Executive summary
With inflation growing exponentially year after year, today’s average American family requires two or more salaries. This trend has increased the need for high-quality child care services. The population growth rate in Hillsborough County’s Riverview area is presently 14.6 percent, indicating rising commercial viability for this industry in our area. Price, service, certification, and reputation are essential success criteria in the child care services market. Therefore, the Community Childcare Academy (CCA) will compete successfully in the market by maintaining an excellent record with parents and the community it will serve and delivering low costs, more excellent child care services, and cutting-edge educational programs with qualified college-educated instructors.
This is a childcare business plan for Community Childcare Academy that will emphasize two subgroups: ‘Lake St. Charles’ and ‘The Villages of Lake St. Charles,’ both of which are new affluent community developments with over 900 new houses within a two-square-mile radius. Our target clients are double, middle-class households who value the educational and child care services we provide for their kids aged four months to 12 years.
We will begin operations with a preliminary enrollment of 13 pupils. We anticipate healthy sales at the end of the first year, with revenues nearly tripling by Year 3. Our most significant operational expenses will be salary at industry standard levels for our highly qualified personnel and rent on our buildings, which will be renovated for our needs throughout the start-up period. We want to expand to four campuses eventually, but this will be done cautiously and with existing cash flow. We expect to turn a profit in our second year. To that end, we are making a significant investment in the company and looking for a match in an SBA loan.
Mission
“Some of the happiest years of our lives were spent as children and subsequently as college students…” Working adults in a fast-paced culture sometimes lose sight of how valuable and transitory those years are (Hill et al., 2019). Consider an alternative to the standard infant, day, and after-school care that satisfies your child’s needs and offers an activity-based learning environment similar to those employed at colleges, universities, and technical centers around the country. A collegiate community of professional caregivers with the qualifications to improve your kid’s early social and motor abilities and teach them advanced topics in the biological sciences found at universities. A collegiate-based program designed specifically for children and presented in a pleasant, supportive caregiving setting.
Childcare Community Academy is a new comprehensive community college for children aged four months to five, in grades one through five. The Academy devotes its resources and expertise to providing high-quality caregiving services and a high-quality activity-based learning environment geared to children of these ages. The school will meet the requirements of its parents and students by providing exceptional care and guidance, an advanced curriculum, customizable programming, involvement in the local community, and commercial collaborations (Hill et al., 2019). It is dedicated to accessibility and inclusivity and its open-door approach welcomes those who want to give their children better care, readiness, and learning. The Academy strives to provide affordable, first-rate care and education by offering a wide range of comprehensive programs and services and new learning methodologies. It is dedicated to serving as a leader in child care, higher education, community service, ethnic diversity, and focuses its efforts on student success.
Objectives
- Increasing sales to almost double first-year ones by the end of Year 2.
- Maintain a high raw gross margin by the end of Year 1.
- Open the second campus by the end of Year 1.
- Begin franchise effort by the end of Year 3.
Keys to Success
The keys to success for CCA are:
- Marketing: establishing a distinction between CCA’s caregiving and educational services and standard daycare and interest activity programs.
- Service quality: primary level and certified educators, daycare workers, tutors, and subject matter industry experts deliver care and educational programs in a technologically sophisticated first-class collegiate atmosphere.
- Maintaining a well-known excellent reputation in child care, education, and community involvement and being the preferred employer in our industry for child care and academic talent.
- Profitability: the ability to control costs and manage budgets in compliance with company goals, adhere to strategic business initiatives for growth and expansion, and reinvest in the firm and its people.
Company Summary
Riverview, Florida, will be the home of Community Childcare Academy – Lake St. Charles Campus. The academy will use six fundamentals as the key driver behind the services provided:
- Premier Care-Giving Services.
- An Activity Based, Children Structured Collegiate Curriculum.
- Advanced Technology and Developmental Programs.
- Trademarked General and ‘Continuing’ Education Mentoring and Tutoring.
- Learning Services.
- Community Advancement and Involvement.
The Lake St. Charles campus is a freshly built, 3,600 square foot site in the Lake St. Charles Medical Plaza that will be established following strict CCA design requirements and under the oversight of Hillsborough County Child Care Licensing.
Start-up Summary
The academy’s founder and the president would supervise budgetary accountability, with financial oversight provided by an independent CPA. A Campus Director will be employed to oversee the facility’s day-to-day operations and will collaborate with the silent stakeholders and other campus workers to ensure the facility’s success (Hill et al., 2019). CCA’s anticipated start-up costs are $39,450. The owners’ substantial cash reserves and potential credit lines will cover these expenses entirely. Working capital will be provided through a $60,000 SBA-approved 5-year loan. The company’s future expansion, growth, and licensing strategy will be self-funded.
Table: Start-up
Table: Start-up Funding Table
Company Locations and Facilities
Community Childcare Academy will start with a single campus in Riverview, FL, near the posh Lake St. Charles community entrance. The school, located at the Lake St. Charles Health Care professional Center, will include separate halls for arts and crafts, theater and dance, information systems, library and quiet study, coaching, infant care, and a cafeteria. The play space will be next to campus, securely fenced, and equipped with adequate playground tools and facilities.
Services
Community Childcare Academy provides luxury childcare services and a sophisticated collegiate-based curriculum for children ages four months to 5 years and in grades 1st through 5th. Regular business hours will be 6:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, with all significant legal holidays observed. Technology, collaborations, professional services, and other practices that encourage and enhance higher learning are used in our educational and child care services. In addition to the overall services and curriculum provided, each campus will provide weekend specialist seminars for children and adults and scheduled family events in the neighborhood. CCA will also host children’s birthday parties, providing fun activities for children and a simple experience for parents. These events will be led by activity instructors, who will be assigned to provide a grand celebration.
CCA exists to give Premier child care services that attempt to improve standard daycare approaches and integrate extracurricular activities (such as artistry, dance, theater, and gymnastics) into a single holistic curriculum. Our activity-based collegiate curriculum is designed exclusively for children and is modeled after the arts and sciences taught in colleges, universities, and technical education around the country. We provide cutting-edge technology programs in cutting-edge facilities, preparing students for the technological age they live in. Our regular and ‘continuing’ educational programs guide and tutor pupils through ‘core school’ homework assignments, providing a foundation of comprehension and engagement to ensure a future educational achievement. Finally, our development programs promote fundamental social, listening, independent, and motor abilities while preparing kids for relevant future engagement.
Service Description
Community Childcare Academy will provide four essential services to the Lake St. Charles community when it opens:
- • Full-time Child Day Care.
- • Part-time/After School Care (including drop-off and pick-up).
- • After School Tutoring.
- • Drop-In Care.
The Academy will hold a two-month registration drive before its debut. These services may be modified to fulfill the community’s needs based on market response to the drive. It will always be adaptable enough to meet the community demands it serves.
Market Analysis Plan
Community Childcare Academy provides critical services in today’s fast-paced, dual-income world. As more families rely on two incomes, the demand for high-quality child care has risen dramatically. According to Florida Business Statistics, 84.6 percent of licensed child care facilities are profitable in their first year of business, and this figure is 66.7 percent nationwide (Hill et al., 2019). There is no doubt that Community Childcare Academy has a place and a need in the Riverview, Florida area.
Target Market Segmentation Strategy
Community Childcare Academy focuses on satisfying the local community’s demand for daycare within a given jurisdiction of Riverview. Students will be admitted flexibly, either full-time or part-time, and full-time working couples are the target market for children’s Community Academy. The critical marketing techniques will be referral marketing, direct mail campaigns, and community activity days. Maintaining and improving its reputation among households and society will be critical in achieving the targeted market share gain.
Market Growth
According to US Census 2000 statistics, Hillsborough county’s population growth rate was roughly 2%. Conversely, the Riverview area of Hillsborough County is enjoying a residential construction boom, with a growth rate of more than 14.6 percent (Hill et al., 2019). This is substantiated by data gathered from Hillsborough County Building. This implies that more families are moving into the Riverview region, becoming prospective clients. According to our market research, the number of potential clients should increase by 6% per year (Hill et al., 2019). With monetary policy continuing to grow year after year, today’s average American family requires two or more salaries. This trend has increased the need for high-quality child care services, and this model is unlikely to change soon (Hill et al., 2019). Indeed, given the growth in the Riverview area, particularly the new Lake St. Charles and Village of Lake St. Charles subdivisions, we anticipate a rise in demand.
Competitive Analysis
Price, service, certification, and reputation are essential success criteria in the child care services market. Community Childcare Academy will compete successfully in our market by providing competitive prices, high-quality child care services, cutting-edge educational programs taught by certified, college-educated instructors, and sustaining an excellent track record with parents and the community we serve. The subdivisions of Lake St. Charles and ‘The Villages of Lake St. Charles’ have 800 and 100 single-family houses, respectively. There are just two other child care centers in the area. One is nearby, a church-based institution, while the other is two miles distant, hosted by a regional martial arts academy.
There are three family child caretakers listed in the region, but none in the nearby neighborhood. Community Childcare Academy will set itself along with its competing firms by providing an alternative to typical daycare methods. The market strategy of the Academy is built on offering an activity-based educational environment that is employed in many major institutions, universities, and technical centers around the country. We will provide a community of expert caretakers who will increase a child’s early social and motor abilities and teach them advanced topics in the creative arts found at universities.
Community Childcare Academy will be housed in a modern medical arts plaza, which has demonstrated a demand for and interest in child care services. Clients who have asked about child care services are currently served by the center’s pediatrician’s office and fitness center. The institution will establish itself as the share of the market leader in child care services, development, and educational opportunities by creating collaborative connections with these enterprises and being an authoritative figure in the Lake St. Charles region.
Main Competitors
Catholic Church Day Care:
- Strengths: Large church audience. Already well-known in the market.
- Weaknesses: It May is not a plea to clients of dissimilar religious beliefs. Unlicensed facility. Non-accredited.
Martial Arts America – Kick Kare:
- Strengths: Already established in the area. Martial arts are offered with child care services.
- Weaknesses: Location – outside of the middle-income market. Non-academic offering. Building conditions disposed to constant flooding.
Family Child Care Homes:
- Strengths: Established in the market. ‘Individual’ service.
- Weaknesses: Capacity – only allowed a certain number of children. Non-professional stigma.
Design and Development Plan
Community Childcare Academy will concentrate on two subareas: ‘Lake St. Charles’ and ‘The Villages of Lake St. Charles,’ which are new affluent community developments with over 900 new houses within a two-square-mile radius. Customers are dual-income, middle-class households who value the education quality and child care given to their children aged four months to twelve years (Hill et al., 2019). The value proposition of Community Childcare Academy is relatively straightforward and easily recognized by those in the market. We provide distinctively quality child care services, as seen by the education and activities, the instructors’ expertise and educational level, community involvement, and the community college theme.
Competitive Edge
We begin with a fundamental competitive advantage: no rival in our market offers our concept, quality educational curriculum, or child care services. Our educational method is unique, and we have a team with over 25 years of experience in child care and over 17 years of technical knowledge. Our standing in these areas is difficult to duplicate, but only if we remain focused on our strategy, business development, marketing, and fulfillment. We should be aware that the inclination to dilute this expertise through bargain hunting may reduce the significance of our competitive advantage. Still, we must continue to strengthen our value proposition.
Marketing Programs
We will reach out to our community through various means, including customized open houses, parental survival days/nights, facility pool parties, and weekend movie matinees. We will also form and maintain relationships with local firms that cater to children’s needs. An enrollment fee waiver, complimentary children ID cards, T-shirts, and a community block celebration funded and hosted by Community Childcare Academy will be part of our pre-opening campaign.
Positioning Statement
Community Childcare Academy is a terrific alternative to conventional child care services and specific interest-oriented programs for families who appreciate the importance of professional development and quality child care services. Unlike such programs, CCA mixes child care with a specialized collegiate level curriculum designed specifically for children. Community Childcare Academy must charge a reasonable fee for the high-end, high academic, and caregiving services we provide. Because the salaries we pay to ensure quality services must be matched by the money we collect, our revenue structure must support our cost structure.
Sales Strategy
Community Childcare Academy will differentiate itself from standard daycare-only options by selling its community college ethos, services, and offerings. We will provide child care, advanced education, and specialized program options all in one location. We will also be involved in the community, establishing a solid reputation among parents and the general public. We aim to see an operative net profit in the 9th month of the first year if we achieve in these areas while expanding enrollment by 32% monthly for the first eight months and progressively after that until our maximum allowable capacity is reached. There are seven full-time students at $115 per week, six after-school children at $60 per week, and around $100 in drop-in revenue every month.
Operation and Management Plan
The Community Childcare Academy opening management team will include the creator, a silent stakeholder, a campus administrator, and an office assistant. As the college expands, gradual expenditures on the instructional personnel will be made over the next three years, starting in June 2023 or as enrollment dictates. Community Childcare Academy depends on the founder, silent partner, Campus Director and VP of Education Operations for management in the following roles:
- Owner/President – The Entrepreneur will be in charge of the company’s overall finances, ensuring that it is fiscally sustainable and meets its objectives.
- The Industry Consultant will be depended on for her industry experience, offering essential insight into rules, regulations, and federal programs that may help the college.
- The Campus Director will be in charge of daily operations, curriculum monitoring, and managing all teachers, caregivers, and tutors.
Reference
Hill, Z., Gennetian, L. A., & Mendez, J. (2019). A descriptive profile of state Child Care and Development Fund policies in states with high populations of low-income Hispanic children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 47, 111-123.