This is such a positive thread! Way to go on having your daycare the way you finally want it! I always have my "dream", but no matter what I'll always want to keep changing it, ha ha! I LOVE what I have now and have been proactive to get things how they are.

I opened 12 months ago and i'm full and have employees now and going to be on maternity leave. I couldn't do ANY (ok most of it) without this board! I was going to open and charge lower rates to get people in the door and I choose average rates and negotiated SLIGHTLY for one family which gave their infant a lower rate but they're one of my best families. The first family I had I had MANY MANY issues and let them go after 6 weeks mostly because of how miserable I was! Late payments, payments by cash under the door when I was out of town, requests for special treatment without a dr's note, arriving in pj's BEFORE I was even dressed and ready to be open knocking on the door, arriving in diapers from the night before, needing to be bottle fed immediately.......it goes on!

I ended up having average rates and sticking to the standard paid vacations and personal days and no sibling discounts........everything that seems typicaly here and in my area from research. I value what I do and I don't want to discount because I feel I'm worth it. Now with half a year experience I filled all my last spots very quickly and expanded just because it looked and felt like an official quality daycare. No more answering people's questions "We would do this". Now it's "We do this".

I agree to other posters, it's very much a learning curve when you open and continually. I was on that and still am some. I'm come very far from the support and advice from this board. Thanks for posting!

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