COCOON DAYCARE 2012- 2017

In 2012, I decided to start a daycare myself, taking SUNSHINE SMILES (Green Acres,Deonar) as the model.  It was mainly to provide care and companionship to my son. But I also wanted to start a business and this was what I found most interesting at that time.

I put my details on the net and passed the word around. I had an extra bedroom and that functioned as the daycare room.  I got a good response in the first month itself and my kid was thrilled to have companions through the day. I had to put in a lot of effort though; I did the cooking- and I also took care of the kids when the staff went home. But it was fun and I was able to implement a program that went beyond just warehousing the kids. Most kids were happy to be with us and we went on like that for a year. As the number of kids increased, I hired more staff and also a part-time manager to help me.

After a year I moved the daycare to a separate premises. In this location, I had my medical office and the inner part was for the children. By this time, I had full-time, part-time staff, visiting teachers and volunteers. As time went, I fine-tuned the system and schedule. The day care was generally much appreciated by the kids, parents and staff.

 After 5- 6 years my medical practice took off and I became busier in it. Therefore, it became difficult to maintain the personal involvement in the daycare. The daycare was occupying the space I had actually purchased for my medical practice and now with the expanded work I needed that space.  The economics were also dismal and the kids availing daycare were not in need of charity. My son stopped attending the daycare and even that benefit to me was lost. So actually there remained no good reason for me to remain in that business. The time had come when I had to choose between my medical practice and the daycare business.  And I chose my medical practice.

Cocoon Daycare is a lovely chapter in my life- full of happy moments, love and learning.

POST- SCRIPT- I rue the fact that nobody was ready to buy my business or run it for me. I know why that is so- the day-care I set up was a gross loss making enterprise because I never accounted for the cost of the premises which is the main investment. The money I made was exactly equal to the market rent plus cost of running (in fact fell short in some months). If I gave it to anyone else, I would have to charge that cost as well and then the whole system would become unsustainable. I am sad to note that this is the fate of most daycare centres in places with high real estate prices and cheap labour availability- and the kids of Parle cannot expect a decent daycare facility despite being born of educated, financially comfortable parents. The most feasible system here is to hire a reliable person to take care of the kids at home itself.