Care.com - Is it Worth it? I Need Advice

[Mandy_Jane]

I was looking in to advertising my in-home daycare on Care.com, but I don't know if it's going to be worth it or not. Do any of you use that site? If so, can you tell me a little about it and if you have had any success with it? It appears that once I create my profile, I have to pay $15.00 per family they refer to me. Whether it be by email or phone. And you can set your monthly budget for how much you are willing to spend. I'm just seriously debating whether or not it is worth it to pay $15.00 for ONE referral when the majority of families who contact me through other means of advertising don't even end up using me. What do you all think?

[Cat Herder]

Odd...:confused: My information has been on there for quite a while, but the only fee I paid was for the initial background check. :confused:

I check my messages and local postings about once a month or so (when they send me an email telling me to ).

I have never gotten a family from there but have found some pretty cool opportunities for "other" arrangements. Things like temporary childcare at local special events, shelters and plants/factories/business expos/meetings/conventions.

I love those kind of things because it keeps my face and name out there, allows my kids to participate in the community and may, one day, lead to a job outside of childcare. You never know when inspiration or opportunity will come your way, YKWIM?

Are you listed here? I have gotten MANY calls from here. I have not had an opening, yet, but have a couple on the wait list JIC.

[SilverSabre25]

I agree with cat...that's odd. I've never had to pay Care.com anything beyond the background check and I've been on there awhile, with a couple interviews set-up.

I've gotten a couple responses from there and none from here; all my clients are from Craigslist or word of mouth--everyone's experiences seem to be veri different though based on their area.

[Childminder]

I've never even paid for a background check. Hmmmm... weird.

[Former Teacher]

I've never even paid for a background check. Hmmmm... weird.

Same here. I wait for a family to purchase it for me ::

[DaisyMamma]

You have to pay for leads if you register as a daycare but not as a private individual. However you can upgrade your individual account for $10/mo to be featured in your area. I found care.com to give me no leads with any of the above options.

[Former Teacher]

Oh and another thing: I also use sittercity.com. I got more "clients" from them than I did at care.com