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HOW TO BREAK FREE FROM DAYCARE CHALLENGES

February 9, 2018

Daycare challenges, anyone?

I remember when I first decided to open my own daycare business. At first… everything was basically free of any daycare challenges. I was so excited and ready to roll. My husband and I, plus helpful friends and family members, spent a lot of time painting, decorating and transferring our basement into a mini-daycare center. Everything looked beautiful, fresh and welcoming.

I couldn’t believe that all the hours of dreaming and planning were finally becoming my reality. I had wonderful families enrolled in my daycare. I had a fun licensor to work with and my food program lady was amazing. I seriously thought I hit the jackpot! I thought life couldn’t get any better.

Until…

Through a series of unfortunate events, I ended up losing half of my daycare families unexpectedly. Added to that, my licensor was fired out of the blue. Now I had to figure things out on my own.

I was devastated. Can you say “Daycare challenges galore?”

When I said “Yes” to starting my own daycare business, I did not think about those kind of things. Perhaps you didn’t either. I had no idea that running your own daycare business would be so stressful and full of unwelcome surprises. (Yes, I was naive.)

I did not have a ‘Plan B’ because I thought having ‘Plan A’ was all I needed.

I felt stuck, alone, confused, and maybe a little (or a lot) afraid. Can you relate?

But then, I remembered:

– my passion to teach and make a difference
– all the beautiful faces of little children that I had a privilege to love and invest in
– all the giggles and laughs that we shared every single day

And also, I remembered:

– mistakes that I made and what I learned from them
– how far I had come and how much more professional I was becoming
– how I learned to run my business, and not let other people run it
– how much I invested both financially and emotionally into this business

Finally…

I remembered the brave choice I made to start my own in-home daycare.

I was not willing to give up just because of these huge daycare challenges!

Being a daycare provider and a business owner is a lot like being a first-time parent. It is a learning experience. You don’t know what you are doing right away, but you are tying to do your best. You learn as you go. You fail. You improve. You become more confident. You survive craziness.

Sure, there are days when you want to walk away and forget it all. Trust me, I was there way too many times. But this didn’t make me a bad daycare provider, and it doesn’t make you a bad daycare provider either.

It makes us NORMAL.

I don’t know what daycare challenges you are facing today. Whatever they may be, please believe me when I say it does get easier. It really does. No matter how hopeless it looks.

Take a deep breath…

Okay. Think about what you can do today – a small little step that you can take today to get you where you want to be tomorrow, a week from today, a year from today.

Now, be brave and do it! Push through your fears. Make a plan. If your Plan A doesn’t work out, then make a Plan B and if that doesn’t work out make a Plan C.

Just do it. I did.

I hope my story will inspire you to be brave along with me. If I could do it, you can do it.

Let’s be brave together.

I am cheering for you!

xoxo,
Sylvie

PS. And just in case you are wondering, things did turn around for me. Eventually, I got a new licensor. I enrolled new families. And I took a much needed vacation.

How Much Should I Charge For Daycare

October 11, 2017

I have said it before, but let me say it again: daycare is a business; NOT a hobby.

As a business owner, you are going to charge your clients for watching their children. Unfortunately, many daycare providers have a hard time knowing how much to charge for their daycare services. They ask things like:

“What’s the right price?”

“Am I charging too much?”

“Am I too cheap?”

“Will people want to pay me?”

“How much is my competition charging?”

The struggle is real, friends. If you have ever asked these questions, you are not alone. I have been there too. However, pricing your daycare business does not have to be complicated. We can feel good about what we charge.

Here are 5 things that will determine the right price for YOUR daycare.

1. LOCATION

Your price will be affected by where your daycare is located. Parents often look for a daycare that is convenient for them. They are more open to pay a higher price if you are located near their work place or somewhere on the way to their work place. Also, neighborhoods with low crime rate are highly sought after. Families are willing to pay above average for safety of their children.

2. QUALITY

Another factor to consider while figuring out pricing is the quality your daycare business offers. This will depend on your years of experience, education, skills, talents, gifts, set up and style you bring to the work you do. You want to serve your clients well and provide the highest quality possible by continually learning, improving and investing in your business. The higher quality you provide, the higher price you can charge.

3. TIME

Calculating your time is complicated because it involves so much more than merely watching children during your hours of operation. Your pricing also needs to include anything having to do with your daycare business like: cleaning up, preparing, talking on the phone, emailing, meetings, shopping for daycare items, paper work etc. Your time is valuable and your price should reflect it.

4. EXPENSES

Your expenses are the total of what it costs you to run your daycare business. This includes: groceries, toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates, art supplies, books, toys, office supplies, ink, printing paper, light bulbs, phone bill, electric bill, cleaning supplies, and so on. After you covered all your expenses, whatever is left becomes your “real paycheck”. Make sure you pay yourself for the hard work by setting the right price that makes profit.

5. COMPETITION

It is always a good idea to research daycare rates in your town and find out what other providers are charging. This information will give you insight into what’s working in your area and will help you set a proper price for your daycare service. If you are just starting out, you may want to lower your price to get some initial clients. But as you grow and your business is more established, your price should increase.

When you apply these simple things into your daycare business, you will come up with a price that is right for YOU and you will make money. Don’t feel guilty for charging what you’re worth!

Have You Ever Stressed About Your Daycare?

July 19, 2017

Okay I guess we all worry at times.

Maybe you had a conflict with your daycare parents and you worry that they will leave if you confronted them.

Or maybe you have a hard time finding kids to enroll in your program and you worry about having enough money to pay your bills. Or perhaps you worry about taking time off because you don’t want your daycare parents to get mad.

The truth is we all worry about something, but here’s the thing:

Worrying…

keeps you up at night

makes you feel stuck.

gets you nowhere.

One time, I had a baby enrolled in my daycare who cried all the time unless he was being held. It was not a “cute baby cry” but a loud, screaming cry – as if the world was ending. There was nothing wrong with the baby and there were no medical reasons for him to cry, but his cry would last for hours. Ugh! So exhausting. After 6 months of trying hard to make things work, I knew I had to talk with his parents and address the problem.

I had spoken to them about his crying before, but I knew it was time to sit down and have a serious conversation.

Something had to change.…

I lost a lot of sleep over this issue and I was worried because I did not know how his parents were going to react.

I was scared they would blame me for his behavior and make me feel like I wasn’t trying hard enough. After many weeks of turning and tossing at night, I finally had enough courage to meet with them. Sadly, the meeting didn’t go well. I was blamed for everything and they requested that I hold their child at all times while he was in my care.

Uhhh… “You-Have-Got-To-Be-Kidding Me!”

At that moment, I knew we were not a good fit.

There was no way I could hold their child 10 hours a day, while taking care of other children at the same time. They disagreed and decided to leave. I survived one of the most undesirable and unpleasant meetings I have ever had.

But guess what?

My life got less stressful after that baby left. Eventually I enrolled new children and things were going great!

If I had to do it all over again, I would have confronted the situation sooner and not loose so much sleep over it.

So what’s the conclusion? Worrying is a waste of time.

FOCUS ON WHERE YOU WANT TO GO, NOT ON WHAT YOU FEAR.

Resolve whatever keeps YOU up at night. It won’t be as bad as you may think because “whether it’s a little luck or God or a combination, everything seems to find a way of working itself out eventually.” Chip Gaines

Daycare Provider Shout Out

March 28, 2017

Hey! We all need encouragement, don’t we?

Some days we want to quit daycare, crawl in bed and not be bothered. Other days we have no energy or motivation to get out of bed and do daycare. We are overworked, exhausted and discouraged.

On that note – I am SUPER excited to do my first Daycare Provider Shout Out…

Inspiring Stories of Hope!

I have been interviewing daycare providers who were willing to talk about their daycare experiences. The beautiful women I interviewed were honest, real and fun. I promise, YOU will be touched and empowered by what they had to say.

THIS WEEK’S SPECIAL GUEST – MARY!

I met Mary on the airplane when I was flying back from Poland last summer. It was a long flight (10 hours) so we had a lot of time to talk about EVERYTHING. Mary is one of those people you meet and instantly love.

I could not believe when she said she has done daycare for many years. What a small world, huh? Mary, kindly agreed to share her story, advice and encouragement for the Fabulous Provider blog. She is a gem! Enjoy!

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO OPEN YOUR OWN IN HOME DAYCARE?

MARY In 1997, Chet’s (Husband) position at the bank was relocated and we did not want to move to Grand Rapids. I had been working in physical therapy for 15 years. Our finances were secure so we decided to do work that would be fun and also rewarding. We opened Golden Years Daycare, a licensed group home for 12 children. Yes, we opened it together and for the first 2 years ran it together with a part time assistant. Papa Chet is wonderful with children. We were very fortunate in the 10 years that we had four wonderful women work with us. Most of the time we had 2 caregivers here with me at one time and felt it very beneficial for the children.

YOU AND CHET DECIDED TO OPEN DAYCARE BUSINESS TOGETHER. WAS IT CHALLENGING TO WORK WITH YOUR HUSBAND?

MARY Not challenging because we were both committed to it from the start. Chet is fabulous with children – “Papa Chet” they called him. Also, we were financially secure which allowed us to hire assistants. Chet and I are a team always… so yes – beneficial!

WHAT IS/WAS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT DAYCARE?

MARY My favorite thing about daycare is/was giving the children a safe, loving environment in our home. I knew they loved being with us. Plus I got to stay home and play everyday. We were very organized and traditional in our way of caring for the children.

WHAT IS/WAS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT DAYCARE?

MARY My least favorite thing was dealing with parents who didn’t comply with our way of doing things, also having to make contracts and be firm.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE DISH YOU MADE FOR DAYCARE KIDS?

MARY Definitely GOULASH – Busia’s recipe. The kids LOVED it!

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE BOOK THAT YOU READ TO DAYCARE KIDS?

MARY The story about Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese

WHAT ADVICE COULD YOU GIVE TO DAYCARE PROVIDERS?

MARY I loved mentoring new daycare providers. I really felt that because we were older and more experienced in child care, the new providers could benefit from advice and suggestions. And I was happy to give that to them. I often would visit daycares to meet providers and see how they did things. Our daycare was always full, mostly school teacher’s children, so I really needed to be careful when recommending a provider to prospective parents.
I think I would advise daycare providers to not only love and care for the children, but to take care of their business as a business by keeping meticulous records, having a good tax person and knowing the state regulations.

ANY FUNNY DAYCARE STORIES YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US?

MARY Funny stories? Oh so many! One that stands out is about Barbie Dolls. I did not have Barbie Dolls at daycare, but two of my younger workers wanted to have a Barbie Day. When they knew I was going to be gone, they secretly let the girls bring their dolls and stuff from home. They thought they were pulling a fast one on me, but they took pictures of the fun they were having – so the secret was OUT! Hahaha!

HOW ABOUT A HEART TOUCHING STORY?

MARY Recently four of my first girls who are now 18 and in college wanted to have dinner with me. I asked them to pick a restaurant where we could meet, but they did not want to go out to dinner. Instead – they wanted to come to my house and make goulash (daycare favorite) with me. These four girls have been best friends since being in daycare together. So not only did we make dinner, but afterwards they re-created a picture I had of them in grocery sack paper vests. Yup, after dinner they sat at my table cutting and coloring and gluing and laughing the whole time! I then took a new picture. My heart was bursting with love for and from them that night.

THANKS SO MUCH, MARY! YOU DID A GREAT JOB AND YOU ARE TRULY AN INSPIRATION!

Don’t Cry Because It’s Over, Smile Because It Happened…

February 3, 2017

I have been pretty quiet for a while, and you might be wondering if I am still around.

Let me reassure you that I am still here. No worries, I am not going anywhere!

“So where have you been?” you may ask.

Let me share my answer: the honest, painful and raw answer.

Are you ready?

The last few weeks were filled with lots of goodbyes. Not the good kind of goodbyes, like the ones at the end of your daycare day when you are ready for everyone to go home, but the kind of goodbyes that are painful and unexpected.

For the last few weeks my husband and I have been going to his parents house to help with packing and cleaning as they sold their house. “It was a dream come true to grow up here” my husband Jeff said while filling boxes and sharing stories from his childhood. We were cleaning one room at the time with mixed emotions of tears and laughter. It was a long and a busy week, and we were tired both physically and emotionally.

Finally the closing day came with a new family ready to make memories in the house that once belonged to our family. We took a last picture in front of the house before we left, and once again we were reminded…

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

There was another difficult goodbye that I learned about while working on Jeff’s parents house: I received a phone call that my American Grandpa passed away unexpectedly. As I mentioned before, I grew up in Poland but when I moved to the US, my American Grandpa became a huge part of my life.

Have you ever met someone that you just clicked with right away?

That would be my Grandpa. Everybody loved him: his family, his friends and people who knew him. He was kind and accepting of everyone. He made people feel special and wanted. Grandpa took genuine interest in people’s lives. He was a man of integrity and courage. He was fun and loving. I could not believe that he was gone just like that. As I pondered the news in my heart, I struggled to accept the reality and wanted so badly to wake up from this “ horrible dream” but unfortunately the events taking place in my life were undeniable.

The last few weeks have been painful as two chapters of our lives were ending at the same time and we were forced to say goodbyes that we were not ready for.

So here it is – my honest and transparent answer of why you have not heard from me.

I decided to share and be authentic because, well… you deserve it. You are a part of my Fabulous Provider community and I want you to know that I very much cherish and appreciate you. And if you are struggling with loss at this time, I want to encourage you with the wise words of Dr. Seuss.

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”

You’ve got this girlfriend!

Hugs,

Sylvie