Damn it... (a Vent)

[kendallina]

I advertise primarily through Craigslist, since it's free. I really don't want to spend anything on advertising right now because we really don't have much money. I"ve been thinking about putting up flyers at the area rec centers, libraries, and second-hand children's stores but haven't done it yet. My location is so-so--good transportation but a little bit off the beaten path. We are near to some very well-off areas but also close to some very not-so-well-off areas. My rates are also higher than the average because I feel that I"m offering something most of the area home daycares aren't since I have a college degree that's in the field (Early Childhood Development and Education, with almost enough training to get my teaching license)--and based on what I see on Craigslist, half of the people trying to do home daycare are, well, to put it nicely, not that well educated. I've been thinking about dropping those though and trying to do a real preschool curriculum.


I think most of the problem is saturation--there are TONS of home daycare ads in my area of Craigslist.

With your degree and experience have you considered running a preschool a few days/week. I do 3/hrs day MW and TTh. I advertise that I take 2-year olds and they don't have to be potty trained and most of my families have just had another little baby and they need their 2/3 year old out of the house for a few hours a week.

Another idea might be to run a special "mom's day out", where parents sign up to come every Tues for example from 9-11 or whatever and they pay a flat fee. I think there are a few providers that do that on here, maybe they can give more info. Because your area is saturated, you may need to find a niche, whether it's preschool or mom's days out (or evenings out).

It can be tough, but think creatively, it can happen! When I worked as a director at a center, my supervisor had me block out times of every day that we were low in attendance and think about how I could get children there for that time...we ran special summer camp programs, after- school enrichment programs, homework programs, anything to fill those time slots.

Good luck!

[casg415]

as a newbie, i'm guessing lots of it has to do with your location and the current financial situation or your town, city. if you're located in a city where unemployment is vast then your drop in enrollment will be effected. maybe a better way to go is just accept infants until the situation gets better? it's more work and more poop to clean but at least it's pays the bills. does having a degree matter when teaching toddlers? i understand it helps and it looks better, but the kids are essentially learning very basic skills that any grown adult should be able to teach. i think what's more important is being able to communicate, be patient, and to provide fun loving environment for the kids. as adults we should be able to adjust to the child's condition and we can easily do this by observation.

i have the same concern even though my location is in San Francisco. though child care centers are big in the financial district, i'm not too sure if people outside big salaries can afford to send their kids to a $900 (w/food) home child care. my friend that works for one of the centers downtown said they charge about $2k (it used to be $1,200) per kid. even tho i'm charging less than 50% from the centers, if i can't find kids to enroll then it defeats the whole purpose of operating a business.

[TGT09]

I'm in Ohio as well and feel the exact way about everything. I've been searching for another toddler for the past year and all that's come up is newborns. We HAVE to have my income and I'm torn between loving the freedom of this job and having to go get a job with a steady income that I don't love so much. :-( Good luck!