What is needed for successful child care?
Obviously, you should have a deep and passionate desire to take care of children, a huge amount of patience and the ability to immediately manipulate several tasks (for example, to warm the bottle, helping kids with an art project).
It also helps if you have a separate space in your home, for example, a finished basement where you can manage your child care business.
But, as if this is not enough, there are many things that a successful home day care owner should be good in taking care of the children. Honestly, it can be quite difficult.
Things like getting remuneration from parents in a timely manner, drawing up reliable policies and contracts, marketing your business to new potential customers, getting the right insurance policy, understanding accounting and its impact on your taxes, and generally just getting started in such a way as to optimize success .
To help you get started more successfully, here are seven of the biggest, most costly mistakes that women make when starting their own home care business and how to avoid them.
BIG MISTAKE # 1: Do not do the right research in the child care market in your city or town.
This is a serious step that many new childcare business owners lack, usually because they are not sure how to do it. Or they might think that they do not need to do research, because they do not understand how this may affect them.
In the end, it's just a small home business, right? Why do you need to do everything that is required for work?
The goal here is not to spend weeks or months on completing a major marketing research project that you will never use.
I’m talking about spending a few hours over the next few days, calling (or maybe visiting other child care companies) and asking key questions.
Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. My neighbor, Mary, who runs a childcare business in her home, found a couple of things about our local market that helped her create a more profitable business. First, in our city there is a kindergarten, but not a full day. Speaking with other mothers in our city, Mary discovered that in our city there is a need for “before and after leaving”; this is someone who could watch kindergartens and adult children before and after school. To meet this need, she structured her kindergarten. All she had to do was make sure that the buses were able to pick up and remove these children at home, and she was able to start accepting children.
Therefore, what you want unforgettably when you conduct a preliminary study is a “pocket of unfulfilled needs” in terms of child care. You do not need a huge pocket, but something unique in your business that will bring you customers who need it.
Other examples of this are:
- to offer services of the second or third shift, if you have large companies in your city who hire people for evening or night shifts
- offer bilingual care or special languages such as sign language for babies
- offer specialty meals (for example, organic or vegetarian) if you live in a city where it would be considered desirable (for example, Boulder, Colorado, or a similar college town)
Again, you ask key questions and try to save unforgettable unmet needs in your city or town. You can start by calling your local primary school for child care (CCR & R), your local primary schools, talking with neighbors and friends and visiting other child care facilities in your city. You can even call other childcare homes and talk with these women about what they see in the market. As a rule, women care for children help each other, forming friendly relations and partners, so do not be alarmed.
By taking the time to do the research, you will get a huge advantage by understanding your market and how you can succeed in this market.
BIG MISTAKE # 2: Do not get the right liability protection for you and your business.
If you want you to sleep well at night and not worry about getting a claim, you will need to properly cover it. You need a real scoop on what type of insurance you need to buy, and how much it should cost, so you do not overpay.
Many new business owners care for children are mistaken in thinking that their homeowner's policy is enough to cover them if there is a problem. But the truth is that this policy usually does not provide sufficient protection and does not require the proper kind of protection for special situations that a day caregiver may face.
An example of such a situation might be if there was a power failure in your home and you had to temporarily close due to a loss of electricity. If you had a business responsibility policy with a cover to “interrupt business income”, you would be protected by your policy, and you will still receive this income.
Similarly, if in a certain situation a parent filed a lawsuit, your policy will in most cases cover you.
Surprisingly, the policy of business responsibility for the home kindergarten is not so expensive, and worth investing in (in my opinion). These policies usually cost between $ 30 and $ 40 per month. Is it good to sleep?
BIG ERROR # 3: Do not charge.
Do you know how to find out what other homes and child care centers charge? Most new day care owners usually leave money on the table without setting their stakes properly. You will get a short change, too little accrued, and if you pay too much, you will not get any customers!
So, how do you know what to blame? This is a similar process when you conduct preliminary research in your city ... it's just a question about some phone calls or visits to other child care businesses and setting the right prices.
Many new owners of family gardeners charge the same weekly course for each child, regardless of the age of the child. However, if you talk to centers in your city, most of them take the maximum rate for infants and the lowest rate for older children (pre-K and older). Many parents are accustomed to such a pricing structure.
Therefore, depending on the age of the children that you can accept, if you take a little more money for babies and young children, you may find that your income will be slightly higher than for all age groups. You will need to look at your individual scenario and choose what suits you best.
For example, let me say that according to your condition and the age of your own children, you can take 1 child, 3 young children (15-24 months) and 2 older children (3-4 years), if you pay 120 dollars a week for fixed rate, you will have a weekly income of $ 720.
If, however, you paid a little more for children ($ 135 per week) and young babies ($ 125 per week) and less for older children ($ 115 per week), your weekly income for this scenario will be $ 740. This amounts to an additional $ 80 per month or an additional $ 1040 per year.
Small adjustments like these in your price, if it makes sense depending on your local area, may affect your home's profits at the end of the day.
BIG ERROR # 4: Do not cover yourself with proper child care benefits and contract.
Well, this is really big. You must have a well-written contract for your parents, and you need a comprehensive policy guide. If you use your contract and policy guide correctly, you can literally save thousands of dollars in lost revenue (and countless hours of heads!).
So what's the difference between a contract and a policy?
The contract is a binding legal agreement between two people. If you agree to take care of parental agreements with a child and a child to pay you for this help, you have made a verbal agreement. If you enter a contract in writing, it will become a written contract.
There are 5 key elements of a child care contract: the names of the parties, the hours of work, the termination procedure (that is, how any party can terminate the agreement), the terms of payment (including rates, terms and additional fees) and the signatures of the parties. Be specific and understand your wording.
The policy reference is a longer and more detailed contract. It should contain all the rules that state how you will take care of children, how you will cope with certain types of situations and how you manage your business. For example, you should include your policies on vacation and sick days, how you deal with behavioral problems and discipline, and how children will be fed.
It is recommended that you create a signature page at the end of the policy manual, where the parental agreements that he or she has read, the entire manual and agreements are followed by the policies that you set out.
You must have both documents in writing. (If you need actual examples that you can copy and edit to fit your business, they are provided in my Kids Success System ... more on this later).
BIG MISTAKE # 5: Do not use the best ways to promote your business to future customers.
Let me meet you, you can't be a marketing and advertising whistle, but you need simple and inexpensive ways to get the word out and attract new customers.
We have all heard that the best advertisement is word of mouth. After you have started your work, and your customers recommend their friends and neighbors to you.
But how about when you first open your doors and you have no proven reputation?
Fortunately, there are many ways you can get the word out about your new childcare business, and most of them will not cost you a lot of money. Here are 4 marketing ideas to get you started.
Marketing Tip # 1: Register with the Caretaker's Office (CCR & R) in your area.
This is the very first thing you must do to get your name there, and this must be done before you open your doors. The website is located at: www.childcareaware.org
Then enter your zip code in the search field and you will receive contact information for the nearest CCR & R office. You can also call them toll-free at (800) 424-2246.
As of December 2007, to register with most CCR & Rs, you do not need to be state or certified. However, they may have special requirements that should be listed based on your condition.
For example, in Ohio, they ask that lonely family kindergartens at any time have no more than 6 children, and no more than 3 children under the age of 2 years. If there is more than one guardian in the home or at home, the numbers may be higher. These rules vary by state, so don’t forget to call your local CCR & R branch to confirm your rules.
As soon as you sign up for your CCR & R, they will provide your contact information along with any special information regarding your day care to parents looking for childcare ... for free!
Marketing Council # 2: Contact all primary schools on your bus line and / or in your Community.
Most schools maintain a list of child care providers that they provide to parents upon request. Ask your name and phone number to be added to their list of suppliers.
Marketing Council number 3: Orally communicate with everyone you know.
Tell everyone you know that you are providing childcare and ask them if they know everyone who is looking for childcare in your area. Make an announcement in your church and in all the other groups to which you belong. If you do not belong to any community groups, join them! Now you are an entrepreneur, it’s time to start working online!
This can be your most powerful source for registering day care children. Most parents prefer to leave their children with a provider recommended by a friend, neighbor, employee or family member.
Marketing Council # 4: Place ads or small announcements in community bulletins.
Ask every organization you know and / or belong to, for example, the Church, the Play group, or the community group, if you can place an ad in your Newsletter.
If you know the community group, the church, and / or business professionals who send the newsletter, ask them to advertise their business to local people in their database. In your ad, focus on the unique features of your business and the benefits children and parents will receive from managing you.
Remember, this is just the tip of the iceberg. When you learn these simple and inexpensive (or free) methods to attract new customers, you will have a full-fledged and profitable kindergarten, and you will establish permanent relationships with parents-customers who will have their ramblings about you to their friends and family!
Now let me return to the 7 biggest mistakes and how you can avoid them.
BIG ERROR # 6: Do not use tons of free resources in your area, including sources of grant money.
Many new educators or preschoolers do not know about the local resources available to them, and how to navigate in the waters of state, regional and local authorities.
With so many organizations and websites, it can be very difficult to figure out where to go and who to ask if you don't know where to start.
The best place to start is your state. Each state in the United States has an agency in its state government that sets the rules for family carers to care for children. This agency is usually called something like the Department of Children and Family Affairs (DCFS) or the Department of Employment Services and 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).
Just go to your state's website (for example, http://www.Illinois.gov) and search for the appropriate department or type “child care” in the search field.
The website must contain the phone numbers for the contact person for the care of children in your state. Call them on the phone and ask about the rules of your state and what they recommend for people who are just starting to take care of family care.
Most counties also have a child care unit that helps people at the county level. Ask your government contact person how to find help for your specific county. Then contact your county representative and ask the following questions (these are also good questions to ask your state representative):
- What do you need to know about specific rules or regulations for your county?
“What training do you have to do before opening your doors?”
- What kind of training or training?
- Do they have any recommendations on insurance companies for orphanages in your district?
- What resources do they have to help you get started?
- Do they know about any sources for receiving grants or loans with low interest?
- Are there local or county support groups that meet to discuss child care issues?
There may be other questions that you also think about. Do not be scared. You have the right to get the best information to get started, and you owe it to yourself to start as much as possible and as far as possible.
BIG ERROR number 7: do not get a license or certificate of your state.
Obtaining a license or certification in your state may be a small job, but it is probably easier than you think. Usually, in order to get a license, you must go through a certain training session (often very cheap or even free), and your home will be checked once or twice a year by a government inspector to ensure compliance with the guidelines.
There are many reasons why you should consider this ... the main reason is that you can charge higher rates!
Here are some of the other benefits you will get when you license or certify your status:
- You will be proud to learn that you provide high quality medical care (and you can report it to others).
- Потенциальные родители будут чаще выбирать вас, поэтому вам не придется тратить столько средств на маркетинг и рекламу
- Школы и другие предприятия будут более склонны рекомендовать вас.
- Вы можете иметь право на получение грантов или кредитов с низким процентом, чтобы расширить свой детский сад или улучшить его с помощью новой открытой игровой площадки и т. Д.
- Вы выйдете из толпы в качестве превосходного бизнеса.
У вас будет максимальный шанс на успех, если вы будете стараться быть лучшими в своих действиях.
Good luck!
