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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Anyone Else Worried/Struggling For Clients??
Crazy8 04:53 AM 07-20-2012
For the first time in 11 years I am actually worried about the future of my daycare. I am just not getting any calls AT ALL. My own kids are getting older so I'm not in a circle of people with babies/toddlers anymore and in general there are just A LOT of SAHM's in my area. Its always been a little tough to get kids, daycare is just not a high demand here, but I've never had this much of a dry spell. I am ok for summer, but come September I only have 2 kids left so I am in deep trouble if I don't get some kids!!!

I've calculated the cost of going back to work outside the home but it really isn't worth it - a $14/hr. job 40 hrs. a week after taxes will be about the same as I'd make with just the 2 kids I have left here.

I have one option to take back a family but while they followed policy they were a bit of a pain to deal with - center of the universe mom mostly (have posted about that before). I always said they wouldn't be worth the money to take back (knew mom was trying to have another baby) but now I'm thinking maybe they are.

Is anyone else having a hard time getting kids right now???
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AfterSchoolMom 04:58 AM 07-20-2012
I always get nervous this time of year, because I have no one lined up for the fall. Last school year I didn't get any activity whatsoever until January. I think it's just as you say...there are a lot of SAHM's, and people just don't have the income they used to. In my case, too, they all really do seem to be expecting a very low rate.
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SilverSabre25 05:36 AM 07-20-2012
Yes, very much so. I have a spot open, I've been advertising, and the only people looking for care right now seem to be more than one child or looking for care in the fall or winter or next spring. I won't hold a spot for free and as soon as I mention the holding fee I never hear from them again, which is fine; I'm happy to mention the fee early on because I don't want to waste my time or theirs interviewing if they won't pay.

We're actually in dire financial straits and about to take a drastic, drastic move to try and fix our grim finances.
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countrymom 05:36 AM 07-20-2012
its happening here too, but I think more people are opening up daycares for very low prices too.
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Kaddidle Care 05:51 AM 07-20-2012
You're not the only one but I think we live in an area where there are a lot of procrastinators.
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crunchymama 06:26 AM 07-20-2012
I'm right there with you. Our state (WV) has cut nearly all child care subsidy so all but 1 of my families will be gone after Aug 8th. And of the staying family only 1 child will still be here. Private pays are few and far between here and people only want dirt cheap. My family simply cannot make it on the income from 1 child. I've been advertising all summer and I've only got 1 interest, and after giving rates she never got back to me.
Our area is very rural with no public transportation and I don't drive so working outside my home is next to impossible.
So I feel for everyone having trouble finding more DC families.
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momma2girls 06:26 AM 07-20-2012
I think it is all over the U.S.
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Springdaze 06:29 AM 07-20-2012
same here. I have 2 kids very part time, and while its nice for summer, cant live much longer. we are redoing the school area but no one is calling. when its finished hopefully in the next week i am going to have to do a media blitz! i have the same prob with going outside to work....aftercare for my kids would be 450 a month and if I was full I could make almost 700 a week, not so if I "got a job".
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Country Kids 06:55 AM 07-20-2012
HHHmmm, maybe people are just waiting to call? I have had 3 calls in the last week for full-time care and I'm full as of next month. Thats the most calls I've had in a while.
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Jenniferdawn 07:02 AM 07-20-2012
Yep. Here too. I've seen at least 5 new daycares open up in my little city in the last 6 months. Makes it really hard when before they opened up, the going rate was $45 a day. Now they are opening up for $30 a day. So frustrating!
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Kiki 07:03 AM 07-20-2012
I didn't get any calls for the last few months, but with school right around the corner, I'm getting more and more each day.
I live in an area with a ton of SAHM as well, but I'm also right on the border of 3 other cities, so I've been getting calls from those areas.

Honestly I just think more and more parents are choosing to have mom or dad stay at home after they have children, and they are cutting out whatever unnecessary things they might have bill wise... In my area it's pretty common for mom to be home while the kids are younger, and then for her to work once they are all in school.
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queenbee 07:16 AM 07-20-2012
Almost all of my city's craigslist is filled with sahms who are looking for 1-2 additional kids but, surprisingly, they charge between $150-$160 a week and the norm around here is $100-$135 a week. Most parents are probably NOT going to take their children to a sahm when they can take their preschooler to a licensed daycare/preschool and pay around $50 less a week! We also have a lot if college students who want $15-$20 an hour for nanny care. Ummm.......yeah, no thanks.

I'm feeling incredibly blessed right now. I've never once had trouble (knock on wood!) staying full and I get between 4-8 emails a week from my website by people looking for care. It definitely depends on the area and the need of the current residence. I'm the only daycare running an organic daycare and it's definitely sought after here. My waiting list gets impressive around August and January.
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Crazy8 07:34 AM 07-20-2012
Originally Posted by Kaddidle Care:
You're not the only one but I think we live in an area where there are a lot of procrastinators.
yes, but I haven't been getting calls/emails for a long while now - its not like school agers who are waiting till Sept. I get one email or call every few months if I'm lucky and most never make it to the interview stage. I've just run out of families with multiple siblings coming along and now I am really trying to find families and not having any luck.

For example of the number of SAHP's - my son's football team wanted to have practices on a weekday morning because of the heat last August (instead of the usual 6-8pm) - out of 24 families I was the ONLY one who could not do it because my husband works a "normal" job and I don't transport the dck's.
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Country Kids 07:42 AM 07-20-2012
See thats one thing I really struggle about doing childcare! Not having the ease of taking time off/spending time with my kids without it being a big production.

I love how all my parents will walk in and let me know they are going on so n so's field trip, taking someone's birthday off, someone has something going on at school so they are going, personal appts, etc.

When I try and do something like that, I have to take the afternoon off (making everyone upset it seems) or try and find a sub and no one seems to want to do that.

We just received a text that their will be morning football practice in a few weeks! What, how are all the kids going to get there? Well, someone has offered to give rides and such but what a pain if they are at childcare or something. I think we should just wait till in the evening when ALL parents can bring them.
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Countrygal 02:01 PM 07-20-2012
I am VERY worried. I had a family leave to stay home with a SAHD and I have not had one call in over a month!! They took 2/3 of my kids with them (I can only have 3 at this point). I am already struggling and winter is coming!!!

I was hoping to use this time to save up and start paying off some bills, but sure ain't happenin' now!

You are NOT alone! I have the highest rating in my county(along with Heidi), do nights, weekends, pt, and I still don't get any calls.

Again, all people want around here is 1.50 per hour or less. They don't care about the rest.
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DaisyMamma 02:36 PM 07-20-2012
I'm going to have 3 openings in two weeks!
For fall I will have only 3 FT kids and one is mine!

A local center is closing down, I thought I would get more calls from it then i am.
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Truly Scrumptious 04:12 PM 07-20-2012
In TN, the state assessment that is mandatory for licensed providers has caused a lot of providers to close their day cares, or drop their license and just keep 4. It's a very unrealistic tool for measuring quality care.

We do have the free preschool program in our schools, but the budget has taken a hit...so around here, everything seems to be ok.

It is usually this time of year when providers get anxious because school is starting for some of the children in our care.
I have 3 that will start kindergarten next fall...I've filled 2 of the slots already...but the other slot left is already on my mind and I have a whole year.

The families that enroll their children in my program have to make a verbal commitment to me,stating that they will leave their child with me until they start kindergarten. (Of course they could lie ...but so far in 15 years no one has). This helps with me with job security.
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PitterPatter 06:15 PM 07-20-2012
Originally Posted by crunchymama:
I'm right there with you. Our state (WV) has cut nearly all child care subsidy so all but 1 of my families will be gone after Aug 8th. And of the staying family only 1 child will still be here. Private pays are few and far between here and people only want dirt cheap. My family simply cannot make it on the income from 1 child. I've been advertising all summer and I've only got 1 interest, and after giving rates she never got back to me.
Our area is very rural with no public transportation and I don't drive so working outside my home is next to impossible.
So I feel for everyone having trouble finding more DC families.
Same exact pinch here. I am in WV too. Soon I may just be 1 of the needy families I am so use to helping.
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Daycarelady1979 09:02 AM 07-23-2012
I'm in the same situation here in Ohio. For more than 8 years I stayed full with private pay families & I never wanted to go type B unless it was a "last resort"...well, that time has come! I had a completely full & successful business when I found out I was pregnant last June. By the time I had my baby in February, I was down to 3 kids. On my 1st day back from maternity leave in April, I lost 2 more. The 1 I have left is headed to kindergarten in less than 30 days. I went ahead & became a certified type B provider earlier this month but I've had no calls yet. I put a daycare sign in my card, I ordered business cards & passed a few out (any chance I've gotten), I advertised openings on facebook, I made flyers & asked people to hang them up at their places of work. NOTHING. We are in a serious financial situation & I'm really not sure what to do. I was told there was a "great need" for type B providers in my county, so why is no one calling?
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abcdaycaremom 09:07 AM 07-23-2012
I think as daycare providers we need to change with the time I feel if things are that bad why not take some one at a discounted rate. It would show the community that you understand the economy of the area and $1 is better then zero. Find different avenues to advertise instead of depending on word of mouth or your children's connections call past clients and ask them if they know anyone, ask your current clients, hospitals, schools flyers there's a lot of different avenues give them try. Yes things are tough but it takes a lot of work to keep your business a float
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wahmof3 09:16 AM 07-23-2012
Originally Posted by Daycarelady1979:
I'm in the same situation here in Ohio. For more than 8 years I stayed full with private pay families & I never wanted to go type B unless it was a "last resort"...well, that time has come! I had a completely full & successful business when I found out I was pregnant last June. By the time I had my baby in February, I was down to 3 kids. On my 1st day back from maternity leave in April, I lost 2 more. The 1 I have left is headed to kindergarten in less than 30 days. I went ahead & became a certified type B provider earlier this month but I've had no calls yet. I put a daycare sign in my card, I ordered business cards & passed a few out (any chance I've gotten), I advertised openings on facebook, I made flyers & asked people to hang them up at their places of work. NOTHING. We are in a serious financial situation & I'm really not sure what to do. I was told there was a "great need" for type B providers in my county, so why is no one calling?
I've been type B in ohio for several years and honestly I am really considering just going private funded only. I do not get the calls from the state and when I do the hours just don't fit with my schedule. I also find that the parents aren't even trying to find daycare & we get emails asking if anyone has openings saying the parents have called everyone and I never get the calls.

Hope it gets better for you!!!
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mysonsmom1 11:11 AM 07-23-2012
I am going threw similar problems. 6 of my 8 clients left for the summer. I didnt want to replace them with full time kids. Out of the 6 two moved out of town (so the parent tells me). I have confirmed that 2 children will be returning and one with a new infant. My parents are struggling financially and I am trying my best to accomidate them. Even lowered my rate for a parent who lost a job just to keep the child coming to care. The phone rings and I do interviews but a lot of people are looking for lower rates. Even if that means going to an un licensed, un regulated childcare provider. I cant offer services for the rates that offered by the unregulated providers. Yet, they are getting a lot of the business.

Im hoping things will pick up for the school year. As of now, its a waiting game to see who will return. I will be forwarding emails to the clients for a head count 2 weeks before school starts.
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Lyss 12:55 PM 07-23-2012
I'm struggling too!!! I was full until recently when I lost a sib set to a bilingual center (mom and dad are adamant the children learn Spanish, a good skill to have) and now I see the end of my other 2 on the horizon. One will be moving into kindergarten and the other will be staying home with mom when dad returns from Afghanistan in December.

I've been trying to fill my sib set loss for a month now and honestly have only had 1 call and 1 email... I'm beginning to get down on myself for it, like it's something wrong with my program. I know the parent's I have now love me, as they rave about how thankful they are but I still feel like maybe there's something I'm not seeing that is deterring people. I really don't need to fill both spots left by the siblings, i'd be ok with just one, but I'll have 3 openings by Christmas if I don't.

In my area, OR, there's a lot of SAHMs offering to watch 1 or 2 kids for as little as $20/day. I've had to drop my prices and still barely get any traffic. I'm at a loss, I'm not sure what else to do to generate traffic.
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moshimoshi 04:56 PM 07-23-2012
Feeling it too...hang in there.
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SilverSabre25 05:11 PM 07-23-2012
Originally Posted by Daycarelady1979:
I'm in the same situation here in Ohio. For more than 8 years I stayed full with private pay families & I never wanted to go type B unless it was a "last resort"...well, that time has come! I had a completely full & successful business when I found out I was pregnant last June. By the time I had my baby in February, I was down to 3 kids. On my 1st day back from maternity leave in April, I lost 2 more. The 1 I have left is headed to kindergarten in less than 30 days. I went ahead & became a certified type B provider earlier this month but I've had no calls yet. I put a daycare sign in my card, I ordered business cards & passed a few out (any chance I've gotten), I advertised openings on facebook, I made flyers & asked people to hang them up at their places of work. NOTHING. We are in a serious financial situation & I'm really not sure what to do. I was told there was a "great need" for type B providers in my county, so why is no one calling?
ooohh, yes, I am in the exact same boat! I'm in central OH and am seriously considering getting licensed, just as another way to "stand out" from the crowd a little bit. We are so strapped for cash that we just can't afford the fees right now (the fire inspection, etc). Soon, though.

btw welcome to the forum! There are several other ohio providers on here.
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Daycarelady1979 06:44 PM 07-23-2012
Oops, that was supposed to say I put a daycare sign in my yard...not my card...lol

Thank you for welcoming me
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brookeroo 11:41 AM 07-24-2012
It has been the same here in Indiana. I just started in April and I was so worried. It has taken me months to get a full house. It's strange, it seems like they call in spurts but no real rhyme or reason to it.

One thing I tried, I put a flier on the door with each child's name on it for the parents to take home.

I offered $10 off their weekly rate for 4 weeks if they referred a permanent full time person to me who ended up starting with me. The only terms were that they had to be in my care for at least 3 weeks before my regular got the discount. I put in the flier that I would be happy to provide advertisement fliers for them to put in their breakrooms at work or to hand out as well.

In the long run you may be out $40.00 for a month BUT you have a new permanent full time spot coming in anyway which will be giving you that extra money. You aren't any worse off than you are now. Might motivate people to look a little harder for you or keep their ears peeled a little more. They may even mention it for you on facebook or something?? Also should check Facebook for garage sale groups or different things like that for your local area. Most areas have them and they seem to be pretty popular. I always post on the most popular ones that allow it.
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Heidi 12:57 PM 07-24-2012
Originally Posted by abcdaycaremom:
I think as daycare providers we need to change with the time I feel if things are that bad why not take some one at a discounted rate. It would show the community that you understand the economy of the area and $1 is better then zero. Find different avenues to advertise instead of depending on word of mouth or your children's connections call past clients and ask them if they know anyone, ask your current clients, hospitals, schools flyers there's a lot of different avenues give them try. Yes things are tough but it takes a lot of work to keep your business a float
Well...maybe you were just using $1 as an example, but at $1 per hour, I'd be losing money. It would cost me more in overhead than I'd make. Even at $110 per week per child, my weekly income last year was $440. I'm licensed, but I had 3 under 2 years of age...so you know how that goes!

My adjusted gross income last year was $200, partly because I spent quite a bit of money restarting my daycare after a 10 year break. I still our family benefited from my daycare anyway because of the shared expenses, and now that I have most of what I need, I should show a profit this year.

This year looks a little better...but like I said, even at full capacity, $8 per hour would NOT be worth the expenses, the wear-and-tear, and the crazy!
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Nickel 01:25 PM 07-24-2012
I too am worried about getting clients. I've spent a ton of money starting up and getting everything ready and I have to say i am honestly nervous. I just put my ad up and I haven't heard anything yet so I'm really nervous. I know there are tons of listed homes in the area and many not listed homes, so it does worry me. I'm just hoping that my program will speak for itself and i'll find someone.
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Countrygal 12:53 PM 07-27-2012
Originally Posted by abcdaycaremom:
I think as daycare providers we need to change with the time I feel if things are that bad why not take some one at a discounted rate. It would show the community that you understand the economy of the area and $1 is better then zero. Find different avenues to advertise instead of depending on word of mouth or your children's connections call past clients and ask them if they know anyone, ask your current clients, hospitals, schools flyers there's a lot of different avenues give them try. Yes things are tough but it takes a lot of work to keep your business a float
Hmmmmm, maybe not. As someone else said, at $1 an hour I would lose money. AND I could not run the program according to standards.

PLUS, I was making more than $1 an hour almost 20 years ago. If I wanted to do childcare THAT bad, I would work in a center, where I would at least make maybe $5 an hour after expenses.
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