Sometimes when you’re running a business it’s very easy to get lost in the routine and rigmarole. You forget why you’ve even started the business in the first place. So every now and then it’s a good idea to take stock of where you’re at. Maybe it’s time to give your business a reboot.
The day-to-day tasks often drown the passion we feel for our childcare businesses and can lead to burn out, so we need to take opportunities to reflect and recoup!
How do I know? Because I’ve been there!
I started my business as a single mom, trying to figure out a way of balancing parenthood with earning some money to pay our bills. And I was so busy doing the job that I felt like I lost my way. I had to learn to make space and be honest with myself when I was finding it tough.
Here are some ideas to reflect on that’ll give you a chance to pause and reset!
Have you lost your why?
Reconnect with why you started your childcare business in the first place. Take a look through your old diaries, scan through ancient emails and dusty photo albums and try to remember why you began this journey!
Taking a trip down memory lane will re-energize your enthusiasm for your business and rekindle all that passion you have!
There’s a great TED talk by Stacey Abrams on “3 questions to ask yourself about everything you do” and it’s inspired me to think about why I’m doing this job in the first place, and given me impetus to plan for how I’m going to grow. And there’s a few great ones by author of “Start with Why”, Simon Synek.
Define your business by your why! Go and watch these and get the reboot you need!
Did your plans fall by the wayside?
Have you been berating yourself for failing to meet a target or goal? Take it from me that there’s no point in giving yourself a hard time over a stumbling block. If your plans haven’t worked out right this time, it doesn’t mean you need to give up entirely.
Encourage yourself to reboot your mindset to know that a failure simply shines a light on areas that might need a little TLC. Make some space for you to breathe (I wrote you a blog on how to do that here) and be gentle with yourself. You wouldn’t speak to the kids in your daycare like you’re speaking to yourself now, would you?!
Make a new plan; create a vision board; read some of your client testimonials to remind yourself of how awesome you are!
I’ve made you a fun quiz to see where you’re at right now in your business. This is a unique way for you to work out where you are in your journey as a business owner. What systems have you got in place and how are you feeling about the day-to-day running of things? What do you need to do to level up?
Take the quiz now and get the help you need to move to become the next level Ninja! Give it a go ———-> here!
And if you haven’t already joined the free Facebook group, what’s stopping you!? Go go go! I hope you’ll come in and make yourself at home! Connect with other phenomenal women and share ideas to help each other grow.
Take a look at becoming a Founding member of my private Ninja Community and begin your journey to becoming a Childcare Ninja today!
You might be wondering what the key to conquering your business goals and dreams is, and as someone who’s run a successful childcare business for a number of years I can tell you it’s not as obvious as you’d think. It is all about mindset. Getting your head into the right place so you can grow your business to be as amazing as you dream it can be is absolutely essential.
Here are 3 mindsets that I know will create an incredible shift in the way your run your business, helping you feel more confident, and ultimately more productive and successful.
These 3 mindsets you must change for you to become a successful childcare business owner:
1. Money Mindset
One of the things women are consistently poor at talking about is money. I think this is because we were all brought up to believe that it’s impolite or embarrassing to talk about money. Money also holds an emotional connection for many of us. It’s time for women in business to overcome the money taboo! We need to ask for what we need and embrace what money can do for us! To do this, we need to start talking about money, encouraging conversations about our finances.
Money really can be a fantastic tool to help us reach our goals and without money it can be quite tricky to take care of the people we love. We owe it to ourselves as women to achieve financial success. We owe it to our children to see us earning money and not being ashamed of it. Women can have an extraordinary economic impact on the planet. As Childcare Ninjas, let’s change the way we think, accept that we are worthy of earning money, and let’s start embracing what money can do!
2. Positive vibes
I have learned this one the hard way! When I began to be successful in my business a few years ago, I had so many negative people around me. They drained my energy, sapping out the hope I had for how my business was going to grow. They wouldn’t allow me to dream big. You know the ones, right?! They eye roll when you’re telling them about something you’ve achieved; they don’t appreciate how hard you’ve got to work to maintain momentum; and they certainly cannot understand why you persevere and don’t just give up.
So the mindset here I want you to try is: get rid of the doubters. Surround yourself with positive people and don’t be afraid to do this sooner rather than later. No more Negative Nellies, protect yourself with Positive Pollies instead!
3. It’s okay to be successful
As women we have a tendency to play down our successes. We’ve an awful habit of putting ourselves down – especially in front of other people. Promoting yourself to others in your business feels so alien doesn’t it? But what’s wrong with wanting people to recognize your achievements? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being successful. When you’ve reached your goals, it enables you to give more generously, and puts you in a position to give back to society.
This mindset fools us into thinking we are “safe”, by playing small, but it’s actually holding us back! So last year I decided to make a change – to stop playing small. I thought long and hard about how i would go about this. I created a vision board and my mantra was “Think bigger”. Every time I caught myself playing small, I repeated my mantra.
And there was this situation last year where I was looking at potential venues for a new daycare facility to add to my portfolio. I found the perfect place. Fantastic location, potential for lots of new clients…but I had this niggling doubt: “I’m not worthy of such an amazing opportunity. Who am I to think this is for me?” So what did I do? Walk away? No! I said “Think BIGGER!” And do you know what I did? I took a leap of faith. I am a Childcare Ninja, after all!
I encourage you to change these mindsets – to actively talk about money, to celebrate our successes and to think about your friendships.
If you’d like to know more, I have created some helpful videos and resources for you in my Childcare Ninja membership, to make your life a little easier, and to enable you to grow your childcare business into your own little empire.
Are you in the Childcare Ninja Facebook group yet? We are an army of childcare professionals who are sharing ninja-sharp skills to transform our businesses into childcare empires! This is Childcare Ownership all Grownup! Interested in becoming a part of the community? Join us for more tips on how to make your childcare business the success it deserves to be!
When it comes to hiring new staff, how easy do you find it? Finding the right people for your childcare biz dream team isn’t always as straightforward as we’d like! However, I’ve been in the childcare industry for 15 years now and I’ve got a couple of super simple ideas for you to try out.
Whether you’re just starting to put together your dream team, or honing your hiring process, read on for some simple considerations!
Why creating your dream team matters!
Before we get stuck in, it’s key that you know what you need a team for in the first place. So you run a childcare business, we know! What’s your goal, what are your aims? How can you craft a team that’ll help you achieve those?
Earlier this week, I had a planning session with two of my team members. They’re totally awesome and amazing at what they do! Each member knows the vision, knows their role, and runs with it! Both of them work really well together and put in 100%. And it’s partly because of having a brilliant team that I’ve been as successful as I have been!
Having a well-rounded team who are in sync means that you can know for sure that your childcare biz is in safe hands! There’s a reason that they use the acronym “Team = Together Everyone Achieves More”.
What help do you REALLY need for your childcare biz dream team?
Occasionally we know it’s time for us to get help and begin thinking about new team members. But I’ve noticed that as childcare biz owners, we don’t always take the time we need to consider what we actually want. Often, instead of getting specific support, I’m seeing hires of generic all-rounders who don’t elevate your team to the next level. Mostly this is because the hiring process is rushed but sometimes it’s due to not knowing what you need.
Getting any kind of help takes a decent amount of time to contemplate! You’ve got to look at what’s needed to help create the right team for yourself.
Get specific about what you want and need to create your dream team!
This might sound obvious, but it’s important to have this clear before you start advertising! If we don’t have that clarity on WHO you’re looking for you can find yourself hiring the wrong person, or a good person but for the wrong role.
Do you need someone to work with the kids or is it about support in the admin department? It’s vital to be clear on your vision and goals so you hire the right person for the right job at the right time!
For instance if you already have a good core team working directly with the kids but find you’re getting swamped with the paperwork and books then you would be better off getting an administrative person in to focus on up-levelling there. Perhaps you don’t like the paperwork and you’re finding it drains your energy and you’re not able to move your business forward. If you’re struggling to work on your vision, finding yourself working ‘in” the business rather than ‘on’ the business, then admin may be your first spot to get covered.
Look at where you have gaps in ability and strengths on the team – not vacancies!
Choosing team members wisely
Okay, I want to take a second and explain why you can’t just hire the top of the class from your local college and hope for the best. Just because people get straight As doesn’t mean they’re automatically a good fit for your childcare business. You’ve got to take time looking at other aptitudes and really delve into what your team needs.
You can think beyond academia. For example, who is going to be great at dealing with client concerns? Have you found anybody with skills in crafting or music…? And you want all your hires to be team players.
Check out their references thoroughly too!
Create the kind of team that works well together
This comes down to communication. You have to know who you’re hiring and why, in order to craft a team that shines! And once you’ve hired them, you have to make sure everyone knows what their roles and tasks are.
If your staff can be clear on expectations of them, what they’ll be working on, when, where and who with, you’re less likely to have issues like personality clashes or overlap with 2 people doing the same task by accident.
You can definitely put together the type of team that works well together and does a stellar job. But it also takes good leadership…
A good team has a strong leader
I’m looking at you, Ninja! You’re the leader in this situation and it’s important that you know that. It’s hard. I get it! You’ve got to effectively communicate your mission and get all your team members on board.
Like the coxswain on a rowing boat, you’ve got to give direction, support, motivation and encouragement. Essentially, you’re responsible for steering the boat (childcare biz!) and coordinating the power and rhythm of the rowers (your team!).
And being a great leader is a skill that takes years to hone. You’ve got to grow! Find out how to be a better childcare boss and grab opportunities to develop your leadership skills. I know it’s totally different working for yourself! And this may be all so new to you, you may just be starting out (or maybe you feel like you’re rusty in this area?!) – I encourage you to be open to learning and growing.
One of the ways you can get support is joining a community of Childcare Ninjas 😉 We’ve got tonnes of resources and another course coming up very soon. If you need help or want to find out more about our support, reach out and let’s chat! I got you, Ninja!
Sometimes being a Childcare Business owner can feel pretty isolating and massively overwhelming. Getting connected with other childcare owners is a game changer! Gain strategies and tips to move your childcare business forward by joining a community! That’s why I set up my FREE Facebook group, where you can hang out with like-minded and aspirational daycare owners AND get training every other week from me! Join us for more tips on how to make your childcare business the success it deserves to be!
Or if you prefer Instagram, we share ideas and tips there too. We’re an army of childcare professionals who are sharing ninja-sharp skills to transform our businesses into childcare empires! This is Childcare Ownership all Grownup!
Being a childcare boss isn’t for everyone. So how do you know if you’ve got what it takes?
I’ve been in the business for a long time and I have seen people come and go. Sometimes, they think running a childcare is easy and they have a shock when they realize that it’s quite different from other types of businesses. For one, there’s tiny people to think about, not just the profit margins!
Other times, they’ve got no experience running a business at all and despite a huge love of working with children, it becomes overwhelming and they’ve given up.
Just as you don’t start on the line of a marathon without hours of training, you also have to begin the race with the right mindset. And the same goes with being a childcare business boss. We’ve got to be prepared and in the right head space to be successful.
Anyway, here are a few things I’ve learned about whether you know that being a childcare boss is right for you and how to get into the childcare boss mindset…
So have you got what it takes?
Truth of the matter is, only you can answer this question honestly. This is an opportunity for you to think about your why. What motivates you to run a childcare business? Why do you want to be a childcare boss?
However, you just need to take some time to meditate over and contemplate these questions. Lean into the fear. Is there anything holding you back? How do you prepare for challenges you face? Is there a pattern? How could you bring that to being a childcare boss?
Achieving what you put your mind to
In my experience people have the ability to do whatever they set their minds to. Therefore, if your mindset is ready, you’re ready!
Think about the people you know who’ve run marathons – they start preparing months in advance. They train hard, and most of them will tell you that it’s not about the physical prep, it’s about breaking the mental barriers. Once you’re able to show your brain that you can run 18 miles, it doesn’t take much to convince it that another 6 miles will be okay.
Same goes for mountaineers. Months of preparation and the right gear, but at the end of the day, it’s ultimately down to their mindset.
Another example is Paralympic athletes. They compete in the face of adversity. Some of them have lost legs in battle, yet they come out fighting! It is all about mindset.
Getting into the right mindset
Hopefully you’re getting the idea that so much of this is down to having the right mindset! So how’s yours?
First, check how your mindset is towards being a childcare boss. And once you’ve looked at that, it’s time to begin taking steps towards creating or growing your childcare business.
Journal about your fears around leadership, your motivations for running a childcare business, think about your soul goals and where you see yourself in five years. Really get to grips with where you feel you’re at in mindset terms.
I hope this blog has got you thinking about whether this is right for you, and I hope the answer is, “For sure, Ms. Nyckie!” I know you’ve got what it takes.
I have a 3 day challenge coming up that dives into this. Taking part in the challenge will allow you to gain freedom from your fears of childcare ownership. You’ll be given simple steps to reignite your fire & make you the passionate and proud childcare boss you know you can be. This challenge is going to get you laser focused and give you the clarity you need to move your childcare business from bleak to booming!
Click hereto register and get my FREE tool to help you get into the right mindset!
And if you’re not already over in the Childcare Ninja Facebook group, come and say hi! We’d love to welcome you into the space and find out how you’re getting on. We’re an army of childcare professionals who are sharing ninja-sharp skills to transform our businesses into childcare empires! This is Childcare Ownership all Grownup! If you’re interested in becoming a part of the community, join us for more tips on how to make your childcare business the success it deserves to be! And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram!
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