Babysitting is a great option for earning some extra money. It’s also something you can do on a larger scale, and may even be the start of a career. In this post, we’ll explore how to start a babysitting business.
Be prepared
Before you take any steps to starting the babysitting business, you need to get some basics down.
Know what the job entails
You can’t begin a business as a babysitter, unless you know what it is a babysitter needs to do. Make sure you do some research into this, so you are thoroughly prepared.
Sort out transport
You need to make sure you can get to and from babysitting gigs reliably. The obvious way to do this is to have a driver’s license and your own car. If you’re not driving yet, don’t think you can’t work in a babysitting business. You’ll have to rely on someone to give you a lift, but don’t let that stop you.
Decide on an hourly rate
You need to decide how much you’ll charge for babysitting. Do some research and find out what the average rate for babysitting is in your area.
I suggest you begin by putting your price within that range. It’s better to begin just lower than the going rate, especially if you have no or little experience. You can increase your rate as you develop your business and get more experience.
Choose the age range
You need to work out which age range you’d be best at babysitting, or would enjoy the most. You may be great with little kids, but find pre-teens very challenging. You also need to be sure you have the skills to cope with a certain age. Babysitting an infant, for example, needs very particular skills.
Put together a resume
The point of a resume is to tell a client about yourself and why you will be a good fit to babysit their child/ren. You must include information, such as your contact details and any experience, but you should also include the most important skills and qualities that will make you a great babysitter.
This could include indicating that you are:
- honest and reliable.
- able to keep a cool head in any situation.
- able to follow instructions.
- have a consistent approach to discipline, in relation to the approach the parents adopt.
- Are familiar with technology, such as mobiles and in-home devices, like a smart tv. (Or quick to learn, if necessary)
Make sure you include at least three references on your resume. These will reassure your clients that you have experience and that they can check on your services.
Do some research and find a template that will help you put together a resume.
Advertise your business
Word of mouth is always a great way to get some free advertising for a business. You’ll need to be sure that your services are very good, so that the reports about you are positive.
You can also make flyers or a business card. You can give your business a name, so that people will recognise it. You can hand out flyers, or put them up in places where you are allowed to, such as on bulletin boards at a local store.
Using social media is an excellent way to advertise your services. Put your advert on Instagram, Facebook and other channels. You should also get onto local pages, or texting groups.
Ask your friends and family to share your advert. Remember that you do need to keep your advertising quite local. You don’t want to be driving all over town for babysitting gigs.
Make yourself attractive to clients
Parents need to be comfortable with a babysitter and know they will offer the best care to their child/ren. There are a few strategies you can adopt to ensure clients of this.
Gain experience
There are a few things that really matter to parents looking for a babysitter. One of the most important is proof that you are capable of looking after a child. This comes from experience.
You can only get experience by babysitting, so begin to do so for free. You can offer your services to friends or family, or even within your community.
Don’t offer free babysitting too widely, because you want to move into being paid for your services.
Make sure you get references from your clients, so you can add them to your resume.
Do a childcare course
Even if you don’t have a lot of experience babysitting, you can impress your clients by showing them you have done a babysitting course. There are various courses you can do. Do some research into the options and choose a childcare course that suits you and the babysitting you intend to do.
It’s no use doing a course in infant childcare when you only want to babysit toddlers.
You can also do a first aid course, which will ensure parents that you’ll know how to cope with an emergency situation.
Interview prospective clients
When someone answers your advert, or contacts you in any way, to babysit for them, you’ll need to find out about them. Of course, if you know the person, it is different. However, you’ll be looking for new clients, so it’s likely you will attract families you don’t know who need a babysitter.
Arrange to interview the family. They will benefit from this as much as you will. Make sure you go to the interview dressed appropriately. Babysitters definitely don’t need to dress formally, but you also don’t want to arrive in shorts and a tank top.
Before you go for the interview, make sure someone knows where you are going. It’s always safer that way.
Prepare for the interview
It’s important to be prepared for an interview. Prepare some points about yourself that will make you a good choice as a babysitter for the family. These will be on your resume, so don’t just quote that. The aim is to convince the family that you are a sympathetic, reliable choice to look after their children.
You could talk about your experience with children and babysitting. Tell the family why you do babysitting and what it is you enjoy about children.
If the child you will be babysitting is in the interview, you must make a point to talk to them, too. The family will be looking at the way you interact with their child.
Be prepared to tell the family how you discipline children. You can also ask them what their approach to discipline is, so that you will fit in with that. If you disagree with their approach, don’t tell them that. It may be a reason not to take the job, though.
Write down some questions you want to ask the family. Think about what they may ask you and be sure of your answers.
Questions
The type of questions you could ask are:
- How many children would I be looking after?
- How old are they?
- Does the child (do the children) have any medical conditions? Are there any special things I need to look out for, or do?
- What happens if there is an emergency? Who would I contact?
- How often would you need a babysitter?
- How safe is the area?
Planning
Planning carefully is essential when it comes to any business. This means making sure you are always on top of everything to do with your work.
When it comes to babysitting, you need to begin by keeping a schedule. Write down every appointment, whether it’s for an interview, or a babysitting gig.
Keeping records
You can’t afford to miss any babysitting sessions, or to double book, so keeping a diary is valuable. Record each babysitting gig and how much you were paid. You can also make a comment for yourself. This could be about something you need to do next time, or not do again. It can also be an indication of any place you won’t go back to.
Payments
Make sure you agree with your clients about how you will be paid. This could be after each session, or on a weekly or monthly basis, if they are a regular client.
It’s a good idea to invoice your clients each time you babysit and to give them a receipt for payment. This will help you to keep on top of the money as you learn how to start a babysitting business.
