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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Daycare Startup Not Going Well, Need Help And Advice
Darling 07:35 AM 03-27-2016
I run an in home daycare. We completed our state registration in October of last year (5 months ago). So far all I've managed to bring in is one little girl for two days per week. We had another little one for 2 days before her parents put her into a large center. I advertise multiple times per week on Craigslist, and have adds up at every online classified listing site I can find. We are listed on our states CCRR referral list but have gotten nothing through it. I'm active and advertise on Facebook groups, as many as I can find. We have put up flyers and signs in our area.

Our website seems to land traffic, we are listed with Google and Bing. We offer a sign up promotion. Any ideas or recommendations for improvements? www.DarlingDucklingsPortland.com.

I hope this doesn't come across as advertising or pandering. I'm just getting desperate. My husband has been working 2 jobs to get us through until the daycare takes off. Savings are going to run out. I need kids soon or I will have to start making other plans. And ideas welcome.
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Snowmom 08:37 AM 03-27-2016
Originally Posted by Darling:
I run an in home daycare. We completed our state registration in October of last year (5 months ago). So far all I've managed to bring in is one little girl for two days per week. We had another little one for 2 days before her parents put her into a large center. I advertise multiple times per week on Craigslist, and have adds up at every online classified listing site I can find. We are listed on our states CCRR referral list but have gotten nothing through it. I'm active and advertise on Facebook groups, as many as I can find. We have put up flyers and signs in our area.

Our website seems to land traffic, we are listed with Google and Bing. We offer a sign up promotion. Any ideas or recommendations for improvements? www.DarlingDucklingsPortland.com.

I hope this doesn't come across as advertising or pandering. I'm just getting desperate. My husband has been working 2 jobs to get us through until the daycare takes off. Savings are going to run out. I need kids soon or I will have to start making other plans. And ideas welcome.
I briefly looked through the website/pages.

There are a couple things I would change:

1. Your home page: Personally, I wouldn't start off with a picture of your home. Get something to capture interest and represents you or your philosophy. Whether it's PLAY related, curriculum related, outdoor related, family related, etc. You don't even necessarily need a picture, you could do an introduction and describe why your daycare is the best. and invite them to take a look around your website.

2. There are a couple noticeable spacing issues with the text when I viewed it on my laptop (pricing had some major ones).

3. Photos: I would stick to clear, bright photos. Putting interior photos up that look dark can give off a sense of a "dreary home". If you can't lighten them up, then I'd just leave them off entirely. Actually, I'd just stick to a few of your favorite pictures- in my opinion, you don't need to put pictures of your entire home or play space in. Take some pictures of your son playing in the bright outdoor space (if you take photos of other children, make sure you have a photo release!).

4. The "Darling Ducklings Doings": while very cute, definitely take out anything that parents might not be thrilled with... like the being sick part. All I think as a parent is "wow, the entire month of February people were sick...I'm not going there".

Good luck! It takes time to establish yourself. Try putting business cards up in coffee shops, grocery store bulletin boards, libraries. Tell your friends to put out the word- post it on Facebook asking friends to "share" your openings.
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Unregistered 08:55 AM 03-27-2016
You might not like my advice. I would invest a bit more. Your daycare area seems very spare. It is solely for daycare or for your use, too? I'd get rid of that couch and it would free up a lot of space. It seems bare and cramped at the same time. I don't know if it's the angle, but your backyard seems huge and also with nothing in it. I just just make it look more inviting and kid friendly. I think the biggest issues are that when people come to you, if the pictures aren't making things look different, is they can see there's not a lot of children there. When I see that, as a parent, I think it looks so sad and lonely. As a teacher and provider, I think "This person has no experience". If you have a basement or attic, I would try and put some stuff there and do like a rotating system.
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Snowmom 09:06 AM 03-27-2016
One other thing/idea.
That white brick wall outside with the rust.
That screams outdoor chalkboard to me.
I would paint that with chalkboard paint and if you're good at drawing, I would draw up a cute chalk rendition of your business name, have the kids stand in front making faces and snap a photo- using that as my homepage.
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LysesKids 09:09 AM 03-27-2016
Originally Posted by Snowmom:
One other thing/idea.
That white brick wall outside with the rust.
That screams outdoor chalkboard to me.
I would paint that with chalkboard paint and if you're good at drawing, I would draw up a cute chalk rendition of your business name, have the kids stand in front making faces and snap a photo- using that as my homepage.
I agree with this... I was going to suggest painting that wall somehow because it looks unkept, but your idea is brilliant
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Lovisa 10:04 AM 03-27-2016
Aside from what others have mentioned about your website, I can tell you that it can take a while to get clients. I honestly never got any from Craigslist. Mine have almost all been from either word of mouth or our licensing resource and referral office. I had one client before I was officially licensed last April. Didn't get my second until August. Third was in November. 4th and 5th just last month. Now, several days a week I am full with 5 kids (because one of my own kids counts towards my capacity). So it literally took me 11 months to get here.

I also felt like there were times where I was like dang, no one is calling, did I make the wrong decision? But then I would all of the sudden get an influx of calls. Kinda happens in spurts sometimes
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Darling 12:14 PM 03-27-2016
We are in the process of getting new pictures for the site. More open window pics, hopefully a new design for the front page of the website that looks less like a real estate add. There will probably be less pics overall on the site. And cords will be better hidden.

The idea about moving the couches out won't go. That is our family living room as well as the main daycare area. The family room with the big couch on it is 500 square feet so there is a lot of play room in it. It's just impossible to get a full picture of all the room with the size of it.

Sick blog post was a bad idea. It was just an attempt to explain the lack of postings on the blog. Blog will be cleaned up and more frequently added to. I think it's a good attention getter for the site. It automatically posts to Facebook and draws looks if not business. More clicks moves us up google rankings.

I'm not sure about the formatting problems. I've opened the site on multiple devices. What are you seeing that looks wrong?

I'd love to get the wall cleaned up in the back yard. It's actually the side of our neighbors garage. Now that it's spring I'm hoping my husband can find the time around his work to prep and paint it with chalk board paint. But there's nothing we can do to stop their rusty flashing from continuing to rust. We can't exactly fix their roof for them.

The backyard is huge. Fully enclosed. All safety checked and kid friendly. So how do I take a picture that looks like it's fun to play on without it looking cluttered?

We have a catch 22. We need to look like we have a bunch of kids in our care, but without caring for kids we can't get that experience of pictures.

Our rates are on the low end for our area. We thought it best to start low as a new care provider. And honestly, we only are aiming for 3 kids full time at the max. We really want to keep the kids in personal care.

The snack timing is just because we wanted to list it. 2 meals and 2 snacks available daily. We qualify for the food program but have yet to use it due to lack of kiddos.
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LysesKids 11:35 AM 03-27-2016
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
You might not like my advice. I would invest a bit more. Your daycare area seems very spare. It is solely for daycare or for your use, too? I'd get rid of that couch and it would free up a lot of space. It seems bare and cramped at the same time. I don't know if it's the angle, but your backyard seems huge and also with nothing in it. I just just make it look more inviting and kid friendly. I think the biggest issues are that when people come to you, if the pictures aren't making things look different, is they can see there's not a lot of children there. When I see that, as a parent, I think it looks so sad and lonely. As a teacher and provider, I think "This person has no experience". If you have a basement or attic, I would try and put some stuff there and do like a rotating system.
I agree Just being honest - Something else I noticed when I went back to the OP's website is that the link bar ( about us, Rates, Contact etc) seems to jump from bottom to top every few pages. It needs to stay in one spot for continuity. That drives me batty when I have to keep looking up & down to switch pages.
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Unregistered 11:57 AM 03-27-2016
I'd get rid of the duckling doings. It seems more like your personal blog
You could post menu's, meals, pictures of artwork, pictures of games they created, stuff like that. Only daycare related.
I'd also change the front pic. I'd either post a pic of a logo, an about page, or your tabs
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LysesKids 09:07 AM 03-27-2016
Originally Posted by Darling:
I run an in home daycare. We completed our state registration in October of last year (5 months ago). So far all I've managed to bring in is one little girl for two days per week. We had another little one for 2 days before her parents put her into a large center. I advertise multiple times per week on Craigslist, and have adds up at every online classified listing site I can find. We are listed on our states CCRR referral list but have gotten nothing through it. I'm active and advertise on Facebook groups, as many as I can find. We have put up flyers and signs in our area.

Our website seems to land traffic, we are listed with Google and Bing. We offer a sign up promotion. Any ideas or recommendations for improvements? www.DarlingDucklingsPortland.com.

I hope this doesn't come across as advertising or pandering. I'm just getting desperate. My husband has been working 2 jobs to get us through until the daycare takes off. Savings are going to run out. I need kids soon or I will have to start making other plans. And ideas welcome.
Honey, it can take months to fill spots, we have all been there. Are your rates competitive with others around you for what you offer? What makes you different - parents will want to know.

I looked thru the site too... I don't like that first page - there is nothing on it that says to me Hey, this is an overview of what we offer ( inc ages, perks etc); it's Boring and doesn't entice me to go further into the site. Question? Are you on the food program AND why are you offering snack just an hour before lunch? Make Breakfast start at 8:30 & drop the morning snack otherwise you will be wasting food come 11:30a. Most FP allow for a certain # of hours between meals & snacks.

Another question - why take the Pics with the drapes closed - open those puppies up & let the natural light do it's thing. I also agree that the duckling doings page needs re-work... just my opinion.
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NightOwl 05:16 PM 03-27-2016
Try care.com. I've got two clients from there and I only used the free profile.

A Web designer told me that the first page of your website, specifically the top portion that's visible when the browser first opens, is the most important part. If it's not inviting and eye catching, no one will scroll down or click beyond that page. Just food for thought as you're redesigning.
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NightOwl 05:19 PM 03-27-2016
One more thing, borrow some kids! Lol. If you have nieces or nephews or friends or neighbors, ask if their kids can come give your space a try and allow you to take some pictures. If they don't want pictures published, ask if you can use pictures that don't reveal their child's face.
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CityGarden 06:27 PM 03-27-2016
Congrats on starting your home based daycare --- I am in the process and just know that being where you are now is a HUGE accomplishment.

Now on to the input you requested:

About your website...

Marketing wise:

Don't be hard on yourself. It does take time from what I have heard.
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nanglgrl 07:52 PM 03-27-2016
I admit I didn't go to the website but I have read what you posted here. You say you're on the low end of rates and that you have a sign on bonus for the first few months. I would get rid of those. When you're too cheaply priced and offer lots of deals it looks desperate and parents might automatically think you aren't a good provider because you don't charge as much the median rate in your area. When you offer lots of deals and charge less than the norm you get crappy clients in my experience.
Another thing, watch how much you post on social media, again too much can look desperate. People start ignoring your posts and think "maybe she's a bad provider so nobody goes there" or "maybe she keeps losing clients". When you do post less is more. I used to post ads listing everything I offered which was what the majority of parents in my area were looking for and I would get few to no responses. Then I just started posting "home daycare opening, contact me for more details!" Then they would email me and I would send them a link to my website and business Facebook page.
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CityGarden 09:42 PM 03-27-2016
I wanted to add I went to your business facebook and all of the pics were of the same young boy who I assume is your son I would try to diversify that.
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LindseyA 09:04 AM 03-28-2016
I love the concrete wall and chalk paint idea! I would be very tempted to make a water wall or something as well. Also, with the photo issues, can you invite some of your son's cousins, or friends or neighbors over to play so you can snap some pics? I had the same problem at first, with just not having enough kids to take pictures with! As you get more enrollments, there will more opportunities to update your photos. I also have a nice large sign in my front yard. I have gotten most of my clients from that alone!
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thrivingchildcarecom 10:10 AM 03-28-2016
Actually, I have a few ideas for you:
1. Try offering and advertising more services, i.e. part-time, half-day, etc.
2. Reach out to other child cares. I know that sounds crazy, but no one can take in everybody. They might refer to you if they can't.
3. See if you can accommodate non-typical schedules by offering non-traditional hours.

If you would like a whole list of recommendations, send me a PM with your email and I can forward it to you.

Hang in there!
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Serpentine 12:07 PM 03-28-2016
I'm in the same boat!

Licensed for 3 and only have 1 part time kid. I got my license January 2015 and started advertising April 2015.

There are a crap ton of providers in my area :-( I though for sure someone would prefer my small group setting but I think it's actually a turn off!

Best of luck!
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MotherNature 02:05 PM 03-28-2016
It does take a while to get started, but some things I noticed,froma quick glance:

Very clean! That's a plus.

There's nothing to do in the backyard. A tiny climbing structure..not fun.

Cords! Some tied up by a lamp, and one hanging down to the ground.

Some may be turned off by forced air vents along the wall, but nothing you can do there.

On the about me page, you switch tenses, from me & we in the first paragraph, to writing in the 3rd person in the others.
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nothingwithoutjoy 09:36 AM 03-31-2016
I sympathize. I've got a great reputation and have been doing this for ages, but even still, I've got fewer kids than I want right now. Dry spells come.

I do have a bit of advice. I think, even though your business is new, you want to show what it will be like full, not what it is now. When I was starting up at home, I used photos from my previous classroom to show what sort of things I do. I also think it helps parents to envision the day if you use more photos of the day in action, and less of just the space. I would definitely try to get some shots of kids at play. Borrow kids! When I started, I had an open house to share my space. Then I used those photos (friends' and neighbors' kids). You don't need to show faces; it can be kids from the back or close-ups of their hands, or samples of their work.

I'd also suggest scrapping the enrollment bonus. Stuff like that sounds to me like "if you manage to make it all the way through three weeks you'll get a deal!" as if you're assuming you'll have turnover every month otherwise. I'd assume kids will stay with you for years once you've got them, and present that expectation.

Definitely highlight the fact that you only want a few kids. Some people would really prefer that.

I have been finding that most of my new parents come through facebook. For that reason, I try to post something there every day. Again, I aim to show what I want to have--not what I've got. I am currently working to shift from a younger group to an older one, so since my facebook page's goal is advertising (it's not how I communicate with enrolled families; they have a private blog), I mostly show photos and work samples from my older kids, not the really little ones. Fake it 'til you make it!

Also, my first group came almost completely from my open house. I advertised it for free in the newspaper by offering it as an "event" for toddlers and their families. I put out snack and a few sample activities, ran a slide show on my computer, and gave tours and answered questions. Four signed up that day. Try it!

Good luck. I know how stressful it can be!
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