When it comes to putting passion into action, I’ve often found childcare business owners don’t do this enough. Yes, of course you’re passionate about your families and the care of the children, but what else lights you up?
Let me tell you a story about why it’s important that we don’t put all our eggs in one basket. And why we should look at our passions when we diversify our incomes.
It was all going so well
Back in the days – about 13 years ago – when I was running my childcare solely from my home, I had no other form of business. I ran my daycare, I looked after my own family. That was that. All was going really well – the children in my care were thriving and their parents were appreciative and kind.
Suddenly the rug was pulled from under my feet. The government had major budget issues. They froze childcare payments to those who needed them. Families in my daycare relied on that so they could send their children to me, in order to go to work. Government subsidies was where a significant amount of my income was coming from. And when they froze the payments, I found myself with less than I needed coming in.
I was facing three months with no pay outs from the government to cover those families. I didn’t know what I was going to do. Around me I could see other childcare businesses shutting down, but I was sure as hell not going to be one of them.
Searching my passion
I needed an additional source of income – STAT. Thinking about all my skills and passions, I began to search for ideas I could implement to supplement the gaping hole in my finances. It needed something that wasn’t dependent on the government or my daycare parents.
There were a couple of events and weddings I went to around this time, and I noticed that there were parents struggling – understandably! – to keep kids quiet and that those babies were bored outta their minds. A light bulb moment occurred!
I could put my passion into action! Soon after the idea came to me, I set up my very own Events and Weddings Childcare Service. I began offering babysitters on and off site for both the organizers of the events and to those attending. All this was in addition to my home childcare. I was serving other families, and it wasn’t focused on those at work so I didn’t need to worry about subsidies.
Where does your passion lie?
What are you passionate about? Is there something you’ve always wanted to experiment with, but you weren’t sure how to incorporate it into your life? Perhaps you pushed it aside to focus on your childcare business.
Well, I want you to learn from my mistakes. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Use your passion to diversify your income. We love what we do but I’ve been taught the importance of speculation! Figuring out a way of getting income from alternative sources is key!
Look at the hobbies and skills you’re excited about. Are you a talented musician? You could be offering musical sessions in your daycare or using the network of parents in your childcare business to spread the work about piano lessons. Or maybe you could play at events and ask parents to tell their friends. Minimize the work by implementing through your business.
Perhaps you’re an artist or amazing craft maker who could offer extra sessions in the daycare, or sessions at the weekend or after school to bored kids or in the evenings to folks who want to learn from your skills. If you’re into something pretty, these are highly sought after for things like bachelorette parties.
Put your passion into action
This isn’t the time to be humble. If you have a skill – outside of being a childcare ninja that is – use it! Whatever it is, it’s necessary to diversify your income streams to protect yourself and your childcare business.
By taking something you enjoy doing in your free time and creating a cash flow from it, you’re putting your passion into action. This sounds exhausting, but it needn’t be. Ensure you utilize word of mouth, making the most of the networks you have available, i.e., your parents!
And I implore you to do it now. There are unstable times upon us and you have a duty to yourself and your family to do what you can to look at other income streams.
Growth and Legacy
This is also an opportunity to think about growth – do you always want to run a childcare business? Or can you see yourself doing different things after you’ve sold it or moved on? Your passion project and side hustle could then become your main source of income instead of just a back up.
And what about the vision for your legacy? What does that look like for you? I like to say that your childcare business can be the catalyst to growing an amazing life, but it doesn’t have to be the only thing. It can be the start of amazing things.
And I see a bright future in you! There’ll be no stopping you once you put your mind to it. Trust me, I’m a ninja!
I hope you found this blog helpful to think about your future. If you enjoyed reading this, and would like to see more like this and chat with other childcare business owners, I wonder whether you’d like to head over here: Childcare Ninja Facebook group! Join us for more tips on how to make your childcare business the success it deserves to be!
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