Movin ToToronto!!

[Emma H]

Hi everyone!
I hope you all had an amazing holiday and looking forward to a happy new year. I am in a little bit of a situation. I currently run an all organic French-Montessori home daycare in Kitchener.I have made the decision to move to Toronto as soon as my lease is up. My only issue is how to figure out what area would be the best. If anyone has any information what areas in Toronto are in need of a home daycare please please get back to me with any information! Thank you so much and I look forward to hearing from you.

[torontokids]

Daycare is always in need but Toronto is quite saturated like the rest of the market. I think there is a misnomer out there that childcare is difficult to find but the reality is that childcare providers are now a dime a dozen. Good childcare is harder to find but definitely not impossible.

I think you may be a bit naive to think that moving to Toronto will leave you without having to deal with difficult parents. Yes, parents in Toronto know that they have to pay a certain fee for childcare but that doesn't mean they don't gripe and groan. I have been very fortunate and have had great parents but I think a lot of this is because I am very clear about what I do and don't tolerate. I am originally from KW but have lived in Toronto for the last 15 yrs. I know both cities well. Both cities are very multicultural and diverse. The area you will want to live in would depend on your needs. Are you a mother? Do you have a partner that will be working downtown? Look at areas that are up and coming and filled with young families e.g. The Junction, Landsdowne and Dupont area, upper Roncesvalle, Liberty Village, Corso Italia etc. The further you are from downtown, the less you can charge. Find an area you like then type in the postal code in the search engine on here. Look at what the competition looks like, what are they charging? The landscape will change in 2016 with the new Bill as well.

[Rachael]

I don't think the issues you are dealing with are specific to any given geographical area. There will always be parents who wish to take leave and not pay for their child care space, there will always be parents who try and get you to amend your service to suit their personal tastes, there will always be parents who get pregnant or who are laid off. To think these are situations unique to your area, is very naive.

What you would be better off doing, IMO, is better vetting your clients. Take time at interview to be clear about your policies. If a meal is provided without substitutes, state that clearly. If clients pay for the place not the days attended, be clear on that too. Ensure all your policies are clearly documented in your contracts.

Then it's simply a matter of enforcing your contracts.

But people outside Kitchener get pregnant and/or laid off. If you are looking for job security, this is the wrong business for you.

[Emma H]

What would you recommend if I wanted to be right in the downtown area? Also what price do you feel would be reasonable for Montessori-French organic?
thank you so much for your reply
emma

[torontokids]

Not sure what you mean by "right down town." You want to be close to down town but not right downtown (meaning Dundas and Yonge) because although people work there, less families live downtown, more singles, older empty nesters. I would think you should look at the areas I previously mentioned above as they are in neighbourhoods with young families and you need to have some money (middle-high income families) to live there too. Plus they are close to downtown.