Just Kidding is a company which organizes on-site daycare centers for large enterprises. Just Kidding offers its services to working parents who can seek for an alternative to formal child care because of unsatisfactory conditions, high costs and time-consuming procedures of fetching children to and from such child care centers. Just Kidding gives parents an invaluable opportunity to be closer to children while at work, for instance, by having lunches together with the kids and to avoid unpleasant experience often associated with formal child care both in quality and in cost. To children Just Kidding means excellent care, fun and college preparation as well as an all-important sense of keeping contact with the parents who usually work in the same building. Can the companies benefit from establishing on-site daycare? The answer is surely “yes” despite the initial expenditures on providing the necessary space, building facilities and hiring new staff. The statistics show that companies soon come to enjoy less turnover and a substantial reduction in days-off for working parents. Moreover, an on-site daycare center is a substantial contribution to the company’s family-oriented image.

Key Factors Considered when Selecting the Enterprise

This enterprise project presents an attempt to apply the principles of enterprise organization which we have learned in modeling a business plan. The enterprise I chose is a small service operation with great potential for growth and expansion. I turned to the idea of an on-site daycare center because I know how urgent it is for a great number of American (and military) families (to include my own). As the Vice President of the Involved Parents Association on base and being a prior active duty soldier, a current military spouse, a  current reservist, a currently TAD civilian with a spouse that will deploy days upon my return, I have always understood the need for excellent care and a child’s need for security and continuity.  Being separated from your children during long working hours and worrying about them is very stressful for parents, to include (and especially) breastfeeding mothers. Knowing that the kids are well cared for and having an opportunity to see them during the day will take much pressure away from them and will increase the child’s sense of security. I also remember that my children’s experience of attending a formal child care center when they were small was extremely distressing (this was prior to my entrance into the military as an active duty soldier). There were times when my son would cry throughout the day eager for my return. I believe that if a child knows that he / she is going to spend the day playing, learning, and resting (within the same site/building as their parents) while the parents are performing their duty of working, he / she will be happier with their time spent in the center and they may feel a sense of security; knowing that mom/dad aren’t far. I investigated the situation and found that on-site daycare facilities are provided by a sadly small yet growing number of companies. Currently, very large businesses and CONUS military facilities (to include Alaska and Hawaii though they are not ‘considered’ CONUS stations) have very good ‘on-site’ care facilities that at times rival Montessori-like environments.  You can find on-site daycare facilities at corporate businesses like Microsoft and Google.  You can also find the CDC or Child Development Centers and/or excellent Family Care Providers (typically on the base though they can also be off-base) certified by the State and/or certified by various Defense Departments to care for your children for extended periods.  For the remainder of the explanation of my enterprise, I will maintain a focus on ‘commercial’ entities vice military/DoD.  Comparatively low birth rate is accompanied by an increase in the proportion of dual-career families. Back in 1975, only 34% of families with children under six had both parents working. Today the figure amounts to 60% of families. Moreover, about 20% of working parents are single and raise children alone. Overall, the number of parents with children under six years old that are employed comprises approximately 90 million.