Americans will spend more than $10,000 + on child care in 2022!
Childcare in 2022 will be even more competitive with the influx of new providers. With that being said, there are multiple ways to prepare for 2022 and make your business even more profitable this upcoming year. Many resources exist that allow a child care provider to excel in this competitive field. Below are a list of 11 key things to note that can help take your childcare to another level.
1. Understand the Child Care Market: The child care market is currently worth more than $75 billion in the US, and growing at a rate of about 5% per year. As the Baby Boomers grow older and need more help, childcare services are going to be in demand. The majority of businesses can't find a way to stay in business without having a good handle on the child care market.
2. Create a Value Proposition: The next thing you need to do is find your value proposition. It’s what makes your service different, better, or more valuable than your competitors. Why does your service exist? What problem is it trying to solve? These are the questions you need to answer before you can really put your thinking cap on and start creating your value proposition. A value proposition is a clear description of what a product/service does, why it’s worth buying, and who it’s going to serve.
3. Build Trust through Transparency: We think it's important while running a child care business that transparency and trust are some of the most important things to your success. As a business owner, you need to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and understand what they expect of you. You need to know who your customers are, and why they’re coming to you for childcare. Do not be afraid to stick to the operational and policy procedures that you put in place and if you find that something is not working, do not be afraid to send out an addendum and change it. This is your business and you want to be confident in it and be transparent with the families you serve.
4. Create a system for yourself: This advice is especially true for those who run home-based child care businesses. This is because if you are working at home, you will likely be your own boss. That means that you are in control of how you organize yourself and it is vital that you set up a system for yourself that you can follow every day. Having a system allow for you build consistency and discipline. Once you have your system going, parents will be able to see your system and are more likely to respect it because you don't take it lightly.
5. Learn to read the parents behavior and needs: Parents all have different parenting styles and values, and each family has its own unique expectations and wants. In order for parents to trust your care-giving skills, you need to earn their trust and they need to earn yours. The best way to do that is to have intentional conversations and to make sure all parties are on the same page.
Trust is a two way street!
6. Build a business plan that will be sustainable: We know we need to write one, but we don’t always know how to. That’s where YOU come in. Your job is to do some research and to learn what makes a business plan good, and then to write a plan that will work for your business. The key thing to remember is that a business plan is only as good as the data that you used to make it. That’s why we always recommend that you get to know your potential clients and understand their needs. That's the first step in writing a child care business plan. People don't plan to fail, they just fail to plan.
7. Be proactive with parents, not reactive: When you’re dealing with a parent, be proactive. Don’t get into situations where you’re reacting to things. Take the lead on what is going on and don’t wait until someone is complaining to try and help. The average parent has enough to worry about so being as professional as you can be is very important. Do not be afraid to speak up, but definitely do everything in a tactful manner and send out surveys here and there to see how you can make your business even more better for yourself and for the families that you serve.
8. Leverage Social Media to Build Relationships: How do you think your current customers feel when your business is mentioned? What about when your customers or your potential customers see your business on social media platforms? If you have the opportunity to tell your story through social media, don't let it pass you by. People like to connect with people as much as they can. When parents come to your page, your page should tell a story. They should know how to reach you in multiple ways and have a good idea of what your childcare is about based on the content you have posted. We are in the information age and people need information to make sound decisions.
9. Develop Content for Multiple Platforms: Content marketing is important for every business, but there are different platforms on which content can be shared. A key takeaway for childcare businesses is to focus on these platforms to reach your audience. Do a bit of research to see how and what ways each platform can help you connect with your clients.
10. Educate yourself and stay up to date with industry trends: A great resource for learning about the trends in the child care industry is the Child Care Marketing Report. The report will tell you everything you need to know about what’s popular, what’s hot, and what’s not in the child care industry.
11. Last but not the least, have fun and be yourself: In conclusion, to make 2022 the most profitable year as a child care provider, you need to start by assessing where you are. This is the first step to change. You should know your weaknesses, strengths, and your goals for the year. You’ll find that you’re not alone when it comes to the day-to-day challenges of running a successful business. It’s important that you develop a business strategy that will help you meet your financial goals, and be sure to have the proper systems in place to help you do that. DO NOT be afraid to delegate some of your tasks!
We are always here to help you if you have questions, need advice, guidance, or just products and services that will serve you and your business. If you had not had the opportunity to BROWSE around the Daycare Time Solutions website.
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