Can The Weather Help You Grow Your Daycare’s Enrollment?

“Snow day for kids” - that was the headline from Austin, MN yesterday (12/8/09). Winter is coming on strong and schools are beginning to cancel classes. However, what happens to the children? If school gets cancelled, mom and dad will probably have to go to work anyway, so what do you do with the kids? Could you add a “snow day drop-in” service to your daycare to help these parents?In today’s economy, parents just can’t afford to take a day off just because it is snowing. Most people are already overworked and fearful of downsizing so if you can provide them a means to still work and know their children are well taken care you can earn great money. Parents may even be willing to pay over normal daycare rates for such a service.

If you live in an area of the country where the snow falls enough to cancel school from time to time you may be sitting on a gold mine. If you have open slots available now in your facility or home, you can start accepting drop-ins right away. Just make sure your state’s licensing rules allow for you to offer drop-in care without any special rules or regulations.

So whom should you offer these extra spots to? First, offer it to parents who have siblings already in your child care center. It makes sense and you may have cared for these kids when they were young. It may be nice to see them again.

Second, advertise on a first come, first served basis. For this, you can probably charge well over your normal rate. You will get more people than you can handle anyways, so pick the ones that will benefit you the most. Realize it is going to cost you extra and you are doing them a huge favor.

Another great idea may be to have a “snow membership” for a small monthly fee during the winter months. Parents can pre-register their kids for snow days. This way they know they will have a spot, and in exchange, you may charge a more normal daily rate. In addition, you will know how many kids you should expect on any given snow day. With this plan you could also advertise it before the first snows, making your life easier. (Hey, another great idea for a press release!)

Enjoy the snow - it may provide some business opportunities for you. Looks like those of you in Minnesota should have a nice white Christmas.

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