These days, more people than ever are looking for nanny services as the number of stay-at-home moms decreases And since most people would prefer for their child to be able to stay at home and be taken care of there rather than having to send them off to daycare on a daily basis, nannies are in high demand. So if you are the type of person who loves taking care of children and knows how to deal with children of various ages, then you may be wondering exactly what it takes to open up your own nanny service and start making money doing something you enjoy.
There are a few steps that you will need to follow before you can legally work as a nanny, so be sure to keep these in mind:
1. The first thing you will need to do is to obtain a license to run your own nanny business. Usually, this will involve undergoing a background check and paying a small, one-time fee that is typically under $100 to obtain the license itself. However, keep in mind that the specific requirements to receive a nanny license vary from state to state, so you will want to check with your state and local authorities to find out which specific requirements will apply to you.
2. Next, you will want to purchase an insurance policy for your business that will cover any costs or damages that may ensue during the normal course of operations. For example, if you are watching a child, you let your eyes off of him for a few minutes, and he breaks something within the home, you may be expected to pay for those damages. Having a good insurance policy for your nanny business can help to ensure that you do not have to pay out of pocket for these damages that are likely to happen at some point.
3. Next, think about the size of your nanny business. Would you prefer to keep it small and be the only nanny or do you want to expand and hire more? If so, be prepared to run potential employees through rigorous background checks to ensure that they are fit to work with children. Even if you are working alone, do not be surprised if a child’s parents ask to run a check on you before hiring you. In fact, this is pretty common practice these days.
4. Finally, be sure to advertise your nanny business as much as possible. You can do this the old-fashioned way with local fliers and newspaper ads, but you may also want to consider having some online advertisements and making use of social media to get the word out about your nanny business.
Good luck!