Advertising To "Check Out" A Neighborhood

[LittleScholars]

I pre-advertised and that worked well for me. I left my job and toyed with the idea of opening a daycare, but I didn't want to commit to purchasing items and going through licensing only to find out I didn't have interested families. I advertised for an immediate opening for babysitting in my home starting xx date in xx school district. I highlighted the aspects of my program I intended to included. In the ad I mentioned the possibility of becoming formally licensed at xx time. I wanted families to understand (1) an immediate service was available, (2) that I wasn't licensed, and (3) that I might become licensed and have a larger group. When my first client reached out, I was completely candid.

I advertised on care.com and a local mom swap (garage sale) facebook page. I was flooded with interest, which signaled it was worth moving forward. I accepted the legal limit for babysitting and wait listed the other families that I thought were a great fit until I was licensed. I did tons of interviews because I thought of it as free advertising (now I only do interviews for open spots).

I did all of these interviews while my home still looked like an adult home (I wasn't even pregnant with my son yet). I remember apologizing to parents and most said something like, "I don't care about any of that. Your program will come. I just care about how you interact with my kid." I still have every on of those original clients and I'm not taking on their younger siblings as they head to school. I think they stuck around because, as promised, my program did come. They could see how hard I worked to establish the program I had envisioned.

As for being a male, I think you will find plenty of families that don't care. My families love my husband and I think some of the kids like him better than me some days! They love that he is able to spend mornings with us and that he comes home on snowy days to have snow ball fights with the kids. I suppose that isn't the same as having a solo male provider, but they certainly see the benefit in his presence.

[Mike]

I pre-advertised and that worked well for me. I left my job and toyed with the idea of opening a daycare, but I didn't want to commit to purchasing items and going through licensing only to find out I didn't have interested families. I advertised for an immediate opening for babysitting in my home starting xx date in xx school district. I highlighted the aspects of my program I intended to included. In the ad I mentioned the possibility of becoming formally licensed at xx time. I wanted families to understand (1) an immediate service was available, (2) that I wasn't licensed, and (3) that I might become licensed and have a larger group. When my first client reached out, I was completely candid.

I advertised on care.com and a local mom swap (garage sale) facebook page. I was flooded with interest, which signaled it was worth moving forward. I accepted the legal limit for babysitting and wait listed the other families that I thought were a great fit until I was licensed. I did tons of interviews because I thought of it as free advertising (now I only do interviews for open spots).

I did all of these interviews while my home still looked like an adult home (I wasn't even pregnant with my son yet). I remember apologizing to parents and most said something like, "I don't care about any of that. Your program will come. I just care about how you interact with my kid." I still have every on of those original clients and I'm not taking on their younger siblings as they head to school. I think they stuck around because, as promised, my program did come. They could see how hard I worked to establish the program I had envisioned.

As for being a male, I think you will find plenty of families that don't care. My families love my husband and I think some of the kids like him better than me some days! They love that he is able to spend mornings with us and that he comes home on snowy days to have snow ball fights with the kids. I suppose that isn't the same as having a solo male provider, but they certainly see the benefit in his presence.

Thanks. I will be making some decisions over the next couple weeks.

[LittleScholars]

Thanks. I will be making some decisions over the next couple weeks.

I realized after I wrote this my response didn't exactly match your situation (I knew where I would be, just not if I would actually follow through with care if I didn't find enough of a need). There is a provider around here that did exactly what I did, but had no idea where she would be. It worked well for her despite the fact she has moved locations a few times already. People seem to just keep following her.

[Mike]

I realized after I wrote this my response didn't exactly match your situation (I knew where I would be, just not if I would actually follow through with care if I didn't find enough of a need). There is a provider around here that did exactly what I did, but had no idea where she would be. It worked well for her despite the fact she has moved locations a few times already. People seem to just keep following her.

Your response was pretty close. I don't have an exact address but do know what neighborhood I will be moving to, if I do. I'm just working on my final decisions now. By the end of this month, my life will be going in a different direction. Just a question of which direction.