by admin | May 20, 2021 | Uncategorized
On my own childcare business journey I have faced many obstacles along the way! And in helping other childcare owners for the last decade or so I’ve been able to observe what the four biggest challenges are that get in the way of success.
I’m going to share them with you in the hope that, because you have a heads up, you can overcome these challenges more effectively and efficiently!
So what exactly are the 4 biggest challenges you’ll face as a childcare business owner?
Read on to find out what they are and how you can successfully deal with them!
Challenge #1: FEAR
One of the biggest challenges I faced when starting my childcare business was F.E.A.R. Not just your average “oh no, I’m scared of the snake” kinda fear. I’m talking about what F.E.A.R. actually is! And that’s: False Expectation About Reality.
You see, Ninja, what happens with FEAR is your brain magnifies it. Imagine blowing something up, totally out of proportion! That’s EXACTLY what our brains are hard-wired to do. It’s how we survived as a human race! This makes the “risk” feel so much bigger than it actually is and you get more anxious, more concerned and more scared. It does this to protect you.
And I get the fear too. Perhaps a fear of the unknown, the uncertain. Fear of failure, and fear of judgement. But when that niggling little voice raises its ugly head, this is when you need to trust yourself, believe in yourself and have the courage to take the uncomfortable action. Because the other side of fear is magnificent.
Take that one teeny tiny step. By doing that, you can move to the other side of fear… and let me tell ya – the view is glorious!
Challenge #2: SELF-BELIEF
This challenge is one I come across all the time. Self-belief is something we all need to nurture within ourselves. No one else can give it to you. It’s like a muscle that needs flexing. You’ve gotta warm it up to get the most out of it!
So, you’ve been thinking about starting a childcare business…Actually, you’ve been more than thinking about it: you KNOW deep down that you WANT to do this.
For me, it wasn’t just about wanting to, I had to. I was an unemployed single mom who had no choice but to provide for my children. But I was scared. I wasn’t sure if I could do it. However, I made a promise to myself, and that promise was that I would never again work for someone else. I had to make it work and I had to believe in myself.
You need to make that promise to yourself, Ninja. In order to live up to that promise you need to BELIEVE in YOU.
Take a moment right now…ready? Close your eyes. Imagine you start your childcare business. Really visualize it! It’s amazing, right?! And then picture yourself opening another daycare centre. Suddenly you’ve got multiple childcare centres…are you feeling this?!
Now you have the flexibility and freedom you’ve been craving. You’ve got the success, and it’s all down to you. Because you’re AWESOME. Are you seeing this? This is you, and you can do this, I know you can. You have to believe in yourself. You got this, and I got you!
Challenge #3: MONEY
One of the biggest reasons I hear from ambitious women about what’s holding them back is: “I don’t have the money”. Ninjas, this is a safety excuse. I get it, I do. This helps you to protect yourself. Sometimes it’s a genuine problem – putting food on the table and a roof over our heads comes first, right? However in most cases this isn’t what’s actually going on.
So I want to ask you something. Remember the last time you downloaded something free? It might’ve been a free e-book, a course, whatever it was. Did you complete it? Did you give you it 100% of your efforts? NO!
I can tell you the very simple reason why. It’s because you didn’t invest in it.
Now let me ask you something else: what is NOT GETTING STARTED costing you? Ninjas, I had no money when I first set out as a business owner. Nada. Zilch. Zero! I learned all the tricks to get this thing going from home on a shoestring budget. I made small investments and made sure I got a good return on my money. The old adage, “you’ve got to speculate to accumulate” is famous for a reason, after all!
As such, investing in myself now has become the single most important place my money goes these days. You’ll see. For now, just remember you get in life what you focus on. So I highly recommend starting to focus on abundance, learning and taking action. You got this!
Challenge #4: IMPOSTER SYNDROME
Have you heard about this buzz word? Imposter Syndrome? In nutshell, it means: I don’t think I’m QUALIFIED or CREDIBLE or GOOD ENOUGH to do this. Are you kidding Ninja?
Are you a go-getter? Do you love and have a passion for children? Perhaps you’re a mom too? Then you can absolutely do this! Imposter syndrome happens when you spend too much time looking around you at what everyone else is doing. Stay in your lane. In fact, SLAY in your lane!
And sometimes it happens when you’re trying to reach everyone and as a result don’t actually connect with anyone. So narrow down your target focus. Think about who you’re trying to reach to grow your business. In your daycare, which kids do you want in there? Where will you find their parents? How can you help these parents? What problem are you solving for them? What will make your childcare centre unique and stand out? By narrowing this down, you’ll feel more confident and passionate to do this!
Another thing you can do to combat the imposter syndrome, is join our Club Membership. When you’re walking this journey alone it can be very overwhelming. But when you’re in a family with women on the same road as you, you will feel confident and empowered! Let’s do this! Sisterhood for the win!
I’d love to know which of the 4 biggest challenges you’ve found the hardest so far?
If you are ready to get to the other side of fear and get your childcare centre started click here and join The Club membership – a place for childcare business owners to come together, be inspired, learn and get empowered!
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! 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 | May 13, 2021 | Blog, Uncategorized
You might be wondering whether an advertising plan is relevant to you as a childcare business owner, especially if you run a small day care center. After all, you’ve got a great reputation and word of mouth clients are keeping your business afloat.
But I have learned over the years that living on a wing and a prayer when it comes to finding new clients doesn’t always work. So I want to take a moment to explain how valuable having an advertising plan can be.
Read on to find out why you should have an advertising plan – even if you run a home day care!
Okay, firstly: what is an advertising plan?
As you already know, I do love a plan and being organized. But this one is extra awesome. Essentially, an advertising plan is the blueprint for how you can use advertising to promote your childcare business. It’s how you’re going to reach out to new clients.
Having a plan in place means that your childcare’s marketing budget isn’t wasted and that the money is put to good use! By creating a plan, you can also make sure that your advertising reaches the correct audience! Yay!
Why does my childcare business need one?
Every business needs an advertising plan! I like to think of it as a kind of guide to promoting your business. Your plan will tell you who your target clients are and how you can reach them. Most importantly, it’ll point out where things aren’t working and what needs more focus.
Instead of struggling on doing the same old thing, having a plan allows you to correct your direction and helps your childcare business to thrive. Putting together a plan means you can save yourself time and money. It’s going to get you attracting your dream clients – you know, the families that you really want to work with! The ones that will be a good fit for your services and the ones you want to support.
What if you’re a home day care?
There are benefits to creating an advertising plan for your Childcare business whether it’s a smaller or a larger center. Sometimes when you’re running smaller business you can feel a little bit like a small fish in a big pond. So you wonder how you can pull clients in when you don’t have as much money to allocate to it. And you’re limited on the time you have to spend on marketing. You can’t afford to waste time or money on the wrong things.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking an advertising or marketing plan is only for bigger providers or centers. Because if you have goals for your business then you should make a plan. Just because you may not be as big as them, it doesn’t mean you can’t put together a plan!
You can create a plan that’s right for your childcare business. One that will help you bring in the ideal clients that you’re looking for within your allocated budget!
When should I make an advertising plan?
Don’t do what I did and wait years before creating a plan! Do it as quickly as possible so you can start to grow at a faster rate, and call in the right clients from the get-go! It’s not impossible to create a plan once you’re established, but it’s much easier and you’ll waste so much less cash if you plan your advertising properly right from the beginning!
How do I begin to create an advertising plan?
First thing’s first: what do you want your advertising plan to achieve? Are you trying to attract new families to your day care or are you trying to encourage current customers to book more sessions? Or maybe you’re offering a new service or are opening a new center? I’ve learned that the best goals are super specific. For example, what kind of increase in enquiries are you looking for and in what time period?
Next you need to figure out what your budget is. How much do you want to spend on promoting your business? If you already have some ideas in mind, how much will these ideas cost you to execute?
Now it’s time to get super clear on who your ideal client is. What are they like? Where do they hang out? What problem are you solving for them? It’s really important that you know how they tick!
What next?
Once you’ve established who you’re speaking to, it’s time to put together your messaging. This is where you communicate all the benefits that your services can provide your clients. You want to make sure your advertising is perfected so that it resonates with your audience and entices them. You want them to feel an urge to learn more about your day care and maybe even book a tour or call with you. (Remember your goal!)
And then you can start to plan how you’ll advertise. What medium will you go for? Purely digital ads or will you have some printed pamphlets as well? Will your budget stretch to bill boards or radio? So many options!
Once you’ve created the plan and implemented your strategies, it’s then time to analyse how you’re doing. But that’s all for another time!
I hope this blog has helped you to see why having a plan for your advertising will help you to achieve more in your childcare business. By creating this plan, you’re going to be able to grow at a quicker rate.
Want to find out more about how advertising plans can help you build a successful childcare business?
Join me in the Facebook group tonight where I’ll be talking about how to make an advertising plan. I’ll be going into more detail about what you need to include and why! I’ll be sharing some things to consider whenever you’re working on that plan and the additional benefits of having an advertising plan for childcare business whatever your size.
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!
by admin | May 6, 2021 | Blog, Uncategorized
As if it’s nearly halfway through 2021 already?! And this month is a great time to celebrate your team and yourself! We had International Workers Day on May 1st, Mother’s Day is coming up, and it’s soon to be Teacher Appreciation week. All of which are relevant to you and your staff. So why not celebrate the progress you’ve made so far this year!
At this point in the year, I like to take some time to reflect on how far I’ve come, and to assess where I’m at in relation to the goals I initially set in Q1. I know how easy it is to get swept up doing the day job, so much so that the wins can slip by unnoticed. Or the dreams we had at the start of the year are forgotten.
It’s time to take stock and celebrate the steps we’ve taken!
May the Joy be with you
Every year, May seems to be a month of celebration. Singing the praises of teachers and moms and workers! Yay! But I wanted to shout out all the brilliant things you’re doing too! As childcare business owners we step into our families’ parenting shoes and we do quite a lot of teaching as well.
You are amazing community leaders, supporting parents to do their jobs in difficult times, and nurturing their babies! You’ve helped keep your country’s economy going. We are superheroes! Where’s your cape!? Let’s celebrate the last few months together!
Where did you begin 2021?
We all had high hopes for 2021 after 2020 and the Covid-19 drama…we thought we’d have moved on by now. But the reality hasn’t been as great as we’d hoped maybe. In January I remember me and my teams all sat down and went through plans for the next few months. Not just the day-to-day learning and care stuff, but I wanted to encourage them to be a part of my vision.
It’s easy to get caught up with the business of life and the Childcare Business but make sure to take stock of all those amazing plans we made at the start of the year. So what did you set as your goal earlier this year? Revisit your vision board and your goals list. Are there any bigger goals that got left behind? Because there’s still enough time to do them, choose to go all in!
Did you have a foolproof strategy in place to ensure that you took action? I’d love for you to reflect on the goals you set yourself. Where are you at in your journey towards them? Have you been meeting your SMART targets?
Where are you at now?
We’re almost halfway through 2021! Can you believe it? It’s like I blinked and FebMarchApril happened! Anyway, time is flying! So as we approach the midpoint, now’s a good time to reflect and check in and assess where you are.
Check your progress in detail. Imagine your goal as a destination; Whereabouts are you on the road to it? Reflect on some things like what’s working? Where have I gone wrong? What changes do I need to make? We need to look at all these things and push forward and put in place the things that need to be done so we can accomplish our dreams for 2021.
Make a note of the steps you’ve got left to take. Perhaps as we’re almost 6 months in it’s time to buckle down and zoom in on the bigger goals. Let’s take those dreams – the ones we are passionate about – and shout out: “Yassssssssssssss!! I’m going to finish it this year, I’m going to smash it!” Now we’ve got to get laser focused, give it 110% and throw everything we’ve got at these goals and go for it!
What can you celebrate?
So please use this month as a time to give yourself a pat on the back for making it through such a weird year, for being a shining light in the darkness! Clink a glass or two to celebrate how far you’ve come since January. Even if the wins seem small, it doesn’t matter!
I also want to celebrate and thank all the Childcare Business owners with it being Teachers Appreciation Week and Mother’s Day coming up!
As day care and childcare providers we definitely teach like teachers and care for kids just like moms do! SO this is my big thank you for EVERYTHING you do for your families and for the community you serve.
One of the ways I say thank you is via my freebies! So please head over and download resources that you’ll find useful. I think you’ll love my Weekly Planner – so you can stay on track to achieving your goals!
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! 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 29, 2021 | Blog, Uncategorized
I’ll bet my morning coffee that you’ve had several hard conversations to handle in the last month or so. Am I right?! Sometimes it might have been with a member of your team, it might even have been with someone in your family…but what do you do when it’s with a parent?
As a childcare business owner these conversations are not uncommon! You don’t have to have been in business very long before you find yourself in the awkward situation of needing to have an uncomfortable conversation with a parent. It may be something that sounds super simple, but you never know what it could turn into.
Recently I’ve been asked in my Facebook group about how to handle these tricky moments and I thought a blog post might help!
What do you mean by “hard conversations”?
Ok, so these are the conversations that you might freeze up in, or avoid having altogether. You know the ones?! The time a grandma comes to pick up their little one and they are more soaked than a rum cake. Or in winter when a pre-schooler is brought in wearing inappropriate jelly shoes and a sundress, with no coat. Or one of your parents smokes right outside the window, despite the sign you’ve displayed…
These are sometimes what you might describe as “teachable moments”. When the person you’re speaking with might not know what they’re doing or saying is wrong. Often this might be with a new team member or a family who’s new to my day cares. And it’s my job as a professional to set them straight and to help them see things from my perspective.
Other times, a different approach is needed. It’s important to address this because you will find these conversations come up. Ones that you don’t want to tackle but will need to.
What do you do if…
One of the Childcare Ninjas in my Facebook group asked me last week about something quite specific, so I thought I’d also share it here. It illustrates the exact kind of hard conversation many of you might have to have in your role as a childcare business owner. So the question I received was, “Hey Miss Nyckie! What do you do when a parent has come to your center smelling of Marijuana or seems intoxicated, how do I handle these things?”
In a situation like this your first priority is the safety of the child. You need to make sure you protect the child in your care above all else. You’re in “loco parentis”, which means you’re totally responsible in that moment. As a business owner, it all comes back on you.
What you do next matters because what if someone comes back and asks, “Why did you let the child go with a person in that state?”
So here’s how to handle it
In this situation (or others like it) you want to immediately assess:
1. The danger or potential danger of the child (make sure the child is in a safe position).
2. Your own protection as an individual and as a business owner.
3. What options do you have to handle this situation?
Those are a few of the things you must consider in an uncomfortable situation, that could potentially turn into something worse.
Be prepared
The best way to deal with hard conversations it to be ahead of the game! Make sure you’re as prepared as possible so that these conversations are less likely to occur in the first place. I’d advise that you have something in your Parental Contract wording that covers things like this and ensure that all of your parents read and sign off. You can then parrot the information at them when they break the rules they agreed to. It makes your job easier!
Another thing you need to take into consideration is covering yourself. By making sure that you cover all bases, you’re protecting everything you’ve spent time building. After all, this is your business, your livelihood and legacy! You want to protect it as much as possible. Look into insurance thoroughly.
Tips for hard conversations
When these situations crop up, we can easily fall into “I’m the boss” mode. You’re the expert. They’re the parent. You make the rules here. However, as much as an authoritarian manner can be useful occasionally, this can also be like a red rag to a bull.
I recommend that you take a deep breath and try to stay calm. Run through points 1 to 3 above. Try to make sure you have a witness to the conversation. Lay out the law of the land in a respectful and composed way that won’t incite any bad feeling.
I’m going to be talking you more about this sort of difficult circumstance during tonight’s live, so why don’t you join me?
Have you been in an awkward situation before? How did you handle it?
Supporting you is top of my priorities, so head on over and join my free Facebook group, where I help childcare business owners step into their leadership like the ninjas they are! We can do hard things!
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!
by admin | Apr 24, 2021 | Blog, Uncategorized
Have you been feeling quite “meh” recently? It seems to be a common theme in the online space and I’ve heard it a few times in my Facebook group. So, I want to encourage you to keep moving. Take that next step. Keep on taking action.
It’s hard to keep momentum when the world around us feels a little unstable and out of our control. But it’s not impossible to make progress. So let’s take some control back!
In this blog post, I’m going to share some hard-learned wisdom with you and some tips about how you can keep moving and keep motivated.
Why you might be feeling “blah” right now
First thing’s first: we need to acknowledge the massive year we’ve just experienced. Many of us have had our children at home full time, managing their learning, caring for them and trying to juggle our work simultaneously! Some of us have had to pivot our entire lives. Some of us have had to support our partners who’ve lost their jobs. That’s no small feat. That is HUGE!
Taking time to sit with the uncomfortable, breathe it in, but then take action to move forward. We’ve got to plan for it. What steps can you take right now?
What to do when you’re feeling stuck
I want to share some encouragement right now. There’s a verse that helps me when I feel stuck, frustrated and overwhelmed:
“Faith without works is dead.”
It’s about taking action. This week I really just want to help you to keep moving. So I talked about procrastination last Thursday in my group, and that can take our motivation away. One of the childcare business owners in my group had been feeling a bit “blah”, a bit frustrated and unmotivated. But when we’re having those moments of feeling like giving up and not wanting to go any further then we need to take every ounce of strength we have left in us and take a small step. Baby steps.
As we do that it will rekindle our energy and our willingness to continue the journey.
Every step you take is moving you forward
No doubt you know by now, that the journey is not always easy, in life or business. We all have those moments in life where we want to curl up in a ball and hide from the world. We don’t feel like doing anything. That’s where I’ve been the last few weeks. I needed to take time out for my personal loss and I didn’t want to get back into doing some areas of my business. This includes showing up for lives and serving my online community.
I kept telling myself that I wasn’t ready. But eventually, I showed up and just came on. Zero plan, no jazz hands or top tips, I just shared from the heart. And as the words flowed, I started to feel better. Somehow I knew deep down that there was a person in the group that needed me. I was here to encourage them, to lead by example. Somehow, subconsciously I knew there was someone who needed to hear what I was sharing.
Afterwards, a few of the Ninjas let me know that they’d missed me and had really needed that pep talk. Even in the ups and down’s of grief and in my pain right now, being able to help someone else was what I needed to help me to keep pushing and moving forward.
Don’t give up – keep moving!
Hopefully you can see from my own story, that you need to keep going. Someone out there needs what you have to offer. Please don’t give up, take the faith you have and take the tiniest teeny step possible. Even if it’s crawling. Keep going forwards towards your goal. Then sit and watch what the universe does with that!
If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t walk run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but by all means keep moving.
– Martin Luther King Jr
And – no matter what I’m going through personally – I’ve got your back. There’s nothing I love more than supporting you, so head on over and join my free Facebook group.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Lao Tzu.
What’s your next step going to be?
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!
by admin | Apr 16, 2021 | Blog, Uncategorized
If you asked me what’s one thing I wish I’d had when I was setting up as a childcare business, it’d be a simple step-by-step guide. A guide of the things I needed to do to ensure my day care was legal, marketable and (most importantly!) AWESOME. Because when I set up 15 years ago, I had to make it up as I was going along.
So I spent years learning the ropes and figuring it out solo! It dawned on me that maybe I could create a road map for new childcare business owners. Read on to find out more!
Wishing on a star
At the time I set up, I had no such thing. I was absolutely winging it. I remember wishing that someone – a local mentor, a kind stranger, God…whoever! – might give me a hand figuring it all out. Setting up as a childcare business owner was something I wanted and needed to do, but a guide would’ve been super helpful!
So instead of you having to do the same thing, I set up Childcare Ninjas! I want to support you on your journey. My mission is to help Childcare Ninjas (like you!) build a 6-figure business you love, so you can live life on YOUR terms. No sitting, waiting, wishing for you!
Congratulations on the best decision of your life!
A couple of weeks ago I was talking to a friend about pivotal moments in our lives. Hers was pretty huge but tainted with regret. Mine, however, was full of positivity. Can you guess what it was, Ninja? That’s right! Mine was taking the leap to build my own day care business. Doing that gave me the security I so badly needed, but also the freedom I craved. I was then able to raise my babies AND be of service in my community, in a job that I adore!
So huge congratulations on making the decision to start your own childcare business! This is honestly going to be the best business decision you’ll ever make. Welcome to the magical world of autonomy and being your own boss! This is a role that will give you all the creativity, flexibility and financial security you’ve been yearning for!
Reminder: this is not an easy option
Now, before you let anyone tell you otherwise, setting up as a childcare business is not an easy ride. It is damned hard work in the beginning. The list of things to do can seem endless and the hoops you’ve got to jump through feel frustrating. There’s no getting round the fact that it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
However, it doesn’t have to be a miserable journey! I am here to make it SIMPLE for you, and I am here to SUPPORT you. Truth being told, if you want to run a successful childcare business, you need the right information from someone that has already walked that road. Oh hello! That’d be me!
I want to help you create a plan of action and get crystal clear on why you’re setting up as a childcare business. Because once you’ve nailed your why, everything else feels a little less draining! Like Jiminy Cricket, let me be your guide…
Knowing WHY you’re setting up as a childcare business
It might sound a little silly, but your why really does matter. And here’s a clue: it can’t be “to make millions”. Why? Because – although that’s nice and all – when things go wrong, as they no doubt will somewhere along the way, that isn’t a strong enough reason to persevere.
Your why is key to giving you strength to keep going. I love this TED talk by Stacey Abrams, where she explains that without having a clear reason that drives you, “the ‘do’ is meaningless”. And I know things might get hard if others stop believing in you and they might even try to tell you to stop chasing your dreams. Going back to your why time and time again will motivate you and help you block out the naysayers!
Practicalities are boring but necessary!
There’s so much to think about when you’re setting up as a childcare business. Where will you run the business? From home or another location? Who’s your target market? Will you have a team to support you? What are the legal things you need to know?! So many questions. And by all means, you can Google each one of them every time a question pops up.
And so much of it is dull, right? When can you just look after the kids and help them grow into awesome human beings?! To get to the fun bit, there’s a few necessary bridges to cross first: licensing and getting registered, setting up systems, finding your families…
But having a practical plan to figure all of this out would be helpful wouldn’t it? I know I wish I’d been given some sort of guide instead of living on a wing and prayer!
Step-by-step guide to getting started
When I first decided to offer childcare in my home around my job as an admin for a small church, I hadn’t a clue what I was doing. I knew I wanted to have the chance to spend time with my daughters and earn a living at the same time.
When I sat down to think of what my Ninjas truly need to set up their businesses, I realised that they need what I never had! So I created a guide to give you what you need to get started. It’s exactly what I wish someone had given me all those years ago.
This guide explains how to start your own childcare, from choosing your logo and choosing a location, to licensing and registration, choosing our team, and managing your day-to-day operations. It’s all broken down for you, and all in one place! No more Googling every. Darned. Thing. It’s insanely simple!
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!
