Federal Government Layoffs etc. affecting daycares in Ottawa?

[playfelt]

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.