If you dream of owning a childcare business turn to our comprehensive directory on page 27 to see what's ahead of you. We take you through the early stages of starting your venture, from how to conduct market research to securing funding, and then guide you through finding a building and the necessary legislation.
Prospective nursery owners share their experiences of how they handled the daunting start-up task. But the management skill of maintaining a quality environment while remaining profitable is where the hard graft begins.
Our pay and fees survey results are on page 10 and highlight the growing problem of balancing the two. In the past year a third of staff wages have risen by 4 to 6 per cent while only a quarter of fees have increased by the same amount.
The key to a successful business is the support of quality staff. See page 18 to find out how proprietors are attempting to retain employees by offering incentives ranging from pension schemes to shopping trips. If your dilemma is how to find good staff, turn to page 16 where owners share their recruitment strategies.
And if your nursery is up and running and you want more challenges read our expansion feature on page 4 to further your business empire.
Annette Rawstrone