Proven Success Strategies for Early Childhood Leaders

Did you know that only about 11% of early childhood program directors & owners have had some sort of business and/or marketing training? Yes, they’ve had many hours of training in early childhood topics, but not much training in how to manage a profitable center, and how to stay fully enrolled for the long term by creating & executing an EFFECTIVE marketing plan.

So, to help child care leaders learn the skills they need to stay competitive & profitable, I’ve created a marketing and enrollment-building toolkit called the Child Care Business Success System. Everyone who’s invested in the training RAVES about it. Here are some testimonials, and more details about the toolkit.

I look forward to helping you stay fully enrolled, and create effective marketing that works for you, time and time again!

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!

I want to pass along this video
called “Core Influence” from probably
THE coolest guy in internet marketing.

His name is Frank Kern. You gotta watch
his stuff, it’s very cool and funny. And
maybe even life-changing.

Here’s the link:

http://www.getcoreinfluence.com/?ref=J0M40PjjRjQZ06d6

(I get no compensation for sending this to you – it’s just cool stuff).

Enjoy!

All the best,
Kris

I just posted a brand new 4-minute video, and I think you’ll get a kick out of it.

Plus, you might learn a thing or two.

Go watch the video now:

Success in 2010

To your success in 2010,

Kris

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!

*********************************

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

Reserve your seat now:

Holiday Party RSVP

*********************************

WIN PRIZES!

Plus, we will be giving away prizes every 15

minutes on the call!

*********************************

For more details and to reserve your

seat visit:

Holiday Party RSVP

*********************************

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).

We all know that word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising. So why do so many child care centers lack a customer referral program? Maybe we figure that if people love us, the referrals will come naturally, without us having to ask for them.

This might be the case, but there’s one problem: unless you reward existing customers for their hard-earned referrals, they’re unlikely to help you get new customers.

So what is the simplest, easiest way to create a customer referral program? Follow a simple three-step acronym: EAR. Earn-Ask-Reward.

Step 1: Earn . Do what you do so well that others can’t resist telling people about you. A great example is Disney. Ask yourself “how can we provide child care so well that people will be amazed at our service and how great we are…and they won’t be able to resist telling other parents about it”. In other words, provide a “WOW” experience.

Make a list of what’s special, unique, and different about your center. When prospects call and then visit for the first time, what “WOW” reactions will they have? Or will they have a ho-hum reaction? If they visit you along with two other competitors in the same day, what will make them remember YOU as opposed to the other two centers? If you want others to rave about you, you’ll need to refine your “WOW” experience.

Step 2: Ask . Create an easy-to-follow process for you and your staff to ask happy customers to refer you to friends and family. This could be a simple flyer that spells out the details of your program, including the reward for providing a referral. You can go further by communicating your Referral Program throughout your center materials, in your newsletter, via email to your customer list, on your website, and in flyers posted on the Parent Communication boards.

Step 3: Reward . Make sure you’ve identified a valued prize that will reward your customers for their hard work. Don’t appear “cheap” and don’t give a discount related to your child care business. One of the best gifts that parents can receive is a complimentary “date night” including dinner and a movie, or perhaps even free child care for the evening. Another idea is a $100 gift card to a popular retail outlet, or a generic $100 cash gift card.

Typically, the reward is given when the enrolling family names the referring family. For example, on the Enrollment Form you should have a field for “Please Let Us Know Who Referred You to Our Center So We May Thank Them”.

Using these three simple steps, you’ll soon find yourself with many prospective families interested in enrolling in your center, courtesy of your current customer base.