by admin | Oct 9, 2021 | Blog, Uncategorized
In this blog, I’m sharing the secret main ingredient to growing your childcare business. Take your home childcare business to a whole new level by making sure you’re adding the value your potential clients are actually seeking.
You’re already offering a great service to your families and community, but how can you really make your childcare business stand out from the crowd? How are you going to shine above all the others?
One word my lovely Ninja: VALUE!
You’ve got to be going above and beyond in your offerings.
Why do I need to add value?
It’s necessary to do more than just offer the basics. I had to do this right at the start of my journey as a childcare business owner. I looked at serving my community with hours outside the traditional working day childcare hours. By offering unusual hours I was giving value. I filled a need that other people had neglected in their offerings!
How will I know what value my clients are looking for?
Hey ninja, keep it simple here! Just ask them! Put out a survey asking if there’s anything the families wish you offered.
Think about the questions that your current clients are asking you. Do you offer weekends? Are you open in the evenings? Pull out the ones that you can fulfil now…and mark ones for the future (when you’ve got more staff or venues).
Don’t be afraid of asking questions on tours of your daycare. “What else would you like to see?” Because you might be able to add it in at a later date when you have capacity. Perhaps music lessons or languages, or a gardening club…whatever it is!
Who else can you help?
Also, it doesn’t hurt to think outside the box. Think about the value you can offer to other businesses or individuals who aren’t your current clients.
When I was looking at other services I could offer, I just so happened to be at a wedding. I was looking at the kids running round and it dawned on me that what this wedding needed was a babysitting service! And so I branched into wedding childcare. Which led to an “aha” moment when I realized that if weddings needed childcare services, perhaps other events did too. So I reached out to event management companies. It took off!!
So take a look around your neighborhood. What is missing? Is there anything you could offer to local businesses that could make you stand out as a childcare business?
Make use of your venue.
If you run your childcare business from a center that isn’t your home, you might want to look at hiring out your space at the weekends to local community groups or for birthday parties.
What else could you offer at your specific venue? Is there a local makers market or artists group that needs a space? Or perhaps a sports coach? Helping people in the community adds value to your childcare.
Check out my YouTube video for more tips, where I’m discussing how to add value to your services that will help your childcare business grow. In case you haven’t subscribed to my Youtube channel yet and didn’t know, my videos get released live every Monday. Go ahead over to my Youtube channel and let me know what you think. Of course while you’re there be sure to SUBSCRIBE and don’t forget to snap up whatever FREE resource I’ve put up that week. Enjoy! If you find it helpful, pass on the link to other childcare business owners you know who might find it helpful!
Let me know how it helps you inch closer to becoming a childcare ninja when it comes to childcare business growth.
Sometimes being a home daycare provider can feel lonely and overwhelming so getting connected with other childcare owners can really be a game changer to help you gain strategies and tips to move your childcare business forward.
That’s why I set up my community over on Facebook, where you can hang out with like-minded and aspirational daycare owners. 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!
by admin | Apr 8, 2021 | Blog, Uncategorized
This month we’ve been looking at the idea of getting support. Going on a journey in our childcare businesses together from recognising that we need support and figuring out the kind of support we need to make progress. Then researching the type of support we want, and eventually getting it all setup.
So now it’s time to take action. To fit the final piece into the puzzle! But how do we apply what we’ve learned and put it into action so we use the support wisely?
Here’s some of the ways the support you’ve selected can help you to grow your childcare business!
What does your chosen support give you?
Think back to when you were researching the support you need. Was it support with something really specific in your business, like marketing or social media? Perhaps it was getting a mentor or joining a group for accountability support? Those kind of things will give you confidence, stretch your mindset and challenge you to step outside your comfort zone.
But how does it look if the support you’ve chosen is in your personal life? How does that affect us in our businesses? What does that give you exactly? For example if you’ve come to the decision that you need help at home with cleaning, what does that give you?
Simply put, it frees you up to do the things you’ve been putting off in your business. It stops you procrastinating. Use the time you gain back from investing in that support wisely!
How does that affect the business side?
Hopefully you’ve had a chance to think about the things you want to achieve in 2021 with your business. Perhaps it’s hiring more staff so you can extend your capacity for children. Or maybe it’s opening a new day care in an area that needs your services. Whatever your goals look like, getting the support you need is going to help you smash them!
So what can you do in your business now you have that time free? With that extra time how are you going to be intentional about using it to grow your business? You’ve got to create a plan and action it!
Don’t waste your time: make a plan
The last thing you want to be doing, when you’re paying for support (like a cleaner, or a tutor, or a gardener…whatever you’ve opted for!) is wasting your hard earned money. But neither do you want to waste the time you’ve gained back. That time is golden.
So it’s important that you have a plan! Figure out how you’re going to break up that allotted time. Not having a clear plan for how you’ll use that time is almost the same as setting fire to dollar bills twice over! It might sound a little harsh, but you have got to use that time wisely.
Start by writing down the things you want to do in that new time, and put in order of priority. Work out how many things you can realistically achieve in that extra time. So if you usually spend 1 hour vacuuming, maybe you can spend 1 hour doing that marketing course. Or perhaps you could split it into 2 parts. Half an hour to scheduling social media posts, and half an hour to updating the menus for your day care.
Being intentional gets results!
By spending some time making a plan and working out exactly what you’ll do with the extra time, you’re setting yourself up for success. Even when it comes to business support rather than home help, be intentional about how you’re going to apply it so you can create the best results you possibly can.
I have learned this one the hard way! So take it from me, having a plan and sticking to it really helps you stay focused. Since I’ve had help with cleaning, I’ve been able to prioritize growing my childcare empire. I’ve also been able to allocate energy to my Ninja group and developing new ideas.
And investing in business support has given me the confidence I need to take leaps in growth that I might never have had the courage to do before. Having a team of brilliant women around me at all times has meant I can step away if I need to, so that I can plan for world domination!
I hope this blog post has given you some food for thought about how you can really use your time wisely!
Before you go, I’ve got a gift for you! It’s my latest guide: 15 Steps to finding the startup dollars, letting go of the fear, and starting your home childcare business without losing your sanity. I’m so excited about what lies ahead of you once you get your hands on this guide! You can get your guide for FREE right here.
I’m pretty sure that you’re really gonna love it, in fact, I’m hoping that you get sooo much value that you and I will continue your journey into childcare ownership together! My other role, when I’m not juggling my own childcare businesses or my family, is being your hype girl, mentor and cheerleader! There’s nothing I love more than supporting you, so head on over and join my free Facebook group!
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! Interested in becoming more involved in the community and to grow your business? 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!