Night Light Child Care

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Executive Summary

Night Light Child Care will be a licensed child care center in Indiana that is open when most centers are closed: evenings, overnight and early mornings. Our families are nurses, nursing assistants, factory and warehouse workers, security officers, bus drivers, restaurant staff and others who work second and third shifts and have no safe place for their children while they work.

Most child care centers close by 6 p.m. A parent who starts work at 7 p.m. or ends at 7 a.m. often has to rely on a relative, a neighbor or an arrangement that falls apart when someone is sick. We offer a calm, clean, licensed place where children eat, play, sleep and are cared for by trained, awake adults, so a parent can go to work without worrying.

Here is what our numbers show. We expect about $214,800 in sales in Year 1, growing to about $514,600 by Year 5. We expect a small profit in Year 1, about $6,100, and stronger profits after that as more families enroll. We need $107,000 to open, as the Funding Need Calculator in this plan shows, and we plan to start with $110,000: $25,000 of my own savings, $25,000 from family and a local employer partner and a $60,000 small business loan. These figures are estimates built from the assumptions at the end of this plan, not promises.

I am Tamika Brooks, the owner and center director, and I will be on site most nights during our first year.

Company Description

Night Light Child Care will be organized as a limited liability company (LLC) owned by Tamika Brooks. We will operate in leased space in a commercial building near a hospital and an industrial park in Indiana, with a sleep room, a play room, a small kitchen, a laundry area and a quiet room for children who need a calm space.

What we believe. A parent's work schedule should not decide whether a child is safe. Children deserve a good night, a warm meal and a kind adult, whatever hour their parent works.

What we offer.
- Monthly enrollment for children, with a set schedule that matches the parent's shifts.
- Drop-in nights for parents who need care on short notice, when space is open.
- A bedtime routine with a snack or meal, quiet play, a bath on request and a safe sleep space for each child.
- Early morning care, including breakfast and a ride-ready routine so children are ready for school or day care.
- Homework time and quiet reading for school-age children.

Licensing. Overnight child care is regulated, and rules differ by state and county. Before we open we will contact the state child care licensing office, learn exactly what a center that cares for children overnight must have, and complete the license, inspections, background checks and training that apply. We will not accept any child until our license is in place. These costs are in our startup budget.

Where things stand today. I have found a building, written a parent handbook and spoken with a hospital manager and a manufacturing supervisor who told me their employees often ask about overnight care. I will meet with the licensing office to confirm which license type fits our hours.

Problem & Opportunity

Many essential jobs do not happen between nine and five. Hospitals, nursing homes, factories, warehouses, hotels, airports, security companies, bus lines and restaurants all need people at night. Many of those workers are parents.

Child care has not kept up. Most centers close in the early evening. Family members may work too, may live far away or may be tired from their own jobs. Many parents patch together a plan with whoever can help, and the plan breaks when a relative gets sick, when a car breaks down or when a shift changes with little notice.

What families tell us.
- A nurse's aide asks a neighbor to sleep over so her son is not alone. She worries she is asking too much.
- A warehouse worker leaves his daughter with an older cousin who falls asleep. He knows it is not a good situation, but he cannot afford to lose the job.
- A single mother takes a lower-paying day job because she cannot find night care, even though her skills would earn more on the night shift.
- A security officer pays a different person each week and never knows who will show up.

Children are affected too. They may sleep in different places, go to school tired or spend nights with adults they barely know. Parents lose pay, miss shifts or turn down good jobs.

Employers feel it as well. A missed night shift is hard to cover. Employers tell us they would value a reliable child care option for their staff, even if they cannot run one themselves.

We do not claim that one center will solve the problem. We believe a safe, licensed, well-run overnight center can make a real difference for a group of families, and that the need is real.

Products & Services

Night Light Child Care gives children a safe, comfortable place to be while their parents work at night, and gives parents peace of mind.

How a night works.
- Arrival and settling in (6 p.m. to 8 p.m.). Children arrive after school or after the parent's day. They eat dinner, wash up and relax. School-age children do homework with an adult nearby.
- Quiet time (8 p.m. to 9 p.m.). A story, a song or a quiet game. Nightlights stay on. Each child has a cot or crib in a quiet sleep room.
- Sleeping hours (9 p.m. to 5 a.m.). At least two adults are awake and on site whenever children are present, and one is always in the sleep room. We follow safe sleep rules for infants and toddlers.
- Morning (5 a.m. to 7 a.m.). A simple breakfast, getting dressed and getting ready for school, or for a ride to a day care or school.

What makes it work for parents.
- A schedule that matches shifts, with set nights each week.
- Drop-in nights when space is open, with a simple booking process.
- Clear communication: a short text each night and a morning note about how the night went.
- Fair, steady pricing: about $950 a month for enrollment and about $55 for a drop-in night in Year 1.
- A warm, small center where staff know each child by name.

Safety and care. Every adult passes a background check and completes training in CPR, first aid and safe sleep before they work with children. Doors are locked and monitored. Children are released only to adults on the parent's approved list. We keep a written plan for illnesses, injuries, severe weather and emergencies, and we tell parents about it before enrollment.

What we do not do. We do not provide medical care. If a child is too sick to attend, parents will be told. We do not accept children until our license is in place.

Market Analysis

Who we serve. Parents who work evenings, nights or early mornings and need a safe place for their children, usually ages 1 to 12. This includes health care workers, manufacturing and warehouse workers, hospitality and restaurant workers, transportation workers and security officers.

How we estimate demand. We cannot say how many families in our area need overnight care, so we plan from what we can count. We have spoken with a hospital manager and a manufacturing supervisor who each said their employees ask about night care. We will confirm demand before we open by collecting sign-up forms from interested parents and by meeting with employers. Our Year 1 plan is modest: about 14 children enrolled on average (174 child-months over the year) and about 900 drop-in nights. By Year 5 we plan for about 31 enrolled children on average and about 2,000 drop-in nights.

How families find us. Employers and their human resources offices, hospital and nursing home managers, staffing agencies, community centers, faith communities, school social workers and word of mouth. We will also ask each employer partner whether they would like to offer our care as a benefit.

Seasons. Demand tends to rise at the start of the school year and during holiday seasons when many industries need extra staff. Demand may fall in summer for school-age children. We plan for this in our cash cushion.

Capacity. Our space is licensed for a set number of children, and we will never enroll more than we can care for safely. Our plan assumes we fill about 60 percent of enrollment spots at the start and grow from there.

Competitive Landscape

What parents do today, and how we are different.

1. Care by relatives, neighbors and friends. This is the most common arrangement. It is often free or low cost, and it is also unstable. Families tell us the plan breaks down when someone is ill or has a change of shift. These are the families we most want to reach.

2. Day child care centers and home child care providers. They are an important part of our community. Most close in the early evening. A few offer extended hours, and fewer offer overnight care. We do not compete with them for daytime children, and we will refer families to them for daytime needs.

3. Hiring a babysitter or nanny. A reliable person can work well, and the cost is often too high for a family earning an hourly wage. It also does not give children the same oversight, licensing and backup that a center does.

4. Doing without. Some parents turn down night jobs, pick lower-paying day jobs or leave a child alone. We want to give those parents a better choice.

What makes us different.
- We are open when other centers are closed, and we are licensed to care for children overnight.
- Two adults are awake and on site at all times.
- Our pricing is steady and set for working families.
- We communicate with parents every night.
- Employers can partner with us so their staff have a reliable option.

What we will not do. We will not cut corners on staffing or safety to lower our price. A family's trust is the whole business.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How families will find us.

Before we open (the three months ahead):
- Meet with human resources managers and shift supervisors at nearby hospitals, nursing homes, factories and warehouses and ask them to share our flyer and sign-up form.
- Visit school social workers, community centers and faith communities that know shift-working families.
- Meet staffing agencies that place workers in night jobs.
- Collect sign-up forms from interested parents. The forms tell us what hours, ages and days they need.
- Build a simple website with hours, prices, a tour request form and a plain-language description of our safety rules.
- Hold two open house evenings so parents can see the rooms and meet staff.

After we open:
- Invite employer partners to tour the center and offer a simple partnership that lets employees enroll through the workplace.
- Ask satisfied parents, with permission, to share a few words about their experience.
- Keep a short list of families who need care on nights when we are full.
- Keep a monthly newsletter for parents with tips on sleep, routines and school.

Pricing and offers. We use clear monthly pricing and a simple drop-in rate. We do not offer long-term contracts that trap families. A one-month trial helps both sides see if it is a good fit.

What we watch. Tour requests, tours that become enrollments, how families heard about us and how many nights we are full. We use these numbers to decide where to spend our $3,000 marketing budget in Year 1.

Operations Plan

How the center will run day to day.

Hours. Open every evening and overnight, with early morning care until 7 a.m. We follow a published holiday schedule and tell parents about changes well ahead.

Staffing. In Year 1 I serve as owner and center director. We start with three full-time-equivalent overnight caregivers, paid $29,000 a year each. At least two adults are on site at all times when children are present. We add caregivers as enrollment grows, to 8 by Year 5, and an assistant director in Year 4. We follow the state's required staff-to-child ratios and will hire above them when children are asleep in separate rooms.

Training. Every adult completes a background check, first aid and CPR, safe sleep training and training in our emergency plan before they work with children. We refresh these each year.

Equipment and space. We buy about $27,000 of equipment at the start: cribs, cots and bedding ($9,000), child-size furniture, toys and books ($8,000), kitchen and laundry equipment ($4,000) and a door access system, cameras and safety detectors ($6,000). We spend about $16,000 on renovation and safety upgrades to the sleep room and classroom.

Food and health. We serve a simple dinner and a breakfast. We keep a written list of allergies for every child and follow a plan for medicines. We do not give medicine without a signed parent form and instructions.

Pick-up and release. Children are released only to adults on the parent's approved list who show identification.

Risks and how we plan for them:
- Licensing delays. We start the process early and do not enroll children until the license is in place.
- A staff member calls out at night. We keep a list of trained, background-checked substitutes and never fall below two adults on site.
- A slow start. We keep Year 1 costs low, and our cushion covers about three months of expenses.
- A serious illness or injury. We follow a written plan, call parents and 911 as needed and keep first-aid supplies and trained staff on site.
- Losing a major employer partner. We spread our families across several employers and the community.
- Night work is hard to staff. We pay fairly, schedule predictably and give caregivers breaks and days off.

Management & Organization

Tamika Brooks, owner and center director. I started this center because I have seen how hard it is for a parent who works nights to find care they can trust. I will complete all licensing and training requirements before our first child arrives, and I will learn and follow the state rules for overnight care. I plan to be on site during most nights in Year 1, so that I know every child and every parent.

What I bring. I care about children and families, I am organized and calm under pressure and I take safety seriously. I will keep clear records, write simple policies and review them often.

Who helps me.
- A volunteer advisory group of three people: a retired child care director, a nurse who works nights and a small business owner.
- A bookkeeper, paid by the hour, who handles monthly books and taxes.
- An attorney who reviewed our enrollment contract and parent handbook.
- A pediatric nurse who reviews our health and safety procedures once a year.

Our staff. We hire caregivers who are patient, dependable and comfortable working nights. We look for experience with children and require all training. We pay fairly and schedule shifts in advance.

My pay. I pay myself $46,000 a year from the first year, which is built into the numbers in this plan. The business does not rely on unpaid work from me.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals and when we plan to reach them.

Before opening (Months 1 to 4):
- Month 1: Register the LLC, open a business bank account, sign the lease and meet with the state licensing office.
- Month 1 and 2: Start renovations and order equipment.
- Month 2: Hire and train the first caregivers, with background checks.
- Month 2 and 3: Collect sign-up forms and meet with employers.
- Month 3: Complete licensing inspections.
- Month 4: Open to children.

Year 1:
- Reach about 14 enrolled children on average and about 900 drop-in nights.
- Keep at least two adults on site every night.
- Build partnerships with at least three employers.
- Ask every family for feedback twice during the year.

Year 2:
- Reach about 19 enrolled children on average and about 1,200 drop-in nights.
- Add a fourth overnight caregiver.

Year 3 and beyond:
- Reach about 24 enrolled children on average in Year 3 and about 31 by Year 5.
- Add an assistant director in Year 4.
- Look at a second room or location only after we have two years of steady results and a strong safety record.
- Review whether any public child care assistance program in our state could help families pay, and decide whether to apply. We will check the current rules before telling any family that help is available.

Funding Request

How much we need and how we will use it.

Total needed: $107,000, as the Funding Need Calculator in this plan shows. We plan to start with $110,000, which covers that amount with a little room to spare.

Startup costs: $62,000.
- Cribs, cots, bedding and safe sleep equipment: $9,000.
- Child-size furniture, toys, books and learning materials: $8,000.
- Kitchen and laundry equipment: $4,000.
- Door access system, cameras, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors: $6,000.
- Sleep room and classroom renovation and safety upgrades: $16,000.
- Licensing fees, background checks and health and fire inspections: $3,500.
- Attorney review of enrollment contract and parent handbook: $2,500.
- Insurance first payment: $4,500.
- Staff training in CPR, first aid and safe sleep before opening: $2,500.
- Signage, flyers and website: $3,500.
- Opening stock of food, diapers and cleaning supplies: $2,500.

Cushion. The calculator adds about $44,875 for roughly three months of Year 1 expenses and about $0 for cash the business uses before it breaks even, so a slow first season does not force us to close.

Where the $110,000 comes from. $25,000 of my own savings, $25,000 from family and a local employer partner who believes in the idea, and a $60,000 small business loan (SBA 7(a)). Loan: $60,000 at 10.5% over 10 years, which comes to $810 a month.

Phase 1: Open with a smaller group of children, weeknights only, and two caregivers plus me. Keep costs low and add nights as enrollment grows.
Phase 2: Add weekend nights and the extra caregivers as enrollment reaches about 20 children, using profit from Year 1 and Year 2.

Sales and profit. Year 1 sales are about $214,800. We expect a profit of about $6,100 in Year 1, about $37,800 in Year 2, about $76,300 in Year 3, about $76,700 in Year 4 and about $75,000 in Year 5. Year 5 sales are about $514,600.

Cash. The lowest year-end cash balance in the plan is about $83,100 at the end of Year 1. At the end of Year 1 customers owe us about $8,592, so we follow up on unpaid bills each week.

Where each Year 1 dollar goes. Pay: owner / Center Director $46,000; overnight Caregiver (full-time equivalent) $87,000. Direct costs of goods and services: about $15,840. Other yearly costs: facility Lease and Utilities about $30,000; licensing and Insurance about $9,000; cleaning and Classroom Supplies about $4,500; marketing and Software about $3,000.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach before you share this plan:

- Your business registration and your state child care license or application.
- Your insurance certificate.
- Your lease or letter of intent for the building.
- Your parent handbook and enrollment contract.
- Your emergency, illness and safe sleep policies.
- Staff job descriptions, training plan and background check policy.
- Letters of interest from employers, hospitals or community organizations.
- Your sign-up forms from interested parents.
- Quotes for equipment and renovation.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Monthly Enrollment (per child per month): 174 in Year 1 at $950, growing to 372 at $1,050 in Year 5. About $60 each goes to direct costs.
- Drop-In Nights (per child per night): 900 in Year 1 at $55, growing to 2,000 at $62 in Year 5. About $6 each goes to direct costs.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): owner / Center Director $46,000; overnight Caregiver (full-time equivalent) $29,000; assistant Director $38,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: facility Lease and Utilities $30,000; licensing and Insurance $9,000; cleaning and Classroom Supplies $4,500; marketing and Software $3,000. These grow between 3% and 5% a year.
- Equipment: $27,000 at the start, then $3,000 to $4,000 a year.
- Startup costs: $62,000, paid once from $110,000 in startup money.
- Capacity: our license will set the number of children we may care for. We never enroll above it.
- Hours: every night with early morning care until 7 a.m.
- About 4% of each year's sales is still owed to us at year end.
- Taxes: 21%, as a simple estimate. Check with a tax professional about how your business is taxed.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own prices, quotes and real costs.

Startup Costs