I'm trying to start my own domestic cleaning business and, while a friend watches the kids once in a while, and I've gotten a couple of clients, I need to get some regular, bona fide childcare in place before it can really go anywhere.
The nursery fees for my two youngest would be between £240 and £280 a week, which is more than I can earn working for quite some time. Certainly more than any net profit I'll make for a long time.
I did find a very nice registered childminder on my street, who takes children to the same schools my children go to. She charges the standard hourly rates, but was willing to make a deal for filling two daily slots ever day of the week... so it would cost me between £150 and £200 a week (depending on school terms), but for shorter hours of the day, so I'm still not looking at covering the costs for a while.
You just can't tell what the tax credits will be until you actually apply, but I think I can MAYBE get the cost down to just over £100 a week.
I was really thrilled to manage to find this, thinking that maybe it would work. I told my husband and he said, "So, you need to clear £100 profit a week, just to cover child care, then?" He just doesn't see the point of it, I don't think.
He is very keen for me to start earning money, but he doesn't see the logic in paying for child care out of money I am not yet even earning.
My logic is:
I'm trying to build a business. I am about to have flyers printed and I'm hoping to pick up more clients, soon. I can't get the business off the ground - can't take bookings - if I don't have dependable child care in place.
Even if I'm just trying to break even for a while, by the time the two youngest are in school, I hope to have a full diary of clients. When they're all in school, child care costs ought to be lower. Someday, they won't need a paid carer and by then I hope to be expanding my business to the point of having employed staff and hopefully turning a nice profit.
I'm 41 years old. I haven't been earning anything towards old age in seven years. I also haven't been building any skills or otherwise moving up the payscale. Every day I stay at home with the kids, I get older and fall further behind.
I love cleaning. Owning my own full-time business is a dream I've had for a long time. I've been out of the work force so long that I don't really have any white-collar skills to offer that would pay much. I don't want to get a job working at Asda. I don't want to try and sell candles or whatever through home parties.
And, they're his children, too! Why is he only considering my income against the cost of childcare? Sure, at the moment, my going back to work won't add to our household income very much, but in time, I'll be bringing in money - perhaps even more than he earns.
How do I convince him that this is an investment?