How Early Is Too Early To Start Advertising?

[preschoolteacher]

Hi everyone--

I am really ready to leave my current job and open my home daycare. I started the licensing process, but at this point I don't have a clear idea of when I will be licensed. My county says it can take between 6-9 months, and part of the delay is because I live in a large urban area with a lot of applicants and few county officials to take care of the paperwork and inspections. Ugh... My goal is to be open in September.

How early is too early to start advertising? I am nearly finished with my website. I've browsed through Care.com, and I see people looking for care to begin in the fall. I know I'm not ready to line anyone up yet since I don't have a set date for getting licensed, but when would it be appropriate to begin directing people to my website and letting them know that I'm scheduled to open in the fall?

[Sugar Magnolia]

You might want to check with licensing. In my state, any and all advertisements (print, website, flyers, etc) MUST contain your license #,.therefore you must be licensed to advertise. Maybe your state is different? Check first!

[Starburst]

It would depend on if you plan on being legally unlicensed for a while. Look at your local laws and look into how many kids you can watch while you are unlicensed- in most places its 2 kids from separate families that are not related to you (but still check your own). If you did advertise for the time when you will be licensed in your advertisements you could put "coming soon- now accepting applications" you can probably post them in maternity wards and OB/GYN offices for women who will be looking for care in the future (some women look for daycare while they are still pregnant because low adult:infant ratios make it hard to find open infant spots and many places don't take babies).

The only thing is in some states you have to post your license number on all your advertisements- so I would ask them if you have to wait until you get your license to start advertising.