Ninja, have you ever answered a staff question and thought, “Didn’t we go over this last week?”
Where do supply requests go? Who follows up after a tour? Which message gets sent when a parent asks about enrollment?
You answer, get back to work, and hear the same question again two days later.
Congratulations. Your brain has become the company search engine.
And apparently, it’s open twenty-four hours.
Today’s affirmation gives us somewhere better to put that energy:
“I lead with clarity, not chaos. God is giving me the discipline to build systems that protect my peace, multiply my impact, and make room for the freedom I deserve.”
Let’s bring those words into your actual workday.
Find the task that keeps tapping you on the shoulder
When childcare owners hear “build systems,” it can sound like another enormous project. New software. A weekend at the laptop. A binder thick enough to qualify as furniture.
Start smaller.
Look for something you repeat often enough to be tired of explaining it.
Maybe you rewrite the same enrollment response every week. Maybe staff tell you about missing supplies in the hallway, through a text, and on a sticky note that disappears before lunch.
Pick one task with a clear beginning and ending. “Fix communication” is too broad. “Create one place for routine supply requests” is something you can finish.
Your first system should solve a problem you can point to.
Give the task four clear answers
A useful system helps someone know what to do without having to track you down.
It needs four things:
A trigger: What starts the task?
An owner: Who handles it?
A method: What steps do they follow, and where?
A finish line: How does everyone know it’s complete?
Let’s use routine classroom supplies.
The trigger is noticing an item has reached its agreed reorder level. The classroom lead adds it to one shared request list. The designated supply person reviews that list on a set day, checks existing stock, and follows your purchasing approval process. The request gets marked complete when the item is restocked.
Urgent shortages still need a clear way to reach the director immediately.
Now compare that with “Let me know when you need something.”
One gives your team a process. The other gives you twelve conversations and a mystery about who ordered the paper towels.
Build it while you do it
You don’t have to remember every detail at a blank computer screen.
The next time you complete your chosen task, capture the steps as you go. Write a short checklist. Save the message you keep retyping. Take a screenshot showing where the information belongs.
Use words your team actually uses.
“Add the item, quantity, and classroom to the supply list” is easier to follow than a paragraph about inventory optimization.
Then put the instructions where the work happens. A closing checklist belongs where closing staff can use it. An enrollment response belongs where the person answering inquiries can find it.
A beautiful document nobody can locate will still send people straight back to your office.
Try the handoff before declaring victory
Here is the part we sometimes skip: let another person use the instructions.
Give them the checklist and ask them to walk through the task. Notice where they pause.
Did you leave out a password location? An approval step? What to do when the usual person is absent?
Those questions help you improve the system. They don’t mean the person failed.
You may discover that something you consider “obvious” only feels obvious because you’ve done it four hundred times.
Make the adjustment. Try again.
Clarity grows when you pay attention to where people get stuck.
Protect the process long enough to see results
Once you introduce a system, use it consistently yourself.
If you ask staff to enter routine requests on a shared list but keep accepting them from memory in the parking lot, the list won’t become reliable.
A simple response helps: “Please add that to our request list so it gets included.”
Then follow through on your side. Review the list when you said you would. Address gaps. A process earns trust when people see it working.
This is where the discipline in today’s affirmation becomes practical. You keep showing up for a small structure until it becomes a dependable habit.
And each dependable habit gives your attention somewhere else to go: coaching a teacher, connecting with a family, reviewing your business, or leaving work with fewer unfinished details circling your mind.
Your Ninja assignment
Ask yourself the exact question from today’s reflection:
“What recurring task can I turn into a simple system today?”
Choose one. Write its trigger, owner, method, and finish line. Test it the next time that task comes around.
You can ask God for wisdom and make room to act on it. Today, that action might be a five-line checklist that saves you from explaining the same thing next Monday.
Small enough to finish. Useful enough to repeat.
Share this with a childcare owner whose brain has been working overtime—and tell us in the comments: which recurring task are you turning into a system first?
It’s that back-to-school vibe here at Childcare Ninjas and right now we’ve got a focus on systems. And you KNOW I am all about using systems to bring bigger and better success into our childcare businesses. So how can we use systems to get more clients?
In this blog post I’m going to share with you how it’s possible and tell you exactly why you need to get systems in place right now!
What do you mean by “systems”, Nyckie?!
Systems are the things you put in place to keep you organized! Whether that’s automations or just a paper process, it’s important that you have something in place. Particularly if you need to have time off at any point. And systems are a huge reason why I’ve been able to grow my business over the years.
Your Daily operations, Vendor and Supplier management, Billing, Marketing, Curriculum and teaching roster, Profit and finance, Taxes, and managing your space all require some sort of system. Not to mention why we’re here today: Client onboarding & Client management!
Do systems really save you time?
I can hear you questioning whether this whole “systems” malarkey is any good! But I’d ask you another question in return – how long are things taking you right now?
After 15 years of running a home day care and multiple childcare businesses, I can say with all my heart that they reaaaaaaaaaaaallllly do! Having systems in your childcare saves you time and money and I’m so aware of how precious a commodity time is to us as business owners. We don’t have much of it, do we?! So why spend hours on something manual and stressful when you can get a system in place to speed things up and take it off your To Do list?
How can I use systems to get more clients?
You should be bearing enrollment in mind all year round. You shouldn’t just be on the hunt for clients when you find a family is moving away taking 4 of your 6 kiddos with them, or when 2 or 3 families have kids reaching school age and no longer need you…leaving you with no kids in your care. It’s time to get systems in place!
You can have an active waitlist of families who are looking for childcare set up. Let me show you how! No more freaking out when someone leaves! Have a family ready and waiting…
Use a marketing funnel to grow a waitlist
Don’t panic – it sounds much more complex than it actually is! Building a waitlist for those quieter times by setting up a funnel just means having an email list that you can then filter to separate out people who want and need a place in your day care.
You can offer tips and resources in exchange for the emails of potential clients. These are usually really handy things they’ve been on the look out for. They sign up for their freebie, agreeing that they want to keep in touch with you. And then you add their email to your list, opening up a super valuable line of communication.
Then you can send emails out to your list informing them of upcoming open day events, availability of spaces and keep them in the loop about your childcare facilities and any news. Ultimately, you want to stay relevant and in the forefront of the minds of your local families.
And I’ve got just the thing you need because…
…Childcare Ninjas have kickass systems to get more clients they’ll love!
What if you could create and implement systems into your business which free you up not just to work but to give you more time for your other passions?! When done properly, using systems can help you buy back your time and give you freedom to make more of those cherished memories you spent all summer making – but year round!
You can get access to incredible resources that’ll help you get systems started RIGHT NOW!
There’s even copy you can swipe for your funnel and templates for the lead magnet itself!! Plus videos to show you how to do it all.
And if you want MORE, creating systems that work is one of the trainings we cover in detail inside The Childcare Flip Course. We’ll be opening up for the next cohort in a few weeks! So I’m sharing the link here for you to take a look and get ready to learn how to BUY BACK YOUR TIME Ninja!
Catch my live trainings on Thursday nights over in my free Facebook group. Join us in there and get connected with other childcare owners. Every week we’ll move your childcare business forward by with tips and ideas! Hang out with like-minded and aspirational day care owners as well as resources and tips for success from me! Or if you prefer Instagram, we share ideas and tonnes of other stuff 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!
It’s that old vicious circle again! One that I hear time and time again. “I can’t afford to invest in myself”. But then because you’ve not invested you can’t grow. And so it goes on. Ad infinitum. So I’ve written a blog to explain why you can’t afford not to invest in yourself!
Read on to discover the reasons I know that it’s time for you to start taking investing in you and your childcare business seriously.
Excuses I hear everyday about why you can’t invest in yourself
When I’m coaching childcare business owners something they very quickly grow out of is making excuses. They used to say things like “I can’t afford to take time off”. Or “I can’t afford to get a coach”. Or even “I can’t afford to hire staff”. And instead they now take time to consider things carefully before automatically making assumptions about money and affordability. They look at all the options available to them. They don’t write off things that could actually help them grow their businesses just because they have in the past.
I’m not suggesting that you start taking silly risks or putting your home on the line. No way! I’m just asking you to REALLY think about things before you turn down huge opportunities to up-level your childcare business.
When I was coaching with my most recent cohort of The Childcare Flip, I saw them completely change their mindset about “affordable” and other money issues. The progress they made was incredible. And I want that for you too!
Can’t invest in yourself or won’t…What is going on really?
More often than not when someone says “I can’t afford it” they’re not thinking about their actual finances and bank statements. Sometimes it’s about trust. Others it’s about priorities. And occasionally it’s about being more resourceful and thinking outside the box.
So when you’re faced with an opportunity to invest in yourself as a childcare business owner, I’d encourage you to journal on it. Don’t immediately say no. Instead take some time to look at what’s really happening here. What are the benefits of investing in this? Where might the path take you? Who will you get the chance to work with? How much money could this make you in the future?
Can you afford not to invest in yourself?
As a childcare boss, there’s only so far you can go by yourself. I know because I’ve been there. I’ve had to invest in a coach to help me navigate growth and dive deep into my own mindset issues. And I’ve taken courses to elevate my business to the next level, far beyond the imagination of home daycare Nyckie from back in the day! I never imagined I’d be the owner of multiple facilities and a coach to Childcare Ninjas across the globe!
And that’s what I want you to think about, Ninja. When you invest in yourself there are so many amazing benefits beyond the coach/course/program you buy. You get that awesomeness, and then you also get the added bonuses so often available. And that’s what you get with The Childcare Flip too. I will be teaching you SO much brilliant stuff in there to flip your business! I also give you templates to help you grow your list, and more! These things will MAKE you money. Can you afford not to invest in yourself?!
The Childcare Flip – turning childcare business on its head!
This course is THE complete, step-by-step system I have created for in-home daycare and childcare owners to create a childcare business with freedom, flexibility, and financial success.
You’ll learn the F.O.R.G.E. Method to help you create a winning marketing method that gets potential clients coming to you instead of your competition & that does this fast.
The Childcare Flip Course has helped me keep growing my daycare business day after day, have more than one center & made my life and business into what it is today…
I’ll be running my free webinar training on these common and easy-to-make mistakes TOMORROW! Based on my own experience and going through this huge learning curve I want to shortcut your success and help you save $$$s on costly mistakes!
If you’re not ready for my course, why not get connected with other childcare owners instead? Get tips every week to move your childcare business forward by joining my FREE Facebook group! Hang out with like-minded and aspirational daycare owners as well as training every other week from me! 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!
One of the issues I hear all the time from childcare business owners is that they’re tired of being treated like a babysitter. Not just by the kids but by the parents they serve in the community. It’s a tale as old as time.
But there’s a few things to consider here.
Why are they treating you like a babysitter? Is it your behavior or theirs that’s the issue? And how can we change things up to stop these behaviors?
After 15 years of being a childcare boss, I’ve got A LOT to say about this! Read on to find out what you can do!
Why is being treated like a babysitter a bad thing?
It’s not that being a babysitter is a bad thing, not at all! It’s more that it’s not seen as a profession in its own right. When you hear the word babysitter what do you picture? I have an image in my head of a teenage girl, school files under one arm and a neighbour’s child in the other. And I’d bet yours is similar!
Babysitters are generally older kids looking to earn some pocket money while watching your small kids so you can go on a date or head to a PTA meeting. On top of that it’s usually seen as a job that requires minimal effort – the kids are mostly asleep already. And as such it’s not deemed necessary to have a “qualified” person doing the job. This in itself means that these willing teens are often underpaid and taken for granted.
So when you’re made to feel like a teenage girl despite being a grown-up running an entire daycare center (or more!), it can hurt!
Working on your mindset is where the change is going to come from. Trust me. So here’s some tips!
Think about how you present yourself
Hard truth: If you look like a babysitter you’re probably going to get treated like one. Take a look at your current work attire. Do you just wear athleisure outfits or have you got a set of plain black pants and polo shirts you reserve for daycare hours? I know it’s not practical to go for silk blouses and high heels like you might as a bank clerk! Opt for outfits that communicate to parents, “I’m the boss” and “take me seriously”.
However, this isn’t just about clothes, it’s also about how you carry yourself too. Take pride in your appearance and show it in your posture. Read this blog about boss mindset to help you.
Don’t treat your childcare business like a hobby!
It should really go without saying, but if you want your clients to respect your work and what you do, then you ought to respect it yourself.
Answer these questions:
Are you opening up on time?
How do you greet your families?
How are payments set up?
Is everything up-to-date?
Is your space clean and tidy?
How are you dressing to go to work?
Do you expect parents to pick up on time?
And if your answers to these don’t sound professional you need to keep reading!
This might sound harsh, but…
If you don’t want your clients thinking of you as a babysitter who plays all day with their children then you shouldn’t run it like a babysitting service.
Run it in a professional way so your clients will treat you with the respect you deserve. It’s all about keeping your boundaries strong.
Lay down those boundaries!
Boundaries are so important. You need to be friendly and approachable but still hold a professional boundary.
Think about it. If you’re opening the gate a few minutes late, dishevelled, and high-fiving all the parents and chatting about personal stuff, what’s that saying about you? When you’re letting them hang around till your snack time starts then you’re allowing them to see you as a kind of babysitter.
Instead, show them that you can keep time by opening up accordingly. Demonstrate that their children’s education is important and has to start on time. Use a group activity to start the day and say, “Right everyone, it’s time for a story – say goodbye to the moms and dads”. Close the door/gate and crack on! If you don’t do that then they are going to treat you as the babysitter where they can bring their kids to you anytime, pick them up anytime.
Start the way you mean to go on
Don’t wait till you resent being treated like a babysitter to make a change. If you don’t do something about your behaviors, you will end up making you feel resentful of how the parents treat you. You might end up feeling upset and this could stop you from fully enjoying your work. Which in turn will trickle down to the children you serve. No one wants that!
Treating your daycare as a business is largely down to mindset. It’s about holding that boundary with yourself as much as the parents. If you don’t start now, your client may switch on you to go and find themselves someone they consider ‘professional’ as their perception of you has been that you just play with the kids and aren’t a proper business.
Don’t go into this thinking you will do it later, as one of the things you may find is when you go to make change or raise your prices your clients may get upset then leave. You deserve success and your business deserves to be treated properly!
To sum up, here’s some quick changes you can make right now!
Take a look at your wardrobe. Does it convey a professional image?
Show up to work like you mean business.
Have a parent guidebook! It’s a practical and simple way to set boundaries and show your professional side too. (BTW we’ve got one of these in The Childcare Flip offer!!)
Join my new course, The Childcare Flip! Learn how to get clients to choose your childcare business over the competition. Get clarity on what you want your childcare business to look like & stop feeling overwhelmed! Start spending less time in your childcare business and more time with your family. And finally get unstuck and start getting the results you need to grow your business to 6 figures and beyond!
So it’s time to stop allowing yourself to be treated like a babysitter and own who you are – a childcare boss!
STARTING JUNE 28TH!!!
Join the Childcare Flip and learn how to grow, manage, market and automate your childcare business WITHOUT massive startup dollars and oversized buildings so you can LIVE the LIFE of FREEDOM, FLEXIBILITY and FINANCIAL SUCCESS!
If you’re not ready for my course, why not get connected with other childcare owners instead? Get tips every week to move your childcare business forward by joining my FREE Facebook group! Hang out with like-minded and aspirational daycare owners as well as training every other week from me! 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!
As Childcare providers, we’re kinda prepared for sickness within our facilities. However, at some point there’s bound to be a highly contagious something-or-other spreading round your daycare! I wanted to share with you 3 lessons I learned recently after an outbreak, so that you can comeback stronger!
Have you had to deal with a wildfire sickness in your childcare biz yet? If you haven’t yet, read on!
What’s an outbreak?
Kids touch everything. And I mean All. The. Things. They also put lots of things in their mouths! And because of this, highly contagious diseases and infections spread FAST in childcare facilities!
When one kid has something infectious you want to isolate it as quickly as possible before it becomes an outbreak. An outbreak is when two or more cases occur of the same illness. And that happens super fast in daycares where the kids are in close contact.
Our recent outbreak scenario
In my 15 years of running a childcare business I’ve somehow managed to dodge any outbreaks. Even during Covid! So you can imagine my face when a few weeks ago we had an outbreak of Hand, Foot & Mouth…oh no!
We all know and understand that in childcare ownership you will no doubt at some point deal with a highly infectious illness that enters your childcare business. And you can bet your bottom dollar that it has a high potential to be spread to others. So when it hit one of my facilities, I was not surprised at the event but was shocked at the speed at which it spread!
My goal this week is to help you learn a few lessons and navigate through the process a little simpler so that you aren’t coming at this from a clueless perspective. I want to share my tips for a successful comeback after an outbreak!
What happened?
We had a new child start who came from another day care center. Unknowingly, they brought with them the scary disease Hand Foot and Mouth. I say scary because it was! We’d never had to deal with it before.
Although we’d never had cases of Hand Foot and Mouth spread like this before, we were kind of prepared. We had things on hand, like our emergency plan, to help us deal with it. And we’ve obviously spent the last 18 months being extra vigilant because of Covid-19. But still!!
Once we knew what we were dealing with, we shut down the facility for a few days into the weekend. This allowed the sickness to run its course and for us to do what we needed to do in the center! And we were able to come back fresh on the Monday morning ready for whatever that week was gonna throw at us.
Wanna watch my Monday Moves YouTube instead of reading? Here you go!
We learned a lot during those few days! What a learning curve! Here’s a few of the main lessons from our outbreak…
Lesson 1 – is it time to rethink your intake processes?
Where we are, rules state that clients have a time period of about a month in which their child has to get a physical. Which means that kids start without us knowing if they have a clean bill of health or not. Normally, we have to wait for the paperwork.
But this recent outbreak has made me reconsider this! Moving forward, I want children to have that paperwork before they start. It means I can protect the families we serve already and also my All Star Team!
How does your intake process work? What are your state guidelines? If yours are loose like ours, maybe try making it a bit stricter. It should help you cut down on potential outbreaks.
Lesson 2 – Take a look at your childcare set up
Is there something in your set up that can be changed to prevent the spread? We have lockers for our older kids, but in our facilities for younger children we have open cubbies. And we realized that the toddler cubby area was where Hand Foot and Mouth came in and where it was spread. Little kids touching each others things and the belongings are cross-contaminating. So we’ve now got lockers for our toddlers!
What could you alter in your daycares to slow the spread of infectious diseases? Make sure you’ve looked at cleaning protocols and handwashing routines for kids and grown ups too.
Lesson 3 – Don’t forget the basics!
I know the mornings are super hectic, but don’t let your vigilance slip! Keep your eyes peeled for things other than Covid. We’ve been constantly checking temperatures, but maybe more so than looking for wellness visual signs. And that’s where we can spot signs of other – potentially highly contagious – things like Hand Foot and Mouth.
One thing that helps is asking the kids how they’re doing. They’re so good at telling you exactly how they’re feeling! So you can then quiz parents gently about any symptoms the child’s brought up.
And make sure your team practice your emergency plans on a regular basis to keep everyone on their toes! That way they’re not panicking when something actually happens.
I hope these lessons help you prevent an outbreak in your daycare! Have you got any tips you’d like to share? Please leave them in the comments below!
Want to grow your business and get more involved in the childcare community? 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!
