Guides
Step-by-step guides for starting and running a kids program.
Licensing, insurance, school partners, pricing, hiring and opening registration, in the order you'll face them. Written from inside Journey to STEAM, which runs kids STEM enrichment programs at 75+ school sites.
Where do I start?
Start with the guide that matches what you're opening. Four guides walk a launch in order: what the state requires, insurance, a site or a school partner, price, hiring and registration. Three more cover the jobs every operator faces next: getting into schools, setting prices and building the registration form. Two more answer the licensing question in Oregon and Washington.
How to start an after-school program business
Licensing, insurance, school partners, pricing, hiring instructors and opening registration, step by step.
Read the guideHow to start a summer camp
Permits, insurance, your site, pricing, hiring counselors and when to open registration, laid out as a timeline.
Read the guideHow to start a kids enrichment business
The school-based model with no facility of your own: choosing a program, landing school partners, pricing per session and hiring instructors.
Read the guideHow to start a kids activity business
The studio, gym and learning center model: testing demand in rented space, what to check before a lease, insurance and how many students cover the rent.
Read the guideHow to get your program into schools
Who decides, what the packet needs, the four money models, the outreach sequence, the pilot and the renewal.
Read the guideHow to set camp and class prices
A cost-per-seat worksheet with the math shown, break-even enrollment, sibling and early-bird discounts, payment plans and the price families see.
Read the guideThe registration form checklist
Every field a kids program registration form should collect, why, and what to leave off, with a template for six program types.
Read the guideDo you need a license to run a kids program in Oregon?
When Oregon requires a license, Recorded Program status, background checks and what schools ask for.
Read the guideDo you need a license to run a kids program in Washington?
DCYF licensing, the RCW 43.216.010(2) exemptions, background checks and what districts ask for.
Read the guideWhich guide fits my program?
Match the guide to where and when your program runs. Daily or weekly care and activities after the bell: the after-school guide. Full days over summer or school breaks: the summer camp guide. One specialty brought into schools: the kids enrichment guide. A studio, gym or learning center families come to: the kids activity business guide.
An after-school program at a school, a community site or your own space: the after-school program guide
A day camp over summer and school breaks: the summer camp guide
Enrichment classes inside schools, with no facility of your own: the kids enrichment business guide
A studio, gym, maker space or learning center that families come to: the kids activity business guide
A program that works, and a school you want to be in: how to get your program into schools
A price to set or a price to raise: how to set camp and class prices
A registration form to build or shorten: the registration form checklist
Still deciding what to call what you run: what youth enrichment means
Put the guide to work
Tools that go with the guides.
Registration templates
Camp, after-school, class and youth sports registration forms you can use as your starting point.
Browse templatesRegistration loss calculator
Estimate what unfinished signups cost you each season. Every assumption is sourced.
Open the calculatorPricing
Free for businesses. See what families pay, to the cent, before you set your own price.
See pricingHow it works
From your business name to a live registration link in under 5 minutes.
See the stepsAlready running? See enrops for after-school programs and camps, or read the blog.
Done reading? Open registration.
Create your first registration, connect Stripe, share the link. Families register and pay in one place, and the money lands in your own Stripe account.
Free for businesses. Live in under 5 minutes.