Four years ago, at the age of forty seven, I was sadly left a widow, and there remained a heavy mortgage for me to pay off on the large three bedroom house which my husband had left. Never having had any working experience whatsoever, I was at a loss to know how to make ends meet, until someone suggested starting a child care service in my home for children of working mothers. After looking into the financial possibilities of such a venture, I decided to accept my friends advice and made the necessary preparations. I first had the double garage, attached to the house, converted into a large combination classroom and indoor playroom, paid for from a small second mortgage. I also had the good sized back garden completely fenced for use as an outdoor play area. Then by shopping around at furniture sales and private sales (but to be honest, mainly in jumble and bring-and-buy sales - places I had never set foot in before!), I was able to accumulate the necessary equipment such as cots, tables, chairs, toys and play ground type equipment, all at very low cost. In fact, a lot of the stuff was later donated by grateful mothers whose own children had outgrown their usage. When everything was nearly ready, just to test the possible response, (with some trepidation, admittedly), placed an advertisement in the local newspaper under the heading of "Child Care" and was totally amazed by the number of replies from such a small advert! I accepted children from two years to six years of age, at $80 per week for full time care, five days a week. I also provided a mid morning and mid afternoon snack, and a hot lunch at mid day. The cots were arranged around the walls of two of the three spare bedrooms, and each child was required to take a rest at certain intervals during the day. Business was slow at first, but as word got around of the type of understanding care which I was giving, the numbers increased until I really had to hire an experienced Nursery Nurse; finding one was easier than I thought, as the magazine "The Lady" is almost full of trained young ladies looking for such a position. Within a year the day nursery was operating at full capacity, with twenty children to be cared for every day. After paying the Nursery Nurse around $300 per week, along with other operational expenses, I am still left with a net income of close to a $2000 a month. Within three years, I was able to pay off the mortgage, and I was able to purchase all new equipment for the nursery school. Before starting a day nursery project of your own, you should check with your local authority for any special rules which may apply in the particular area where it would be in operation.
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