Opening a daycare in Ottawa

[hibiscus]

Hi,
I am moving in Ottawa next year, my husband will work for Nrcan near Dows Lake. I am planning to open a daycare. I will offer my services in french or bilingual. I have a university background and love children, I am the mum of a 2 years old daughter.
I will move from another Province so I am a little bit lost :(. I have few questions :

1) What area are in demand for daycare services in Ottawa ? I'll have a good budget to buy a home. My husband is working in the west of Ottawa. I know there is good bus service to Orleans also to go to work for him. I like wooded area if it is possible.
2) Is there a specific demand for services in French or is it better to offer bilingual services in order to attract more people ?
3) I would like to offer my service mostly to school teacher, I would like to offer the service only during the school year, they won't pay during holidays. Is there any area better for these type of service ?
4)What amount is usually charge per child ? I have read on most area 40-45 $ per children, is it realistic ?
5)I am planning in getting incorporated, is any of you incorporated ? Are you happy about it ?

Thank you in advance for your feedback, sorry for the bad spelling, english is not my mother tongue. I wish you a very nice day !!!:)

Hibiscus

[Fun&care]

I'm in the Barrhaven area of ottawa, and I can tell you that it is pretty saturated with daycares around here, I know a few providers who are having a hard time filling their spaces...there are like five daycares on my street! Also when I first started I advertised as a French daycare, but found I was not getting any calls. So I changed my advertising as saying Bilingual daycare and it helped a lot. I still run my daycare mostly in French.

Also, check with CCPRN (child care provides resource network) for rates all over the city. Good luck!

[sunnydays]

I think if you choose an area with lots of young families, especially if you can afford a nice house in a nice neigbourhood (ie. people who live there can afford to pay a bit more), you should be fine. I think your range of $40-45 is quite reasonable, but I would check more into this once you find out where you are moving as it can vary from neighbourhood to neighbourhood. I live in the Orleans area and have had many people inquire about French or bilingual daycare, so you should be fine. All of this, of course, depends on how nicely you set up your daycare, what you offer in terms of food, programming, etc. I am not sure what you mean about incorporated. I am registered as a business...it cost $60 and is good for 5 years (I think). I am happy because it allows me to use a name for my daycare and I have a BIN I can give out to my clients. It also makes my business more professional.

[playfelt]

For sure connect with the CCPRN as they have information on setting up, childcare connection meetings to meet potential clients, workshops and trainings for caregivers and are a clearing house of advice as in if they don't know the answer to your question they will point you in the direction to go. You don't have to live in Ottawa to be a member and get the newsletter sent to you so might be worth joining now but there is plenty of info on the website to check out.

www.ccprn.com

Some areas are more densely French than others and that would be a good way to determine which area you want to live in.

[Trace of Angels]

I am in the Ottawa area and if I had to think of moving to anywhere in this area for daycare alone I would choose Riverside South.......the providers are pretty scarce out there. Tons of young professionals and the going rate is $50-$55 a day, much higher than anywhere else in the city.
Housing is on par with everywhere else but the lots are small, like postage stamp small.
I would say definitely worth a look!

[sunnydays]

I second Playfelt's advice about joining CCPRN. It is well worth the $25 per year and they have a ton of info and resources as well as connecting you with parents :)

[hibiscus]

thank you so much for your help !!!!!!!!!! It is very appreciated. Orleans would be a great compromise I think, we could have a very nice home with a big lot and it is direct transportation to my husband work. Riverside south doesn't seem to be well desserved by transportation.
About my daycare I am planning on offering organic meals, I will also have an educative program. I will contact the CCPRN for sure.
Incoporated mean, opening a daycare as a company (inc).
If other people has more advices I will be happy to take them.

Thank you again all!
Hibiscus

[sunnydays]

Just know that even with the bus service, if your husband works in the West end, that is pretty far from Orleans and it may take him awhile. There are a lot of Francophone families in Orleans though...so that is good for you. It also depends on where in Orleans you want to live as to what you can charge.

[hibiscus]

it is 45 minutes from Place d'orleans to his work. What about Place d'Orleans aream how do you think I can charge in this area ? I saw also that chapel ill seems a good area too (area with high income people), anybody know about this place

[sunnydays]

I live in Chapel Hill South. It is a great area and we love it! I have recently seen though that a number of new providers have popped up near me and many of them are charging quite a bit less...like $35 per day...so not sure about the daycare market.

[hibiscus]

at 35 dollars a day, I'll go on the Quebec side. I'll continue my researches. Thank you again for your time sunnydays !

[sunnydays]

I charge a lot more than that hibiscus, but it's just that the last I searched I saw a bunch of new ones popping up who charge less. I have never had a hard time filling my spaces at $45, but I am not sure if all of these new cheap daycares will change that or not. I am not overly worried, but just wanted to give you the big picture! Check teh CCPRN survey of rates on the website Playfelt provided you with (although it's a bit outdated, you can see which areas charge more) and also look on Daycare Bear by neighbourhood to see what is available.

[playfelt]

I am in Orleans too I Fallingbrook near St. Peter's High school. Our area averages $40 a day with some less than that. It is also an area where the young families have grown up and moved on but also the parents are beginning to downsize and younger families are buying their homes. So if you are looking down the road remember the demographics of an area will change.

On the Quebec side you will be dealing with a totally different daycare system since you have changed provinces. Not sure what province you are coming from so there may be a lot different about Ontario than what you are used to. You can have only 5 daycare children any age combination.

[lainey76]

I'm also in Fallingbrook and charge $37 per day. We have a ton of providers in our area (I have yet to have trouble filling my spots) But I know a lot of providers who have had spots sitting for months ! My area alone Lisbon/varennes ext... 20+ providers.