There is hardly a venture as rewarding as starting a nanny agency; helping families connect with perfectly matched childcare providers while assisting high-quality caregivers to be placed in wonderful positions. It’s important to remember starting any business is difficult, do your research, and plan carefully before you get started.
Step-1 Plan Your Nanny Agency Startup.
A whole lot goes into starting a nanny placement service. Before starting any business you’ll want to understand why you want to start it, who you will be helping, and how you are going to solve their biggest problem. This will be the start of your childcare agency business plan. Start with… What services will you offer? Who is your target market? What makes you stand out from your competition?
Step-2 Legal Requirements of Your Nanny Agency.
Becoming a legal entity isn’t as hard as it sounds and doing so will protect your personal assets in case of a lawsuit. There are a few different types of business entities to choose from, you may wish to consult with an attorney or your local Small Business Administration to determine which one is right for you, but you’ll most likely want to become an LLC or a Solo LLC. There are services that can help you achieve this or you can look it up and do it yourself. In the end you’ll need to have an EIN, become registered with the state and city, following any requirements they have, and obtaining any licenses you need to legally operate. (Ex: You may need both a city business license and a private domestic employment license.)
Step-3 Open a Business Bank Account and Business Credit Card
In most cases your business will file taxes separate from your personal taxes and so it is crucial you keep your business assets different from your personal. This is also a benefit because banks love working with small businesses. Your business will be able to build credit differently than you.
Step-4 Set Up Accounting for Your Nanny Agency.
Tracking your income and expenses is a crucial part of building a reputable nanny agency. To best keep track of your accounting it is standard practice to utilize accounting software. There are many on the market so research which will be best for you and your business. This will help you track your income and expenses to ensure that you are paying all of your taxes correctly.
Step-5 Get Nanny Placement Agency Insurance.
Your local requirements may help you understand what you are legally required to have as a minimum, be it insurance or a surety bond. Sorting this out can be as easy as calling an insurance agency and asking them to point you in the right direction for your needs.
Step-6 Define Your Childcare Agency Target Market.
Get deep into learning about the community and families you intend to serve. Oftentimes you are not your target market and you’ll need to authentically learn how to speak their language. Discovering what they like to do, where they like to go, how much they earn, what type of job they have will all help you sort out who and how to target them to let them know you exist and you can solve their problems.
Step-7 Create Your Childcare Placement Agency Materials.
A website, most forms of social media are important to have. Having and using them will help you rank higher in search engines such as google. Before you decide on a name check and see if it is taken or similar to another business. Your website is your online storefront, so it’s important to make a good impression. Be sure to include information about your services, nannies, and pricing.
Step-8 Market Your Nanny Agency.
There are a number of ways to market your nanny agency, such as online advertising, social media, and networking. One of the best things you can do is ask your previous clients if they know anyone who can benefit from your service.
Step-9 Your Ready to Start Working with Families and Nannies
Once you have completed these steps, you’re ready to start working with families and nannies. Decide on what your offer is to families and what requirements you have of potential candidates. Understand what the family needs to match them with the right child caregiver. Understand the needs of the child caregivers to place them with the right family. Stay in contact with and track of your leads as they reach out and apply with your childcare placement agency.
Here are some additional tips for starting a successful nanny agency:
- Create a database of qualified nannies. Your nannies are the face of your business, so it’s important to hire qualified and experienced professionals. Decide what you require of a candidate before they apply.
- Excellent customer service in a must. Go the extra mile for your clients and they’ll be more likely to refer you to their friends and family. Over 80% of businesses get their customers from a referral.
- Research the nanny agencies in your area. Try to use your competitors as a gauge of where their target market is at. You may choose to be competitive with your pricing or your services or do something completely different.
- Marketing 101 for your nanny agency effectively. Learn what marketing will most likely attract your customers before spending any time or money doing it.
- Have a system. Use a CRM (Customer Relationship Manager)Â system to track your leads, clients, and nannies and where they are in your system every step of the way, from them filling out your application, meeting with you, interviewing, and completing a match. This step will keep you from making mistakes and save you time with possible automation.
- Network. Become strategic partners with similar but different businesses and those with an overlapping target market. A great nanny agency will be able to refer a family to a wonderful parent coach, lactation consultant, payroll company.
- Support the community. Join associations and put events on. A webinar can be an extremely cheap and effective way for sharing resources with your target market while proving you are an authority.
