ABC Daycare

BUSINESS PLAN

Alex B. Clark, Owner

123 Your Street
Anytown, ME 04000
Phone: (207) 555-5555

Email: abcdaycare@gmail.com
www.Facebook.com/ABCDaycare
Website: www.abcdaycare.com
Mission:

ABC Daycare provides quality childcare in a caring, supportive, safe, and educational setting for families in
Anytown and surrounding communities. At ABC Daycare, our small group environment with individualized
attention and supervision by experienced, licensed childcare providers ensures that your child flourishes in his
or her home away from home.

Sources and Uses of Funds:

ABC Daycare requests a loan of $3000, payable over 30 months, which will be matched with an owner’s
investment of $550. Start-up costs include $315 for materials and equipment; $295 for licenses, training, and
certification; $200 for insurance; $200 for signage; and $2540 for working capital.

Business Description:

Alex B. Clark is the sole owner and operator of ABC Daycare. Located in Anytown, Maine, the business is open
from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM, Monday through Friday. The childcare business will begin in January 2014 or as soon
as the licensing process is complete. The business is a sole proprietorship and may incorporate as an LLC at a
later date. Gross sales are projected at $28,310 during the first year of operations, with net profits of $19,950
in 2014.

Product/Service Description:

ABC Daycare is located in the heart of downtown Anytown, easily accessible for employees and residents in
the local area. Our in-home daycare offers healthy meals, educational activities, weekly field trips, quiet
time/nap room, and active play in our one-acre fenced area. The small group environment at ABC Daycare
ensures that all children receive individualized attention and customized care to help them learn and grow.

Full-time childcare ($135/week) includes up to 50 hours per week of childcare for children ages 6 weeks to 5
years. Part-time childcare ($55/week) is available before or after school for up to 20 hours per week for
kindergarten and school-aged children. We remain open on holidays and school vacations, ensuring consistent
coverage for families whose work or other obligations do not fit neatly into the traditional childcare calendar.

Target Market – Customers, Market Size & Market Share

Our target customers are single parents and families in which both parents work, especially parents who juggle
family and shift work. Anytown, Maine, has a total of 2071 residents, with 89 children under age 5 (US Census,
2010). This includes close to 100 single-parent households and about 100 families in which all parents in the
family are in the labor force. Average travel time to work is 25 minutes, and median household income for the
town is $34,349, compared to the state average of $47,898. Our working families need access to affordable,
reliable, quality childcare they can count on without worrying about arranging coverage around changing work
schedules or long days of commuting to work.

Our goal in the first year of operation is to grow to 5 full-time childcare clients, or 5-6% of the local market.
Licensed capacity for ABC Daycare will be 4 infants and toddlers (6 weeks to 18 months), 8 preschool children
(2 ½ to 5 years), or 3 children in each age range for 6 total children of mixed ages.
Competition:

Other childcare providers in the local area include Anytown Childcare Center at 555 Main Street, Mary’s
Daycare at 123 Fourth Street, and Anytown School Age Child Care (ASACC) at Anytown Elementary School.

Anytown Childcare Center is open 7 AM to 5:30 PM and 6-8 PM Monday through Friday. They are a community
resource center as well as a childcare program, and bus pick up and drop off is available from Anytown
Elementary for before and afterschool care. Promotion is mostly by referrals and word of mouth, and they have
an inactive Facebook page with 77 likes. Pricing is comparable to ABC Daycare.

Mary’s Daycare is currently full, with a waiting list for childcare slots. Pricing, staffing, and setting are
comparable to ABC Daycare.

ASACC is a program that serves children ages 5-7+. It is licensed for up to 49 children. The program
complements rather than competes with ABC Daycare, as our target childcare clients are infants, toddlers, and
children under age 5 who need full-time childcare before entering school.

ABC Daycare stands out from the competition in several ways: Our location is ideal, centrally positioned in town
with ample room and safe space for indoor and outdoor play. Our hours and holiday/vacation coverage are
critical for parents with variable work schedules. Our prices are affordable, and we plan to offer credit card
payment capacity online through PayPal and in person through Square mobile payments.

Production/Distribution:

ABC Daycare is located in the owner’s home, a fully-licensed childcare facility with ample space (2200 square
feet indoors and one acre of fenced play space outdoors) and a secure environment.

Food and materials will be sourced from local vendors as much as possible, including Anytown Arts & Crafts
Shop, local farmers’ markets in season, and small business providers or secondhand sales for materials, toys,
fencing, and play equipment.

Travel for field trips in the local area will be conducted with the ABC Daycare vehicle (1999 Dodge Caravan with
seating for 7, average 20 mpg). The vehicle is outfitted with child safety seats and car seats as well as ABC
Daycare signage, first aid supplies, and mobile books, toys, and activities.

Marketing & Promotion:

Marketing will be conducted through direct outreach to local parent programs, schools, and community centers
as well as flyers posted throughout town. We will host an open house announcing the childcare business to the
local community, with event listings on local community calendars in newspapers, community publications,
radio stations, and local access cable television.

Signage on the building and vehicle will brand our business with the ABC Daycare logo. Business cards, flyers,
and brochures will be produced in-house as needed. We will have an ABC Daycare website hosted for free by
Google Sites, as well as a Facebook page providing general information about the business as well as
information and resources on parenting, education, and community events. Our goal is to have 200+ Likes on
our Facebook page within one year, or 10% of our local community in Anytown participating in our page.
Thanks to strong design skills, small sales volume and specific targeted market, and ample opportunities for
low-cost marketing in our local community and online, ABC Daycare’s marketing efforts are fueled by time and
effort more than dollars. Our marketing plan is sufficient to meet our projections for 5 childcare clients, and we
hope to generate enough interest to maintain a waiting list and sustain our numbers as clients turn over or age
out of the program.

Pricing:

Full-time childcare is $135/week and part-time childcare is $55/week. Food costs average $75/month per child
above and beyond reimbursement available from the Child Care Subsidy Program. Materials for arts and other
activities cost $25/month per child.

See attachments for break even analysis and detailed assumptions for sales, food, and materials.

Operations & Management:

Owner Alex B. Clark graduated from the University of Maine at Orono with a Bachelor’s degree in Early
Childhood Education and a minor in Psychology. Alex is fully licensed as a childcare provider with the State of
Maine and certified in CPR/First Aid. Alex grew up in Anytown, serving as a tutor in the town’s preschool
programs, a camp counselor with the community recreation center, and summer cook for the Anytown Teen
Program.

Alex brings 10 years of experience in retail, office administration, and bookkeeping as well as childcare and
education. Alex manages all aspects of ABC Daycare including marketing, recordkeeping, financials, and
operations. Business banking will be conducted with Anytown Credit Union. Accounting services will be
provided by Sally Smith, CPA. Insurance will be provided by CYA Insurance in Anytown. Business counseling
support was provided by Women, Work, and Community and Maine SBDC.

Financial Plan:

Appendix 1 – Break Even Analysis

Appendix 2 – Cash Flow Assumptions
Appendix 3 – Cash Flow Projection
Appendix 4 – Projected Profit and Loss
Appendix 5 – Balance Sheet
Appendix 6 – Sources and Uses of Funds
Appendix 7 – Personal Financial Statement