CM Club:Bit of an odd request for help

[Katymac]

We are so short of children - I need to get a job

Any ideas what I can do outside of childminding to top up?

I'm thinking of going cleaning boats - but something a bit more pleasent would be nice

ironing from home

normal cleaning in peoples homes

late/nights in supermarket/local one stop kinda shop?

Sorry to ask this but have followed your nursery saga. If your CMing is low on numbers why are you so confident that the area can support another nursery in addition to your CM business?

I'm hoping that it's different markets

But I tend to be low over the summer any at childminding

Unfortunatley I have a few more expenses this year (he nursery really)

I used to do care work when i was starting up, they are good for doing eve and wkend hours because many people dont want to do eve's and wkends but be aware they are open 365 days a year, the pay is about £6-£10 ish an hour and the work is similar to what we do already except its for older people or people with disabilities which i think you would handle well. The only thing is you have to do a week of training so you wouldn't be able to childmind for that week.

I really enjoyed it but when i took on a ft'er who did 50hrs a week it was too much to do both, i'm tempted to go back to it but i already work 8 til 6 (but the children this time are not so demanding so i get a couple of hours chill time when they are sleeping) but i don't want to give up my weekends and i'm not sure i could handle it through the week either, plus having a 2nd job when it comes to tax is confusing for me (im sure you wont have that problem its just maths is my weak point and being new to it all i'd like to concentrate on one job!)

Good luck and sorry you have to do it!

You're putting your house on the line to invest in this project and you are "hoping"?

GT sometimes you have to take risks and look at the bigger picture dont you? Wish i had the balls and determination to do it but i just don't have it in me.

Does it help that some of the children that have left have gone to nursery?

Yes I am scared I have done my research and there "appear" to be enough children moving into nursery age over the next few years based on the councils demographics - but there are no guarantees

If businesses came with cast iron promises and guarantees then no-one would ever be an employee - I am taking a massive risk - I have researched the options and I am hoping eveything will be OK

Entrepreneurs take risks, but they're usually calculated ones. You are putting an awful lot of money in up front in anticipation of a level of income for 25 years. Now obviously any business plan more than 5 years out is going to be pretty much fantasy - presumably even more so in childacre! But if your current business is running short on children, and I've seen from your other threads that the intention is for this business to continue, then at a time when the existing nurseries are running at 75% capacity I wonder what margin of error you have?

I know that you've had professionals look at your business plan, but if your assumptions for that plan are right then your cm business wouldn't have vacancies.

Out of interest has your business model been developed on the assumption that there will be additional demand (ie demand exceeds or is equal to supply), or that you will be competing for a demand that is less than the local supply?

Hi Katymac how about trying to get some sort of seasonal work at the beach either working at a cafe or icecream stand or souvenir shop. That way if you get children sign up all of a sudden the job is only a temp one until Yarmouth and the like shut down around end Sept?

Currently local children are travelling 5-15 miles to attend nurseries which are full with waiting lists of more than a yr

Daycare is not avaiable within a 10 mile radius of the nursery

There isn't really any good daycare outside of the big town 15 miles away

The business plan is calculated at a 70% maximum & we should break even on the 13th child (anticipated at the end of yr 2)

I cannot keep children at childminding when they need nursery care as the consideration has to be what is best for the children

If I don't provide the nursery care I lose them