Rising Stars Update

Taking care of Juliet is still going well!  She only needs part-time care, which is great for me since I still have homework and housework to do.  I think that if I went further with my daycare idea, I’d probably want to try to have older kids.  While I love babies and I love taking care of Juliet, little babies require a lot of attention and care.  Older kids (2 and older) are better able to play and entertain themselves and don’t require as much hands-on care.  Plus, it’s easier to play with group activities and interact with everyone when they’re a little older.  But babies do take lots of naps, so that is a baby bonus.  If I wanted to expand, I could hire someone to help me (like my husband) and that way someone could focus on baby care and the other person could take care of the older kids.

I made a 5-year financial forecast for a different class using my daycare idea.  I think that it could be extremely successful with minimal expenses!  My husband could easily quit his job to help me and we’d be doubling our income if we had 16 kids enrolled!  I looked into licensing requirements and 16 is the most we could take care of together.  But we could always hire a helper if we wanted to take care of even more!  There are different types of home daycare licenses – a home care provider, such as myself, or a family child care provider, which would be my husband and I.  There are pros and cons to each type as they do have their differences.  But I think it would be most advantageous to register a family daycare!

Elevator Pitches!

This week I was able to try my hand at elevator pitches!  I recorded more than I can count (mostly due to Jasper’s ‘help’).  But writing and delivering elevator pitches helped me to clearly identify who my target market is, what makes my services different from my competition, and how I plan on being successful. 

Furthermore, I have recruited a sweet baby to join my daycare 3-4 days a week!  I’m friends with her mom, so I didn’t want to charge her my planned price, but I will still bring in some revenues anyway.  Jasper loves this baby – she tries to take care of her, covers her with blankies, feeds her bottles, gives her pacifiers, shows her toys, and talks to her.  It’s so fun to watch them interact.  They are almost exactly a year apart, so Jasper is gaining some valuable “big sister” experience!

I  also learned about Phil Romano, an incredible artist and entrepreneur.  I absolutely love his creativity, enthusiasm, and passion (and Macaroni Grill!) – he incorporates these things into so many parts of his life.  He shows a focus on serving and helping others while success is simply a result of doing so.  I love that he doesn’t stick with just one thing for a long time – he moves forward and creates something new.  I can definitely relate to that mentality – I find myself feeling bored or claustrophobic when I am doing the same thing for too long.  I need to always be experiencing different things or trying something new.  I feel like life has so much to offer, but we must be willing to accept the different opportunities we have rather than remaining content within one opportunity.  Sometimes I feel limited in my opportunities or what I can pursue since I am married and have a baby to take care of, but Romano helped me feel more able to do what I want to do – life a life full of new experiences and following my passions in life – even with a family. 

Business Ideas!

This week I got to brainstorm some business ideas.  I made a list of 40 possible business ideas and these are the top 5 that I could easily start immediately:

1.       Daycare/Babysitting – I could run a small daycare from my home for $5/hr. per child (with a limit of 4 children total).  Childcare is always in demand and I have plenty of toys and a great location and house for kids.  

2.        Sandwiches at Work – I could prepare yummy sandwiches to sell at businesses during lunchtime for $4-5/each.  They can even preorder so I know what kind to make or how many.  This can save people time and money since they won't need to prepare a lunch to take to work or go out somewhere to get lunch.  

3.        Sushi Workshops – I can hold a couple classes each month on how to make and eat sushi.  For $5/person, it’s a fun, hands-on activity and we can all eat sushi afterwards! 

4.       Piano Lessons – I have been playing the piano for 19 years now and I have some teaching experience.  I could start teaching kids how to play the piano and read music for $10/lesson. 

5.       Homemade Pasta – I can make different types of pasta noodles to sell using my pasta maker.  My main concern would be freshness – homemade pasta is best when used within 3-4 days after making it, so it might be a made-to-order thing.  I would sell it for $3-5/packet.  Startup costs are minimal – only flour, eggs, and salt are needed!

Furthermore, I got to learn about Tom Monaghan, the man who started Domino’s.  It was fun to learn a little about how Domino’s was started.  Tom Monaghan is an excellent example of how to use your success and money for good.  He is not absorbed in financial gain, even when he could have been with his success.  He is a man of faith, acknowledging the importance of God and following His will.  Even though he grew up poor, he is happy without money.  He discussed how he was following a calling in his life by starting an institute in Michigan and increasing higher education.  The video said that “he wants to go to heaven and bring as many people with him by using his money to build the kingdom.”  Monaghan inspires me to be less focused on material wealth and focus more on helping others and looking for ways to improve the world.  Life doesn’t need to be about making a profit and building up wealth.  Life should be about greater things – things greater than ourselves.