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Just curious if any of you seem to have more enrollments during certain times of the year? I was swamped with inquiries way back in August and September which resulted in 2 enrollments, but was really slow after that. It seems to be picking up again the last few weeks and just enrolled an infant to start the beginning of March. My husband and I have been doing daycare for only a couple of years, and are trying to get more kiddos so he can quit his part time job. We are looking to start infants and toddlers to keep long term. So do you find you have better luck during certain months or times of the year?
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Honestly it depends. I always get inquires on a weekly basis for the most part. MY area is in need of daycare though. We have 6 daycares for the entire town of about 6000.We are also in the desired school district so I have lots of outsiders bringing their kids to this area as well. I do see slow times and that is usually right before the holidays. This time of year is busy and I think especially true for daycare hoppers.People do not want to pay for the time off during the holidays so they will give notice stay at the new daycare and repeat that process.( I would avoid these types if you can, you will know because they will have been at x amount of daycares in last amount of time.)My suggestion would be to advertise and if your area is saturated with daycares find a marketable approach.What is something parents are really looking for in your area? That could help you fill it faster. -
Unfortunately we have a lot of competition with daycare centers and home daycares in our area. We have a lot of low income families that are looking for cheap daycare, and the first thing they always ask when they contact me is our rates. When we first started I advertised really low rates, but was getting a lot of inquiries from people that I knew wouldn't last. I even accepted a couple of them knowing in my gut that they wouldn't work out, but was desperate to get some children in our care. In the end I was right and they only lasted a couple of months. I no longer have my rates in my ad and have raised them slightly, but still a competitive rate. My ad says "Infant and Toddler Openings in a Small Group" and have gotten a few inquiries over the last month from it, one of which we got one enrolled. We are only looking for 7 to 8 children max at one time between the both of us. I've thought about advertising on Facebook. Has anyone had any luck with Facebook? And thank you for your advise
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Facebook is a good place to advertise.I am not sure of your area. I would also list your business on Google. I get over a 100 inquires a month from Google.Unfortunately we have a lot of competition with daycare centers and home daycares in our area. We have a lot of low income families that are looking for cheap daycare, and the first thing they always ask when they contact me is our rates. When we first started I advertised really low rates, but was getting a lot of inquiries from people that I knew wouldn't last. I even accepted a couple of them knowing in my gut that they wouldn't work out, but was desperate to get some children in our care. In the end I was right and they only lasted a couple of months. I no longer have my rates in my ad and have raised them slightly, but still a competitive rate. My ad says "Infant and Toddler Openings in a Small Group" and have gotten a few inquiries over the last month from it, one of which we got one enrolled. We are only looking for 7 to 8 children max at one time between the both of us. I've thought about advertising on Facebook. Has anyone had any luck with Facebook? And thank you for your adviseComment
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For some reason I get more calls in January and May. I don't really know why as it doesn't correlate with anything in particular (school being out and the like).Comment
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MyAngels and Justjoy, I'm curious where do you get most of your inquiries from? Advertisements, website, referral agency, or word of mouth? Thanks for your responses.Comment
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Most of mine are word of mouth or Care.comComment
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Almost exclusively referrals these days, but I've also been told I'm on some sort of referral list at the two major companies here, so you might call around and see if there's something like that you could be part of. I also see Facebook around here seems to be a place providers advertise but I've never done it so I don't know if it works, but worth a try.Comment
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Yeah I'm listed with a local referral agency, but haven't had much luck with them. I checked into care.com but unfortunately I can't use them because the state I live in requires referral companies to be licensed with the state. I just got listed with google, and going to look into Facebook next. I've gotten most of mine through Craigslist, but its just not reliable anymore. Hopefully it starts picking up. Thank you!Comment
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I get the most calls right before Christmas and right before school starts. It seems there are a lot of parents needing care then but my assumption is that they need care then because they bailed on another daycare because they were charged (or will be charged) for those vacation days.
The thread here on this forum about providers billing over holidays is proof of that :
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All my clients are from word of mouth but I am also listed on several lists/sites in my community so my name is passed out alot by Head Start offices, my licensing agency and our QRIS program. I am also referred alot by past and current families and I have a website with an active wait list so that helps too.Comment
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I do seem to get a lot of inquires from people who are just bouncing around from daycare to daycare looking for the cheapest option. My sister who has been doing daycare for about 20 years gets most of hers by word of mouth now too, and is always full.I get the most calls right before Christmas and right before school starts. It seems there are a lot of parents needing care then but my assumption is that they need care then because they bailed on another daycare because they were charged (or will be charged) for those vacation days.
The thread here on this forum about providers billing over holidays is proof of that ::
All my clients are from word of mouth but I am also listed on several lists/sites in my community so my name is passed out alot by Head Start offices, my licensing agency and our QRIS program. I am also referred alot by past and current families and I have a website with an active wait list so that helps too.
I'm going to look into getting a website too. It seems to be a good way to get more inquiries. Thank you!Comment
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I've got most of my active inquiries from Facebook. I post on buy sell trade groups mom and groups Etc. I've also done Facebook ads but have not gotten any leads from that.Comment
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