Originally Posted by Vesta:
ARGHHHHH
MY point:
IN THE PLACE THAT I LIVE.
No one here. HERE. Charges over $30 a day. Because the LOCAL ECONOMY CANNOT support it.
You're throwing around $175 because of your degree, but even if you have a degree HERE (not where you live) you are not going to be compensated that amount because very few, very, very, few families ****HERE***** CAN AFFORD IT. I could charge $175 week but I would have no customers. $200 a month more than the center down the road (50x4) makes a big difference HERE.
The center that's a status symbol and charges the most money and has the really crappy ratios is actually run by someone who does not have a degree.
The ones with the formally educated directors are accredited and have great ratios. They don't charge a lot and are propped up by the state because the people they serve, my community, cannot afford their rates. Which aren't excessive, but when you make $10 an hour.....
The $5 comment was in regards to someone else's post about tacking on extra fees for extra perks parents may want.
In Illinois DCFS mandates that lead teachers have at least 60 hours of college, but they don't mandate that providers be compensated for their education. The standards aren't low, but the pay is.
It is a crappy cycle, but it's the cycle we are in.
I wonder if I was this idealistic when I first graduated?
vesta - i understand where you are coming from. i DO get your point. the economy is horrible just about everywhere you go. i live in a small town in TN - the layoffs are unreal. unemployment is sky high. it's awful.
but there are still (even in these horrible economic times) those people who have more money than they know what to do with. there is a daycare right down the street who is packed full of kids - and charges a little more than i do - and the workers are typicaly 18-25 with a high school diploma. is there anything wrong with having a hs diploma? no. are the parents who are paying that daycare more than i charge (when i DO have a degree) and a 4 child max? YES! so, charging less (even ten dollars less) when you're more "qualified" does have advantages. if there are 100 people paying $186 dollars to that overcrowded, understaffed daycare (even in our hard economic times) then it's not hard to imagine that 4 our of those 100 would be willing to pay me a little LESS for better quality care. when i first started advertising, i put $150 in my word document (sample flyer) and my husband said, "no, put $200 - you're a teacher. do u know how many people would love to have a teacher keeping their kids - especially when you're only keeping four?"
i said, "nah - $200 is too much. i'll charge a little less than the daycares around here do (the chains) and if i don't get a response THEN i'll lower the price to $150."
just an FYI - i'm not idealistic (more like realistic since it IS happening) and i didn't just graduate - i'm very much an adult with a family and home of my own.
i guess it all depends on your target market. the majority of people live on a mcdonald's budget - but there are those people who can afford to eat steak every night - regardless of the economy. i planned on advertising (which i didn't end up having to do because word of mouth prevailed) toward those people who COULD afford the steaks - and it worked. had it not worked, i would've changed my market - but it did work, and i make no apologies.