New Day Nursery

[DavidW]

I have posted before that we are opening a New Day Nursery sometime in October(hopefully) and I am fishing for ideas.It is in a former house so there are rooms to consider.What will we put where? What look shall we go for? I would be really interested to look at photos of other settings,seen any around? Also making list after list of equipment etc and am sure I am still forgetting things, any one seen anything of things to remember-I am getting on a bit and the little grey cells are not what they were. I am looking forward to pinching all your best ideas !!

Mama

[Guest]

Hi Mama95, very interested in your post & would like to ask a few things if you don't mind?!

 

First of all Good luck & I hope everything goes well. Are you the owner of the nursery? Did you buy the house & is it situated in a residential area?

what problems did you come across with borrowing money etc? I'm asking because my friend & I are thinking about doing this kind of thing but unsure about where to get started or what kind of property to look for.

Hope you don't mind? mrsb

[DavidW]

It used to be a Nursery but has been empty for several years. The building had the right planning permission - which is the hardest thing, and the reason why we bought it. The bank are keen to lend as much as I want as they know I will be paying back for many, many years!Let me know if i can give you any other advice.

[Running Bunny]

As far as room planning goes, you can't go far wrong with Community Playthings...Their Room Layout Guide is great for ideas.

 

Lots of nurseries now have virtual tours on their websites, so you could look in your local yellow pages for websites or on yell.com to find nurseries in other areas.

 

Personally, I wouldn't go for the 'bright colour=welcoming" look - as certain colours will send children literally up the walls! It sounds boring, but go for a neutal colour and use the furnishings and resources do the talking as far as adding colour.

 

With regards to equipment, only you can decide what you want,but looking in the various early years catalogues can help you get a feel for different 'areas', then you can create a wish list under each heading i.e. construction, malleable play, role play, home corner, creative area...

 

I hope that helps?

 

RBx

[Guest]

I already have one nursery and I am looking around for another one. The cost of buying an established nursery is terrifying. Even one that costs around £100,000 will cost you over £1000 in loans each month, plus they will only loan you 85%, so you have to put the rest PLUS they wanted security on my house. (This was for a leashold premises).

 

However, buying a nursery that is freehold is even more expensive as you have to have a commercial mortgage and then the extra for the purchase of the business.

 

I think this is why so many new nurseries start up because the cost from just leasing a new premises is less daunting and cheaper than buying an established nursery. When I add up the cost, I don't see how I would make any profit on buying an established nursery.

 

Does anybody have any good stories that may persuade me to buy an established nursery (costs etc).

[Guest]

HI.

 

my new bosses have just brought our nursery (established for last ten years). they seem to talk positivley about the sale and view it as a good thing that they brought an established nursery Versus starting a new one.

guess with the established nursery to a point you know sustainability and you already have a staff team (providing they don't all leave when they realise that they are being sold out (luckily for our new owners all our staff stayed in nursery and all is well on that front.)

Our nursery has secured a lease for 40 years so i guess the new owners know again that as a nursery it is secure.

Plus we are situated in the middle of a new learning development and this has generated some business for us too.....

 

will ask the bosses next week how they found teh sale and what pursuaded them to buy established nursery rather than start from scratch, which they did consider.

 

Dawn

 

 

 

I already have one nursery and I am looking around for another one. The cost of buying an established nursery is terrifying. Even one that costs around £100,000 will cost you over £1000 in loans each month, plus they will only loan you 85%, so you have to put the rest PLUS they wanted security on my house. (This was for a leashold premises).

 

However, buying a nursery that is freehold is even more expensive as you have to have a commercial mortgage and then the extra for the purchase of the business.

 

I think this is why so many new nurseries start up because the cost from just leasing a new premises is less daunting and cheaper than buying an established nursery. When I add up the cost, I don't see how I would make any profit on buying an established nursery.

 

Does anybody have any good stories that may persuade me to buy an established nursery (costs etc).

[DavidW]

I have done it both ways ,bought a Nursery that was up and running and a building to convert.If you can find a building that has the right planning i think I would go from scratch. The thing you need is a lot of capital-I used my home and could have lost it and the growth to profit will take longer but in the long run you will make more profit.You do not take on staff -who may or not be wonderful but may just work very differently,and thier terms and conditions,equipment that is never what it seems and lots of families to win over.On the other hand you will have an income from day one,but as salary is by far the biggest expense this will grow slowly starting from scratch.

I LOVE BEING MY OWN BOSS BUT WOULD INFACT EARN MORE IF i WORKED FOR SOMEONE ELSE AS i TEND TO KEEP INVESTING IN THE NURSERY AND THERE ARE ALL THE STRESS of change that every one talks about that i have to pay for.I intend to do this for about 5 more years so if any one is interested in a small chain in the South of England then .....

That is when i will make money as now I only pay my self £18k as i need to grow my little group.Hope this makes sense as it is early and I have not slept well