Daycare and preschool owners please tell me what you go thro on a daily basis. Do you enjoy being the owner??

Question

i am opening my own small preschool soon. i am a bit overwhelmed with all the stories i have heard about administration, parent problems, and all the hours i will work. please let me know some f your stories, GOOD OR BAD, so i will know what im getting myself into. THANKS

Answer 1

Parents will be hands-down your biggest issue. Every problem that is their kid's fault will become your fault.

Have strict policies regarding the school, from suspensions to expulsions, especially with drugs, s*x, etc.

Put together a very strong curriculum. Even at preschool level, this is very important.

Maintain a very clean and healthy environment. Blue is the best color for learning and has a calming effect. I would recommend incorporating alot of blue (pale blue walls, dark blue carpeting, etc).

Make sure you have a good office admin that is helping you and that you can trust if you need to leave them to handle some issues!!!!! If you have to pay for them to get training, do it. This will save you so much money, hassle, and heartache down the road.

Make sure you leave work at the office. It is very easy to get caught up in what's going on and take it home with you. My mom gained about 30 lbs with her first school and alot of the issues tore up our family. Don't let that happen! Understand that it is a business and just do your best. Everyone isn't going to like you, your school, your curriculum, etc. But just make sure you're happy and proud of what you're doing and stand by it.

Feel free to email me with any questions, and I can pass them along to my mom if I don't know the answer.

Answer 2

The best part of owning your own center is you get to run it the way you want. Be very clear in your Parent Handbook what your philosophy is, what you expect from parents as far as attendance, fees, conferences, etc. That way when a concern comes up you can refer back to the handbook. Also, be clear what you will use for a curriculum. if you believe that children learn best through play and you state that in your handbook, then you will not cave under the pressure of having children use dittoes. if parents want dittoes, then they should choose a different school. As far as the long hours, you set the hours. i know of centers that are open 6AM to 6PM but they have a staggered shift of workers. If you are doing it on your own with only one helper, I would keep the hours shorter. One person i know only takes the children of teachers and works 7:30 - 4. It is your business, you get to set the rules.

Answer 3

I'm not the owner of the preschool I work at but my mum is so I know about it all:

It's not all that bad it has its good times and if you enjoy children and education then its worth it! However their is a lot of admin such as planning the curriculum, ensure chidlren are achieving, budgetting, deal with funding payments, liasons with parents and carers and the hours are long! It's not a job to go into lightly...but you will have a team of staff to help you out so its not like you have to do EVERYTHING yourself.

I think my mums biggest worry is the paperwork because of the OFSTED inspections-you can get a bad grade so easily by one slip up which is why you need to ensure you are definatly ready and experienced enough to handle running a setting.

On a personal note I recently opened my own stay and play (parent group) and I love it! Being in charge is lovely because you can go with your gut feelings, plan things that you want rather than following someone else and its really rewarding when it all works well!