You’re probably pretty excited about this idea of creating a successful preschool… and you’re likely a little overwhelmed as well. Will it work for you? Where do you start? Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” So listen up because I’m about to show you that first step—the preschool business plan.
As we develop your preschool business plan today, you will understand when to schedule your classes, how much you can make, and whether an online or a local preschool is best for your family.
But, before we outline our preschool business plan, I’d like to let you in on a little secret.
You can create a consistent income without working 12-hour long days.
Yes, you. You don’t have to put your kids in daycare. You don’t have to be exhausted all the time.
We’re Starting a Preschool, NOT a Daycare
Let me be clear: I don’t have anything against the amazing women who are providing quality early childhood education to children who need full-time care. That’s a great service.
But, I do have a problem with the home daycare industry in general. Why, you ask?
I saw what it did to my sister. She was working from 6 am to 6 pm. She was taking care of all ages of kiddos, from babies to school-age kids to toddlers. And while making sure that everybody’s needs were being met, she had to take care of her own kids, during and after hours.
At the end of the day, she was completely exhausted. Are you running a daycare right now? I’m sure you’re pretty exhausted too.
One woman can only do so much, and I feel strongly that the daycare model doesn’t provide enough support to the women running it.
The 9 Biggest Benefits of Preschools Over Daycares
For me, the choice was clear. Daycare was a no-go. In fact, I wanted to design my preschool to stay as far away from daycare as possible. Whatever I disliked about daycare, I wanted to do the opposite of it.
But, what are those differences? What are the benefits of preschools? Let’s take a look.
1. We serve different clients.
Daycares serve working parents, people who need their children taken care of while they work.
At Preschool All Stars, our clients are SAHMs and part-time working parents.
So, daycares are not our competition. The parents we serve are looking for a preschool program to help their child have fun, make friends, and get ready for kindergarten. They want more than just babysitting. They want a community, and they’ll pay a pretty penny for it as well.
2. The working hours are better.
Daycares are open for 12 hours a day, usually from 6 am to 6 pm.
On the other side, a preschool gets to set its own schedule. That means you can teach as long or as little as you like.
If you run an online preschool, your classes can have two components. One is a 30-minute pre-recorded lesson to share with your students the day before. The second component can be a 30-minute preschool pals class. This is a live class that you can host on any number of platforms (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.).
When it comes to a local preschool class, my personal recommendation is that it lasts about two and a half hours.
When I first started my preschool, I had four different classes with six different students in each. There was a class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, from 9 am to 11.30 am. Then I would have lunch and welcome another group from 12 pm to 2.30 pm. My other two groups were scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday, for two and a half hours in the morning and afternoon.
Whether you choose an online or local preschool, you are in charge of your schedule. The best part? Preschools offer all the flexibility a working mom needs.
3. We serve different ages.
In a daycare, you’ll find kids ages zero to 10. In our Preschool All Stars, we only serve children ages three to five. This allows us to have laser-sharp focus and deliver unmatched value.
4. Preschools have consistent income.
Daycares work on weekly contracts. That means that parents can drop your services any week of the year, leaving you strapped for income.
In Preschool All Stars, the parents are committed, and they usually commit to a 9-month school program. You can also do a 2-month summer camp program.
Having those big contracts ensures that you get a consistent income every month. No surprises: you will know exactly how much you’re going to make.
5. We can work online.
When an area shuts down, daycares have to close too. With preschools, we get to teach locally, but we can also teach online.
For us, it doesn’t matter what the rest of the world does. We go online and we are still in business.
6. The pay is way better.
When it comes down to it, the hourly wage of someone running a daycare doesn’t amount to much. With 12-hour workdays and only so many children you can take, the hourly becomes negligible in relation to the work you put in.
On the flip side, our Preschool All Stars have found that they can charge a premium tuition rate. Why? We’re offering a premier experience. We are offering our families more than just preschool because we add as much value as possible to our preschool classes.
And because we’re only teaching for a couple of hours, we’re getting a high hourly rate. You’ll see that preschool teachers make anywhere between $60 to almost $100 per hour!
How much should you charge? This depends on your area. In a small town, you’ll see $100 monthly rates. In California, New York, and similar places, you can charge as much as $400 a month.
7. We get school district holidays.
Daycares have to be open almost every single day of the year, with exception of maybe Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
On the other hand, we get all our federal holidays. We get off the one week for Thanksgiving, two weeks for Christmas, and one week for spring break. The best part? We still get paid the same amount of tuition every single month.
8. You can start with what you have.
Daycares require a large startup capital because they’ve got a lot of furniture. From cribs and cots to high chairs, there are children of all ages to accommodate in a daycare.
In our preschools, we get to start with what we already have in our homes. That’s where I started. In fact, I recommend you hold off renting space until you establish your cash flow, but we’ll talk about that in the coming episodes.
9. Your own kids are never neglected.
With 12-hour long days, you have to split the time between daycare and your own children. This is difficult for everyone: your kids feel they have to share their mom and you feel you’re neglecting them.
With preschools, it’s a completely different story. Your kids can be a part of your classes and they get their mom, their education, and a bunch of new friends.
People Will Pay for Your Preschool—Here’s Why
Convinced that preschool is the way to go for you? Not yet? Go listen to this episode to hear from women who made their dreams come true with our preschool.
Maybe you’re thinking: No one will pay for my preschool if there are free preschools. You’re right. The people who will choose free preschool won’t choose your preschool.
But, that’s none of your concern. They’re not your target market.
Your dream clients want to pay for a live, educational, fun, and unique experience only you can offer. They understand your value.
You just have to speak the right words, so that they see what you’re offering and understand why they need it. And of course, we’ll teach you how to do just that.
Additional Resources:
- Check out our $50K+ preschool giveaway here
- Get my FREE book Start Your Preschool (+ $7.95 s&h)
- To start Joy’s “7 Students in 7 Days” Challenge and to download today’s show notes, please go to joyanderson.com
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