Rates...

[Leigh]

Thanks BC! When I set out to do daycare I wanted to be a little bit cheaper than the others just to start off with for the first year but I didn't realize how much cheaper I was I was going off the 2015 averages I was given! I also have a couple of different methods that I don't mind using like I don't take any paid vacation (I know we deserve it but I work in the restaurant biz and am so used to taking things unpaid I'm okay with it) and I do 1/2 fee holidays! This forsure the parents realllllllly liked! My goal is to by the end have none of that matter because my rates will be where they need to be by the 1st year open.

I agree about rates and family choosing you solely on your rates! I just can't afford to push the buttons anymore than I already have with tons of small policies changes I nipped within the first 2 months of being open. When I first opened I had a lot of people inquire and want to set up interviews and basically I found out that they were just trying to jump ship to cheaper daycare from other in home providers and I never extended an offer for them because I didn't want them to jump ship with me if they found something cheaper or when I raised my rates.


I talked to someone who did daycare in the area a while ago and she said she'd be having big fines for going outside of the set hours. It may at some point get to that but I'm hoping that people are just wanting to save the $10-20 a week and show up on time and for commuters where it isn't possible then they just pay the higher rate and I feel better about the situation. Plus no one in my area does things this way because I'm realizing most open around 6:30/7 and close by 4:30/5 so no need to worry about kiddos being here for 11.5 hours a day because it just isnt an option except for the center's that are twice as much as I am. I like being available to take kiddos 6-6 it opens up more opportunities for clientele but I didn't present myself as a "leave all the kids here all day everyday and you can pick up an hour-two hours after you said you would because I don't "close" until 6pm". My policies, contracts, and my rate sheet state up to 10 hours a day. This is partially my fault for not putting my foot down but I didn't know what to do or how to go about it and felt it would just spiral again to this if I didn't find an over all solution. As I stated before I specifically chose families who would pick up at a time of 5:30 or earlier so it allowed room for traffic, weather, etc here or there and I'd be done by 6pm but not shopping, gas, and everything else until 5:59pm every day of the week.

I used to commute myself and I purposely picked daycare closer to my work so I could always be on time to get him and he wouldn't be there from open-close.

Again I think what confuses me the most is that they picked their times when they started with me. I don't see how times that THEY chose are an issue but apparently it is !

I think you're finding that people who choose their daycare based solely on rate are the people who won't value you or what you offer.

I suggest sitting down and figuring out what you NEED to make this business profitable. If your monthly expenses are $4000, for example (mortgage, utilities, groceries, car payment, insurance, medical bills, property, income, Social Security tax, etc), you know that is your break even point. Then you have to figure what you need for your "other" categories (clothing, entertainment, savings, gas, education expenses, kid's birthday parties-think of everything you spend). Take this and double it or even triple it. Think about whether you could afford to replace your furnace without notice or pay for a new refrigerator based on what you're charging now. Use these numbers to set your rate by figuring how much you need per space per year, and working from there on rate.

It's important to remember this is business, not social services or a charity. You ARE doing this to make a living and you and your family deserve to make a living. If I cut my rates by $30 as a "service" to my families, I would be essentially giving them $18,720 a year. Think about the big picture when you're thinking about rates. I've seen MANY providers lose their businesses because they wouldn't charge enough to live on or to buy their child's medicine because they didn't want to seem greedy.

I think that if you take your business and your right and need to make the same good living that other providers are seriously, that you'll find that you'll have more compliant clients and the price shopper/daycare jumpers will move on to the next "new girl" to take advantage of.

[Sumshine]

I think you're finding that people who choose their daycare based solely on rate are the people who won't value you or what you offer.

I suggest sitting down and figuring out what you NEED to make this business profitable. If your monthly expenses are $4000, for example (mortgage, utilities, groceries, car payment, insurance, medical bills, property, income, Social Security tax, etc), you know that is your break even point. Then you have to figure what you need for your "other" categories (clothing, entertainment, savings, gas, education expenses, kid's birthday parties-think of everything you spend). Take this and double it or even triple it. Think about whether you could afford to replace your furnace without notice or pay for a new refrigerator based on what you're charging now. Use these numbers to set your rate by figuring how much you need per space per year, and working from there on rate.

It's important to remember this is business, not social services or a charity. You ARE doing this to make a living and you and your family deserve to make a living. If I cut my rates by $30 as a "service" to my families, I would be essentially giving them $18,720 a year. Think about the big picture when you're thinking about rates. I've seen MANY providers lose their businesses because they wouldn't charge enough to live on or to buy their child's medicine because they didn't want to seem greedy.

I think that if you take your business and your right and need to make the same good living that other providers are seriously, that you'll find that you'll have more compliant clients and the price shopper/daycare jumpers will move on to the next "new girl" to take advantage of.

You are definitely right! I set myself up to be a little lower to stay competitive and get people in the door my first year but I really went too low somehow I did not jump on the right band wagon !

I hadn one interview back down already but the other is still on with the new rates! We will see how it goes!

[Mom2Two]

OP I hear you. I am about to change my hours and maybe my rates and it's a lot to rethink it all.

[Sumshine]

OP I hear you. I am about to change my hours and maybe my rates and it's a lot to rethink it all.

It is a lot but in the end I think it will make me a much happier provider. I can't run myself down too much and I like to be flexible where I can be but if you want to utilize me for more than 10 hours of the day I have to be paid more than what I am now to make it worth my while!

[JessicaH]

Same Boat

I have only been open since October and I found that I am definitely below the average for my area when it came to care (followed the 2015 rates). I was hoping that it would help me get in the door, but I really don't think it has mattered. I am now up to 5 kids, but would like to add a couple more. Will definitely up my rates for anyone new!

At least in my area this is an extremely difficult field to get into and I think I was trying a little to hard to be competitive.

[Sumshine]

I have only been open since October and I found that I am definitely below the average for my area when it came to care (followed the 2015 rates). I was hoping that it would help me get in the door, but I really don't think it has mattered. I am now up to 5 kids, but would like to add a couple more. Will definitely up my rates for anyone new!

At least in my area this is an extremely difficult field to get into and I think I was trying a little to hard to be competitive.

We have some REALLLLLLLY cheap daycares out here (mainly for SA care), some average, and some spendy!

One mom I interviewed said she's only paying $90 a week currently and everywhere was asking $150-160 when she was calling and came across me at $130 for the particular age she was looking for! I was like $90 a week?! How?! But she said the provider doesnt do pre k, potty training, etc all things she was searching for. In the end she ended up staying where she was, or at least that's what she told me, I was irritated I even offered to interview her after she told me in person she had been to EVERY in home provider in town with the opening! Lol such a waste of my time and I did it after hours too!

I have a lady around the corner who got licensed a week after me. Her daycare space is smaller, less inviting, not a dedicated space, less toys, she has no good sleeping arrangements (she messaged me asking how many kids can sleep on a couch :confused, no stroller, etc (not to be mean or cady!) She is forsure $20 a week more than I and she has the exact same amount of kids I do currently so I agree I don't think price makes a difference at all unless maybe you're too spendy it could turn people away but hey maybe you want only a certain clientele and pricing provides you that!