Special Needs Daycare Business Plan [Sample Template]

Are you about starting a special needs daycare? If YES, here is a complete sample special needs daycare business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE.

If you are naturally drawn towards taking care of kids and people with special needs, then you should consider starting a special needs daycare center. However, this is a very sensitive business to start up as a single mistake could have dire consequences for your wards and their families.

Setting up a special needs daycare center requires hard work and serious planning. You are expected to obtain permit and license to run such facility from the government, and your facility must meet the required health and safety standards before you can be allowed to operate.

Aside from well – trained domestic employees that will be on your payroll, you will also need to hire caregivers or nurses. Starting a special needs daycare center business is indeed capital intensive, but at the same time it is a lucrative business.

You are rest assured to make good returns on your investment because there will always be need for your services since people with special needs children would always want professionals to babysit or take care of them when they go to work.

If you intend to start this kind of business, you should know the licenses and certifications that would be required by the state you would be operating from. At a minimum, you would require licensed caregivers, therapists, nurses, and certified staff that would meet the staff-to-client ratio required by the state you would be operating in.

Below is a sample special needs daycare business plan template that can help you to successfully write your own with little or no hassle.

A Sample Special Needs Daycare Business Plan Template

1. Industry Overview

A special needs daycare facility is a conducive facility designed basically for special needs children or even adults. It is usually a well-furnished place with beddings, furniture, fittings and other things that can add to the comfort and ambience of the facility; a place that can be conducive for special needs people.

Babysitting special needs children and adults alike can be an overwhelming undertaking. It can be physically tasking and the equivalent of a full-time job. Operators in the Day Care industry that special needs daycare is part of rely primarily on tuition paid by parents, but companies may also receive funding from the government, which attempts to alleviate the cost on households.

Even though the industry grew rapidly in the 1990s due to rising awareness of the benefits of early learning to cognitive development in children, growth slowed due to the economic downturn as costs exceeded what many families could bear.

During the first half of the five years to 2017, though high costs generated high profit margins for operators, tight state budgets combined with slow disposable income growth limited demand for industry services. Within the five years to 2022, revenue growth will improve but still be limited due to high day care costs.

The Daycare industry that special needs day care facility is a part of is indeed a very large industry and pretty much thriving in most developed countries.

Statistics has it that in the united states of America alone, there are about 771,044 licensed and registered day care facilities (special needs day care facilities inclusive) responsible for employing about 1.6 employees and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $48 billion annually with an annual growth rate projected at 1.3 percent. It is important to state that no establishment can boast of having the lion share of the available market in the industry.

The entry barriers in this industry are relatively different and it is based on the niche area that you intend operating. Non-employers such as babysitters experience fewer barriers to entry, given that there are no significant costs or government regulations that would deter a would-be caretaker. For larger companies, there are medium barriers to entry.

Although there is not a significant capital investment involved in building a new establishment, hiring quality caregivers will be a major expense. Additionally, the industry is heavily regulated, and as a result, a new enterprise must obtain permits and comply with other rules to operate. The largest barriers for new entrants are the level of regulation in this industry.

The special needs daycare line of business in developed countries is still enjoying good patronage particularly if they are well positioned and if they know how to reach out to their target market.

2. Executive Summary

St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC is a licensed special needs daycare facility that will be located in the heart of Cape May – New Jersey in a neatly renovated and secured housing facility; a facility that is specifically designed and equipped with the needed gadgets to give comfort and security to children and adults with special needs.

St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC is a family owned and managed business that believes in ensuring that people with special needs are well taken care of while under our care. We are certain that our values will help us drive the business to enviable heights and also help us attract the number of clients that will be more than willing to bring their special needs children for us to babysit.

We are going to be a health conscious and customer-centric facility business with a service culture that will be deeply rooted in the fabric of our organizational structure and indeed at all levels of the organization. With that, we know that we will be able to consistently achieve our set business goals, increase our profitability and reinforce our positive long-term relationships with our clientele, partners and all our employees as well.

St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC will be equipped with everything that will make life comfortable for people with special needs.

Our day care facility will be decorated in an exquisite and elegant facade, so much so that it will be a conspicuous edifice in the city where it is located. We conducted a thorough research and feasibility studies and we were able to come to the conclusion that Cape May – New Jersey is the right place to start our special needs daycare.

St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC will be open 24 hours in a day during weekends (Fridays to Sundays) and from 6:00 am to 12 midnight from Mondays to Thursdays in order for us to be able to accommodate parents with different time preference. This is why we have made provisions to recruit enough staff and to run shift amongst our workforce.

St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC is a family business that is owned and managed by Mrs. Gina Bernard and her immediate family members.

Mrs. Gina Bernard is a licensed nurse and social health worker with over 25 years’ experience working for leading brands in the day care services industry. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Health and she is truly passionate when it comes to taking care of people with one form of special needs or the other.

3. Our Products and Services

St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC is set to operate a standard special needs daycare facility in Cape May – New Jersey. The fact that we want to become a force to reckon with in the day care services industry means that we will provide our clients a conducive and highly secured accommodation.

In all that we do, we will ensure that our customers are satisfied and are willing to recommend our facility to their family members and friends with children with one form of special needs or the other.

We are in the special needs day care services business to deliver excellent services and to make profits and we are willing to go the extra mile within the law of the United States to achieve our business goals, aims and objectives. These are the services that St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC will be offering;

Providing child and grownup day care for people with special needs
Providing preschool programs for people with special needs
Nursing and other supervision
Assistance in daily living for people with special needs
Home medication management for people with special needs
Personal assistance services to people with special needs

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

Our vision is to become the number one choice when it comes to special needs day care service in the whole of New Jersey and also to be amongst the top 5 special needs day care service provider in the United States of America within the next 15 years.
St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC is in business is to establish a first – class special needs day care service that will provide home away from home for people with special needs. We want to become one of the leaders in the day care industry in New Jersey, and in The United States of America.

Our Business Structure

St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC is a business that will be built on a solid foundation. From the outset, we have decided to recruit only qualified professionals to man various job positions in our organization.

We are quite aware of the rules and regulations governing the day care services industry which is why we decided to recruit only well experienced and qualified employees. We hope to leverage on their expertise to build our business brand to be well accepted in New Jersey and the whole of the United States.

When hiring, we will look out for applicants that are not just qualified and experienced, but homely, honest, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all the stakeholders.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more. These are the positions that will be available at St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC;

Chief Executive Officer
Human Resources and Admin Manager
Nurse’s Aides
Home Health Caregivers
Marketing Executive
Account
Cleaners

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer:

Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
Responsible for providing direction for the business
Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
Evaluates the success of the organization

Admin and HR Manager

Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
Designs job descriptions with KPI to drive performance management for clients
Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders to review the effectiveness of HR Policies, Procedures and Processes
Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
Carries out induction for new team members
Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
Oversee the smooth running of the daily office activities

Nurses/Nurse’s Aides/Mental Health Counselors

Responsible for managing children and grownups in our special needs day care
Responsible for providing professional medical services to our residents
Responsible for ensuring that special needs people under our care take their medication as at when due
Handles personal injury case management

Home Caregiver

Ensures the health and safety of children with special needs under our care
Perform duties such as bathing, changing and feeding children with special needs.
Entertains and educates people with special needs by reading to, playing with and nurturing them
Observes and monitors children’s play activities
Keeps records on individual children, including daily observations and information about activities, meals served, and medications administered
Instructs children in health and personal habits such as eating, resting, and toilet habits
Organizes and participates in recreational activities, such as games
Assists in preparing and serving meals and refreshments to children and regulate rest periods
Sterilizes bottles and prepares formulas
Provides counseling or therapy to mentally disturbed, delinquent, or handicapped children.
Dresses children and changes diapers

Marketing and Sales Executive

Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new clients, and business opportunities et al
Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of projects.
Writes winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with organizations’ policy
Responsible for handling business research, market surveys and feasibility studies for clients
Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding sales
Documents all customer contact and information
Represents the organization in strategic meetings
Helps to increase sales and growth for the organization

Accountant/Cashier

Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis
Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for the organization
Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
Responsible for administering payrolls
Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
Handles all financial transactions for the organization
Serves as internal auditor for the organization.

Cleaners:

Responsible for cleaning the facility at all times
Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
Assists our residence when they need to take their bath and carry out other household tasks
Handle any other duty as assigned by the facility manager

6. SWOT Analysis

St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC is set to become one of the leading special needs day care facilities in New Jersey which is why we are willing to take our time to cross every ‘Ts’ and dot every ‘Is’ as it relates to our business. We know that if we are going to achieve the goals that we have set for our business, then we must ensure that we build our business on a solid foundation. We must ensure that we follow due process in setting up the business.

Even though our Chief Executive Officer has a robust experience in social work and taking care of people with special needs, we still went ahead to hire the services of business consultants that are specialized in setting up new businesses to help our organization conduct a detailed SWOT analysis and to also provide professional support for our business to indeed become a leader in the day care services industry.

This is the summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted for St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC;

Strength:

Our strength lies in the fact that we have a team of well qualified professionals manning various job positions in our organization. As a matter of fact, they are some of the best hands in the state. Our location, the Business model we will be operating on, well equipped facility and our excellent customer service culture will definitely count as a strong strength for us.

Weakness:

St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC is a new business which is owned by an individual and we may not have the financial muscle to sustain the kind of publicity we want to give our business.

Opportunities:

The opportunities that are available to special needs day care industry are unlimited considering the fact that we have loads of children with special needs in the United States and we are going to position our business to make the best out of the opportunities that will be available to us in New Jersey.

Threat:

Just like any other business, one of the major threats that we are likely going to face is economic downturn and unfavorable government policies. Another threat that may likely confront us is the arrival of a new, bigger and well established special needs day care in same location where our outlet is located.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Trends

One thing is certain in the day care services industry, as the population of people with special needs grow, their parents will require the services of special needs day care facilities. The trend in the industry is that players in the industry are now flexible enough to adjust their services and facilities to serve as accredited education centers for people with special needs.

Another trend in the industry is that in other to make special needs day care facilities more affordable for low income individuals, many states in the United States of America are making changes to the portion of Medicaid which can be applied to special needs day care services.

Before now, only individuals living in nursing homes were typically provided Medicaid assistance, but in recent time, there are now a growing number of states that have recognized the importance of offering Medicaid to special needs children.

8. Our Target Market

St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC is in business to service the special needs children population in Cape – May, New Jersey and other cities in New Jersey. We will ensure that we target both self – pay customers (who do not have Medicaid cover), and those who have Medicaid cover.

Generally, those who need the services of special needs daycare are special needs or disabled children and perhaps those who need daily help. The fact that we are going to open our doors to a wide range of customers does not in any way stop us from abiding by the rules and regulations governing the day care services industry in the United States.

Our Competitive Advantage

Apart from the competitions that exist amongst players in the special needs day care line of business, they also compete against other day care services providers who also accommodate people with special needs.

To be highly competitive in the day care services industry as a special needs day care operator means that you should be able to secure a conducive and secured facility, and should be able to meet the expectations of the family members paying for their special needs children in your day care facility.

St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC is coming into the market well prepared to favorably compete in the industry. Our office facility is well positioned and visible, we have good security and the right ambience for special needs children.

Our staff are well groomed in all aspects of special needs day care services and all our employees are trained to provide customized customer service to all our clients. Our services will be carried out by highly trained professional nurse’s aides, medication management counselors and home health caregivers who know what it takes to give our highly esteemed customers value for their money.

Lastly, all our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category in the industry. It will enable them to be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Sources of Income

St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC will ensure that we do all we can to maximize the business by generating income from every legal means within the scope of our industry. Below are the sources we intend exploring to generate income for St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC;

Providing child and grownup day care for people with special needs
Providing preschool programs for people with special needs
Nursing and other supervision
Assistance in daily living for people with special needs
Home medication management for people with special needs
Personal assistance services to people with special needs

10. Sales Forecast

One thing is certain when it comes to special needs day care facility, if your facility is centrally positioned, you will always attract customers cum sales and that will sure translate to increase in revenue generation for the business.

We are well positioned to take on the available market in Cape May – New Jersey and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income from the first six months of operation and grow the business and our clientele base.

We have been able to critically examine the day care services industry and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projections are based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to startups in Cape May – New Jersey.

First Year: $100,000 (From Self – Pay Clients), $250,000 (From Medicaid Covers)
Second Year: $250,000 (From Self – Pay Clients), $500,000 (From Medicaid Covers)
Third Year: $500,000 (From Self – Pay Clients), $1,500,000 (From Medicaid Cover)

N.B: This projection was done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and natural disasters within the period stated above. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

The marketing and sales strategy of St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC will be based on generating long-term personalized relationships with our customers. In order to achieve that, we will ensure that we offer all – round care at affordable prices compared to what is obtainable in and around Cape May – New Jersey.

All our employees will be well trained and equipped to provide excellent and knowledgeable care and customer service. We know that if we are consistent with offering high quality special needs day care service delivery and excellent customer service, we will increase the number of our customers by more than 25 percent for the first year and then more than 40 percent subsequently.

Before choosing a location for St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC, we conducted a thorough market survey and feasibility studies in order for us to be able to penetrate the available market and become the preferred choice for residents of Cape – May and other cities in New Jersey.

We have detailed information and data that we were able to utilize to structure our business to attract the number of customers we want.

We hired experts who have good understanding of the day care services industry to help us develop marketing strategies that will help us achieve our business goal of winning a larger percentage of the available market in New Jersey.

In summary, St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC will adopt the following sales and marketing approach to win customers over;

Introduce our business by sending introductory letters to residents, clubs for parents with children with special needs and other stakeholders in New Jersey
Advertise our business in community based newspapers, local TV and local radio stations
List our business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
Leverage on the internet to promote our business
Engage in direct marketing
Leverage on word of mouth marketing (referrals)
Enter into business partnership with hospitals, government agencies and health insurance companies.
Attend healthcare related exhibitions/expos

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We are in the special needs day care facility business to become one of the market leaders and also to maximize profits hence we are going to explore all available means to promote St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC.

We have plans of opening our special needs day care facilities in key cities in the United States of America which is why we will deliberately build our brand to be well accepted in Cape – May, New Jersey before venturing out. As a matter of fact, our publicity and advertising strategy is not solely for winning customers over but to effectively communicate our brand to the general public.

Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC;

Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
Sponsor relevant community health programs that appeal to the aging population
Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
Install our billboards in strategic locations all around Cape – May, New Jersey
Engage in roadshows from time to time in location in strategic locations
Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas with high concentration of people with children who need special care
Ensure that all our workers wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our company’s logo et al.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC will work towards ensuring that all our services are offered at highly competitive prices compare to what is obtainable in the United States of America.

On the average, special needs day care service providers usually leverage on the fact that a good number of their clients do not pay the service charge from their pockets; private insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid are responsible for the payment. In view of that, it is easier for special need day care service providers to bill their clients based in their discretion.

Payment Options

The payment policy adopted by St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.

Here are the payment options that St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC will make available to her clients;

Payment with cash
Payment via credit cards/Point of Sale Machines
Payment via online bank transfer
Payment via check
Payment via mobile money transfer
Payment via bank draft

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make payment for services rendered without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

If you are looking towards starting a special needs day care services business, then you should be ready to ensure that you raise enough capital to cover some of the basic expenditure that you are going to incur. The truth is that starting this type of business does not come cheap.

You would need money to secure a standard residential facility big enough to accommodate the number of people you plan accommodating per time, you would need money to acquire medical equipment and supplies, pay your workforce and pay bills for a while until the revenue you generate from the business becomes enough to pay them.

The items listed below are the basics that we would need when starting our special needs day care services business in the United States;

The Total Fee for Registering the Business in New Jersey – $750
Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits – $1,500
Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of – $3,580
The cost for hiring Consultant – $2,500
The cost for Computer Software (Accounting Software, Payroll Software, CRM Software, Microsoft Office, QuickBooks Pro, drug interaction software, Physician Desk Reference software) – $7,000
Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $3,400
The cost for leasing a standard and secured facility in Cape – May, New Jersey for 3 years – $200,000
The cost for facility remodeling – $20,000
Other start-up expenses including stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits ($2,500)
Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $100,000
The cost for Start-up inventory (stocking with a wide range of products such as toiletries, food stuffs and drugs et al) – $50,000
Storage hardware (bins, rack, shelves,) – $3,720
The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Beds, Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, tables and chairs et al) – $4,000.
The cost of launching a website – $700
Miscellaneous – $10,000

We would need an estimate of $450,000 to successfully set up our special needs day care services facility in Cape May – New Jersey. Please note that this amount includes the salaries of all the staff for the first month of operation.

Generating Startup Capital for St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC

St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC is a family business that is solely owned and financed by Mrs. Gina Bernard and her immediate family members. They do not intend to welcome any external business partners which is why he has decided to restrict the sourcing of the start up capital to 3 major sources.

These are the areas St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC intends to generate our startup capital;

Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings
Source for soft loans from family members and friends
Apply for loan from my Bank
Get a government grant

N.B: We have been able to generate about $150,000 (Personal savings $100,000 and soft loan from family members $50,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $300,000 from our bank. All the papers and documents have been signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited with the amount.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the number of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business, then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

One of our major goals of starting St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running. We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to offer our special needs day care services a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are well prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.

At St. Bernard® Special Needs Daycare, LLC, we will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List/Milestone

Business Name Availability Check: Completed
Business Registration: Completed
Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
Securing Point of Sales Machines: Completed
Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
Application for business license and permit: Completed
Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
Leasing of facility and remodeling the facility: In Progress
Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
Generating capital from family members: Completed
Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
Writing of Business Plan: Completed
Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
Graphic Designs and Printing of Promotional Materials: In Progress
Recruitment of employees: In Progress
Purchase of Medical Equipment and vans et al: In Progress
Purchase of the Needed furniture, racks, shelves, computers, electronic appliances, office appliances and CCTV: In progress
Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
Opening party planning: In Progress