Wanting to open my own daycare (Durham, Cary: for sale, insurance, daycares)

[Irenee]

Hello Everyone,

My husband and I want to open our own daycare center. I have a pretty strong background in education and he does in sports. We want to start an academy-type center with after school care focused on physical activities. We both plan on working there and being very involded. We live in Durham and would like to stay here or venture out to Wake forest, but it seems as though the market is saturated with daycares right now. Does anyone care to share their general location and whether or not they have trouble finding child care?
We aren't looking to join a franchise since we will be restricted by their rules.
We also have some money saved for this venture, but we will be looking to secure the rest of the necessary funds via a SBA loan. We are hoping to buy a piece of land and then build on it.
If not the areas I mentioned, any others come to mind that are in need of daycare centers? Or did we miss the optimum moment for this opportunity?
Any feedback is much appreciated.

[NewUser]

There used to be a daycare on Cary Parkway near Tryon that I took my son to back in 2008/2009, but for the life of me I can't remember the name. Google Maps is not showing it anymore, so perhaps it has closed. In any case, he loved the sports focus and I think it is a good idea.

[BoBromhal]

for a startup daycare, nevermind the requirements of equity, etc to qualify for an SBA loan, I would locate within very easy walking distance to an elementary school.

As far as I've heard, we're a long way from daycare supply saturation.

[farebluenc]

We’re filled to the brim with half day church preschools, but need more full time programs to accommodate working parents, especially near the beltline.

[wheelsup]

I would seriously consider an at home daycare/nanny service especially at first. There is probably a forum somewhere on opening a daycare and current/past owners thoughts and actual income year to year.

[JJingle]

I would focus on slightly later hours, such as 6:30 versus 6:00. There appears to be a demand but not much supply.

[meanieme]

what's the average income a daycare owner makes?

[Irenee]

Thank you for all the good feedback. We do plan on extended hours since, we noticed that most centers close at 6. Right now we are on the hunt for a good location. Or an existing center for sale. I've noticed a few for sale on daycare exchange amd reached out for more information, but so far no one has responded yet. We are not in a rush though because we want to do this right.
@wheelsup, we have considered a homecare option, but we are looking for a place that will employ us both. I will do a search for
Experiences of past owners.
Thanks all, so much.

[cchampagne232000]

Originally Posted by meanieme

what's the average income a daycare owner makes?

Probably comes down to how tight of a ship they run. Most daycare workers are not paid high hourly rates (10-15 per hour) and an average daycare will have 80-100 kids at 1000-1400 per month. 2 employees for every 12 kids (less if you want to get 5 star ratios). Roughly 20 employees per 100 kids. 20 at 40 per week= 44kish per month. I'm sure you can whittle that down through creative scheduling.

So roughly 110k of monthly gross income. You have the facility, insurance, wages, taxes, and food to cover. No idea how much insurance is for a daycare, but I assume its a pretty astronomical number. Profit is certainly there for someone who can run the business the right way.

[m378]

Running a legit daycare (not one out of your house) seems like it would be daunting. The liability threat and dealing with parents would wear me down quick. Employee turnover is pretty high as well.

That being said, there's certainly demand around here. I know of a half-day daycare that just opened that was built from the ground up. If they can be profitable on half-day, I'm sure full-day would kill it. I personally would skip Durham - I think there would be more demand in Wake Forest, or Cary/Apex.