This is a follow up to my article on getting ready for the cold and flu season . In that article I talk about the need for face masks to help prevent the spread of germs once a child is sick, but before they are picked up and taken home.
In related news, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recently released a report on which type of masks work best stopping the spread of germs. In the study they compared expensive small-particle filters, with inexpensive surgical masks. 446 Canadian nurses were studied while treating patients with signs of respiratory illness over a 3 month period.
In the end, the study found no significant difference in fighting the spread of germs or flu between the two groups.
The cost of surgical masks is cheaper than respirators, so it shouldn’t be a problem to pick up a couple. In fact I did a quick online search and found several places offering surgical masks for under $8 for a box of 50 masks. Compare that to the cost of one lost day or just the misery of being sick and I think you will agree 8 bucks is worth it.
In my other article I talk more about getting your daycare ready for cold and flu season. To read that article click here.
Which Masks Work Best in Fighting the Spread of Germs?
October 12th, 2009 — Daycare Business
Can A Unique Sign Really Make a Difference in Your Child Care Marketing & Enrollment?
October 12th, 2009 — Child Care Marketing
I was running errands today and passed by this local childcare center with this sign up in front of the center. I had to stop and take a picture of it because they are doing some very important things right that you should be doing, too.
- This is on a major road that ties my residential community to the business section of town so parents are driving by this sign all day long. If you didn’t know this was a child care center by the name, you’d definitely know it out now based on this sign.
- This sign is marketing to both current and prospective parents. It reminds currently enrolled parents of what is coming and why they use this school. But it also markets to new parents by letting them know what they could be a part of if they enrolled here.
- It shows the location of the child care center is good. When given a choice it is best to place your center where it will be seen often and by the right type of people. If you can’t be in the optimal location, you can still use signs like this to drive traffic. Make an arrangement with the home owner on the corner to allow you to place a sign for special events.
- It enters the conversation in everyone’s head. Parents of young children are always looking for Halloween activities suitable for them, and safe. This daycare center is entering into that conversation already taking place in the minds of parents, and inserting them as a great option.
- After this event is over, you can continue to get marketing “traction” from the event.
- Send a press release to your local papers with pictures of the event. Fun news with lots of personality tends to boost your word of mouth among all the parents in town.
- Create your own press release flyer and send it home for parents to read.
- Send copies of the newspaper article to all of your current prospects just in case they missed the paper.
- If you’re tied in with other organizations (church, business) make sure they include this event in their newsletter.
- Get pictures and a recap up on your web site and/or in your monthly newsletter.
I know this may sound like a lot just from one sign, but it’s really not. Always use all the tools in your arsenal, including signage, to help market your child care center.
It’s That Time of Year (Again) to Review Your Sick Policies
October 8th, 2009 — Daycare Business
My daughter won first place today…she was the first one in our family to get a cold this year. Just the plain old common cold variety, thank goodness, but still sick nonetheless. It has to happen, as it seems to every year. And this makes me wonder…
Have you reviewed your daycare’s sick policies lately?
If you’ve made changes, have they been communicated to your parents lately?
This is the best time of year to review your sick policies. We are just going into flu season so it still isn’t a major problem, but it’s top of mind with parents right now. If you don’t have a sick policy yet, you still have time to get one created & communicated before the flu season gets out of hand.
Some points to think about when reviewing your policy for this year:
- Does it meet or exceed the state requirements? Many states have been updating their rules this year so make sure you are still following at least what they require. Due to swine flu (H1N1 virus), some states may have big changes.
- Make sure your rules are tough but not too tough. You don’t want sick children at school spreading germs, but sending them home every time their nose runs will cause parents to complain (and rightly so).
- Do you have a place set up to care for sick children? Kids can go downhill fast when a cold comes on. You will want to separate them from others, so make sure you have a cozy corner set up with warm blankets and something to do away from the other kids.
- Make sure to review with your staff what the rules are, like when children will need to be sent home and who is to be notified. Also review with staff signs of illness, especially H1N1, the 2009 flu strain, and bronchitis.
- Send home a copy of the sick policies with parents. I know it’s in the policy handbook and I’m sure every parent reads it cover to cover, but just to be sure send a new copy home. It’s always better to keep parents over-informed than under-informed. This is just another great way to show your care and professionalism.
- If parents may need to have somebody other than themselves (i.e. grandparents, aunts, uncles, babysitters) to pick up sick children, now is the time to prepare. You will need to get a signed release with the name of the person in the child’s records, and you should get a copy of the person’s driver’s license also. This way you and your staff can be sure in a very stressful time.
- Consider having face masks on hand in both adult and kids sizes. These can help keep germs from spreading when people cough and sneeze.
- Review with your staff when they will need to call in sick. Also make sure you have a plan for replacing sick caregivers.
- Have a plan in place to clean and disinfect rooms and the entire facility. If colds or flu start spreading fast through your center, you may need to clean your entire facility quickly to remove the germs.
- Think about how you would contact parents if you have to close your daycare. State and local governments and most school districts have put thought into when they may need to close schools this year because of swine flu, you should do the same. A couple of minutes of planning will go a long way in helping you out later.
- Consider if you and your staff are going to get flu and H1N1 vaccines this year. They both should be available soon, but do have side effects. If you are going to get them, now is the time. You should also think about if you will pay for these vaccines or not on behalf of your staff. It may sound like a lot, but what is the cost of losing 2-3 care givers?
Obviously this is just a quick list of things you should be thinking about going into the cold and flu season. With any luck we will get through this season just as well as we have all the others.
So who’s going to be the first one in your family to get sick?
How Much Does a 10-Second “Snap” Really Cost You?
October 7th, 2009 — Child Care Marketing, Daycare Business
Remember the TV show “Ally McBeal”? One of the characters in the show constantly apologized for being “snappish”. If your daycare staff is being snippy with your parents, what’s the real cost to you? I’m here to tell you it can cost you tens of thousands of dollars, all in just ten seconds time. That’s one thousand dollars per second, folks.
But first let me tell you the story that has caused me to write this today.
I agreed to help out one of my girlfriends by taking her new dog to the vet this morning for an operation. My friend is a nurse in the local pediatrics hospital and was called in last minute, and as I was working from home I agreed to help out. The vet’s office is 10 minutes from me, not a big deal.
My friend tells me I can drop her dog off any time after 8:45 in the morning. My family got a slow start today, and I spent a lot of time with my daughter’s daycare helping them tweak some holiday promotions. All in all, I didn’t get the dog to the vet’s office until 9:30.
This is where 5 seconds cost this office a lot of money. I walk in with the dog, not as the owner just a friend to the VERY snappish receptionist who tells me “Well, you were supposed to be here at 8:45! Hmph! You’re lucky we don’t have anything else planed or we would have to reschedule!” I was miscommunicated to, sorry, but as it wasn’t a problem why bring it up?
Now I have a very negative feeling of this vet. I can assure you I won’t use them even though they are 30 minutes closer than my current vet and cheaper. Plus I’ve already told several other people about this and probably won’t stop any time soon. It is going to take a lot of work and praise for this veterinary office to recover from this episode of extreme snappishness.
In less than 10 seconds, this office lost all of my business and the business of many of the people I talk to. Easily thousands of dollars lost this year, and from any future profits they may have had. Ouch!
Is something like this happening at your daycare?
When parents drop of late or forget something, how is your staff responding? Are they friendly and helpful?… or snappy? Do you even know?
If the parents are doing something mildly annoying, but it’s not hurting anyone, probably nothing needs to even be said. If it’s becoming a problem, remind you staff how to politely offer the parent a gentle reminder and the reason why. “I just wanted to remind you we ask you to drop off kids before 9:00. This is because after 9, it becomes disruptive to the class and your child may miss something fun. It would be very helpful for all of us. Thanks.”
If the outcome changes because of the problem move on to solving the problem not rehashing what went wrong. Try your best not to blame but to solve the problem, that’s all that really matters. Nobody can do anything about the past now, the best you can do is make the future the best it can be. “I’m sorry but the kids have already left for the field trip, to get them back for lunch they had to leave at 9. If you want we can some fun activities set up here or you can meet up with the others at _______ and go from there.”
Spend some time working with your staff to make sure they are responding the way you hope they would. Let them know what you want and how you want problems dealt with. This little bit of extra effort can pay a huge dividend to you.
Although you might not lose your current parents over snippy responses I can assure you they will tell their friends and they won’t be jumping to come join you.
It doesn’t take one big thing to grow your daycare, it takes hundreds of small simple things, built one upon the other. The more you get right the bigger you’ll become.
How to Start a Daycare Business
October 1st, 2009 — Daycare Business
How to Start a Daycare Business: Discover the 7 Big Mistakes Most New Daycare Owners Make & How to Avoid Them
When you decide to start your own child care business, what does it take to be successful?
Obviously, you should have a deep & passionate desire to take care of children, a huge amount of patience, and the ability to juggle several tasks at once (such as warming a bottle while helping toddlers with an art project).
But as if that isn’t enough, there are many things that a successful daycare business owner needs to be good at besides caring for children. Honestly, it can be quite daunting for someone new to the business.
Things like getting paid on time from parents, writing solid policies & contracts, marketing your business to new potential clients, obtaining the right insurance policy, understanding record-keeping and how it affects your taxes, and overall, just getting started in a manner that will optimize success.
To help you open a daycare with the greatest chance for success, here are the basic steps of how to start a daycare, by avoiding the 7 biggest, costliest mistakes many people make when starting out.
BIG MISTAKE #1: Not doing the proper research on the child care market in your town or city.
This is a crucial step that many new child care business owners miss, usually because they’re not sure how to go about it. Or they may think that it’s not really necessary to do the research, because they don’t understand how it could impact them.
If you’re thinking about opening a child care center, you may understand that this is a necessary step, but you’re just not sure how to go about it. And if you’re opening a family daycare in your home, do you really need to do all that extra work up-front?
The answer is yes. But don’t worry, the goal here is not to spend weeks or months completing some huge market research project that you’re not ever going to use.
I’m talking about spending a few hours over the next few days, calling around (or maybe visiting some other child care businesses) and asking key questions.
Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about. My neighbor Mary, who runs a child care business in her home, discovered a couple things about our local market that helped her create a more profitable business. The first thing was, our town has ½-day Kindergarten, not full-day. By talking to other Moms in our town, Mary found there was a need in our town for “before-and-after care”, that is someone who could watch Kindergarteners & older kids before and after school. She structured her daycare to fill this need. All she had to do was make sure the buses were able to pick up & drop off these kids at her home, and she was able to start taking kids.
So what you want to uncover, when you do your upfront research, is a “pocket of unfulfilled need” in terms of child care. You don’t need it to be a huge pocket, but something unique about your business that will bring you customers who have that need.
Other examples of this are:
- offering second or third shift care if you have large companies in your town who employ people on evening or overnight shifts
- offering bilingual care or special languages, such as sign language for babies
- offering special meals (such as organic or vegetarian) if you live in a town where that would be considered desirable (like Boulder, Colorado or a similar college town)
Again, you are asking key questions and trying to uncover an unfulfilled need in your town or city. You can begin by calling your local Child Care Resource & Referral Agency (CCR&R), your local elementary schools, talking to neighbors and friends, and visiting other child care businesses in your town. You can even call other child care businesses and talk to these women about what they are seeing in the market. Usually, women in child care help each other out by forming friendships and partnerships, so don’t be intimidated.
By taking the time to do the research, you will gain a huge advantage by understanding your market and how you can be successful within that market.
BIG MISTAKE #2: Not getting the right liability protection for you and your business.
If you want to be able to sleep easy at night and not worry about getting sued, you’ll need to be properly covered. You need the real scoop on what type of insurance to buy, and how much it should cost, so you don’t overpay.
Many new child care business owners make the mistake of thinking that their homeowner’s policy is enough to cover them if there’s a problem. But the truth is, that policy usually doesn’t provide enough protection, nor the right kind of protection you need for special situations that a daycare owner can face.
An example of this situation would be if your house had a power outage, and you had to close temporarily due to the loss of electricity. If you had a business liability policy with coverage for “business income interruption”, you would be covered by your policy and you would still get that income.
Likewise, if you were sued by a parent for some situation, your policy would cover you in most cases.
Surprisingly, a business liability policy for a home daycare is not that expensive, and is well worth the investment (in my opinion). These type of policies usually cost $30 to $40 per month. Is that worth a good night’s sleep?
BIG MISTAKE #3: Not charging the right fees.
Do you know how to find out what other child care homes and centers are charging? Most new daycare owners literally leave money on the table by not setting their rates properly. You’ll get short-changed by charging too little, and if you charge too much, you won’t get any clients!
So how do you go about figuring out what to charge? This is a similar process as doing the upfront research in your town…it’s simply a matter of making some phone calls or visits to other child care businesses and setting you prices appropriately.
Many new family daycare owners charge the same weekly rate for each child, regardless of the child’s age. However, if you talk to centers in your town, most of them charge the highest rate for infants, and the lowest rate for older kids (pre-K and older). Many parents are used to this type of pricing structure.
So depending on the ages of kids that you can accept, if you charge a bit more for infants and young toddlers, you may find that your income will be a bit higher than a flat-rate for all ages. You’ll have to look at your individual scenario and choose what’s best for you.
For example, let’s say that according to your state, and the ages of your own children, you can accept 1 infant, 3 young toddlers (15-24 months), and 2 older toddlers (3-4 year olds). If you charge $120 per week as a flat rate, you would have a weekly income of $720.
If, however, you charged a bit more for infants ($135/week), and young toddlers ($125/week) and less for older toddlers ($115/week), your weekly income with this scenario would be $740. That amounts to an extra $80 per month, or an extra $1,040 per year.
Small adjustments like these in your price, if it makes sense based on your local area, can make a difference in your take-home profits at the end of the day.
BIG MISTAKE #4: Not covering yourself with a proper daycare policy handbook and contract.
Okay, this is a really big one. When you start a daycare, you need to have a well-written contract for your parents, and you need a comprehensive policy handbook. If you use your contract and policy handbook properly, you can literally save yourself thousands of dollars of lost income (and countless hours of headaches!).
So what’s the difference between a contract and a policy?
A contract is a binding legal agreement between two people. If you agree to care for a child and the child’s parent agrees to pay you for that care, you’ve made a verbal contract. If you put the contract in writing, it becomes a written contract.
There are 5 key elements of a child care contract: the names of the parties, the hours of operation, the termination procedure (that is, how either party may terminate the agreement), terms of payment (including rates, due dates, and extra fees), and the signatures of the parties. Be specific and clear with your wording.
A policy handbook is longer and more detailed than a contract. It should contain all the rules that state how you will care for the children, how you’ll handle specific kinds of situations, and how you run your business. For example, you should include your vacation & sick day policies, how you handle behavior issues & discipline, and how the children will be fed.
It’s a good idea to require a signature page at the end of your policy handbook, where the parent agrees that he or she has read the entire handbook and agrees to abide by the policies you’ve laid out.
You need to have both documents in writing. (If you need actual examples that you can copy & edit to fit your business, they are provided in my Daycare Success System…more about that later).
BIG MISTAKE #5: Not using the best ways to market your business to future customers.
Let’s face it, you may not be a marketing and advertising whiz, but you need easy and low-cost ways to get the word out and bring in new customers.
We’ve all heard that the best advertising is word-of-mouth. That’s after you’ve gotten started and your clients recommend you to their friends and neighbors.
But what about when you first open your doors, and you have no proven track record?
Fortunately, there are lots of ways you can get the word out about your new child care business, and most of them won’t cost you much money. Here are 4 marketing ideas to get you started.
Marketing Tip #1: Register with the Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) Office in Your Area.This is the very first thing you should do to get your name out there, and it should be done prior to opening your doors. The website is located at: http://www.childcareaware.org/ Then enter your ZIP Code in the search field and you will receive the contact information for your nearest CCR&R office. You can also call them toll-free at (800) 424-2246. As of December 2007, in order to be registered with most CCR&R’s, you do not need to be state-licensed or certified. However, they may have special requirements to be listed, based on your state. For example, in Ohio, they request that solo family daycare providers have a maximum of 6 children at any time, and no more than 3 children under the age of 2. If there is more than one caregiver in the home/facility, the numbers can be higher. These rules vary by state, so be sure to call your local CCR&R branch to confirm your rules. Once you register with your CCR&R, they will provide your contact information, along with any special information pertaining to your daycare, to parents seeking child care….for free! Marketing Tip #2: Contact All Elementary Schools on Your Bus Line and/or in Your Community.Most schools maintain a list of Childcare Providers, which they provide to parents upon request. Ask to have your name and phone number added to their Provider list. Marketing Tip #3: Verbally Communicate to Everyone You Know.Tell everyone you know that you own a daycare business, and ask them if they know anyone who is seeking childcare in your area. Make an announcement at your church, and at all other groups to which you belong. If you don’t belong to any community groups, join some! You’re an entrepreneur now, it’s time to start networking! This may be your strongest source for enrolling daycare children. Most parents prefer to leave their children with a provider that was recommended by a friend, neighbor, coworker or family member. Marketing Tip #4: Place Announcements or Small Ads in Community Newsletters.Ask every organization you know and/or belong to such as a Church, Play Group, or Community Group, if you can place an announcement in their Newsletter. If you know a community group, church, and/or business professional that mails out a newsletter, ask them to advertise your business for the local residents on their database. In your advertisement, focus on the unique features of your business and the benefits that children and parents will receive from being enrolled with you. |
Remember, this is just the tip of the iceberg. When you learn these easy and inexpensive (or free) methods to bring in new leads, you’ll have a full and profitable daycare center and you’ll establish an ongoing relationship with your parent-clients that will have them raving about you to their friends and family!
Now let’s get back to the 7 Biggest Mistakes and how you can avoid them when you’re learning how to start a daycare.
BIG MISTAKE #6: Not utilizing the tons of free resources in your local area, including sources of grant money.
Many new daycare or preschool owners don’t know about the local resources available to them, and how to navigate the waters of state, regional, and local government agencies.
With so many organizations and websites out there, it can be really tough to figure out where to go and who to ask, if you don’t know where to begin.
The best place to start is with your state. Every state in the U.S. has an agency within their state government that sets the rules for family child care providers. This agency is usually called something like the Department of Child & Family Services (DCFS), or the Department of Job & Family Services (DJFS) and they all have websites.
(If you are in Canada or another country, you probably have a similar office in your government).
Simply go to your state’s website (such as http://www.Illinois.gov) and look for the appropriate department, or type “child care” in the search box.
The website should contain phone numbers for the Child Care contact person in your state. Call them on the phone and inquire about your state’s rules and what they recommend for people who are just getting started in family child care.
Most counties also have a child care office that helps people at the county level. Ask your state contact person how to find help for your specific county. Then, contact your county rep and ask the following questions (these are also good questions to ask your state rep):
- What do you need to know that’s specific rules or regulations for your county?
- What training are you required to take before you open your doors?
- What kind of ongoing training / learning is required?
- Do they have any recommendations on insurance providers for child care owners in your county?
- What resources do they have to help you learn how to start a daycare?
- Do they know about any sources for grants or low-interest start-up loans?
- Are there local or county support groups that meet to discuss child care issues?
There may be other questions you’ll think of, too. Don’t be intimidated. You have the right to get the best information to get started, and you owe it to yourself to start out as successfully and as knowledgably as possible.
BIG MISTAKE #7: Not getting licensed or certified by your state.
Getting licensed or certified with your state can be a bit of work, but it’s probably easier than you think. Usually, to get licensed you are required to take a certain amount of training (often very low-cost or even free) and your home will be inspected once or twice a year by a state inspector to ensure that guidelines are being met.
There are lots of reasons why you should consider it…the top reason being that you can charge higher rates!
Here are some of the other benefits you will gain by being licensed or certified with your state:
- You will be proud to know you are providing the highest quality of care (and you can communicate this to others).
- Potential parents will be more likely to choose you, so you won’t have to spend as much on marketing and advertising
- Schools and other businesses will be more likely to recommend you.
- You may be eligible for grants or low-interest loans to expand your daycare or improve it with a new outdoor play area, etc.
- You will stand out from the crowd as a superior business.
Many states require that you are licensed or registered in order to accept a certain number of children. You’ll need to check with your state to get clear on the rules before you open your daycare. In fact, this is the first step anyone should take when thinking about starting a daycare business. To get the contact information for your state, go here:
http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/statedata/statepro/index.html
By avoiding these seven big mistakes, you will have the highest chance for success as a child care business owner. Strive to be the best at what you do, and the journey will be more rewarding personally and professionally.
10 Tips for Writing a Grant Proposal
September 28th, 2009 — Daycare Business
10 Great Ways to Get a Grant
Experts reveal their top 10 secrets about writing grant proposals that demand attention and get funding.
Grant writing is seldom easy. Many schools are chasing after the same pot of gold, fiercely competing for technology dollars offered by corporations, foundations, and state and federal government. So there’s no room for mistakes. Yet, many pitfalls exist, especially for inexperienced grant writers. For example, some grant seekers apply for the wrong grant. Their goals and objectives don’t match those of the funding source. In the end, they waste everyone’s time and can jeopardize their chances of winning funding in the future from the same organizations. To discover the secrets of successful grant writing, Scholastic Administrator spoke to several experts who gave us their best advice on drafting grant proposals that work. Follow these 10 simple guidelines and your next grant proposal will stand a better chance of getting the funding you need.
1. Assess your needs. What are your instructional technology needs? Ask yourself this question before writing your grant proposal. Solicit information from teachers about the kind of technology or training they need, creative ways they could use it in their classroom, how it would enhance student learning or how the technology could streamline their administrative tasks. Then document your school’s most compelling needs in your grant application. If you’re asking for funds to purchase computers or integrate technology to improve teacher proficiency, reveal the percentage of teachers at your school who are at the beginning, intermediate and proficient stages.
2. Think locally at first. Form a technology advisory committee made up of teachers, administrators, business leaders and parents to develop or update your technology plan. Next, undertake your own pilot program. The same committee would write the grant and contact local employers to help support the program through matching funds, equipment donations, training or volunteers. Demonstrate the program’s initial success before asking for more help to expand or enhance the project. Find an impartial evaluator to analyze the pilot program, then cite the results in future grant applications. Establishing a baseline of success with technology will increase your odds of winning the grant.
3. Do your homework. Find out what kinds of school projects the prospective funder has awarded in the past. Contact those schools and ask for a copy of their winning proposals. Analyze their content and style. Use their proposal as your model, personalizing it to fit your school or district.
4. Make it personal. Successfully competing for a grant typically requires human interaction. Call the program officer and ask him or her to clarify anything in the request for proposals (RFPs) that may be unclear. You must follow their guidelines to the letter. Even something as minor as using the wrong font size can kill your chances. Also ask who will be reading the grant so you can tailor your proposal to their background or area of expertise. By speaking with the grant administrator, you can also get a much better understanding of the funder’s agenda and possibly an initial reaction to your project idea.
5. Show passion. Show some excitement about the project in your proposal. If appropriate, personalize it with one-sentence anecdotes, such as upbeat comments from students. Also study proposals written by past grant winners. Are they informal? Do they use words like “we” and “I”? Match the style. Finally, be concise and avoid jargon or overused buzzwords like paradigm and rubric.
6. Focus on learning, not the technology. Emphasize outcomes, objectives or goals. Focus on what you intend to accomplish with the technology, rather than on the hardware or equipment itself. For example, if you want five computers to help students improve their reading or writing skills, explain how the technology can help you accomplish that goal. Offer a realistic scenario describing how students and teachers will use the technology to improve in this area.
7. Think long-term. Develop a timeline that shows when you plan to achieve your goals and objectives. It should include plans to build on accomplishments after the grant runs out. Sustainability is crucial for a successful proposal because funders like to see that the activities they’re financing will continue beyond the life of the grant. For example, explain your plans to start replacing the equipment in the third year of a five-year grant, and how you’ll fund the upgrades.
8. Don’t forget professional development. At least 30 percent of the funds you’re asking for should be allocated for professional development. Funders won’t assume you’ll be able to meet your goals and objectives if you don’t train faculty, administrators or staff on how to use the technology.
9. Spread the technology around. Funders like to get the most bang for their buck. That’s why it’s important to explain how you plan to share the technology you’re requesting. As an example, you may partner with another school, enabling students from both schools to use the technology for joint projects. Likewise, your school may need equipment for its new computer center, which will also be accessible to the community. Students can teach local residents at the center how to use computers or other technology. Remember that funders like projects that can be replicated by other schools or districts.
10. Ask for constructive criticism. If you’re rejected, call the grant administrator and ask for a copy of the reviewers’ comments on your proposal. If that’s not possible, ask the administrator for constructive feedback. For instance, why was your application rejected? What were its strengths and weaknesses? How could it be improved? This information will enable you to write a better proposal the next time you apply. Once you develop a strong application, you can submit it to different funders with only minor changes to fit each one’s specifications.
(Published courtesy of Scholastic Administrator).
3 Tips For Getting a Child Care Grant
July 9th, 2009 — Daycare Business, How To Start A Daycare
I’ve been getting lots of questions from my readers lately about child care grants, so I thought I’d share some tips with you about daycare grants and how to find them. (If you want to subscribe to my email newsletter, click here.)
Tip #1: It is very hard to find grants to cover start-up costs, especially for an in-home family daycare. The reasons for this are:
- Most grant providers want to give funds to a child care business that is already stable and running successfully, but needs funds to improve their operations and/or take on more children. That way, they can be sure that the funds will be used wisely.
- It costs very little to start an in-home child care business (typically $1,000 or less). Most grant providers are looking for bigger opportunities to make a difference with their dollars.
Many child care grants are reserved for expansion of existing facilities, or non-capital improvements to an existing facility, such as training, better outdoor spaces, and the like.
Tip #2: The best place to start looking for your daycare grant is with your local Childcare Resource & Referral Agency. To find yours, simply go to www.childcareaware.com and enter your ZIP code in the field on the right-hand side of the page. You’ll get the contact information for your local CCR&R. Call the number provided and introduce yourself, and ask to speak with the person who handles local grants and low-interest funding programs. If your region or state does not have any grant programs, they may be able to refer you to some non-profit foundations in your area that do (such as your local United Way chapter).
Tip #3: Non-profit child care centers qualify for grants to a much greater degree than for-profit centers. If you want to start a child care center, but you have little to no funds of your own saved, you may want to consider opening up a non-profit child care center. You can still earn a nice salary, and your likelihood of finding a start-up daycare grant is much greater if you set yourself up as a non-profit. I recommend finding other non-profit child care centers in your region or state, and contacting them with questions on how to get started. Most people in child care are very friendly and eager to help!
I go way more in-depth on this topic in my Daycare Success System, so if you want more information, be sure to check it out!
The 6 Reasons Why A Home Child Care Business Is a Great Way to Make Fast and Serious Money
June 15th, 2009 — Daycare Business, How To Start A Daycare
Many working moms are dreaming of a way to stay home with their young children, and still earn a solid 5-figure income…but they just don’t know how to make this dream a reality. One excellent solution is to start your own child care business in your home. As a child care business owner, you can use the management skills you learned in your corporate career, and structure your business to fit your lifestyle.
Reason 5: Business Owners Earn More Money Than Employees. That’s a simple fact. The daycare business is a legitimate business, not some pie in the sky idea. It’s not an MLM, networking, or pyramid scheme. The straightforward truth is daycare owners can make more money than many college educated professionals. In fact, recent studies have shown that the average home daycare owner earns nearly $48,000 in revenue per year. Don’t forget to add in to your income the money you used to spend on daycare.
http://www.daycarehotline.com/products.htm
Creative Ideas for Celebrating Maeve’s 4th Birthday
May 14th, 2009 — Fun and Kids Stuff
My daughter Maeve turns 4 next week, and we’ve got alot of fun things planned for her. She’s at that great age where it’s all about princesses, fairies, Barbie, her stuffed animals (doggies), and helping Mommy in the kitchen and the garden.
For her birthday, we’re hosting a “bear party” at Bear-On-The-Square here in our home town. Kinda like Build-a-Bear Workshop at the mall, but even more quaint. We’re expecting a total of 10 kids, a mix of boys and girls. At the party, the kids will design & decorate mini t-shirts for their bears to wear, then they’ll make the bears, then cake & presents, and the grand finale is a Bear Parade with an actual human-sized bear leading the way!
I LOVE birthdays and celebrating my children’s special days have been a highlight of my mommyhood. Please comment on this blog post if you’d like to share any creative ideas you’ve done or seen for this age group, girls or boys. I’m sure we’d all love to hear eachother’s fun ideas and experiences on birthdays.
The other tradition we always do is a birthday muffin in the morning, with a candle, and the family sings a good morning “happy birthday” song. Kinda fun, and a great way to start the day. We also have a Mickey Mouse oversized birthday hat with candles on top that light up when you press a button (which of course we got in Orlando), so whoever’s the birthday girl or boy wears the hat. 
Our Adventure at “Parade the Circle”
May 13th, 2009 — Uncategorized
This past Saturday, we took the kids to “Parade the Circle” at University Circle in Cleveland. I heard 70,000 people were in attendance. This was the most amazing display of artistry that I’ve ever seen in human form. The parade was created by a local artist and every year takes on a different theme, based on a poem or other inspiration. I’ve got some amazing photos to post, stay tuned.
What Daycare Providers should do about the Swine Flu
April 30th, 2009 — Daycare Business
The Swine Flu is all over the news, so I’m sure you have thought about it and your parents are concerned about it. So as a daycare provider, what should you do?
First, know that swine flu is just the flu.
- It spreads the same way other flu viruses spread.
- This strain is not abnormally deadly.
- This flu is very treatable with current medicine.
- You should take the same precautions you would with this flu as you would with any others: wash hands frequently, keep children at home who have fevers, and if you feel like you might be getting a fever / flu, take the day off to recover.
I’ve put more information over on the forum: Swine flu and what you should do about it as a Daycare Provider.
Don’t forget, this is a time when it is very important to let parents know what you are doing about this flu outbreak. A quick note home or email will do wonders to calm fears.
All the Best,
Kris Murray
Child Care Marketing Toolkit
April 25th, 2009 — Child Care Marketing
One of the most import parts of running a child care center is effective marketing. Marketing can make or break your center, leaving you full with great profits or struggling to get by.
I also know that you did not get into this business to focus on marketing and advertising your child care - you probably would much rather spend your time taking care of kids and playing with them. :-) So I’m in the process of creating a Child Care Marketing Toolkit & Success System that’s going to make it easy for you to keep your enrollment MAXED and even create a waiting list.
My goal is to put together one of the greatest tools for child care marketing…everything you need all in one toolkit. I’ve spent several months putting this together, with real life examples from successful daycare businesses (homes and centers).
If you would like to learn more check out my new page featuring The Childcare Marketing Toolkit.
Dedicated to your success,
Kris Murray
The Daycare Success Coach
How The Stimulus Package Can Help You Start a Daycare
March 15th, 2009 — Daycare Business, How To Start A Daycare
More than $5 billion was set aside for early education in the stimulus package signed by President Obama last month.
In California, $210 million will go toward improving Head Start and Early Head Start programs for low-income toddlers and students, while more than $220 million would enhance child care for infants and toddlers.
Stimulus money would also pay for more funding for in-depth training for current preschool educators.
“There are long waiting lists - 55,000 students in the state waiting for preschool,” said Scott Moore, senior policy adviser for Preschool California.
“We don’t have enough funding to provide publicly funded preschool to low-income kids, and we are not even including middle- and upper-income children,” he said.
Increased funding would help resolve those issues and make preschool or other early education more available to families.
Most other states are also receiving funding, in addition to California.
So you see, this is the PERFECT time to start your own child care business, and/or get funding to expand your services to more children.
The demand for quality care is high, the funds are increasing at the state & local level, and you are getting geared up to meet that demand by owning your own child care business. So let’s get started. If you want to know the very first step you should take, listen to this audio class that I gave back in November:
I look forward to your feedback, and to helping you get started.
How to Change Careers and Start a Daycare
February 22nd, 2009 — Uncategorized
A very rewarding career change for anyone wanting to stay home with their children is to start a daycare. No matter what your current career field is you can quickly and easily start a new career in child care. And if done right you can be up and running and full of kids in less than a month.
Depending on how much time, effort and money you want to put into starting a daycare you have three basic formulas to choose from.
- 1. Starting an in-home daycare. This is the quickest and easiest, especially if you are already taking care of your own kids at home. With a few simple changes to how you go about your day you will be able to start taking kids into your home. One of the best parts about home daycare is most states do not require you to be licensed if you only have a couple of children. Take a look at the requirements for all 50 states to get an idea of what you need. A great resource if you want to do this is the daycare success system.
- 2. Starting an in-home preschool. The big difference here is the age of the kids in your house and the schedule. Preschools are for older children and often only run for a couple hours a day. Because you are not dealing with infants less household changes will need to be made. Some great help with open a preschool can be found at Start a Preschool.
- 3. Start a daycare center. This is the most involved of the three but also the option with the greatest long term potential. Daycare centers are set up away from you house generally in their own building or a part of a church or other building. These centers are larger and often have a staff of 3 or more people. But the best part about starting a daycare center is you can sell it when the time comes to retire. This is a great advantage the other two paths do not offer. To see a great resource of creating a successful child care center take a look at the Child Care Marketing Toolkit.
Dealing with children and helping them to grow into great people is a very rewarding and enjoyable career for the right person. Some other points to consider before changing careers onto daycare are:
- How do you feel about dealing with other people kids?
- How much money do you need to make?
- Is this a short term or long term career for you?
- Do you want to be licensed?
- How big do you want this career to become for you?
- How will you kids handle sharing you?
- Where would you put your daycare?
- Do you take a lot of vacations or sick days?
As with every career change there is no right or wrong answers just make sure you have done your homework and know what’s involved in your new career. The Definitive Guide to How to Change Careers contains checklists and questions you should complete before changing career.
Here’s How to Find Me on Facebook
January 26th, 2009 — Child Care Marketing, Daycare Business, Fun and Kids Stuff
Just a quick post to let you know how to find me on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Kris-Murray/782608920
If you haven’t become member of Facebook yet, I highly recommend it. It’s free, fun, and the best way to keep in touch with old friends, while making new ones. Click the above link to become my Facebook “friend” and check out what I’m up to!
Looking forward to ”meeting” you there….
Kris
What’s The Daycare Profits Insiders Club?
January 15th, 2009 — Uncategorized
During the final week of 2008, I launched a brand new exclusive community for people who want to start & run a profitable daycare. It’s called The Daycare Profits Insiders Club. We’ve got 22 members so far, in just the 2 1/2 weeks since we launched the Club.
As a member of our Club you get exclusive access to the Daycare Profits Newsletter, a monthly “Ask the Expert” audio CD, and a special open-forum monthly Coaching Call, where I’ll present a key topic, then open up the phones for open question & answer time. So you get personal access to me each month. I’ll personally help you build a profitable daycare business from scratch - either in your home or in a center.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can check out my Daycare Success System, which includes one FREE month of membership to the Daycare Profits Insider Club, so you can test-drive your membership for 30 days, risk-free. Go here to learn more: http://www.daycarehotline.com/products.htm
Or just shoot me an email, and I’ll get you signed up to the Club. My email is kris@daycarehotline.com
Take care, and talk to you real soon.
To your success & happiness,
Kris
Enjoy This New Article - How to Start a Daycare
January 2nd, 2009 — How To Start A Daycare
A few weeks ago, I posted a new article to my site, and you might enjoy reading it. It’s called “How to Start a Daycare - Avoid the 7 Biggest Mistakes Many New Daycare Owners Make”. Check it out here:
http://www.daycarehotline.com/howtostartadaycare.htm
Happy New Year, and happy reading!
Kris
Happy New Year!
January 2nd, 2009 — Uncategorized
Just a quick post to wish everyone a Happy & Healthy 2009! In the Murray home, we celebrated New Year’s Eve with family & friends, at the home of the Marshalls…it was their annual Scottish celebration, Hogmanay, replete with kilts, Haggis, the tale of Tam O’ Shanter (by famed Scottish poet Robby Burns), and lots of good cheer all ’round. Followed by a mellow day with the kids and a bit of movie magic at the cinema, being charmed by “The Tale of Despereaux.” I highly recommend it, a must-see for kids & adults!
Enjoy the feeling of fresh beginnings, resolutions and goals for the year, and I’ll chat with you soon.
Kris
The Latest Trend in Child Care - Use it to Your Advantage
December 15th, 2008 — Child Care Marketing, Daycare Business, How To Start A Daycare
Everyone is “abuzz” about the economy and predicting what’s going to happen, and how long our slump will last.
If you’re a child care provider, how can you benefit from the current economic situation? This week in the Wall Street Journal and other national papers, it’s been reported that people are closely examining the amount of money they spend on child care, and trying to figure out a way to spend less.
So the current trend is to “downsize” in terms of the perceived quality of care, in order to spend less.
This means that people who had private nannies are looking at firing the nanny & moving their kids to a child care center. People who had their kids at centers are looking to more affordable family daycare options. And people who can no longer afford family daycare are calling Grandma or Grampa to come in and help.
How can you benefit from this trend?
If you own a family daycare, and you have openings or anticipate openings, you can start marketing to people who are currently enrolled at centers. This is especially true if you’re a family daycare who has a curriculum / learning program with circle time, arts & crafts, etc.
If you can show that your daycare is a high quality learning environment with a superior quality of care (get some testimonials from your current customers stating this point) then you can go after parents who are looking to trim their child care budget.
So how do you go about finding these parents? Well, you can try a local newspaper ad targeting these parents with a strong headline, or you can create flyers with the same headline and post them around town and in employee lounges and fitness center bulletin boards. Use an attention-grabbing headline like “Save Money On Child Care Without Lowering Your Standards!” and focus your ad or flyer on the BENEFITS to the parents & child that they will receive by enrolling with you.
Instead of complaining about the crappy economy, turn it around and discover how you can still make your business grow.
Should You Wait to Start a Daycare…Due to the Economy?
December 8th, 2008 — How To Start A Daycare
People ask me all the time whether it’s a good idea to start a new child care business in these tough economic times. Truth is, this can be a GREAT time to start your new child care business…it just depends on your individual market, your financial position, and your mental attitude. Let’s talk more about each of these 3 success factors.
Why is your individual market important? Well, you have to know whether your neighborhood or city is in need of more child care providers, or whether there’s an unmet need that you can tap into, such as second-shift care, before & after care, bilingual care, or some other untapped “niche market.” If you fill a need that people have been searching for, you will do FINE in this economy, because you’ll have an instant clientele and maybe even a waiting list. On the other hand, if there is too much supply and not enough demand in your area for child care, you’ll be starting an uphill battle.
In any economy, it’s important to figure out how much money you’ll need to start your business, and make sure you have enough saved up, as well as some source of funds earmarked for an emergency. If you don’t have at least $3,000 to $5,000 saved, I would probably advise you to wait on your business start-up until you do. You can start a home-based daycare with as little as $1,000, but you’ll want to have a reserve in case it takes you longer than planned to build your clientele and have a full child care program.
The third thing you need is the right mindset. You will face challenges during the start-up phase of your daycare business, so you’ll want to make sure you’re clear on WHY you are going into this business, and be able to get in touch with your deep desire and passion to make it work.
If you’ve done your homework, you have some start-up funds saved, and you have the mindset, you’re going to succeed no matter how tough the economy gets. So what’s stopping you?
Turkey Anticipation, and Last Night’s Call
November 25th, 2008 — Uncategorized
Well, I sure do have alot to be thankful for.
Monday night’s teleseminar was enjoyed by many, and yesterday (Thanksgiving Day), I got to pig out on turkey & Emeril’s cornbread stuffing. Plus apple & pumpkin pies with whipped cream! Yum!
In case you missed the call last night, here’s the bonus “cheat sheet” that was given away at the end of the night, with a summary of info and links that we
covered:
http://www.daycarehotline.com/cheatsheet.pdf
Here is the MP3 of the call. If you missed it, feel free to download the MP3 audio recording of the call here: daycaresuccesssecrets.mp3
Thanks so much to everyone who was able to join me last night, and we’ll do another one soon.
Until then, Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones.
Cheers and blessings,
Kris