| When preparing your budget for your new day | | | | as your sales and attendance grows can also go a |
| care center, return often to your understanding | | | | long way toward keeping down your initial |
| of the core service you need to provide: a safe | | | | expenses. If you can sign up children for day care |
| space with competent staff. Use this | | | | early enough, you can wait until you know group |
| understanding to guide you as to where you can | | | | sizes to hire staff and ensure that you do not |
| save money and where you must be ready to | | | | hire more staff than needed. The same goes for |
| spend. | | | | supplies. |
| An Example - Food Service | | | | There is always a trade off, and, in this case, |
| One example is lunch service for the children in | | | | requiring parents to sign up earlier reduces your |
| your day care. Day care centers may prepare | | | | ability to serve last minute additions. Look for all |
| fresh lunches in their own kitchen for children. | | | | the tradeoffs that any cost-saving method will |
| However, having to build out a kitchen may add | | | | require in terms of what the parents in your area |
| significantly to the capital you need to raise. What | | | | will value. |
| would happen if you cut the kitchen and instead | | | | Value Engineering |
| ordered lunches out daily, working out the best | | | | Value engineering is a way of looking at every |
| deal possible with a local restaurant or store? You | | | | component of the service you will offer and |
| would cut not only the start-up cost, but also the | | | | making sure it will offer enough value to |
| electrical and maintenance costs associated with | | | | customers to warrant being included. It is |
| having the kitchen equipment. You could also | | | | important, whenever possible, to use a set of |
| devote more staff time to working with the | | | | outside eyes, and preferably someone with |
| children and avoid the daily labor of food | | | | experience in the day care industry, to offer |
| preparation, and the periodic labor of ordering and | | | | ideas of areas to cut through value engineering. If |
| maintaining supplies and ingredients. The direct | | | | certain elements of your physical center or |
| cost of the meals would certainly be higher, but | | | | services do not increase your value to parents, |
| maybe you could pass on this cost to parents by | | | | bolstering the price you can charge, then they |
| explaining the benefits of outsourcing meals to a | | | | should raise a red flag. For example, extensive |
| skilled business. This is the type of cost-saving | | | | outside signage may be attractive, but, if you are |
| analysis you should undertake. | | | | not in an area where it will serve as marketing to |
| Grow With Your Business | | | | passersby, consider if it is worth the expense. |
| Making sure that you only add to your capacity | | | | |