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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Advertising New Child Care & Openings
Whitney 07:19 AM 07-03-2015
I am starting a new child care that should be opening up officially on August 3rd (licensing process and training has put me at that date) and I have been advertising a lot. Facebook (business page & personal), instagram (personal account), craigslist (posting daily), and have even spoken to a few neighbors and relatives about my business. I have lots of flyers printed up with business cards attached to go in mail boxes and hang up in a few places. However with about almost 2 months worth of advertising I have had a few inquiries and no pre-enrollments. I am wanting to pre-enroll so on my first open day I start out with at least 2-3 dck in care and I am not left without any income for a period of time (I am separating my current job to open my family child care to spend more time at home with my daughter). I guess my question is did pre-enrollment work for anyone or did you all not really get enrollments until people seen you were operating? How did you advertise? All suggestions/tips and stories of your debut and enrollment success/struggle would be appreciated! I just really do not know what else to do. I need pre-enrollments! I have offered discounts for pre-enrolling
Blackcat31 07:49 AM 07-03-2015
Originally Posted by Whitney:
I am starting a new child care that should be opening up officially on August 3rd (licensing process and training has put me at that date) and I have been advertising a lot. Facebook (business page & personal), instagram (personal account), craigslist (posting daily), and have even spoken to a few neighbors and relatives about my business. I have lots of flyers printed up with business cards attached to go in mail boxes and hang up in a few places. However with about almost 2 months worth of advertising I have had a few inquiries and no pre-enrollments. I am wanting to pre-enroll so on my first open day I start out with at least 2-3 dck in care and I am not left without any income for a period of time (I am separating my current job to open my family child care to spend more time at home with my daughter). I guess my question is did pre-enrollment work for anyone or did you all not really get enrollments until people seen you were operating? How did you advertise? All suggestions/tips and stories of your debut and enrollment success/struggle would be appreciated! I just really do not know what else to do. I need pre-enrollments! I have offered discounts for pre-enrolling
Tons of other threads about advertisingI am starting a new child care that should be opening up officially on August 3rd (licensing process and training has put me at that date) and I have been advertising a lot. Facebook (business page & personal), instagram (personal account), craigslist (posting daily), and have even spoken to a few neighbors and relatives about my business. I have lots of flyers printed up with business cards attached to go in mail boxes and hang up in a few places. However with about almost 2 months worth of advertising I have had a few inquiries and no pre-enrollments. I am wanting to pre-enroll so on my first open day I start out with at least 2-3 dck in care and I am not left without any income for a period of time (I am separating my current job to open my family child care to spend more time at home with my daughter). I guess my question is did pre-enrollment work for anyone or did you all not really get enrollments until people seen you were operating? How did you advertise? All suggestions/tips and stories of your debut and enrollment success/struggle would be appreciated! I just really do not know what else to do. I need pre-enrollments! I have offered discounts for pre-enrolling
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Whitney 07:54 AM 07-03-2015
Thank you!! I am new to the site.
Blackcat31 08:09 AM 07-03-2015
Originally Posted by Whitney:
Thank you!! I am new to the site.
Welcome aboard! There are tons of providers here from all sorts of backgrounds and all of them are very helpful and supportive so I think you will find this place a great source of information. Thank you!! I am new to the site.
s for pre-enrollments, I can't give much advice for that as I've never been in that situation but in my opinion, most parents want immediate care or care within 2 weeks so expecting pre-enrollment for a longer amount of time might not be feasible. I suppose it depends on the family, as a family on maternity leave could easily dictate a future date for beginning care but I don't know if others can do the same...know what I mean?
Also, I don't know about the care environment in your area...
Is it difficult to find providers? Are there too many or not enough providers for the area? Is infant care or toddler care lacking?
Are established providers needing to fill spaces too or are they turning children away?
There is so much more to it.... Is your program unique to others in the area, are your rates too high, too low?
Have you tried to network or connect with other providers in the area? If there is a huge need for care in your area, perhaps one of them would be willing to send callers your way.
Opening a new business is hard and maintaining a consistent income is difficult too.....especially in child care. You will learn that there is NO guarantee for that.
Most providers here will tell you the first 6 months - year were tough and opening at full enrollment can happen but it's a rare occurrence and like I said, totally dependent on your area and the needs and demands related to child care.
Also, on a side note you mentioned hanging flyers on mailboxes... please do NOT do that! You cannot legally hang things on people's mailboxes without permission. (Vista print offers target mailing services if you are interested in mailing flyers)
HTH
childcaremom 08:27 AM 07-03-2015
Getting the first family to sign can be tricky. But once you can get the first one in, it sort of snowballs from there. Parents often want to see that you have other kids enrolled, the set up, etc before they will commit.
I've opened my childcare at 3 different times. I've always advertised as being open and ready for care.
The first time I filled within a month.
Second time took forever to fill.
This last time I filled within a month.
I found, for me personally, the biggest variable is what time of year it was. I have found the summer to be a really hard time to fill spots. People are on holidays, have teenage sitters, use family, etc. September and January are crazy busy and early spring, too. I had my choice of families to pick from.
Here (in Canada) is is sometimes easier to prebook clients b/c we have a year of mat leave.... so it's easy to look down the road and say, yes I will have a space available then or no, I won't. I filled some spaces right away and have some new clients starting in September so that my summer was light. I was able to do that easily b/c moms were getting ready to go back to work.
But having said all of that, I do find that a lot of parents tend to wait until the last minute.
Good luck! Lots of great tips on the board
I've opened my childcare at 3 different times. I've always advertised as being open and ready for care.
The first time I filled within a month.
Second time took forever to fill.
This last time I filled within a month.
I found, for me personally, the biggest variable is what time of year it was. I have found the summer to be a really hard time to fill spots. People are on holidays, have teenage sitters, use family, etc. September and January are crazy busy and early spring, too. I had my choice of families to pick from.
Here (in Canada) is is sometimes easier to prebook clients b/c we have a year of mat leave.... so it's easy to look down the road and say, yes I will have a space available then or no, I won't. I filled some spaces right away and have some new clients starting in September so that my summer was light. I was able to do that easily b/c moms were getting ready to go back to work.
But having said all of that, I do find that a lot of parents tend to wait until the last minute.
Good luck! Lots of great tips on the board
Controlled Chaos 09:00 AM 07-03-2015
Welcome! I would look into care.com, craigslist and facebook for advertizing. Do you have a website and FB page? That's a great way to have your friends share your sight for free exposure.
I offer a monthly date night ($20 4pm-8pm) and have had many parents considering my program use that as a trial run. It always seals the deal. I send them home with a cute craft, goody bag (usually extra supplies from last months theme - this last time it was a handful of plastic bugs) and I text the parents a few pics throughout the night of their kiddo having fun and feeling safe. Even if people aren't in need of regular daycare, if they come for a date night and are impressed they might spread the word.
Good luck! It takes time to fill. Hang in there
I offer a monthly date night ($20 4pm-8pm) and have had many parents considering my program use that as a trial run. It always seals the deal. I send them home with a cute craft, goody bag (usually extra supplies from last months theme - this last time it was a handful of plastic bugs) and I text the parents a few pics throughout the night of their kiddo having fun and feeling safe. Even if people aren't in need of regular daycare, if they come for a date night and are impressed they might spread the word.
Good luck! It takes time to fill. Hang in there
Whitney 10:43 AM 07-03-2015
Originally Posted by childcaremom:
Getting the first family to sign can be tricky. But once you can get the first one in, it sort of snowballs from there. Parents often want to see that you have other kids enrolled, the set up, etc before they will commit.
I've opened my childcare at 3 different times. I've always advertised as being open and ready for care.
The first time I filled within a month.
Second time took forever to fill.
This last time I filled within a month.
I found, for me personally, the biggest variable is what time of year it was. I have found the summer to be a really hard time to fill spots. People are on holidays, have teenage sitters, use family, etc. September and January are crazy busy and early spring, too. I had my choice of families to pick from.
Here (in Canada) is is sometimes easier to prebook clients b/c we have a year of mat leave.... so it's easy to look down the road and say, yes I will have a space available then or no, I won't. I filled some spaces right away and have some new clients starting in September so that my summer was light. I was able to do that easily b/c moms were getting ready to go back to work.
But having said all of that, I do find that a lot of parents tend to wait until the last minute.
Good luck! Lots of great tips on the board
ChildCareMom thank you! and oh sweet Canada, I wish we had that in the states!Getting the first family to sign can be tricky. But once you can get the first one in, it sort of snowballs from there. Parents often want to see that you have other kids enrolled, the set up, etc before they will commit.
I've opened my childcare at 3 different times. I've always advertised as being open and ready for care.
The first time I filled within a month.
Second time took forever to fill.
This last time I filled within a month.
I found, for me personally, the biggest variable is what time of year it was. I have found the summer to be a really hard time to fill spots. People are on holidays, have teenage sitters, use family, etc. September and January are crazy busy and early spring, too. I had my choice of families to pick from.
Here (in Canada) is is sometimes easier to prebook clients b/c we have a year of mat leave.... so it's easy to look down the road and say, yes I will have a space available then or no, I won't. I filled some spaces right away and have some new clients starting in September so that my summer was light. I was able to do that easily b/c moms were getting ready to go back to work.
But having said all of that, I do find that a lot of parents tend to wait until the last minute.
Good luck! Lots of great tips on the board
Whitney 10:40 AM 07-03-2015
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Welcome aboard! There are tons of providers here from all sorts of backgrounds and all of them are very helpful and supportive so I think you will find this place a great source of information.
s for pre-enrollments, I can't give much advice for that as I've never been in that situation but in my opinion, most parents want immediate care or care within 2 weeks so expecting pre-enrollment for a longer amount of time might not be feasible. I suppose it depends on the family, as a family on maternity leave could easily dictate a future date for beginning care but I don't know if others can do the same...know what I mean?
Also, I don't know about the care environment in your area...
Is it difficult to find providers? Are there too many or not enough providers for the area? Is infant care or toddler care lacking?
Are established providers needing to fill spaces too or are they turning children away?
There is so much more to it.... Is your program unique to others in the area, are your rates too high, too low?
Have you tried to network or connect with other providers in the area? If there is a huge need for care in your area, perhaps one of them would be willing to send callers your way.
Opening a new business is hard and maintaining a consistent income is difficult too.....especially in child care. You will learn that there is NO guarantee for that.
Most providers here will tell you the first 6 months - year were tough and opening at full enrollment can happen but it's a rare occurrence and like I said, totally dependent on your area and the needs and demands related to child care.
Also, on a side note you mentioned hanging flyers on mailboxes... please do NOT do that! You cannot legally hang things on people's mailboxes without permission. (Vista print offers target mailing services if you are interested in mailing flyers)
HTH
Thank you. I had those flyers ready to the mailboxes but I was skeptical so me and my husband just left them on the kitchen table until we could decide whether or not to. I have priced vistaprint mailing services about a week or so ago and I think I am going to do that. As for child care center in my area, there is only one actual center, and a few home day cares. There is not really a big child care scene where I live so I do believe there is a need and the market is not completely saturated. Thanks for all the tips and suggestions!Welcome aboard! There are tons of providers here from all sorts of backgrounds and all of them are very helpful and supportive so I think you will find this place a great source of information.
s for pre-enrollments, I can't give much advice for that as I've never been in that situation but in my opinion, most parents want immediate care or care within 2 weeks so expecting pre-enrollment for a longer amount of time might not be feasible. I suppose it depends on the family, as a family on maternity leave could easily dictate a future date for beginning care but I don't know if others can do the same...know what I mean?
Also, I don't know about the care environment in your area...
Is it difficult to find providers? Are there too many or not enough providers for the area? Is infant care or toddler care lacking?
Are established providers needing to fill spaces too or are they turning children away?
There is so much more to it.... Is your program unique to others in the area, are your rates too high, too low?
Have you tried to network or connect with other providers in the area? If there is a huge need for care in your area, perhaps one of them would be willing to send callers your way.
Opening a new business is hard and maintaining a consistent income is difficult too.....especially in child care. You will learn that there is NO guarantee for that.
Most providers here will tell you the first 6 months - year were tough and opening at full enrollment can happen but it's a rare occurrence and like I said, totally dependent on your area and the needs and demands related to child care.
Also, on a side note you mentioned hanging flyers on mailboxes... please do NOT do that! You cannot legally hang things on people's mailboxes without permission. (Vista print offers target mailing services if you are interested in mailing flyers)
HTH
MommyMuffin 11:03 AM 07-03-2015
I was in the same position as you when I first started. I was quitting a job and wanted to have another paycheck right away. I started advertising 2 months prior. I got my first enrollment 1 month before because they were moving to my area: also rookie mistake I charged $25/wk below average. Looking back I can't believe I did that!
A week after I started I had 1 fulltime. Then a friends child part time. And so on.
It can work. I had some start up money to get me through the first month. That helped!
A week after I started I had 1 fulltime. Then a friends child part time. And so on.
It can work. I had some start up money to get me through the first month. That helped!