possible business venture

[lolalou22]

Was just wondering if you lovely lot could give some help and advice please. i am contemplating becoming self employed and opening up a creche in a shopping centre somewhere you could leave your children knowing they were in good qualified crb checked hands...whilst you'd shop, lunch etc in peace.....my question is how many of you would actually use a facility like that and does it meet your needs???? Thank you in advance

[BIWI]

Why is this in relationships?!

Have you investigated all the shopping centre creches that already exist? Have you done an audit of their offer? e.g. price, length of time a child can stay, staff:child ratios, qualifications of staff etc

You need to do a proper business plan as I'm guessing that it would be hugely expensive to set up - square footage in shopping centres will mean high rents, and likely also high staff wages.

[BeCool]

No I would not use it.
I thought the ones at IKEA looked really exciting - DD1 won't go near them at all.

But I tend not to shop in shopping centres very often anyway so not your target market!

[lolalou22]

Sorry yeah just realised id posed it in the wrong topic of conversation hope that doesn't go against me. there aren't any creche like im planning on opening around me so i was thinking great gap in the market now im wondering if it isn't so much of a gap and just not needed???

[lolalou22]

BIWI there all good Que and yes have checked child to staff ratio and max length of stay and price etc have started to put business plan together....then little light bulb moment came and i thought best survey would be amongst other mums

[LEMisdisappointed]

It wont go against you posting here, but would prbably be better in chat - report your post and mnhq will move it for you and you'll get more replies.

I have to say that no, i wouldn't use a shopping centre creche - i would only be happy to leave my DD with people she knows and she's 7!!

[BerylStreep]

I used to long for a supermarket creche when my DC were younger. It probably would have saved me money in the long run as I wouldn't have had to buy treats!

I suppose your main competition is people doing their grocery shopping online, therefore not needing to go to a shopping centre at all.

I have always liked Ikea's creche system.

Do you think that you could organise some incentives with stores, for example 1 hr free childcare with every £70 spent? A little like they do with car park charges?

[lolalou22]

Thank you ive reposted somewhere a little more appropriate.....the incentive is a good idea i like that thank you ive mixed emotions I'll be honest.

[KeepCoolCalmAndCollected]

Before you go..... I think it's a brilliant idea. Safeways (now Morrisons) used to do this where I live, but unfortunately by the time I had my DS they were bought by Morrisons, and it stopped.

[FrebbieMisaGREATshag]

loads of supermarkets used to do this - there must be a reason why they stopped.

[lolalou22]

I think it was when the crb check came in its only a guess but they seemed to disappear once ofsted got involved but im hoping to have all that in place from day one thanks

[AnyFucker]

Tesco used to do it, I used it when dd was a baby

It disappeared though. I would investigate why that was the case, love

[FrebbieMisaGREATshag]

Yeah AF, that's what I was trying to say. There must be a damn good reason why asda and tescos and moreisons and Safeway et al stopped doin it.

My eldest two are 23 and 21 and I used it with them. But I think by the time of no3
They were pfftd.

[BIWI]

Sainsbury's (or rather Savacentre, as they used to be near to us) had a creche, and it was fantastic when I did the shopping. But I would guess that it was a combination of:

• space requirements
  
• child/carer requirements
  
• CRB checking
  

that put paid to it and made it just economically unviable.

[BIWI]

Sorry, that should have said child:carer ratio requirements

[Whatalotofpiffle]

I wouldn't use one to be honest but then I don't leave dd anywhere really I think it is a good idea and have friends who would. I would be more inclined to use one in a supermarket where I am nearby, if they existed