Entries Tagged 'Child Care Business' ↓

The Week of the Young Child (WOYC) is an annual week of celebration of early education programs and events, sponsored by NAEYC. This year, WOYC is April 11-17. Has your center or school planned out yet what you’ll be doing to celebrate WOYC?

If you need some ideas and/or inspiration on how to celebrate WOYC, check out NAEYC’s website. They also have a guide that gives you tips on how to publicize whatever events or activities you have planned. Here’s the link:

http://www.naeyc.org/woyc

Good luck, and have fun!

You’re invited to join me and my friend
Julie Bartkus for the first ever, one-of-a-kind
holiday party for child care professionals!

This party will take place via a LIVE conference
call. No special equipment is required to join
us. All you need is a telephone.

During this call we will be featuring several guests
who will fill your notepads with ideas that you can
implement immediately to promote your child care
program and have a holiday season that really sizzles!

These ideas and strategies are guaranteed to propel
your child care program to the next level of success
in 2010!

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The party is today, December 10th!  Don’t delay!

Reserve your seat now:

Holiday Party RSVP

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WIN PRIZES!

Plus, we will be giving away prizes every 15

minutes on the call!

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For more details and to reserve your

seat visit:

Holiday Party RSVP

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Best yet, it’s FREE for you to attend.
I look forward to “seeing” you then!

Love and success,

Kris

P.S.  If you’re looking for ways to take your child
care business to the next level, or simply survive the
current challenging economy, you must not miss this call.

Plus, we’re going to have a lot of fun!

Experts reveal their top 10 secrets about writing grant proposals that demand attention and get funding.

Grant writing is seldom easy. Many schools are chasing after the same pot of gold, fiercely competing for technology dollars offered by corporations, foundations, and state and federal government. So there’s no room for mistakes. Yet, many pitfalls exist, especially for inexperienced grant writers. For example, some grant seekers apply for the wrong grant. Their goals and objectives don’t match those of the funding source. In the end, they waste everyone’s time and can jeopardize their chances of winning funding in the future from the same organizations. To discover the secrets of successful grant writing, Scholastic Administrator spoke to several experts who gave us their best advice on drafting grant proposals that work. Follow these 10 simple guidelines and your next grant proposal will stand a better chance of getting the funding you need.

1. Assess your needs. What are your instructional technology needs? Ask yourself this question before writing your grant proposal. Solicit information from teachers about the kind of technology or training they need, creative ways they could use it in their classroom, how it would enhance student learning or how the technology could streamline their administrative tasks. Then document your school’s most compelling needs in your grant application. If you’re asking for funds to purchase computers or integrate technology to improve teacher proficiency, reveal the percentage of teachers at your school who are at the beginning, intermediate and proficient stages.

2. Think locally at first. Form a technology advisory committee made up of teachers, administrators, business leaders and parents to develop or update your technology plan. Next, undertake your own pilot program. The same committee would write the grant and contact local employers to help support the program through matching funds, equipment donations, training or volunteers. Demonstrate the program’s initial success before asking for more help to expand or enhance the project. Find an impartial evaluator to analyze the pilot program, then cite the results in future grant applications. Establishing a baseline of success with technology will increase your odds of winning the grant.

3. Do your homework. Find out what kinds of school projects the prospective funder has awarded in the past. Contact those schools and ask for a copy of their winning proposals. Analyze their content and style. Use their proposal as your model, personalizing it to fit your school or district.

4. Make it personal. Successfully competing for a grant typically requires human interaction. Call the program officer and ask him or her to clarify anything in the request for proposals (RFPs) that may be unclear. You must follow their guidelines to the letter. Even something as minor as using the wrong font size can kill your chances. Also ask who will be reading the grant so you can tailor your proposal to their background or area of expertise. By speaking with the grant administrator, you can also get a much better understanding of the funder’s agenda and possibly an initial reaction to your project idea.

5. Show passion. Show some excitement about the project in your proposal. If appropriate, personalize it with one-sentence anecdotes, such as upbeat comments from students. Also study proposals written by past grant winners. Are they informal? Do they use words like “we” and “I”? Match the style. Finally, be concise and avoid jargon or overused buzzwords like paradigm and rubric.

6. Focus on learning, not the technology. Emphasize outcomes, objectives or goals. Focus on what you intend to accomplish with the technology, rather than on the hardware or equipment itself. For example, if you want five computers to help students improve their reading or writing skills, explain how the technology can help you accomplish that goal. Offer a realistic scenario describing how students and teachers will use the technology to improve in this area.

7. Think long-term. Develop a timeline that shows when you plan to achieve your goals and objectives. It should include plans to build on accomplishments after the grant runs out. Sustainability is crucial for a successful proposal because funders like to see that the activities they’re financing will continue beyond the life of the grant. For example, explain your plans to start replacing the equipment in the third year of a five-year grant, and how you’ll fund the upgrades.

8. Don’t forget professional development. At least 30 percent of the funds you’re asking for should be allocated for professional development. Funders won’t assume you’ll be able to meet your goals and objectives if you don’t train faculty, administrators or staff on how to use the technology.

9. Spread the technology around. Funders like to get the most bang for their buck. That’s why it’s important to explain how you plan to share the technology you’re requesting. As an example, you may partner with another school, enabling students from both schools to use the technology for joint projects. Likewise, your school may need equipment for its new computer center, which will also be accessible to the community. Students can teach local residents at the center how to use computers or other technology. Remember that funders like projects that can be replicated by other schools or districts.

10. Ask for constructive criticism. If you’re rejected, call the grant administrator and ask for a copy of the reviewers’ comments on your proposal. If that’s not possible, ask the administrator for constructive feedback. For instance, why was your application rejected? What were its strengths and weaknesses? How could it be improved? This information will enable you to write a better proposal the next time you apply. Once you develop a strong application, you can submit it to different funders with only minor changes to fit each one’s specifications.

(Published courtesy of Scholastic Administrator).

Why do you need a business plan? First and foremost, a business plan is a basic requirement to getting government grant and loans, as well as bank loans. It is also a great way to focus the complete picture of your daycare, get it out of your head and down on paper.

There is something about writing a plan down on paper that brings it into reality, and requires greater precision. This is what a business plan will do for you and your child care business. It does not matter if you’ve been open for years or just starting out – you will gain tremendous value from writing it down.

Preparing a business plan can be a long and daunting task, but I recommend using a daycare business plan template to give you a head-start and save you hours of time. If you’re not already convinced, here are 10 big reasons why should have a business plan:

1. Sets specific objectives for your daycare. Good owners set specific objective that can be measured. This allows you to keep track of how you are doing and make changes if needed.
2. Helps define your strengths. A major part of any plan is learning what your strengths are in a business both personal, professional and as a business. Knowing your strengths will allow you to play to them.
3. Helps uncover your weaknesses. Just like with your strengths, knowing your weaknesses can be a massive advantage for you. If you know where you are weak, you can focus more energy on this area, or find somebody else who can help you. Or best of all, delegate this area to someone else completely! An example is my friend Christine who runs her own daycare, and she is weak at keeping track of her business paperwork and finances. Luckily, her husband Robert is an accountant. He handles ALL the paperwork, receipt tracking, payments, and accounting for her. Sounds like a perfect marriage!
4. Helps you know and understand your competition. In developing your plan, you will get to know your competition, what their unique benefits are, and what their weaknesses are. From this you should be able to determine where you can compete with the greatest success.
5. Enables you to deal with professionals. Having a business plan will allow you to deal with other professionals, such as lawyers, accountants, insurance agents, and consultants, in a confident manner.
6. Understand who your customers are and what they want. To be successful in child care you need to give the customer what they want, not always what they need or what you are best at. The business plan process will help you to find out more about your customers.
7. Determine how much money you will make. Knowing your customers, your competition and your strengths, you will be much better able to make an accurate projection about how much money you will make, how much you may need to pay out in expenses and how much you get to keep!
8. Understand how much it will cost to start your daycare. If you haven’t yet started your daycare you will learn how much money you will need to get started. Depending on the size of your center this may be almost nothing to 6 figures for a new child care center. Knowing the costs will help you figure out where you can save some money too.
9. Help you sell your daycare. Right now you may not be thinking about selling the business you are just starting but down the road you may decide to. It is always good to get paid a large amount for all the hard work you put into your daycare. A good business plan that has made you successful goes a long way in receiving a good sales price.
10. You simply must have one to apply for grants and loans. To get any money from the government or banks you need to have a business plan. Not having a plan is one of the biggest reasons people don’t apply for government grants and loans and why that money goes unused. The money is out there for the asking, but you must have a business plan to get any of it.

Yes, preparing a business plan can be a daunting process. And if you take it on from the beginning alone it will be. But luckily you have several great options. There are several business software programs on the market you can use. These are good and they walk you through the process with examples for each section.

Another option is to have a business plan created for you by a professional. This is the easiest but also the most expensive route. Search the web and you should find several companies willing to do all the work for you and send you a professional plan.
A third option is a “done for you” child care business plan template. I’ve have a couple of these for you, (daycare center business plan, home daycare business plan), with just about everything already done. I’ve helped enough child cares to know what 90% of the business plan should be. I find from coast to coast the same information in just about every business plan.

It’s up to you how you go about writing your business plan, but you should strongly consider getting started today writing one. Success is just so much easier with a good business plan for your daycare.

I came across a great article in the paper this week. The article is about which volunteer jobs are the most helpful to kids. Here’s the article: http://online.wsj.com/article

I like the information of where to volunteer and think parents may like it (i.e. something for your newsletter:-)). I found this section to be very relevant to those of us in child care as well as parents:

“Throughout school, the most important parental role of all is to shape your child’s attitude toward learning and school, communicate high expectations, and help him or her set goals and solve learning problems.

And setting expectations doesn’t mean telling kids, “We are bound and determined that you are going to get into Harvard,” Dr. Hoover-Dempsey says; it means sending a message that “doing the best you can is important for all the things you’re going to be able to do in life.” In elementary school, such coaching has roughly twice as big an impact on children’s grades and test scores as volunteering.”

As caregivers we have a massive impact on the kids in our care. We owe it to them and ourselves to do the best we can for them. Teach them to love learning, have fun with it, to do their best in everything they do, and to set meaningful goals in life.

These days, it’s tough being a Cleveland Browns fan, especially when you’re surrounded by Steelers fans.  But as you can see from this photo, I don’t mind being surrounded by the competition. 

Nevertheless, what should you do if your child care is surrounded by the competition?

In my child care consulting practice, I’m seeing more and more centers with increasing levels of competition.  Whether from in-home daycares or new centers that were built recently, more centers are competing for fewer new clients.  This can be a problem because the new competition tends to drive down the price customers will pay, drive up costs, and overwhelm new parents.

However, you don’t have to roll over and give in.  With the right strategies, you can beat the other child care centers in your market.  The greatest tool for doing this is a strong marketing program that clearly states how you are UNIQUE and different than your competitors.  Can you honestly say that your marketing answers this all-important question:

“Why should I choose to enroll my child at your center rather than any other child care center in town?”

Average marketing will only get you average results.  To be highly successful, you need to use a marketing plan that enables you to stand out.  Effective marketing will:

• Make sure your center’s name comes up when parents are looking for child care.
• Enter the conversation already going on in parent’s heads.
• Make the competition a non-issue.
• Return to you $2, $5, $10 or more dollars for every dollar you spend on marketing.
• Allow you to charge higher rates than average.
• Have a system that allows you to fill vacancies at will.
• Provide better care for the kids under your care.
• Have a waiting list of parents.
• Hire the best staff.
• And best of all, improve your profitability (or financial health if you’re a non-profit).

As you can see, great marketing is important regardless of your situation, whether you are surrounded by competition or not.  An effective marketing plan simply has too much to offer.

As you may know, I have been helping child care centers with their marketing and enrollment-building challenges for a while now, as a coach and teacher, doing just what I have shown above.  I love doing it and helping centers grow…but I also understand many child cares can’t yet afford this level of personal coaching  and consulting (I regularly charge $150 an hour plus).

So to make this available to everyone and help you beat your competition, I have put together the Child Care Business Success System.  With this one-of-a-kind training program, you will be able to win against all the other centers in your area – I guarantee it!

I’ve been getting lots of questions from my readers lately about child care grants, so I thought I’d share some tips with you about daycare grants and how to find them.

Tip #1:  It is very hard to find grants to cover start-up costs, especially for an in-home family daycare.  The reasons for this are:

-          Most grant providers want to give funds to a child care business that is already stable and running successfully, but needs funds to improve their operations and/or take on more children.  That way, they can be sure that the funds will be used wisely.

-          It costs very little to start an in-home child care business (typically $1,000 or less).  Most grant providers are looking for bigger opportunities to make a difference with their dollars.

Many child care grants are reserved for expansion of existing facilities, or non-capital improvements to an existing facility, such as training, better outdoor spaces, and the like.

Tip #2: The best place to start looking for your daycare grant is with your local Childcare Resource & Referral Agency.  To find yours, simply go to www.childcareaware.com and enter your ZIP code in the field on the right-hand side of the page.  You’ll get the contact information for your local CCR&R.  Call the number provided and introduce yourself, and ask to speak with the person who handles local grants and low-interest funding programs.  If your region or state does not have any grant programs, they may be able to refer you to some non-profit foundations in your area that do (such as your local United Way chapter).

Tip #3:  Non-profit child care centers qualify for grants to a much greater degree than for-profit centers.  If you want to start a child care center, but you have little to no funds of your own saved, you may want to consider opening up a non-profit child care center.  You can still earn a nice salary, and your likelihood of finding a start-up daycare grant is much greater if you set yourself up as a non-profit.  I recommend finding other non-profit child care centers in your region or state, and contacting them with questions on how to get started.  Most people in child care are very friendly and eager to help!

I go way more in-depth on this topic in my Child Care Business Success System, so if you want more information, be sure to check it out!

More than $5 billion was set aside for early education in the stimulus package signed by President Obama last month.

In California, $210 million will go toward improving Head Start and Early Head Start programs for low-income toddlers and students, while more than $220 million would enhance child care for infants and toddlers.

Stimulus money would also pay for more funding for in-depth training for current preschool educators.

“There are long waiting lists – 55,000 students in the state waiting for preschool,” said Scott Moore, senior policy adviser for Preschool California.

“We don’t have enough funding to provide publicly funded preschool to low-income kids, and we are not even including middle- and upper-income children,” he said.

Increased funding would help resolve those issues and make preschool or other early education more available to families.

Most other states are also receiving funding, in addition to California.

So you see, this is the PERFECT time to start your own child care business, and/or get funding to expand your services to more children.

The demand for quality care is high, the funds are increasing at the state & local level, and you are getting geared up to meet that demand by owning your own child care business. So let’s get started. If you want to know the very first step you should take, listen to this audio class that I gave back in November:

I look forward to your feedback, and to helping you get started.