Need ideas on pricing.

[Denim Deb]

I had a call today from a friend of mine that has a daycare. For those that don't know, I'm a naturalist and am quite good at teaching children about nature. She wants me to do a weekly nature lesson and will pay me. Since it's so close to my house (less than 2 miles away), I probably won't charge her a lot. But, this has given me an idea for fall.

For quite some time now, I've longed to be able to do nature lessons and get paid for it. I got to thinking there's probably other day cares that might be interested in nature lessons as well as home school groups, etc. I'm thinking an hour long lesson which would include some type of craft depending on the lesson.

I don't need ideas on lessons, though I may need some ideas for crafts. But what I do need are ideas for how to advertise and market this. I also need an idea as to how much to charge for this. I had thought of a flat rate. But, some groups would probably be larger than others, which would mean I'd need more in the way of craft supplies.

Another idea I had though not for this summer but next is to offer a weekly nature program which would last for a few hours in the morning. They have something like this during the summer at the nature center, but for those kids that are in daycare, they can't go.

So, how much would be a fair price to charge per child for this type of program, both the hourly one and the summer one?

 

[BarredBuff]

I would figure out the supplies you'd need and the cost. Then divide that into however much per kid, then double for profit.

 

[Denim Deb]

I would figure out the supplies you'd need and the cost. Then divide that into however much per kid, then double for profit.

Supplies would vary depending on the craft. I need a set price.

 

[BarredBuff]

How many children is she expecting?

 

[Denim Deb]

How many children is she expecting?

I don't know, and I'm not thinking of for her, I'm thinking for other groups. What I do this year w/her would be more or less just testing the waters.

 

[Bettacreek]

If you have ideas on crafts, take your most expensive craft, figure out how much it costs per child, double and charge that per child for all of the crafts.

 

[Denim Deb]

So far, the most expensive craft I have cost less than $2.00/kit. I was thinking like $5.00 per child for an hour session, and $20 per child per summer session.

 

[FarmerJamie]

If you figure out a price per head, think about charging a flat rate for "x" number of heads, and then the per head amount for everyone over that.

That way you protect yourself from a group planning on 20 and 5 show up. The volunteer group I work with does it this way. Just a thought

 

[Denim Deb]

Good idea, Jamie. Maybe like a charge of $30.00 or $35.00 for 1-8 kids, and then $5.00 for every child over that for the 1 hour program, and double it for the summer program. I'm wondering if I'd need to take out any kind of business insurance, whether I'd need to incorporate, name for a company and all that good stuff. :/

 

[FarmerJamie]

If you do the programs at the nature center, you may be covered by their insurance. As for the incorporation stuff, maybe a call to a county extension office or small business agency?