If you enjoy spending time with children and if babysitting is something that you love to do and find it rewarding then you can think of doing it as a full-fledged business. Time and effort are something that would be required of you for this business.
Communicating with children and their parents should come naturally to you. If someone wants to start a babysitting business then she must be mature, compassionate, reverent, punctual, structured and courteous.
Starting a babysitting business in the UK is a very good idea and it can be thought of as a small business start-up. Your professional career will get a lot of business knowhow and understanding that babysitting would provide and you will get rich dividends throughout. It is a profitable business.
It is a low cost, flexible, round the year, recession-proof and all ready-money business. Baby sitters have the flexibility of working hours and can manage time for their other commitments balancing their professional and personal lives.
In babysitting business you will have to watch over the children and play with them as well as make food for them. Reaching out to prospective customers is something that you will need to do by marketing and advertising your business. Other responsibilities include carrying out administrative work like keeping track of your finances, answering phone calls and replying to emails and managing schedule.
And in case you are hiring employees for your babysitting business then you have to do their background checks and also have to know parents and their children properly so that you could provide them with a babysitter matching their exact needs.
One can follow the following steps for a successful babysitting business in the UK:
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Right Business Plan
Clarity in business plan solves a great deal of confusion. Following are few points to remember:
Costs involved in starting a babysitting business
The start up cost of babysitting business in the UK is substantially reasonable. Transportation that is reliable adds up to the cost. Along with this a good website will consume considerable investment to begin with. It will assist in marketing your services. Thus, marketing and transportation are two important costs apart from business insurance.
Define your target market?
Primarily families, working parents belonging to upper middle class to middle class should be the target audience. The clients in fact want faithful and reliable caretakers with whom they could have a long lasting relationship.
How to generate more income through babysitting business?
The below mentioned points can help generate more income:
- Paying attention to your online services.
- Thinking about opening a babysitting facility.
- Providing online and in-person courses like CPR, standard safety and first aid.
- Utilising opportunity before and after school and for last-minute sitters as parents desire to pay more during that time.
- Higher wages are paid to caretakers having early education degree and pre-school education knowledge.
Giving appropriate Business Name
Choice of a right name speaks volumes. Register a domain name and set up a professional email account.
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Legal Entity Formation
Setting up a legal business entity like a limited company can actually mitigate your personal damages in case your business encounters legal issues.
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Business Bank Account Opening & Credit Card Application
For protection of personal assets, separate business banking and credit card details should be used. Do not mix your personal assets like home, car etc. as it is risky in case of legal tussle.
Business Bank Account Opening
- This helps in separating your personal assets from the assets of your company and assists in protecting personal assets.
- Tax filing and accounting becomes simpler.
Availing Business Credit Card
- All personal expenses are separated from business expenses.
- It helps you to maintain a good credit rating of your company so that applying for bank loans for business becomes easier.
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Establishing Business Accounting
Financial performance of your babysitting business can be well understood if various expenses and sources of income are recorded properly. Annual tax filing becomes much easier if accurate and detailed accounts are kept correctly.
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Taking Necessary Permits and Licenses
If required permits and licences are not obtained, then that can lead to levying of hefty fines and may result in the closure of your business.
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Acquire Business Insurance
Your babysitting business needs insurance so that it can function under safety and be a lawful entity. Business insurance gives security to the financial health of your company in case of any loss.
Your Brand Definition
When you brand your company, a perception is created in the minds of people. A strong brand provides your business an edge over your other competitors and makes it look prominent.
Promoting & Marketing Your Babysitting Business
The babysitting business in the UK depends upon reputation and referrals. Initially reach out to family and friends to provide them services. This helps in fostering a good impression of your babysitting business and improves your abilities and reputation.
To start, you can register with any of the online babysitting forums using your profile as resume. In the course of time you can build on it to acquire new business goals.
Apart from this you can use social networking sites like Facebook and twitter to reach to a greater no. of prospects. You can also place ads there for promoting your babysitting business.
Repetitive Footfalls of Customers
Fame, reputation and services of a business go ahead its success. When parents and children will be happy with your services then they themselves will call you and will also do word-of-mouth publicity for your babysitting business. It is much easier to retain a satisfied customer than to look out for newer ones.
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Have a Good Online Presence
More information regarding products and services can be gathered about a company when it has a proper online presence. Being active on social media too can generate good no. of clients or customers for babysitting business in the UK.
