I'm opening a daycare in October and am wondering if any Ottawa daycare providers have noticed whether the Gov't job cuts and general poor economy have affected their enrollment?
I've been wanting to opena daycare for a while but I'm a bit scared to risk leaving my present job if it's not a great time to be opening.
Thanks for your time!
Not sure where you are in Ottawa - I am in Orleans. I have two parents that work for the government and one of them is scared to go to work some days but so far so good. The other one has already been told that their department is safe from layoffs.
There does seem to be a lot more caregivers looking for kids than in past years and of those many have been looking for a lot longer than in the past. In some areas there does seem to be an overabundance of caregivers compared to kids needing care.
If you are going to make the change you might consider doing it gradually maybe part time daycare/part time work if that is even possible, consider working in someone else's home for a year since there are some ads out there for nanny type care. Contacting an agency that services your area might give you some clues. Again I haven't noticed a lot of problems from the caregivers I have spoken to but it does vary by area of the city.
I opened my daycare a year and a half ago and have really not much problem filling my spots. Although there have been layoffs in govt, I don't think the economy in Ottawa has been hit very ahrd compared to the rest of the country (because the biggest employer is govt and it tends to be more stable). I think the thing with govt layoffs is that those people often are able to find work in another govt department. Do some research in your neighbourhood and see how many caregivers there are....but there are quite a few in my area and I still had no problem. It also depends on what you are offering in terms of set-up, program, food, etc. It will be harder for you if you are in an apartment or soemthing like that. It is scary to leave a job to start your own business, that's for sure! Many people look for daycare months and months in advance though, so is there any way you could put up ads and try to fill those spots and see what the interest level is before leaving your job? Of course, once you have one child signed up, you are kind of obligated to go through with it as changing your mind would leave that family in a bad position. Good luck!
It also comes down to deciding why you are leaving your job to open a daycare. If it is to be home with your own children or to not return after a maternity leave then make sure your family budget is such that if you made no money at all while at home your family could survive on the one income. Then there is less pressure to get and keep kids in care. The stress of having a space to fill to be able to afford the car payment or the mortgage payment just isn't worth it. Then it means any money you bring in becomes a bonus and makes things go a little smoother.
As far as filling spaces depends on the area you are drawing from too. I'll use the two responses you have gotten as examples. I am in Orleans so limited to those in Orleans or specifically the eastern and southern areas of Orleans since traffic patterns don't lend themselves to parents backtracking too far east before heading downtown. Kangaroo is further into town so she can not only draw on her area but there will always be people from further out (such as Orleans) that are willing to go to a daycare that is on the way to work. My point is the closer you are to town or to a major artery the more potential clients you will have. Being easy to get to will be a factor for parents too.
A common advice on this forum is to go to the main page of daycarebear and put in your postal code into the search box (as if you were a parent looking for care). That will bring up a list of caregivers in your area starting with the person that is the closest. You can learn a lot from this search in terms of the average daycare fee, the types of programs being offered, hours of care, etc. It will also show you openings such as if each one has 2-3 spaces to fill that is a negative.
Joining the CCPRN (www.ccprn.com) is also a very good resource and will be able to help you get started and put you in contact with other providers.
I'm near the Experimental Farm- hopefuly that's good! :)
Playfelt has a good point. Most of my daycare families don't live in my neighbourhood, but because I am a bit more central, they are okay with driving a bit. Also some of them work near me (I like these type of clients because htey pick up earlier and can be here in minutes if their child is sick).
hmk1221: I have to laugh at your location, and here's why. Years ago my best friend lived across from the Experimental farm, on a lovely little side street. I used to visit her a lot (well, still do, but she's near IKEA now....). My children came home from one of our visits and told Daddy they went on a trip to the Spiritual Farm. My middle child had never heard the word "experimental" but he was familiar with the word "spiritual" (for whatever reason.) He's 27 this year, and we still joke in the family about visiting the spiritual farm! A few weeks ago, I drove by on my way to dinner at at restaurant on canal, and my friend and I burst out laughing as we went by the spiritual farm.