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Sugar Magnolia 04:15 PM 07-12-2011
I have been trying to think of new ways to get new clients, and I wanted some feedback from home daycare providers before I started making calls locally. There are not many centers that take infants around here, the ones that do tend to be large corporate type centers. Personally, I think infants are better off in home daycares. More personal attention, less sickness exposure, no staff turnover, just a nicer and safer environment for little babies. As home providers, do you find a lot of kids "age out" around 3? If parents ask you for referrals to centers when children get older, do you give them???? If a center director contacted you offering information about a center, would you be offended?
Here's the thing...I've had a lot of parents enroll because their 2-3 year olds have "aged out" of home daycares and they were looking for a preschool environment. We are a SMALL center, just 15 kids maximum, so we appeal to kids/parents that have been in home daycares, because they like our home-like environment and preschool structure. We also enroll a lot of kids whose parents were fed up with large centers due to staff turnover, poor supervision, etc.
So would you (home dc) providers be offended by a center approaching you with a brochure, or would you be willing to listen and accept the information? I don't want to "put off" home providers and waste their time or mine. Would a "finders fee" help your decision to refer people to a center? Say...$100 for every client they referred that signed up? Have YOU ever been asked by a parent to suggest a center preschool? If so, what was your reaction?
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