Child Care as a Business (Coursera)

Child Care as a Business (Coursera)

This course is targeted toward individuals wishing to run a home-based child care center. It covers topics such as the fundamentals of an in-home childcare setting as a business; the importance of financial management of a child care center; the creation of a child care contract; and an exploration of how to set tuition rates.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Since a Family Policy Handbook is essential for anyone operating a family day care center, this course includes the development of one of three imperative sections of the handbook. The remaining two sections are created in complementary courses of the Home-Based Child Care series available on Coursera.

What You Will Learn
You’ll learn the basics of operating a quality and nurturing home-based child care center as a business.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Introduction: Family Policy Handbook Project
The intention of this module is to introduce you to the Home-Based Child Care Final Project, including the rubric which will be used to score your final project submission.

WEEK 2
Introduction to a Home-Based Child Care Program
In this module, we will discuss a home-based childcare business, including how to operate one, based on your state guidelines. We will also discuss the basic needs and start-up costs for running a home-based childcare business.

WEEK 3
Bookkeeping Basics
This module covers how to properly budget your Home-Based Childcare program, including what type of liability insurance you should get, how to pay taxes, filing tax forms, and your responsibilities to your clients.

WEEK 4
Childcare Contracts
In Module 4, you will learn how to create a childcare contract and expand on your policy handbook. You will learn what to put into your childcare contract and what additional information goes into your policy handbook. You will learn what resources are available to you as the Home-Based Childcare provider.

WEEK 5
Rate Setting and Invoice Processing
In this final course module, you will be learning about pricing structures and how to set your market rates for your Home-Based Child Care center. You will learn how to set your payment terms and your policies including frequency of payment, amount of payment, late fees, and returned check fees. And finally, you will be able to communicate the cost of quality in relation to your pricing.

WEEK 6
Project Assessment: Family Policy Handbook, Including a Business Plan
For your Home-Based Child Care Capstone Project, you will submit a complete Family Policy Handbook and Business Plan for a home-based childcare business. This includes your cumulative efforts throughout all courses of the specialization, including assignments earlier in this course.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Shaping Your Professional Brand (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Shaping Your Professional Brand (Coursera)

You've thought about who you are and how you want your career to be. You have some skills to deal with situations that could cause problems. What about the team around you? How do you build functional and constructive professional relationships? How can you add value? What do employers look for when they are promoting?

Jun 8th 2026
4 Weeks
Essentials of Entrepreneurship: Thinking & Action (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, Irvine

Essentials of Entrepreneurship: Thinking & Action (Coursera)

Success in business can be greatly enhanced with an understanding of key entrepreneurial characteristics and competencies solutions. This interactive course provides potential entrepreneurs with the knowledge of succeeding in an entrepreneurial opportunity. Topics include: how creativity, opportunity and feasibility are best evaluated; business strategies for new businesses; importance of a business plan; achieving success in a new business. At the end of the course students will have the skills and confidence to evaluate starting a business, in addition to becoming more enterprising in how they approach their roles should they decide to work in organizations.

Jun 8th 2026
4 Weeks
Beyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Transitioning Economies (Coursera) Coursera
Case Western Reserve University

Beyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Transitioning Economies (Coursera)

The path for entrepreneurs to grow their companies outside of well-developed entrepreneurial ecosystems like Silicon Valley is challenging. Most markets around the world do not look like Silicon Valley, and they never will. But there are other models to support new businesses. In transitioning markets (where entrepreneurs do not have much access to private sector financing), government officials, donors, and business leaders are experimenting with creative approaches to support the growth of entrepreneurs. Northeast Ohio, whose largest city is Cleveland, is one such community. During our time together in this course, we will be exploring some of these innovative approaches.

Jun 8th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Introduction to Spreadsheets and Models (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Introduction to Spreadsheets and Models (Coursera)

The simple spreadsheet is one of the most powerful data analysis tools that exists, and it’s available to almost anyone. Major corporations and small businesses alike use spreadsheet models to determine where key measures of their success are now, and where they are likely to be in the future. But in order to get the most out of a spreadsheet, you have know how to use it. This course is designed to give you an introduction to basic spreadsheet tools and formulas so that you can begin harness the power of spreadsheets to map the data you have now and to predict the data you may have in the future.

Jun 8th 2026
4 Weeks
The Search for Great Ideas: Harnessing creativity to empower innovation (Coursera) Coursera
Michigan State University

The Search for Great Ideas: Harnessing creativity to empower innovation (Coursera)

Where do great business ideas come from? We all have compelling business concepts that we've been thinking about for years. In this course we will explore how to use observational tools and other techniques for idea generation and we will talk about how to evaluate the good ideas from the bad. The goal is to settle on a business idea that you are not only passionate about but also has real market application.

Jun 8th 2026
3 Weeks
Inferential and Predictive Statistics for Business (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Inferential and Predictive Statistics for Business (Coursera)

This course provides an analytical framework to help you evaluate key problems in a structured fashion and will equip you with tools to better manage the uncertainties that pervade and complicate business processes. The course aim to cover statistical ideas that apply to managers. We will consider two basic themes: first, is recognizing and describing variations present in everything around us, and then modeling and making decisions in the presence of these variations.

Jun 8th 2026
4 Weeks
Introducción a las Finanzas (Coursera) Coursera
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Introducción a las Finanzas (Coursera)

En este curso estudiaremos el objetivo principal de las finanzas, la importancia en la creación de valor y mantenerlo a través de un uso eficiente de los recursos financieros. Además, incluiremos algunas herramientas básicas que te permitirán crear un plan financiero con el que podrás establecer objetivos y metas claras, identificar qué factores pueden afectar el rumbo de tu empresa o idea de negocio y saber si estás aplicando los recursos de una manera eficiente.

Jun 8th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Los obstáculos y la conducción en las negociaciones (Coursera) Coursera
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Los obstáculos y la conducción en las negociaciones (Coursera)

En este curso se analizará para su aplicación la ubicación y señalamiento de los obstáculos que se presentan durante el proceso de negociación. Es interesante observar que en este análisis no sólo se plantean los obstáculos, sino se hacen observaciones sobre las condiciones que se presentan para identificar el obstáculo con las habilidades y estrategias que se ofrecen para su manejo efectivo.

Jun 8th 2026
4 Weeks
The Power of Markets III: Input Markets and Promoting Efficiency (Coursera) Coursera
University of Rochester

The Power of Markets III: Input Markets and Promoting Efficiency (Coursera)

The final module of the Power of Markets course begins by further exploring firm behavior in imperfectly competitive market settings: how firms with monopoly power can increase profits through price discrimination; and the price-output combinations we can expect firms to select in cases of monopolistic competition and oligopoly. We will also analyze monopolies from an efficiency perspective and look at the effects of imperfect information on firm and consumer behavior. We will next turn to exploring input markets and what determines the demand for an input by a firm, an industry, and the overall market.

Jun 8th 2026
4 Weeks
The Art of Negotiation (Coursera) Coursera
University of California, Irvine

The Art of Negotiation (Coursera)

The art of negotiation comes into play daily in the life of employees at all levels and in every position. Participants explore how current approaches to negotiation strategy and tactics are used, what negotiation entails, types of negotiation relationships that exist from hard bargain to win-win, to fully partnered relationships and personal ones. The course explores the personal and behavioral characteristics of an effective negotiator. Participants discuss how empowerment, power, and authority affect the negotiation process and outcome. Topics include how important it is to plan and prepare for a negotiation session.

Jun 8th 2026
4 Weeks
Gamification (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Gamification (Coursera)

Gamification is the application of game elements and digital game design techniques to non-game problems, such as business and social impact challenges. This course will teach you the mechanisms of gamification, why it has such tremendous potential, and how to use it effectively.

Jun 8th 2026
5-12 Weeks
How to Finance and Grow Your Startup – Without VC (Coursera) Coursera
University of London,London Business School

How to Finance and Grow Your Startup – Without VC (Coursera)

Who? If you’re an entrepreneur at any stage of your journey, or even an aspiring one, and you need money to start or grow your business, this course is for you. What? This course will introduce, and help you put to use in your startup, the five models through which your customers can – and will, if you ask them! – fund your business. These five time-tested models have been put to use by entrepreneurial superstars like Michael Dell, Bill Gates, Richard Branson and more. Sadly, though, the five models are rarely talked about and not widely understood. Until now! The five models will be brought to life by the real-world stories of an inspiring collection of incredibly creative entrepreneurs from around the world – including successes and failures – through a series of captivating no-holds-barred interviews with founders and others, and investors, too.

Jun 9th 2026
5-12 Weeks