The day care rules are set by each province and vary greatly. You would need to check what restrictions you have in your province in order to see how many client's you are allowed. Only then will you know if this is a viable business for you. Some provinces count household children in the ratios, so it's important to know this information. i.e. if you are limited to 6 children and have 4 of your own, that would mean only 2 paying client's and therefore you might decide that income isn't viable.

Check with your insurance agency and see how much it will cost you to add a day home to your policy. While this isn't always a requirement, be warned that an undeclared business in your home will often void your policy which will suck if you only find out about that following a basement flood and learn you aren't covered.

As a min I would suggest insurance, infant CPR and first aid, and police checks including child abuse checks. While some don't have this, it's not uncommon to be asked for them and I personally think this should be a min each provider is prepared to have available to show a potential client.

Then, you also need to consider running costs. To provide a quality service, it's not cheap. Increased water costs (if not on a well or if not in a province that doesn't pay for water) adds up when toilets flush all day long, with the added laundry of bedding and face clothes, and water for cleaning. Cleaning products and sanitizing obviously go up too. As does heating especially if you are normally working outside the home and therefore able to lower the thermometers during the day when no one is home.

Find out if you need to provide food. And if so, are there any expectations in regards to the quality of food required. While kids might love chicken nuggets and sandwiches, most provinces require fruit and veggies, with snacks and for lunch and quality balanced meals.

Toys and the replacement of them can get expensive. I think those with small children often begin using their children's toys but that can create issues with your own children. To share their Momma during the day and also expect to share their toys is a big ask for a small child.

Craft supplies needs to be thought about. A few bucks a week might not sound like much but it all adds up.

Once you have an understanding of what you think it will cost to work from the home with supplies and increased utilities, then you will be able to figure out what you need to profit from each placement.

Market costs do deter fees to an extent too. While some parents will pay for a qualified child care provider with lots of experience, there's a cap on that set by the market you are in. If the average rate in your community is say $40 a day, and you are trying to charge $50, then of course potential client's are going to want to know what they are getting for that extra money. The flip side of this if you charge too little, then you will attract all the people looking for cheap care, who never value your service or your policies. We all have stories of the lessons learned from parents who consistently pick up late, pay late, leave without giving notice etc.

I would strongly recommend having a contract that lays out your agreement and your policies. Don't permit someone to begin care without having that in your hand and signed. While you might think everything will be okay, it always is okay until suddenly it isn't and that's when you need a written document to refer the client to, that is clear.

Decide the boundaries of your business - hours, what you are including and just as importantly what you aren't including and don't be afraid to turn people away if they aren't a good fit. It doesn't matter what time you open, or close, or how long your hours are, there will always be someone assuming they can come 30 mins before opening time and show up at the end of the day 30 mins after you closed. Don't be scared of saying no to these requests.