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Teaching It, Learning It, Doing It!

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  • Do you love children?
  • Are you organized?
  • Do you know several responsible babysitters in your area?
  • Are you able to “...speak the truth in love”? To your friends?

 

If you can answer ‘yes’ to these questions, then a babysitting service could be the business for you!  

How to Start a Babysitting Service

Baby sitting is big business these days, and with schedules that just get busier and busier, a good babysitter is hard to find.

 

This business can work in several different ways:

 

-You can organize “event’ sitters - advertising babysitting services for conferences, church events, meetings, etc. This takes a little advance planning, keeping the child to sitter ratio low, and having activities pre-planned.

 

-Pool resources together with several of your friends and work as a coop. Share the administration work and expenses, share the profit.

 

-Connect parents and sitters with information, usually with an online resource. This is ideal if you are in a mid-to-large size church or homeschool group and you keep the clientele within the group.

 

Here’s the basics to start your Babysitting Service:

 

Find several eligible babysitters and see if they are willing to be a part of what you are planning. Check references of families they may have already worked for, or require a babysitting course if they are new. Create an application of all relevant details, and have them list available times and expected hourly pay.

 

Write an agreement for your sitters to sign that they promise to abide by the standards you establish. Then establish a list of standards! Some examples would be to always be on time, notify in advance if they can’t make it, clean appearance, respect rules of family they are sitting for, etc.

 

Create a checklist of safety standards, to keep everyone safe. Many of these are covered in babysitting courses, but if you have a list to remind each of “your sitters”, it can help.

 

Remember, 13 is the minimum age by law that anyone is allowed to babysit, and if they are under 18, they need the signed permission of their parents.

 

Some examples of forms you might want to look at...but NOT copy...can be found at:

http://www.phoneababysitter.com/Html/Babysitter_get_forms.htm

 

Get the word out!

 

Create a flyer that tells about your service, mentioning your experience, reliability, or whatever applies. Think of what gives your service that special something. Create a refrigerator magnet for the sitter to give to the family on the first visit. Call the family back afterwards to see how they did. Thank them for using your service.

 

Create a one page website telling about your service and the area you are available. Here’s another example for ideas, but NOT to copy:

http://www.phoneababysitter.com/Members/sample_babysitter_resume.asp

 

Put an ad in the local paper. Large newspapers not only will cost too much to place an ad, and probably won’t be noticed. Frequent ads in smaller papers are much more effective.

 

Ways to get paid.

 

There are many ways that this is done, and you need to decide which will work for the group and the area you are working with.

Charge the babysitters a fee for each job you refer them to, or a monthly fee to be on your list-or both. Just remember to keep it reasonable, but if it’s not covering your fees and time, then you may want to re-assess.  

 

Charge parents a fee to find them a sitter. This is the most common way the big companies do it. It it usually more difficult to find good babysitters than parents who need them!

 

Details to remember:

 

--Be available by phone during business hours without fail!

 

--Safety is your #1 concern. Have standards and safety checklists and hold tight to them.

 

--Keep good records. This is the earmark of a well-run business. Treat your sitters AND customers like gold and let them know how much you appreciate them.

 

Of course, there are many more details to running a business, but many of the resources you need are listed on this website. Always check with an adult if you are under 18, there may be safety or legal concerns you may have overlooked.

 

As an adult, there are many find-a-sitter services available online, it’s a great place to get ideas and see what is working for others. You never want to plagiarize what others have written, but it’s a standard business practice to know your competition!

 

 

 

 

 

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Free Babysitting Course

 

University of Illinois offers an excellent (free) online babysitting course for teens that also covers the business aspects of it.

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/babysitting/index.html

 

Often there are babysitting classes available locally, through your community center, 4H, and Red Cross. Some will charge a reasonable fee, and often offer a certificate of completion.  

Child-Care Service Business Startup Guide

A Complete A-Z Guide!

  -from Entrepreneur Press!