How should I advertise

[vaughn40]

I have been doing daycare for 18 years at the same location. I live on a side of town that is not the best. I wouldn't say its crime infested, we have never had a break in and the street we live on is a quiet street, in fact we went on vacation and accidentally left our door wide open without incident.happyface The problem is this side has been lumped together with the west side which is really crime infested. I have gotten 5 calls in the last 2 weeks. As soon as the caller realize my location, they never show for their interview. How can I advertise my business to assure parents that my location is not as bad as its made out to be?

Thanks

[Meeko]

Maybe post pics of your home's best features with your ad? If parents see a cheery home and pics of the daycare they will not be so bothered by location?

I used to do daycare outside my home. We used a double wide manufactured home which my son lived in. It was in a really nice private park which was actually mainly retirees who kept their lawns perfect etc... and was 1680 sq feet almost all dedicated to the daycare. It had a big yard and we kept it very nice. But I had to work around the fact that some people automatically thought "trailer trash" even though it was nicer than many "real" homes.

I always posted pics on my early ads (later on, my reputation counted more than location etc) and almost everyone would comment on how nice it looked. Those who came to interview ALWAYS commented on how big it appeared and some even admitted they had reservations about coming to the interview because they expected the worse. It's a stereotype we had to work with.

Make sure your ads feature the positive. "Easy access to freeway", "quiet street/nice neighborhood", "close to this or that" etc.

I ended up taking the attitude that if anyone was going to be snobby enough to turn their nose up at me before even meeting me or seeing my daycare...then I didn't want that kind of client anyway.

[LK5kids]

Great Advice!

[vaughn40]

I did post my pics on craigslist and that's why I got so many responses but as soon as they ask for the location, "no show" Love the advice on the description, I also added, "easy access to by-pass"...I will take your advice and describe the neighborhood in more detail. Thank you so much!