earlyyears.teachwire.net
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nursery business
Make sure your property costs
will be reasonable and
controllable. An old building
that needs constant
unpredictable repairs will
always be a threat to the
viability of your business.
If at all possible, begin
with a really well restored
or modern building that
will not need constant
care and supervision…
like the children!
“CONSIDER
YOUR
COSTS”
Peers Carter founded The School Transfer Company
(schooltransfer.co.uk), the leading confidential broker for Day
Nurseries and the Independent Educational Sector. He and his
wife, Susan, owned and ran Bronte Day Nursery and Bronte Prep
School in Gravesend. Email
“Prepare for the worst”
HAVE A REALISTIC OR EVEN PESSIMISTIC
BUSINESS PLAN. DO NOT PRODUCE AN OPTIMISTIC
BUSINESS PLAN JUST TO RAISE FINANCE FROM
YOUR BANK. THEY MAY HOLD YOU TO IT. IF YOU
THEN CANNOT MEET YOUR ASPIRATIONS AND
PROMISES, YOU WILL BE IN TROUBLE EARLY ON.
BEST TO PLAN FOR A SLOW LAUNCH AND A FEW
ROCKY PATCHES. THEN IF THINGS GO WELL, IT
WILL BE HAPPY SURPRISES ALL DAY LONG.
“Give it
some thought”
Think twice about doing it. It is risky and all-
consuming of your time, energy and emotion. If you are
determined to go ahead, check out the level of local
demand very carefully. Are the other local day nurseries all
full or nearly full? (They should be.) Are any of them
providing a less than stellar service? Is there an
opportunity to do better? What do their customers say
about them and the atmosphere of their settings? Do
not rush into starting a new day nursery until you
are absolutely certain that there will be strong
demand from a clientèle who will be able to
meet the costs reliably.
