yes starting is tough, for many reasons....1) no one has heard of you, 99% of my clients come from other clients word of mouth, until you build up some sort of reputation of course...you will have no word of mouth! 2) it takes a select few that are willing to go with a provider who is just starting out, most parents prefer (of course) someone who has been around a little while, they can check up on their record of care and such. Their are parents out there who are willing to try a new provider, just fewer of them IMO will go with a new provider as opposed to a more seasoned. So theres two strikes off the bat, it is hard to get clients to start, and I found IME also, you need to weed through the "not so good" to get to the great, when you start out. stick in there though after your first year, you should have enough experience with keepers and non keepers and enough word of mouth (hopefully from the good ) that you should have no problem after that. It is tough to get started though.
As far a after/before school care....I don't do it, for many reasons. but it may be a good start for you! Good luck with everything! keep posting.