Have you thought of starting the daycare business in your home first? There are many, many tax deductions available to home daycare providers. Where I live, in Michigan, one can be licensed to care for up to six children without hiring any additional assistance.

I believe most states post their daycare regulations online, including rates for government subsidized care of children. You could use those amounts as a base to compute what you could, at least, earn caring for six children to see if a home daycare would be as or more profitable than opening up a center. My guess, and from my business experience, unless you're in a high cost area - able to charge higher rates - you'll need more than six children to support the expense of a center.

Good luck,