Child Care Marketing News and Articles

According to the latest research, only about 40% of daycare businesses currently have a website.  That means that 6 out of 10 of you reading this article right now have NO presence on the web.  In today’s “new economy” you simply MUST have a solid, well-designed website that generates prospects for you.

There are some great low-cost strategies for creating a lead-generating website, or improving your existing site if it needs a facelift.  But you need to clearly think through all your options, or you might find yourself with a website that’s cumbersome to update, or very costly to maintain.

The first step is to set the goals & outline for your daycare web site.  To do this, you need to get really clear about the what your site should say about you, and what makes you UNIQUE from all other child care programs in your market.  Write down your core values, adjectives that describe your center, and exactly what makes you different.  One good way to get ideas is to do a competitive website review of the other child care programs in your area, and make a list of what you do and don’t like about other people’s websites.

You’ll also want to have some ideas about the graphic elements you want on your site, like logo, photos, graphic art, etc.  If you want to use photos of actual children in your program on your site, you’ll need to get permission from the parents in your program to use the child’s image electronically.  An example permission form for you to use is enclosed with this newsletter.

Now that you have an idea of your content and page layout, you need to give some thought to how you’re going to keep the site updated and maintained.  The least costly option is to update the site yourself, or have someone on your staff do it for you.  Most web companies have a template-based approach that allows users to log into a tool and make updates fairly easily.  Another option is to use a software tool like Dreamweaver or Front Page to make your updates.

If you’re not technical at all, and you don’t have staff that can help, you’ll want to negotiate a fair rate with your web company for doing updates.  Most companies charge $40—$60 per hour to make updates and changes to your site.  If you work with a local “mom & pop” shop, you might be able to get a junior staffer to do updates for $25 per hour or less.

The next step is to  find a website developer who meets your needs and your budget.  There are many different considerations when choosing a website development company.  Here are the pros and cons of the most popular options:

1) Choose a local website company.  Ask around at your Chamber of Commerce or other colleagues, networking groups, etc.  You’ll start getting referrals and learn a lot about local options.  Verify the quality of their work by going to their website.  If you don’t like it, and it’s hard to navigate, avoid this company.  You should also be able to view a portfolio of their past work.  Check these out and make sure you like what you see.

2) Choose a national company that specializes in child care websites.  One of the top providers of custom websites for child care centers is www.OnCareServices.com.  Not only does OnCare create custom websites exclusively for child care centers around the U.S., they also provide other services that can tie into your site and provide extra value to staff and parents, such as online Tuition Pay, food program administration software, and other center management tools.

3) Choose a more generic option that’s tied in with your Hosting provider.  Most web firms provide both hosting and creative design.  You can use a national web-based service such as GoDaddy.com or 1and1.com to get a good, template-based website for a relatively low price.  The only drawback may be a lack of local customer support, and a more generic-looking template design.  If you want a really unique, custom look to your site, you may want to consider a different option.

After you get your daycare website created, you’ll want to work with your provider to make sure the site is optimized for local searchers to find you.  You can use a free tool called GetListed.org to list your site with Google, Yahoo, and MSN’s Bing.com, so more local searchers start finding your site.

You’ll also want to ask your existing parents and others for feedback on your site’s usability and design.  Is it easy to navigate?  Is it clean, uncluttered and easy on the eyes?  Using these steps, you should be able to get started, and soon be well on your way to a great-looking website that brings new prospects to your child care program.

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.

There are many factors to consider when determining whether to start a daycare business in your home, or in a facility outside of your home. To help you get started, here are some of the most important advantages and disadvantages of a home-based daycare business.

Advantages of a Home-Based Daycare Business

• Faster Start-Up Time: The set up and preparation for opening a home daycare can be accomplished within a few weeks or months, depending on the state you live in. If you use a course to help you get started, such as my Daycare Success System , you can use the checklists and forms to get started faster, often in a matter of weeks.

With a center, you typically will need a lot more time to do the front-end research, write a business plan, obtain funding, and build or remodel your facility to meet your specifications.

• Lower Cost Out-of-Pocket: The initial set-up costs are substantially lower than that of setting up a center. A typical in-home daycare can be set up for less than $1,000, depending on what you already own.

With a center, the costs to get started can range from $50,000-$100,000 or more, depending on your options of purchasing an established center, renting/leasing a building or buying a building for the center.

• Tax Advantages: Operation of a home daycare allows you to take advantage of many tax breaks. For example, a portion of many of the items you already pay for, such as rent, mortgage interest, taxes, utilities, etc. can be deducted as a business expense. The amount determined is calculated by the amount of time & square footage your home is used for daycare purposes (called the time-space percentage).

• Lower Overhead: Your costs are much lower on an ongoing basis to run a child care business out of your home. You may have just one part-time employee, or none at all – compared to a full staff at a center. Your food costs can be offset by the Federal Food Program, which will also save you money. Your main costs will be supplies, food / beverages, insurance, and advertising.

The monthly expense of running a center are much greater, and typically include rent, utilities, payroll, building maintenance, additional equipment supply, kitchen supplies, liability insurance, etc. Although operating a Center may be more lucrative with full enrollment, it will also cost more to operate and maintain.

• More Flexibility: With home-based daycare, you have a great deal of flexibility in determining your hours and days of operation. If you choose to close for 2 weeks vacation, you have the opportunity to do so. It also allows you the option of operating full or part-time. In fact, you may find that there’s a need for “before & after-school” care in your neighborhood, and you can structure your program to fill that need. You also have more flexibility with your program in general, in terms of your daily schedule, if you want to offer curriculum / learning, etc.

With a center, you have to maintain set hours of operation and closing for vacation would not be an option unless you have staffed your center to provide for such closure.

• You Can Spend the Day with Your Children. With a home daycare, your own children can be part of your daily routine and you get to care for them along with your enrolled children. With a center, you may be more focused on the day-to-day operation of the business, and your children would be in a separate classroom.

Licensing rules for centers (again, depending on your state or country) can vary greatly and may require an Administrator or Director to be present at all times. As the owner, you may not qualify to be the Director, as most states require a degree in Early Childhood Development or similar qualifications.

Advantages of a Center-Based Daycare Business

• Ability to Care for More Children: If your reason for starting a child care business is to have an impact on large numbers of children, you’ll probably want to consider starting a center. Most states put a restriction on the number of children you can have in a home-based daycare. For example, in Ohio, you can have up to 6 children to be considered a Type A home.

• Business Does Not Intrude on Home Environment: When you leave your center at the end of the day, you can go home and not have to be reminded of your work. With a home daycare, it’s sometimes difficult to separate work from home life, and this is a big reason that many home daycare providers suffer “burnout”. The best way to avoid this is to have a separate space, such as a finished basement or addition, where you can turn off the lights at the end of the day and separate yourself from where you work.

• More Likely to Qualify for a Grant: In most cases, grants are very hard to qualify for if you’re a home-based daycare…there’s simply not enough children who would benefit from a single home to qualify for a grant. However, many grants are available for large centers, especially non-profit centers. Even if you’re a for-profit center, if you can demonstrate a benefit to kids in need or children in general, you may qualify for a grant.

• A Center Is a Real Asset that You Can Sell: When you grow your center into a viable, profitable business, it will be much easier to sell than a home-based daycare. After all, a potential buyer is not going to come into your home to run their daycare! When you decide to get out of the child care business, the sale of your center can support your retirement and/or provide funding for your next business venture. With a home daycare, you aren’t really able to sell the business…just the items and furnishings inside of it.

Final Thoughts

If you want to work “hands on” along with the children, home daycare may be a great place to start. You can build your group size as you feel comfortable, and then move your group into a center-based facility away from your home.

If you prefer an administrative position, then a center may be the most reasonable option, so your main responsibility would be that of hiring, training and overseeing your staff.

A converted garage or building on your property may be another option. As your daycare grows, you can hire an assistant to help, which could be considered a happy medium.

I would recommend that anyone new to the profession start with home-based daycare, so they can evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and then decide from that evaluation how to proceed with either the continuation of a home daycare setting or the start-up/purchase of a child care center.