How to start a daycare business. How to make your child care business more profitable. Thoughts on Motherhood.

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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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. 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. 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. 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.

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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 

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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 

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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

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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

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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.

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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?

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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

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