3: Don’t Let Fear Hold You Back

Starting any kind of business is going to be daunting. There’s no shame in admitting that some aspects of your endeavor may feel intimidating at times. However, you can’t allow that to hold back your plans. You need to recognize your goals and objectives so that you can plan around them. Never plan around the fears that grip you.

Tip 4: Be Timely and Realistic

As much as we like to say that you should shoot for the stars, it would be bad advice to leave all pragmatism behind. Your goals and objectives need to be firmly rooted in reality. Don’t let fear hold you back, but at the same time, you must acknowledge where your capabilities remain. Once you learn that, be sure to set a timeline for yourself. That way, you can ensure greater productivity.

What are the six components of a business plan?

First, there is the executive summary , followed by sections that dictate the opportunity and the execution. From there, you have the company and management, the financial plan, and lastly, the appendix.

Is it acceptable to have a professional write your business plan for you?

If writing a preschool business plan is too much for you, or if you lack the time, then you can always recruit a business consultant to help you with it.

How long should my business plan be?

The proper answer for that is as long as you need it to be. It does not have a required number of pages, as long as everything necessary for the execution of your startup is included and explored adequately.

Learning about how to write a proposal for a daycare center or finding the best preschool business plan ppt templates are among the things anybody should do before anything else. By researching the best methods of moving forward, you can avoid the pitfalls and accomplish your desired goals sooner than anticipated. Having learned as much as you can from this article, you may take your new knowledge and apply it when you decide that starting a preschool is your calling. Just remember to choose wisely and act boldly when that time comes!

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Nothing can be more scary than the apprehension any parent get out of finding the right people to leave their child with. Or the institution they have to trust to instill learning of the kid at an early age, while they are away on weekdays. You can get wary with all the options available. You may also see preschool templates .

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Child care and development, tips in starting a child care business, early childhood center business plan.

Evaluate Your Readiness

• passionate about helping children develop their learning thereby helping their families
• ready being your own boss, leading a facility with the skills and proper mindset to make this a small business that have every potential to succeed. You can also read daycare business plans .
• Have the right education or at least a background in child care or are willing to be trained and learn the skills as well as hire people who have
• You will also need certain qualifications for your staff to meet licenses and certification required by the state to allow you to operate and accept enrollees. You can also like startup business plans .

1. Business Plan and Needs Assessment

• How many parents or families with young children live in your area and how many of them need to be in a preschool? You may also see bakery business plans .
• Who else in your area are child care providers? Is age group necessary in their facility?
• How does the preschool market look like in your area? How much will it cost to manage a program on a regular basis? What figures do yo need to ask from potential partners to offer a profitable child care program? You can also read construction business plans .
• How will you attract parents enough for them to be convinced by your mission?
• What will make your preschool business different from the rest?

Maryland’s Preschool Business Plan

Early Childhood Business Plan

Preschool Business Plan Sample

2. Prepare and invest on your facility

More in plan templates, basic school planner template, class star chart, worksheet for preschool template, sample preschool teacher resume template, preschool calendar template, spring flash card template, spring tips template, spring certificate template, spring presentation template, school name tag design.

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Preschool Business Plan Template

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Does Preschool Boost Kids' Long-Term Academic Success? Study Finds Mixed Results

Does Preschool Boost Kids' Long-Term Academic Success? Study Finds Mixed Results

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, May 3, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Pre-kindergarten programs have long been considered an early ticket to future success for children.

But the evidence is much more mixed than one might think regarding the longer-term effectiveness of preschool programs, a new evidence review in Science says.

More recent published evaluations of well-established preschool programs have reported a mix of positive, negative and no difference for children’s later academic achievement, researchers say.

“Preschool programs have long been hailed as effective interventions, yet our study reveals a more nuanced reality,” senior researcher Margaret Burchinal , a research professor with the University of Virginia’s Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning, said in a news release.

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The idea that these programs can help children succeed in school – particularly kids hampered by income- and race-based achievement gaps – initially came from a pair of prominent clinical trials conducted more than 50 years ago, researchers said.

However, recent studies have shown that’s not always the case.

The most promising recent results came out of Boston. The public preschool program there boosted high school graduation rates and college enrollment, as well as SAT scores, researchers noted.

On the other hand, children randomly assigned to attend the Tennessee Voluntary Pre-K program scored substantially worse on math and reading by they time they reached sixth grade than kids who lost the assignment lottery. They also were more likely to need special education and to have discipline problems.

Further clouding the matter, a large-scale analysis of the Head Start program found it provided children neither positive nor negative effects by the third grade.

Overall, public preschool programs appear to provide an advantage to literacy and math skills for kids upon first entering elementary school, but that advantage seems to fade quickly, researchers said.

“In short, the science is not settled,” the researchers concluded in their paper.

They argue that the optimistic findings from the earlier studies might not carry over to today’s programs.

Both of the preschool programs studied early on served small numbers of children, which might have allowed more personal attention on their development, researchers said.

Further, parents these days have access to a wide variety of safety-net services and child-care options that might make as much -- or more -- of a difference as a preschool program to a child’s future development, researchers said.

"At present, the best research studies make it hard to predict the long-term effects of these investments,” said researcher Tyler Watts , an assistant professor of developmental psychology at Columbia University Teachers College in New York City. “Certainly, we agree that early childhood education is an important area for public investment. Still, we cannot confidently claim that all public pre-k programs produce positive long-term results."

More research is needed on preschool programs, both to chart the success of kids who do and don’t attend them and to suss out the “active ingredients” that distinguish successful programs from those that aren’t as helpful to kids, reseaerchers concluded.

“It's imperative that we design preschool programs to uniformly promote school success, especially for children from families with low income,” Burchinal said.

"Crucially, for parents, especially those with limited financial means, access to reliable childcare is essential for workforce participation,” she added. “Equally vital are public preschool programs that not only offer dependable care but also lay a solid foundation for their children's academic success."

More information

Rasmussen University has more on the benefits of preschool .

SOURCE: Columbia University, news release, May 2, 2024

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Whitmer wants free preschool statewide. Lansing's existing program could be a model

LANSING ― Amanda Limon is currently searching for a preschool for her 4-year-old son.

She was surprised at how expensive some of the preschools she looked at were. Although there are options for free pre-kindergarten programs in the Lansing area, she makes more money that allowed for free preschool from the Great Start Readiness Program.

Limon attended the Lansing School District's open enrollment event for universal preschool earlier this month. She said as she weighed several options for her son, she liked that she could send her son to Lansing schools for free even though she made more than the state guidelines for free preschool.

"I think (the free preschool) is great," Limon said. "I think it's really great. There's so many incentives in the Lansing schools as far as like (connections to MSU)."

Lansing school officials say they are the only school district in Michigan to offer a completely free preschool program for families, regardless of what their income is.

It costs at least $11,000 yearly for "high quality early childhood care and education" in Michigan, according to a report by the state's Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential Department , or MiLEAP. Even for those parents who make more than Michigan's cutoff for free preschool ‒ $90,000 a year for a family of four ‒ the high costs might make some hesitant to enroll their child.

In February, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced her plans to make Michigan's free preschool universal. According to her proposed budget, it would cost $650 million to remove all income eligibility for families of 4-year-olds.

Lansing is in a unique position to offer universal preschool programs, and the district's efforts offer a glance at what similar programs could look like in other districts.

The median household income in Lansing is $50,747, according to the U.S. Census , well below the $90,000 cutoff for free preschool. This means that more of Lansing's kids are already covered by the state program, and the district only has to cover the few students who wouldn't qualify.

Compare this to a school district like Okemos, where the median household income is $88,298. More families wouldn't qualify, and the school district would have to cover more students.

508 students with plans to expand

The universal pre-K program puts everyone on equal ground, Lansing Superintendent Ben Shuldiner said. And because everyone qualifies, the program has been popular during the few years it's existed.

"We have been filling our slots," said Angela Barry, executive director of the universal preschool program at the Lansing School District. "Right now, we have 508 students and that's how many we can hold. But next year, we'll be opening two new classrooms and then we will have capacity for 538 students."

The Great Start Readiness Program has a curriculum which the classrooms in Lansing follow. For children who are too young for kindergarten, a lot of their time is spent learning how to interact with other children while gaining a sense what future school will be like.

Earlier this month, kids poked at worms in Zondra Sickles Blake's preschool class at Cumberland Elementary in north Lansing, just south of the Capital Region International Airport.

"The kids guide us in what we teach here," Sickles Blake said. "It was raining a lot, and we noticed the kids were interested in the worms on the sidewalk, so we thought we'd make a lesson around them."

Some of the children didn't want to participate, and Sickles Blake and her co-teacher let them play with other items in the classroom instead.

"We want to let them participate on their own time," she said. "Some of them might not be ready, and that's OK."

The individualized approach goes for students who are extra curious about that day's activity, too. Sickles Blake brought out magnifying glasses for the children who wanted to keep looking at the worms.

"We let them lead, there's no set time for how long an activity lasts," she said. "Some of these kids might not be exposed to stuff we do or talk about in the class, so we want to give them enough time to explore it at the level they want."

Each preschool classroom in the Lansing district has 16 students and two teachers, according to Great Start Readiness Program requirements . Lead teachers must have a valid Michigan's teaching certificate and a bachelor's degree in early childhood education or child development with a specialization in preschool teaching. Associate teachers must have an associate's degree in early childhood education or child development or the equivalent and a valid center-based preschool child development associate credential.

Preschool teachers at Lansing get paid the same amount that a K-3 teacher would be paid, because of these qualifications, Shuldiner said.

Barry said that she's had conversations with other early childhood centers about expanding after Whitmer's announcement.

Regardless of whether Whitmer's proposal passes the legislature, Shuldiner said he's fully committed to continuing universal preschool for everyone living within the Lansing district, and those outside who meet income eligibility.

Classes are currently offered Monday through Thursday, at 13 school buildings across the district. The district also offers Chinese and Spanish language immersion classrooms and a Montessori classroom.

Rising state costs

For the 2023-24 school year, the state allocated a base amount of $9,608 per student for children in a full-day Great Start Readiness Program. Whitmer's proposed budget raises the amount to $10,342 , which would cost $42.8 million out of the $159 million she's asking for to bring universal pre-K to every 4-year-old in Michigan.

The increase would make the base amount per pupil for Great Start programs higher than what she's proposing K-12 schools get per student. But K-12 schools would still see a $241 increase in per pupil allocation, raising the total to $9,849 per pupil.

But pre-K programs cost more than a typical K-12 classroom, Shuldiner said. Because each classroom can only have 16 students and requires two teachers, costs of paying the teachers are higher than a K-12 classroom, which have one teacher for about 25 students.

Whitmer's proposed budget is likely to meet pushback from conservatives and negotiations throughout this summer. Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt , R-Porter Township, said the budget continues a "reckless spending spree," noting that officials said it would leave less than $20 million on the state's balance sheet if adopted in full. However, Democrats maintain a majority in both the House and Senate.

The final budget must be approved by Oct. 1, when the next fiscal year begins.

Contact Sarah Atwood at [email protected]. Follow her on X, @sarahmatwood .

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