This Is Just Frustrating

[MunchkinWrangler]

I don't get it. Don't these parents CARE about the quality of care they're likely to get for $60/week??

I am both a teacher in a preschool and a DCM, and I would say 50% of the reason I work here is so I can afford to have my daughter in a quality environment. I've been doing this my entire adult life and I would like to go and try something else, but I know most likely I would either be working just to pay daycare so I could work, or I'd have to have my daughter in some place I felt unsure about.

For $60 a week you are turning absolutely no profit. Unless you have 10 or more kids. So what you end up with is a sahm who starts out with a bunch of promises, quickly realized she can't do any of that stuff because she either has too many kids or not making any money, and your kid eats ravioli and plays with her kids' toys until for a few months til she gets burned out or shut down. I've seen it.

Absolutely. Exactly.

[Thriftylady]

I don't get it. Don't these parents CARE about the quality of care they're likely to get for $60/week??

I am both a teacher in a preschool and a DCM, and I would say 50% of the reason I work here is so I can afford to have my daughter in a quality environment. I've been doing this my entire adult life and I would like to go and try something else, but I know most likely I would either be working just to pay daycare so I could work, or I'd have to have my daughter in some place I felt unsure about.

For $60 a week you are turning absolutely no profit. Unless you have 10 or more kids. So what you end up with is a sahm who starts out with a bunch of promises, quickly realized she can't do any of that stuff because she either has too many kids or not making any money, and your kid eats ravioli and plays with her kids' toys until for a few months til she gets burned out or shut down. I've seen it.

I agree with you. But in this area you don't have to be licensed. So that is what you get, a lot of SAHM's who really are not running a business or looking at quailty standards. I just don't understand why parents keep going for it.

[Unregistered]

What the heck? I charged $60 a week for two 25 years ago and I lived in a tiny, rural town. Thats crazy and so frustrating.

[Thriftylady]

What the heck? I charged $60 a week for two 25 years ago and I lived in a tiny, rural town. Thats crazy and so frustrating.

Well I am in a tiny rural town, but this isn't 25 years ago!

[LysesKids]

Well I am in a tiny rural town, but this isn't 25 years ago!

Thrifty we have the same here... SAHM's or older Grams that think it's ok to charge 60-75 week for FT care and that's in a major city, not my area which is 15-20 minutes away. I charge double what some of these people are charging & thank goodness I'm full with a wait list. I still see the same people advertising for kids and almost all of them charge less than I do (like they never fill their spots or they have high turnover).

I weed out the "daycare hoppers" by making people check out the website before contacting me. Saves a lot of headaches

[Thriftylady]

Thrifty we have the same here... SAHM's or older Grams that think it's ok to charge 60-75 week for FT care and that's in a major city, not my area which is 15-20 minutes away. I charge double what some of these people are charging & thank goodness I'm full with a wait list. I still see the same people advertising for kids and almost all of them charge less than I do (like they never fill their spots or they have high turnover).

I weed out the "daycare hoppers" by making people check out the website before contacting me. Saves a lot of headaches

Yeah I see what you are saying. I have two really good families right now who realize I am providing great care at an awesome rate. I just wish I could get one or two more kiddos. We are much better off than we were a year ago when I was struggling to get any kids. But one or two more would help so much. Especially during times like the last month or so. We have been in one of those phases where vehicles keep breaking down, trucking industry is a little slow for some reason so hubby's miles are down. You know how it is sometimes. We are surviving, but I am so tired of just surviving!

I am stepping up my facebook postings on my daycare page. I am not sure how to make sure it actually reaches the people it needs to reach though. It is set to public, I liked it on my regular page, so it shares to there. I do use the advertising sometimes, but have never gotten any calls from it. Not sure if I should try again or not. I wasn't posting on it much, but the last two days now I have put up pics.

[LysesKids]

Yeah I see what you are saying. I have two really good families right now who realize I am providing great care at an awesome rate. I just wish I could get one or two more kiddos. We are much better off than we were a year ago when I was struggling to get any kids. But one or two more would help so much. Especially during times like the last month or so. We have been in one of those phases where vehicles keep breaking down, trucking industry is a little slow for some reason so hubby's miles are down. You know how it is sometimes. We are surviving, but I am so tired of just surviving!

I am stepping up my facebook postings on my daycare page. I am not sure how to make sure it actually reaches the people it needs to reach though. It is set to public, I liked it on my regular page, so it shares to there. I do use the advertising sometimes, but have never gotten any calls from it. Not sure if I should try again or not. I wasn't posting on it much, but the last two days now I have put up pics.

See my CL ad and all my hardcopy advertising has links listing my webpage & my FB page; I never put my # or email in the ad... if someone wants more info they have to click one of the 2 links ( or type it in if gotten off a flyer). Both the Website & FB page have a contact page or link that sends me that persons info, then I call them. I update my menus almost everyday on FB and that is were I put up new pic's etc. I'm limited to 4 kids and all my littles are under 2 years old all the time (my specialty)

[Thriftylady]

See my CL ad and all my hardcopy advertising has links listing my webpage & my FB page; I never put my # or email in the ad... if someone wants more info they have to click one of the 2 links ( or type it in if gotten off a flyer). Both the Website & FB page have a contact page or link that sends me that persons info, then I call them. I update my menus almost everyday on FB and that is were I put up new pic's etc. I'm limited to 4 kids and all my littles are under 2 years old all the time (my specialty)

Okay it is probably my resistance to social media change, but all that linking sounds complicated! I am not really using CL anymore. The closest "site" is 50 miles from me. And I have found people around here just don't use it much. I did get one person from it last summer though. And every time I post there, I get scammers! Maybe I will try it again though. I keep hoping a new site with less spammers will come along. CL seems to be crawling with them. Every time I post I get the "well I am moving from another country but if you send me your info I will send you a nice fat check".

[LysesKids]

Okay it is probably my resistance to social media change, but all that linking sounds complicated! I am not really using CL anymore. The closest "site" is 50 miles from me. And I have found people around here just don't use it much. I did get one person from it last summer though. And every time I post there, I get scammers! Maybe I will try it again though. I keep hoping a new site with less spammers will come along. CL seems to be crawling with them. Every time I post I get the "well I am moving from another country but if you send me your info I will send you a nice fat check".

That's why you don't list a phone or email for contact on CL... I list my website address only; no spamming . I learned that years ago. The weblink works on other online advertising also so my personal info doesn't go out to people that don't need it. I'm a single person ( kids grown & gone) if I don't stay full I don't pay bills because it is only me.

Having a website has really been a lifesaver because I can link it to any online ad including local stuff. We have a FB page in each county here that has allowed people to sell stuff or advertise small business like childcare... see if your area does that.

[Thriftylady]

That's why you don't list a phone or email for contact on CL... I list my website address only; no spamming . I learned that years ago. The weblink works on other online advertising also so my personal info doesn't go out to people that don't need it. I'm a single person ( kids grown & gone) if I don't stay full I don't pay bills because it is only me.

Having a website has really been a lifesaver because I can link it to any online ad including local stuff. We have a FB page in each county here that has allowed people to sell stuff or advertise small business like childcare... see if your area does that.

We have several FB pages here to buy and sale. I use them a lot. But it seems that a lot of people who want "cheap" care hang out there . I do post on them often. I am going to try later and see if I can do a CL ad and hook it to my web page! Never tried it before, but surely I can figure it out.

[childcaremom]

It is hard to compete with that.

I have focussed on what sets me apart from other daycares. Then I raised my rates. I am among the highest in home daycares in a small town. I go through gluts but so does everyone. I tend to fill my spaces before others do, though. I focus on what I offer that others do not and highlight those things. A lot.

I have a website but don't use it to it's advantages. I use weebly which is very easy to navigate. I do use my facebook page a LOT. I am very play oriented but it is easy enough to highlight the activities that the children are doing and present it in an interesting way. I get a lot of comments about it.

I advertise all the time on kijiji, even if I don't have openings. That way I have a base to draw from if something does open up. I refresh my ad every month or so so it is not always at the top but rotates enough that I can get new interest. I use fb to advertise only sporadically. I also have started not responding to people looking for care, but rather post my ad, very unwordy but heavy on pictures, and let people contact me.

Is there a niche that you could fill in your area? Is there a certain clientele that you could cater to? It's super hard when people are doing it for a hobby or just some extra cash. They never last long but it sure makes it hard to build a client base.