We're blue in the face hearing about our recessionary times, heard about the continuing economic downturn and are already tired of listening to the doom and gloom emanating from the experts. Should you start a day care business in spite of all this you ponder? Honestly, this could be a great time to start your new child care business. Tough times for many can be a golden egg for some. Certain ventures will flourish in the toughest of financial times - because they research, identify a niche market and service the need of that market.

People will always require some form of childcare because people will always need to work to make ends meet despite all talk of downsizing and tough times. They may look to change aspects of their child care arrangements due to changes in income and job rationalization. Sadly, one of the first areas to get hit by cost cutting measures is the area of child care - and a recession is sure to see many people re-evaluating their cost of living. More affordable options will benefit due to the exodus from bigger, expensive day care centers.

These affordable options are a niche!but how can you make your day care one of these 'recession attractive' businesses? Starting a home day care is considerably less expensive than opening a large day care center. You can staff it yourself with a family member or local person as an assistant, kit it out for very little (if you already have kids you probably have a lot of the equipment anyway) by foraging in charity shops and contacting everyone you know who may be offloading toys and educational equipment (there are may recycling websites out there also), offset your expenses against your taxes and save on transportation costs (no more commute to work!). These are all savings that you can pass on to your clients in terms of fee reductions.

Doing your homework thoroughly on the local market is imperative. What are the needs of your local community and can you address those needs in your day care thus making it unique and in demand. A structured, quality educational curriculum in a home day care will make you stand out from the competition. People moving from larger day cares won't be expecting to find a quality learning environment in a home day care. You will most likely gain them as clients because you have pleasantly surprised them, you have an edge and you are addressing their needs.

Perhaps your locality has a lot of hospitals, factories or industries where people are required to work shift work? This tends to be a hugely under supplied area of care. Is there a need for a daycare/language school for foreign nationals settling here? Most towns have a substantial demand for overnight care which is also generally under supplied. Could that be your golden egg? Parents can find it very difficult to find quality, convenient before and after school care so if your day care is situated close to schools you may have found your niche.

Downturn or not, there is always a demand for certain types of child care. The under supplied niches are out there waiting to be discovered, the gaps waiting to be filled and it is up to you to find them. Clever research and due diligence are the keys to getting it right from the outset. Start your day care the clever, recession proof way.