Starting A Day Care - Where To Advertise Your New Daycare Center

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So you decided to start a daycare center. Congratulations. Women all over the country are becoming financially independent and make a great income by starting daycare centers. If done correctly, a daycare can become a hugely profitable business. It can also be a lot of fun.

But a daycare center, as any business, needs customers. And in order to get these customers you need to advertise your business. But how to advertise and where?

Most parents choose a daycare center which is close to their home. No one wants to commute too much to take the kid to the daycare center before going to work. That means that you shouldn't advertise too far from home, but you do need to pick the right spots in which to advertise.

A great way to advertise your daycare center in the beginning is with flyers. Print a few hundred flyers with a simple message containing the name of your daycare center, your name, your address and your phone number. This is no time to be shy. Anyone who reads the flyer needs to know where your daycare is to see if it's close to where they live. They need your phone number in order to get in touch with you. Don't worry, a few hundred flyers cost very little and can be very effective if placed at the right spots.

You want your flyers to be where parents go. Here are some great places to place your flyers:

1. Outside the local supermarket. Parents and especially mothers, do the shopping, so they visit the supermarket at least once a week. Placing your flyer on a notice board near the entrance is a must.

2. Many parents go to the gym, so place a flyer close to the gym.

3. Place some flyers close to the schools. Kids who go to school often have small brothers and sisters. Parents often drop their older kids at school. Some do so on a daily basis. Your flyers need to be there.

4. The same thing is true for out of school activities. For instance, if there's a little league baseball field close to your neighbourhood, place some of your daycare flyers by the entrance. Parents go to cheer their kids and they will see your flyers. The same things go for any out of school activities center in your area.

If you place flyers advertising your new daycare center in these locations and others like them, you will have new customers and will make a great income from your daycare business. One warning though: do not litter as it will make people angry with you. Place your flyers on notice boards or ask permission.

To read more tips and advice on how to start and operate your own successful daycare center, click here: How To Start A Daycare

Lucy Doyle runs a home business and is an expert on starting and operating successful daycare centers. To read how you can too become a successful businesswoman by starting your own profitable daycare visit Lucy Doyle's expert webpage on starting daycare centers at this dedicated webpage: http://www.squidoo.com/startingadaycare

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Developing An Effective Website For Daycare Centers

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Does the word "website" frighten you? Do you relate website design to complicated programming, complex html - java scripts? Ever wondered how a small daycare center can afford to setup a website?

Website designing has evolved since the start of internet. What used to be a complicated task, fit for a computer programmer, has now been made easier. Most web hosting packages now comes with web builder programs that enable non web designers to setup a professionally looking website without any/little knowledge of computer programming languages.

Here’s how you can easily develop a website for your daycare centre:
Step 1
 

Purchase a domain name (www.YOUR-DOMAIN-NAME.com) You can buy them from many domain name providers that is available on the web. Go to Google / Yahoo and key in "purchase domain name" and you'll have a list of domain name companies trying to promote their services to you. Domain names are usually charged annually. It can range from as cheap as $1.99.
 

Step 2
Sign up with a web hosting company
Many web hosting companies offer free domain name registration for as long as you host your website with them. Web hosting packages are charged monthly but many web hosting companies will offer you a discount if you were sign up with them for a number of years. There a number of things you need to take note of when selecting a web hosting company. How much space? How many email accounts are permitted? Does it have a website design software?
 

Step 3
 

Write your website copy
The most important and sometimes challenging task of building a website is to write the website copy. Fret not. It can be relatively pain-free.

First and foremost, I would suggest spending some time to surf the web for good examples to copy. The rule of thumb is, if you like it and find it attractive, then most likely your customers will as well.

Here are a number of suggested information to include on your website.

• Home page
This is an introduction or welcome page for your daycare visitors. Visitors normally land on this page first so you should make it easy for your visitors to navigate through. As they say “First impression counts” so ensure that it is attractive. However, don’t overdo it and put too many pictures because it will take a very long time to load.
• Core value and goals
As providing daycare services is a delicate profession, core values and goals of the daycare centre are extremely important.
• About us
Include a photo and short bio of all the caregivers. If it is too tedious, then have at least the daycare centre manager’s / principal’s information.
• Programme / Curriculum br> List down what subjects you offer as part of your curriculum.
• Schedule
Include a schedule of the centre’s daily activities. If possible, even include a menu.
• Photo Gallery
Snap some photographs of the children at play, during storytelling, etc and include it in your photo gallery. Some website design software already have a photo gallery function included.
• Rates and charges
Some owners may not like the idea of publicizing the charges, so it’ll depend on your preference. Personally, I feel that it helps to qualify your customers.
• What’s New
If possible, have a “What’s New” section where you can include short writeup about your centre’s activities or make announcements of upcoming events such as open houses.
•Contact us
In your contact page, list not only contact details such as address, telephone and email but include a map as well. It will be useful for parents who wish to visit your centre.
 

Step 4
Follow the step by step tutorials or guides to setting up a website. Most website design software comes with tutorials on how to develop a website step by step. It varies from software to software. I won’t lie to say that is a piece of cake but you’ll get better with practice. Just think of the amount of money you will be saving by doing it yourself.

Remember to publish your website only when you have checked it thoroughly. Preview it first to ensure the layout is fine. Check the spelling. Nothing is worse than a website that is poorly developed.

Step 5
Promoting your website The first thing you should do is email to all your friends and family and let them know about your website. Encourage them to forward to as many people as possible.

Next is to include your website address on everything; on your name cards and all your marketing materials (brochure, flyer's, posters, advertisements and banners).

Get your website listed in as many places as possible. There are also many web directories which you can list your website and not forgetting the metroguides. If you have purchased a franchise, ask if the franchiser will allow a link from their website to yours.

If after reading this, you find it too cumbersome, there are 2 alternatives. One is to have someone professional do it for you for a fee. Second is to forget about having a website for your daycare altogether.

For more information or resources on starting a successful daycare, please visit setupadaycare.com

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Budgetting Tips For New Daycare Businesses

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Many new businesses owners shun budgeting because they are unsure about what sort of cost to budget for. This article will shed some light on the type of cost a new daycare business owner is likely to incur.

You’ve drawn up your business plan, decided on your marketing plan and even detailed your operations plan. Now you need to sit down to calculate how much money you will actually need. But how would you know how much you will need if you do not know what sort of cost you will incur? Whilst there are many types of setup costs for new businesses, here’s a list of costs that a new daycare start up will likely to incur.

1. Set up costs

These are one time cost incurred for the setting up of your daycare facility.

First, let’s look at the physical centre. You’ll need to work out how much the renovations are going to cost you, what sort of furniture and fittings as well as office equipment which you are intending to purchase for your daycare centre. Don’t forget such as fire alarms, smoke detectors, cutlery, mats and decorative items such as notice boards, posters and clocks etc. Sometimes, these small items can add up to quite a lot so be a little careful in that area.

Next, think about all the paper work cost such as licenses, permits, setting up of bank account, lease deposit, commission paid to property agent for helping you secure your centre. Basically any administrative cost.

2. Staff costs

Next, you will need to work out how many staff you are intending to hire and what it is going to cost you on a monthly basis. To have a more accurate gauge, you will need to do a forecast about the number of children you are expecting to have, which will in turn impact the number of staff you will require.

Based on the findings, calculate what you are intending to remunerate your staff. Next, you will need to look into the auxiliary cost such as health insurance, medical benefits, taxes, sick or vacation leave and bonuses. On average, such cost will be about 15-20% of salary.

3. Operating cost

Finally, list down what are the costs you expect to incur on a monthly or regular basis to operate your daycare. The first type of cost will be the administrative costs such as monthly loan / mortgage repayments, insurance for your centre, conservancy charges, hire purchase repayments, rental, utilities, food supplies, etc. You should also take into consideration costs which occur on a regular basis such as maintenance and repair.

Drawing up budgets is an exhausting affair but a good budget and forecast is absolutely necessary as it helps the owner to anticipate the amount of capital and operating cost he/she will need to set aside for a smooth running of the daycare centre.

Happy budgeting!

For more information or resources on starting a daycare, please visit http://www.setupadaycare.com

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Child Care - Choosing A Daycare Center

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In this article we're going to cover some basic things to do and ask when choosing a daycare center for your child.

The first thing you need to do when going to a daycare center to determine if it's one you want to send your child to is ask them if they have any openings. This should be the very first question you ask. If their answer is no and you need daycare in the near future then they most likely will not be able to meet your needs. If, however, you really want this center then find out when they expect to have an opening and make plans.

The next thing you have to find out is where the center is located and how the traffic is in early morning or rush hour evening hours. If traffic is really bad you know that you're going to have to leave yourself extra time to get your child to the center and extra time for pickup, especially if the center closes at a certain hour.

The next thing you have to find out is what their hours of operation are. If the center has hours from 9 to 6 and you have to be at work at 8 AM then you are going to have a bit of a problem unless you can arrange to have someone else bring your child to the center. Most centers however do have hours long before normal work hours begin and long after normal work hours end. Just make sure you find out exactly what the hours are.

The next thing that's important to know is if there are any special holidays or dates when the center is closed. Not all businesses celebrate all holidays. For example, many businesses may be open on Martin Luther King's birthday. If yours is one of them and the center is closed for that day you are going to have to make plans for someone to either stay with your child or if possible bring your child to another center for a day or if worst comes to worst, bring your child to work. Make sure you know this well in advance.

Of course you are going to have to find out what the center charges and if there are any special supplies you will have to bring. Some centers provide diapers and food but many do not. So find this out in advance. Also, find out how payment needs to be made and when. Some centers require payment in advance and other allow you to pay at the end of each period, whether it be weekly or monthly.

It may not be a bad idea to find out the ages of the other children. If they are all older than your child you may not want to take your child to that center as there could be a greater danger of problems.

Find out if the center offers some kind of flex time in case you have a strange schedule. Some centers actually have a day shift and a night shift. Find this out if your needs require odd hours.

This may not seem important but find out what their turnover rate is. A high turnover rate may indicate a poorly run center.

Find out if there are backups to the main provider should he or she become ill. The last thing you want to find out is that you can't bring your child one day because there is only one caregiver and they are out sick.

Finally, find out if the center is certified. While this doesn't always mean the center is great, you'll have a better chance of getting a good center if it is certified.

By following the above tips you should have little trouble in finding a suitable daycare center for your child.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Child Care
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Is It Expensive To Start A Daycare In Your Home?

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Opening a daycare in your home has so many benefits to it, the list goes on and on. One of the greatest benefits that excites so many ladies is the fact that you can make money and stay home and raise your children.

This was initially why I started my daycare.

I was a new mom of twins and I had an absolute desire to stay home and care for my daughters. So it all worked out perfectly, I made money, took care of my family and had a really great time teaching and caring for other people’s children.

Many of you have asked me advice on starting a daycare is expensive. This could be farther from the truth. To be honest with you most of the items I use in my daycare I had already owned. Just think about it for a minute, many of you are already mom’s and have toy’s laying around the house.

And if you don’t you can purchase toys at rummage sales, and Goodwill for cheap. Books and toys can be borrowed from the library and parents who attend your daycare can be asked if they have any items they would like to donate. Over the years I’ve gone to businesses in my area asking them if they had any donations, I’ve gotten items such as envelopes, huge roles of paper, colored sheets of sticker paper, books of wallpaper samples, the list goes on. All these items can be used for craft projects with children.

It always helps to be creative, one other thing I did that received rave reviews is I bought a large circular wooden table at Goodwill for $15.00. It was a beautiful table but too tall for small children. My solution was to chop off the legs.

It’s very important to keep in mind that many items around your home can be turned into items that would be great for daycare. Another example would be bones from Thanksgiving Turkey Dinners. Keep the large sized leg bones to show children and teach about bones in humans and animals.

Starting a daycare in your home is one of the cheapest businesses you can start. It only takes a short time to get things up and running. It’s not uncommon to start a daycare in one week’s time.

Christine Groth is an author, speaker, mentor to daycare business owners. She has wrote the book, "The Guide to Instant Daycare Profits" To receive her free newsletter on how to start a daycare go to http://www.instantdaycareprofits.com/

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Maximize Daycare Income: Blog Daycare Activities-Menus, & Mom Tips For Passive Income

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When you run a daycare at home, you may think you’ve maxed out your time and effort, but - have you?

Every day you plan a daycare menu, child activities, and offer Mom’s tips for making the most of parenting time, because you have experience in those areas. Why not share your daycare experiences and have additional income?

Blog your daycare experiences, run an online forum for parents, and design a website with Tips for Mom’s and Toddlers, or After School Plans and make a bundle from your efforts with passive income streams. Use your daily child-loved meal plans as pages on your website, or blog the craziest stunt your most recently acquired two year old attempted, and you’ve got a winning site with frequent visitor miles.

When you share your day online, other moms become part of your community and you make a buck or two from an alternative source of business. The day is good. Your active income from running a daycare may only make a few dollars a day with all the deductions, but your alternative income streams may bring you a hundred dollars or more, depending on what kind of income streams you include.

You can Maximize your Daycare Income by sharing what you do, increasing your visibility, and making a name for yourself as an expert in your field of child care.

The daily events that make you laugh with joy or cry tears of distress can bring you fame and additional income if you blog it.

When you share your expert knowledge with other daycare moms through a forum, or website, you can offer benefits and bonuses that bring them more income options. Your ideas become valuable and people begin to look for your words of wisdom.

Jan Verhoeff enjoys additional Spring Income from operating a Tax Consulting Business from her home in Southeastern Colorado. IF you’re looking for information, need help with online filing, or just want to discuss your tax prep with a professional, Jan offers hourly consulting fees at reasonable rates. Or you may search http://taxprep101.blogspot.com/ for Tax Advice and Information at no cost to you.

If you choose to develop your business with additional income streams, Jan Verhoeff can help. Visit http://brandyourmarket.com/ for more information about business development and branding your market.

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