by admin | Mar 5, 2020 | Blog, Uncategorized
Are you a childcare provider with the ambition and drive to go far? You’ve got the love for the kids and you’re brimming with ideas, right?
I’d bet that at this very moment, though, your childcare business isn’t as profitable as it could be and it’s draining your passion and wearing you out.
I get it. I really do. I’ve been there! When I first set out in my business, I was a single mom to four beautiful children. Running a childcare business from my home was the chance I grasped to bring in the money we needed AND ensure I could be there for my family simultaneously. Over time I was able to grow my business and start reaching for bigger goals.
However, after a while I went from excited to exhausted. My childcare business needed constant attention and I hadn’t been able to take a vacation for years. But that all changed when I started creating systems that allowed me to enjoy running my business again.
So here I am with my top three tips to kick-start your journey to becoming a Childcare Ninja, and show you how you can grow your business to 6 figures or more!
1. Take stock of your childcare business
It’s not often we take a step back from our businesses and have a look at what’s working, what’s not, and where we can make tweaks to improve things. Make some time to reflect and assess where you’ve come from and where you want to go. What will that journey look like?
Then it’s time to get organized. Make a plan or a road map of how you’re going to reach your goals. List everything that you do day-to-day to keep your business going. Get systems in place that’ll save you time and energy, giving you the freedom to focus on the things that you love! And maybe you’ll even be able to take a vacation one day!
2. Childcare Ninja Mindset
As business owners, it can be very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day running of our childcare facilities – calls to potential clients, checking the menus, managing our teams… but we neglect ourselves and forget that we can’t pour from an empty cup. And as women we’ve got a habit of having negative mindsets around several issues. And we’ve got to do the work to change this!
Promoting yourself to others in your business sometimes feels cringe-worthy and awkward. But there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being successful. So we need to accept that recognizing our achievements is a good thing! Change that negative mindset! Stop putting yourself down (both in your head and in front of others!).
Find out more about mindsets in this blog!
3. Create the system
By getting systems in place, you are getting processes in place that will help you get organized and help your staff become more independent. Once you’ve nailed the systems, you will be able to take time off and not worry about things falling apart while you’re not there. You’ll de-stress, your staff will feel more in control and confident and your business will grow!
Break down all the steps and processes that you have in place, adding in the things you’d like to improve. Now you’ve got a plan and a sort of flow chart to guide you through each area of your business. If you need a guide to help you with this process, download your free childcare business map here and get started building your systems.
Now you’ve got the systems all laid out, it’s time to call a staff meeting and get everyone on the same page!
Bonus tip – Become a Founding Member of my Childcare Ninja Membership
We are a growing army of childcare professionals who are sharing ninja-sharp skills to transform our businesses into childcare empires! This is Childcare Ownership all Grownup! You’ll be able to access the videos and amazing resources I’ve created especially for you in my Childcare Ninja membership. Being a member will make your life a little easier and enable you to grow your childcare business into your own little empire!
For founding members who join us, the program costs just $35/month (the price goes up soon to $49/month). The content you’ll have at your fingertips is unique to childcare businesses, because I was tired of joining groups for advice, but finding it irrelevant to my needs. So here we are! A one-stop shop for Childcare Ninjas!
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!
Have you taken my Childcare Ninja quiz yet? And don’t forget that I also have a free Facebook community for childcare providers. Check it out here.
by admin | Feb 21, 2020 | Blog, Uncategorized
To be a Childcare Ninja you’ve got to have a space to call your own. Somewhere to get away from the kids and people you work with, where you can just be or a place to reflect on your business and figure out where you’re headed. It doesn’t have to be an entire room, it could just be a corner in your home or work building that is tucked away from the chaos.
I love my little oasis of calm…
Here I’ve put together a few ideas to make your work day less about the hustle and more about the flow.
Closing your door
It is so important that you have opportunities where you can close your door and breathe. Everyone needs downtime, but when you’re running a business – especially one that is often reminiscent of a rumpus out of “Where the Wild Things are” – you need to give yourself time to pause and reflect. If you have an office at work, where you’re always having staff come in and out to ask questions or clarify policies, it might be a good idea to block out short periods where you can close the door and have some undisturbed time. But if your space is at home, maybe you can set gentle rules about when you’re to be left alone.
Say a little prayer
This is your space. It’s your quiet time. Allow yourself to disconnect for a while. This could be somewhere you pray and give thanks for the skills you have been gifted, or ask for guidance through any challenges you’ve come across.
Or maybe you can take time to meditate. The thought behind this is simple – when you’re expending tons of mental energy being a Childcare Ninja problem-solving and innovating, dealing with untold numbers of issues, you need somewhere to recharge your batteries. Just breathe and allow your mind to rest, to turn off the messy incessant noise that comes with running a business.
Get Creative
Having a peaceful space to yourself offers you a chance to flex your creative muscles. Do something just for you. Or create something delightful for a friend. You could do some feminist cross-stitching, or a little bit of drawing or doodling. It’s therapeutic and will give you a break from thinking about your business.
Don’t be afraid of color
It doesn’t need to be an entirely white space, you can add elements of color that inspire you, that bring calm to your space. I love pastels and warm colors, but you might be drawn to cooler tones.
Consider smells
Add a beautiful scented candle to your space, some incense, or a diffuser. Keeping a candle on your desk actually has a more practical purpose than simply making your space smell amazing. Taking a 30 seconds to recalibrate your eyes, by staring at a flame will be really beneficial and a welcome break from a day of constant spreadsheets on screens.
Think about sounds
When I’m in my space, I like to listen to music that soothes me. That might be the sounds of the ocean, but quite often it’s likely to be a little bit of gospel music which I find really relaxing but it also gives me focus which is exactly what I need in my little hideaway space. I’d highly recommend avoiding anything associated with your childcare business – so that’s a NO to nursery rhymes!
Add a little greenery
I recently added a couple of plants to my space, and it’s amazing the difference they’ve made to my well-being. Just a little bit of greenery can go a long way, you don’t have to plant an entire living wall! In having to water your plant to keep it alive you’ll have a reminder that you need nurturing too.
Surround yourself with things that inspire you
Whether it’s your favorite book or a gorgeous ceramic (or if it’s your thing, some crystals), keep something tactile that you can look to for inspiration when you’re taking some time out in your quiet space.
I’d also recommend putting some framed inspirational quotes up above your desk to remind you how awesome you are and to realign you with your “why“. Here are some you might like:
So now all you need to do is carve out a space of your own and create it into a place where you can rejuvenate! By taking regular time out from your business, you’ll be able to grow as a childcare business owner in a more holistic way. You’re aiming to create a better life for yourself and your family, and you can’t pour from an empty cup.
I hope you’re enjoying your journey to becoming a Childcare Ninja, but don’t forget to interact in the Facebook group where you can connect with other amazing women and share ideas. Join us for more tips on how to take your childcare business to the next level!
by admin | Jan 27, 2020 | Blog, Uncategorized
Nowadays there are some things in my business that I couldn’t live without. In fact, when I stop and think about it, I wonder how on earth I managed back in 2006! Technology has helped my business become more efficient and grow my profits. After years of juggling I know how much stress some tech has taken out of the daily rigmarole of running a childcare business.
As well as supporting your childcare business to grow by giving you the confidence to aim high, I want to give you practical tips on the day-to-day organization. So here I’ve written about the 3 apps that have really taken the stress out of the daily running of my business. These apps will truly revolutionize your childcare business.
Revolutionize your communication with Slack
Y’all know I love being super organized, so when I started using Slack, my work life became super efficient! It connects to the tools and services that you already use and brings them under one roof. For example, the notifications, files, and data from all your different apps. This has saved me tons of time searching through my emails for that one client follow-up, and stops me from constantly flicking between different tabs and dashboards, and having to log in and out of them all individually! Slack has helped my teams work smarter! I also appreciate how everything that’s shared in Slack is indexed and archived automatically so you can create a clear knowledge base with minimal effort – which is great for new staff. The search function makes it so easy to find the information you need, whenever you need it.
But one of the best things about Slack is how it’s revolutionized our workplace communication. It connects your staff with you and their colleagues, and the tools they work with everyday. It allows you to group people in “channels” that can be organized by project, age group, curriculum area… or anything you like. Your staff members can then see what other team members are working on, but can focus on what they’re needing to get done. It’s a great way of getting everyone up to speed – especially new team members.
Revolutionize your staffing with HoursTracker
How many hours do you spend inputting your staff information into a spreadsheet? And then you’ve got to take off lunch breaks, add on expenses etc. It’s actually a real drain on your time isn’t it? I’ve not looked back since I’ve been using HoursTracker for my own childcare business as I’m much more efficient and feel more in control of tracking hours completed by my staff.
It’s a great way for you to keep an accurate track of work times. Most of us who own a Childcare business know how hard it can be to keep track of the busy schedules all our different staff are working and we don’t have time to do manual entries, so I urge you to use something like HoursTracker. The app is such a simple tool for keeping on top of the hours your staff have worked. It can track employee hours and earnings, business expenses, payment periods and breaks. Not only that, pay periods are automatically calculated, including overtime and net pay estimates!
My team finds it easy to use, and they like being able to instantly clock in and clock out. It saves us all time and stress, so we can enjoy our work caring for all those gorgeous children!
Revolutionize your employee schedules with OpenSimSim
I like being able to have an overview of my childcare settings’ staff schedule, but so does my team! This app lets your employees set their own availability, so when you assign shifts this gets automatically cross-checked to ensure you never give shifts to staff who aren’t available. It also gives flexibility, allowing team members to swap shifts or cover each other’s shifts. As a business owner, this lightens your workload massively, because it means you’re not wasting time chasing to get shifts covered. Reassuringly, though, you still get the final say.
It’s an app that brings fairness to your business too. By running a tally of how many hours you’ve given each employee, it makes it easier for you to ensure a fair number of hours to each team member in the schedule. My team morale has risen since using OpenSimSim and I’ve had a lower staff turnover!
The instant messaging part of the OpenSimSim app, can encourage communication among your team that draws them closer and that reflects positively in your client service. On top of all that, I’m able to communicate with them more efficiently regarding scheduling, and it’s a way for them to approach me with feedback and concerns. Win-win, right?!
So much has changed in the last 14 years.
From ordering new equipment online to organizing your staffing, you can now do it all on your phone, at a time of day that works for you. Technology has transformed the way we run our businesses!
We, as Childcare Ninjas, need to make the most of the tech at our fingertips, because it’s going to free up time to spend on the parts of your business you love most!
I started Childcare Ninjas because I realized that most business information and ideas aren’t targeted at us. They’re focused on other industries. But we don’t fit that mold! 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, click here!
by admin | Jan 15, 2020 | Blog, Uncategorized
Childcare Ninjas is all about supporting you to grow your business to be sustainable and successful, and as someone who’s been in the game for a long time now, I know the importance of systematizing. And I understand how this looks very different in child care to how it might look in other industries like retail or coaching.
Planning is the absolute key to growing your childcare business. So how do I do it? Well, I plan everything! From finance to food, and clients to cleaning, I’ve got some strategies that will help you plan and I’ve got some tips for how to stay on top of everything.
You can learn how to implement systems into your childcare business and plan for a successful year ahead!
2020 is going to be brilliant for your childcare business, can you feel it too?
Let’s start with assessing where your business is at…
First thing I recommend that you do is take some time out to look at your business and figure out what you’re already doing. I want you to write down all the jobs you do daily that keep your business ticking. Get every little thing you do, and what your employees do, written down so that you can look at ways of organizing and being more efficient. Note down all those little tasks – cleaning toys, writing a menu, invoicing clients…everything! What’s working? What’s not?
You’ll be surprised at all the jobs you do each day, week in, week out, just to keep your business going! You’re a super hero! It might seem silly and time consuming writing all of them down, but you should be so proud of these, and quantifying them will make it much easier to systematize your business. So, if you wanna be a Childcare Ninja, you gotta get organized!
Looking at the bigger picture
Now you’ve got all the jobs you do down in one place, it’s time to set out on paper the things you’d like to do in your business; I call this envisioning. I want you to envision where you see your business going and what you’ve got to do to get there. Write it down. By doing this alongside what you’re already doing, you’re able to see the bigger picture and the journey you need to take to reach your goals for your childcare business.
Getting systems in place to grow your business
Once you’ve got this all noted down in one place, you need to look at the things that are working for you and then weed out which tasks are not. Those that can be removed, replaced or streamlined. Then you can sort each task and the steps you take (for things you’re keeping) into categories, for example “Food”. Under each topic, you can list all the jobs you do for that specific area. It might be easier to cut your list up and arrange into new lists under the headlines. So under “Hygiene” you’ll have all the tasks relating to that: cleaning, buying products, water bills, staff training, policy…and so on.
Break down all the steps and processes that you have in place, adding in the things you’d like to improve. Now you’ve got a plan and a sort of flow chart to guide you through each area of your business. If you need a guide to help you with this process, download your free childcare business map here and get started building your systems.
Why is systematizing so important?
By getting systems in place, you are getting processes in place that will help you get organized and help your staff become more independent. Once you’ve nailed the systems, you will be able to take time off and not worry about things falling apart while you’re not there. You’ll de-stress, your staff will feel more in control and confident and your business will grow!
Implementing your systems to grow your business
Subsequently, now you’ve got the systems all laid out, it’s time to call a staff meeting. Here you are giving your team a road map of how they can be more effective at their jobs. It’s always a good idea to get all your team together and work through things so that the new changes don’t feel like they’re being “done to” them. Instead your employees will feel like they are a part of the change because they’ve been given an opportunity to bring ideas and suggestions to the table. Use this meeting as an opportunity to empower your team, and an opportunity for you to take a well-earned break once they get the hang of things!
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!
