As any provider can tell you, being a childcare provider is largely on the job-learning experience. You learn so much over time that you could never have known going into the field and starting a childcare. I know that is surely true for me.
Once upon a time many years ago, I was green, to say the least. Even though I had a corporate background, was a mother of three almost-grown children, and had been educated in the field of child development – I had so much to learn about running a childcare business.
There was definitely a learning curve. So today I thought I would share with you some things I did wrong when I got into childcare, what I learned from my experiences, and how I fixed it.
What I Got Wrong When Starting A Childcare
1. Basic contract
I actually have to give myself credit here for at least having a contract. So many providers don’t realize how important crucial it is.
Anyway, I know that mine was not as comprehensive as it should or could have been. Over time I rewrote, amended, and revised my contract to what it is now; a 9-page mega document that crosses its “t’s” and dots its “i’s”. In other words, I’ve covered my business butt.
If you are new or just don’t have a well-rounded contract, do yourself a favor and get this book by Redleaf press and use theirs. This book just addresses Contracts & Policies. It is definitely better than what I had at first and would be a great head start for a newbie.
2. Set hours starting a child care
When I started, I was starry-eyed and innocent. I never would have believed that parents would ever take advantage of me.
Why would they?
I was caring for their child. Surely they realized the long hours I put in and would come and pick up their child as early as they could. Right?
WRONG!
Fast forward and I have experienced parents going home, cooking dinner, taking showers, going shopping, and then picking up well after I closed.
So how did I fix it?
Well, I made a 9-hour cap on what the base tuition covered. Meaning, if care extends past 9 hours, it is considered an Extended Day which carries an additional fee. I inform prospective parents of this at the tour and have it highlighted in bold in my contract and handbook. After all, overtime is overtime. starting a child care
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3. Vacation policy
Years ago I didn’t realize that I needed to have a very detailed policy when it came to vacation time, both mine and clients. I soon found out that parents expected not to have to pay tuition during their vacation period.
This was driving me crazy because someone was always taking off and I was unable to maintain a consistent income not knowing who was going to be attending.
So the fix was on! starting a child care
I actually dabbled with many versions of my vacation policy, now settling on my current policy. Currently, there is no period of time when the weekly tuition is not paid. Well, actually the only time they don’t have to pay is if the childcare is closed for more than 24 hours.
I guess you can tell I haven’t taken a vacation in a while. That being said, I will probably be revisiting this policy and revising it again in the future.
4. It’s a business! starting a child care
So I would venture to say that I am not the only provider who as a newbie didn’t really understand that childcare is a business.
Like parents, we too are guilty of believing that just because our business is home-based it’s not a real business. The sooner you cast that notion aside the better off you and your business will be.
How can a business succeed that doesn’t even think its a business?
So shift your mindset and start seeing your business as just that a “business”.
Just remember, how can a business succeed that doesn’t even think its a business? This one should probably be the easiest thing to do because it just involves a change in perspective. In actuality, it might be the most difficult. But to be sure it’s also the most necessary for your future success.
5. Get a Deposit
This is another policy that grew out of an experience. I used to have clients who would just disappear. No notice, nothing. I even had one that never came back from a vacation.
Can you say RUDE!!! starting a child care
Anyway, this was an easy fix. I think I read it or found it somewhere, but I decided to require an enrollment deposit that was equal to two weeks of tuition. That way I always got a two-week notice.
Either formal notice was given or the deposit was forfeited in-lieu of the withdrawal notice. Believe me, not too many people will want to leave real $$ behind. Needless to say, I usually get formal notice nowadays.
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6. Touring process
Initially, I kinda did what everyone probably does at the tour. I would show a perspective family around the childcare mentioning a little about our daily routine here and there and that was it. Until one day I realized that I was missing an opportunity to make a connection with a potential client.
So what did I do?
Well, first I changed the tour to an orientation. I created a bunch of marketing material in the form of flyers, brochures, and intake forms to go along with my business card.
I got a clipboard and attached a notepad to it. No longer were parents guiding the meeting with their questions, I now had questions of my own.
I led the orientation talking about myself, my experience, and the childcare program. Then I took the time to ask questions like, “what is your child like”, “do they eat well” and “how do they nap.”
No longer where parents guiding the meeting with their questions, I now had questions of my own.
This change was really helpful in cementing that business mind shift I spoke of earlier.
I can tell you that it really established my position as a professional as well. So many parents, whether they enrolled with me or not, would comment on how professional my orientation was and how they were impressed. By the way, this really helped with word-of-mouth marketing within the community.
7. Planning for next year
A new provider’s mind is understandably preoccupied with filling open spots at their childcare. Once I get these many kids, we will be set. The only thing is, and then what.
What do I mean?
Well, after a year or so in business most providers experience departures. It’s pretty standard for clients to come and go throughout the year. Some leave and new clients (hopefully) come. The point here is that we always need to be marketing and recruiting new clients.
I can remember one year, I had about five 2-year-olds. It was great, they were out of the baby phase, for the most part, and we were having a great time getting into some curriculum themes. Then one by one they started to leave. One moved out of state, another enrolled in preschool, etc.
NOOOO! (fist in the air).
It was just getting great, what happened? Well, the only thing that happened was I hadn’t planned for anyone leaving. Crazy huh? It just didn’t occur to me that clients would ever leave.
So after the mass exodus, I realized I needed to better plan for the future. I started placing my ads up every day, even if I didn’t currently have a spot to fill. I made a waiting list for clients looking for future spots and eventually developed my Pre-Enrollment Program.
The point is, just like those crazy Apple people, I needed to constantly be thinking of what was next.
Related Reading:
- Marketing Kit for Child Care – the How and the Why
- Preventing a Mass Exodus
- Pre-Enrollment Program
- Easy Strategies to Boost Childcare Enrollment [INFOGRAPHIC]
8. Recognizing problem clients
It’s funny, now that I think of it most of my policies have come out of an issue I had with a client. I say it’s funny, NOW, but it usually was not a pleasant interaction I can assure you.
I remember thinking, “I’ll never go through that again.” Oftentimes, however, I probably could have avoided some of the situations had I stopped to recognize the red flags waving in my face.
Better to let them go than to wish you had.
Most providers experience “problem clients” every now and then. I say problem, but actually, it could be that it’s simply not a good fit for your business.
Parents ignoring your hours, payment procedures, policies are all indications that perhaps this is not the place for them. That being said, it can be really hard to turn away or terminate a client that we probably have worked so hard to get, especially if your enrollment is low.
It is at these times when it is really important to realize that as someone once said: “not all money is good money”. Better to let them go than to wish you had.
So here is what I did; I made it a habit of requiring myself to write a detailed file note every time I had an issue with a certain client. If I found myself writing note after note about the same client, the red flag started slapping me in the face and was even more apparent.
Sometimes, I was able to adjust my communication with a parent and get into a workable relationship. Other times, termination was the better decision.
Throughout the process, there was room to grow and learn. Even though it was unpleasant at the time, the process was probably very helpful in growing my business.
9. Separate phone number
Ever notice how when people know you work from home, they think you are always available? I was getting phone calls interested in childcare at all hours and all week. I couldn’t tell which calls were family and friends and which ones were for the business.
Well, after too many phone calls during Sunday church services, I knew I had to make a change. I needed a business number.
Ok, so this one was easy. Well, sort of. I first thought I might get another cell phone with a new number.
No. Too expensive and impractical.
Then I found a free service that recorded messages and referred them to my email. That sounded great, but after a while, I realized that I was missing a lot of the calls.
Then I heard of Google Voice and thought it might be just what I was looking for. My Google Voice number sends transcribed messages to my email and to my cell so I never miss a call.
I can also listen to the call from either within my email or from my cell phone. I recently realized that I am also able to make calls from the Google number without exposing my cell phone number. Oh, and did I say its FREE! YAY team me!
10. How do you Rate?
So I think one of the hardest things to do as a provider, especially a newbie, is to figure out what to charge.
Sure you could be the cheapest rates in town, but oftentimes that’s not really the clientele you want to attract to your business. Or you could be on the opposite end of the spectrum and be the most expensive.
There are a lot of considerations that go into setting your rates when starting a childcare.
So what if you are at a stalemate and just don’t know how to set your rates? Well, ask yourself some key questions:
- Do you have specialized services? Do you just offer infant care? Maybe you have experience with special needs children?
- How much experience do you have? Have you worked in early education before? Do you have child development education?
- What are your competitor’s rates? Often you can turn to your local CCR to inquire about your competitor’s rates in your target area.
- Will you offer longer hours, weekends, or off-hours? Certain professions require other than standard work hours, which creates a need for non-standard childcare needs.
- Do you exceed industry standards? Do you intend to keep your ratios lower than what your state mandates? Will you employ assistants with prior experience working with young children?
Any of these might warrant your rates to be above standard. Evaluating your business and services based on these criteria over time, not just when you start, will be key in you building a sustainable business.
Related Reading:
- How to set your rates; when to raise them, Part 1
- How to Raise Childcare Rates
- HOW TO INCREASE YOUR RATES: Make $4000 Extra Next Year
Keep Growing & Learning
I am sure there are quite a few other things I learned from early on and adjusted to. Hey, I am still learning. Your childcare business is a living, growing business and you should grow and adjust right along with it.
4 Responses
Great article! I wish I read it before I started 2 years ago. The deposit tip and spotting trouble clients would have helped a lot instead I learned the hard way.
Thanks so much Marissa. Yeah, I have found that even though we have so many duties, it helps to reassess our policies and our own professionalism regularly. Sometimes, change is better for everyone involved.
I want to know more about paid days off? Do you feel it’s ok to get one week paid vacation? How about once a client has been with you a year offer one week free tuition to use when you take vacation or they take vacation?
Chris that is a great question! The thing is there is no set answer. According to Tom Copeland’s book “Contracts & Policies” – “You are free to negotiate whatever you want regarding paid time for your holidays and vacations.” “You might want to consider charging for some or all federal holidays … Most child care centers charge for major holidays.” My advice would be to do what works best for your business and your family. My recommendation would be to create a vacation policy that is clearly defined and doesn’t fluctuate. That way there is little chance of miscommunication. Also, to set maximum days for client vacations. I once had a client who took vacations 3-4 times a year. If that were tuition free, that would be equal to a month of lost income. Thanks for your question.