How to earn money as a childminder in Nantes

Where families in Nantes look for childminders

Families in Nantes who need childminding come from everywhere in the city, not just one neighbourhood. Some look through word of mouth - talking to other parents at schools, in their street, or through workplaces. Others search online: Google, Facebook groups for parents, or dedicated platforms. Parents also ask at their workplace if colleagues know someone, or check bulletin boards at schools and daycare centres.

Websta has a marketplace where people in Nantes can post a task and ask childminders to make offers. A profile on Websta also shows up when someone nearby searches for childminders by location and service. This gives you two ways to be found: through search, and through task posts from people looking for help.

How to set your first price

There is no single right price for childminding in Nantes. What you charge depends on your experience, the hours you work, whether you look after one child or several, and what services you include - for example, meals, activities, or school pick-up. Asking other childminders in Nantes what they charge, or checking what others list online, will give you a real sense of the range.

When you set a price, start by thinking about what you need to earn per hour to make this work for you - not just what sounds reasonable, but what actually covers your costs and time. Then look at what similar childminders in your area charge. You are not locked into your first price: you can change it as you gain experience and understand your market better.

On Websta, you set your own prices for each service you offer. When a customer pays by card through Websta, the money goes directly to your own bank account via Stripe. You keep the price you set.

Money, tax and what to sort out before you start

Before you start taking payment for childminding as an independent person in France, you need to understand your obligations. France has specific rules for childminders - including qualifications, insurance, and how you register and pay tax. The details depend on whether you work as a registered childminder (assistant maternel), a self-employed person without a childminding qualification, or part of another structure. This is not something to guess at.

Check with the mairie (town hall) in Nantes, or contact the CAF (Caisse d'Allocations Familiales), which handles childcare support and can explain what applies to your situation. You may also need to contact URSSAF, which handles social contributions for self-employed people in France. These organisations can tell you what you need to register, what insurance is required, and how tax and social contributions work for your type of work.

Do not start taking money without understanding this. It will cost you less time and trouble to get it right from the start than to sort it out later.

What your first ten customers usually look like

Your first customers are rarely strangers. They often come from people you already know - a friend's colleague, a parent from your street, someone who heard about you from someone else. A few may find you through online search. Early on, expect a mix of one-off jobs (like an afternoon of childminding) and people looking for regular help. Some will ask you questions before booking, and some will want to meet you first.

Do not expect all ten to turn into long-term customers. Some will book once, some will need you for a few weeks and then their circumstances change. This is normal. Building a steady base of regular customers takes time and repetition - people need to trust you with their children, and that trust builds through experience and word of mouth.

What tends to go wrong in the first months

Many childminders starting out set their price too low because they are uncertain or want to get customers quickly. This makes it harder to raise prices later, and you may end up working for less than you need. Another common problem is unclear communication - not agreeing in advance on hours, payment, what to do if a customer cancels, or what happens if a child gets sick. It takes a few conversations to learn how to cover these things.

Some new childminders also underestimate how much time the work itself takes - you may spend an hour getting paid, but you have prepared the space, thought about activities, and tidied up. Not building this into how you think about your time leads to frustration.

On the practical side, some customers will not pay on time, or will ask for discounts. Having a clear payment process - like accepting card payments through Websta so money reaches your bank account automatically - removes uncertainty and makes it easier to stay professional about this part of the work.

How an online profile and booking fit in

A profile on Websta works as a simple, professional page that you own. It shows your services, your prices, and photos if you want. People can see what you offer and book you through the platform or ask you questions via a contact form. When they pay by card, the money goes directly to your own bank account through Stripe - not to Websta, to you.

This profile serves as a page you can send to anyone who asks about your work - a parent from school, a friend's colleague, someone who found you on Google. It saves you from explaining your prices and availability over and over in messages. It also gives you a central place to manage bookings and have payment handled securely.

Building a profile takes an hour or two to set up properly, with clear descriptions and honest prices. It is not a replacement for word of mouth or personal networks in Nantes - those will always matter for childminding - but it is a professional place to send people who are interested, and a way to be found when people search for childminders nearby.

Earning money as a childminder takes time and work

Working as a childminder in Nantes can bring in money, but it is not quick or automatic. You will need to spend time finding customers, building trust, managing bookings, and handling the paperwork and tax side of being self-employed. The first few months are often quieter than later on, as people find you and recommend you to others.

If you are doing this alongside a job, you will be juggling two things. If it becomes your main income, you will need enough customers booked regularly to make it work financially. Neither happens overnight. Many childminders build their business over several months or longer, learning as they go and adjusting their prices and availability based on what works.