Home-Based Business - Child Care Referral Service

Child Care Referral Service

• Start-up cost: RM500
• Potential earnings: RM10,000- RM35,000
• Typical fees: RM25 per client
• Advertising: Classified ads, bulletin boards
• Qualifications: Should be good at handling multiple tasks and somewhat detail-oriented
• Equipment needed: Answering machine, pager, or cellular phone
• Staff required: No
• Handicapped opportunity: Yes
• Hidden costs: None
• Lowdown: This is a perfect match for those who like to work alone and as a valued resource person. As a child care referral agent, you would provide names and phone numbers of reputable child care professionals in your area—at a cost of about RM25 per caller. You would most likely get your start by placing a classified ad in your local newspaper, then scheduling a meeting time with the prospective client to discuss their needs and particulars with regard to the type of professional they’re seeking. For instance, some career couples are in need of a caregiver to watch their kids all week long, while others just need part-time care for their children. Some will want individual care, others will want you to check out the local service.
• Start-Up: With a RM500 minimal start-up covering mostly your advertising and telephone costs, you could begin to pull in a profit almost immediately. You will need to build a vast network of child care professionals, which you can easily accomplish by posting flyers in public places (such as Seven Elevens and grocery stores) and combing the ads in your local newspaper to find baby-sitters who are offering their services. If you have a little bit of extra money to play with at the beginning, you should also invest in professional-looking stationery and business cards to convey the best-possible image to your baby-sitters as well as your clients.
• Bottom-Line Advice: What’s not to like about setting your own hours and having essentially complete control over a low-overhead business? The only obstacle would be limitations with respect to the availability of child care providers or those in need of them. If you live in a small, rural area, this business could max out in a month—but if you are in suburbia, you could really make some decent cash.