Private?? OR to join an Agency???

[Nancie]

That's the question...
I am in the beginning stage of planning to open up my main floor in my home for daycare.
I hear lots of pros and cons of both -- going private or opening with an agency.
Please post your experiences ....

[cfred]

My neighbour went with Wee Watch...then left. They didn't do much to get her clients (she said) and the term she used to describe them was 'crazy'. Personally, I don't know much about them except that the don't really offer anything I can't and don't already do myself.

[DCMG]

I think there would be pros & cons for both sides. A lot of new providers who don't have many contacts will go with an agency until they are able to find their own clients. I know one huge negative is that you will not make the same amount of money as you would privately. I chose to be private from day one as I wanted to be in control of my own business and all aspects of it. Good luck on your decision.

[bright sparks]

I think there would be pros & cons for both sides. A lot of new providers who don't have many contacts will go with an agency until they are able to find their own clients. I know one huge negative is that you will not make the same amount of money as you would privately. I chose to be private from day one as I wanted to be in control of my own business and all aspects of it. Good luck on your decision.

There are many free resources out their for finding clients without signing away a portion of your income. The HCCPA has a very effective referral system and the Halton Resource centre out of Milton also have a referral service. I have first hand experience with these and found that the HCCPA was sufficient to have my phone ringing constantly with parents looking for care. When I moved to Niagara Region I set up a free website and only started posting online at that point and now that is where most of my clients come from. Nancie, I would suggest you get together with the association members and discuss your concerns with them for reassurance which is very specific and relevant to your area. I don't think an agency is worth it and think you will likely regret getting involved with one when you find that they really are not of any benefit and probably make things more difficult for you in the long run.

[godsgirl]

I would have to say there are many pros and cons to both.
I am with an agency and decided when I first opened 2 years ago to go with them because I was just starting out and wanted to make sure that I had all my bases covered in regards to contracts, support, etc. The agency that I work with is amazing. It is called Family Space and is located in the Quinte West Region. Yeah, it sucks to be losing some of my pay check to them but I have really benefited from them because they have a lot to offer (from my understanding not all agencies are like this one though). They provide all the equipment that I need (they are all pretty much straight from the box new or very gently used), they offer support if I have questions or concerns, they have a resource consultant who helps me and provides me toys, learning tools, and one on one support with children who need additional help (one child I had, had some serious behaviour issues so she would come once a month to work directly with that boy and give me and the mom tools to help him. Eventually we all felt it was best for him to go to a daycare centre and she even stuck with the family until he was settled into his new environment). They also offer free workshops that I can attend and give me advertising things to help advertise my business. The majority of my clients have been from the agency either by families phoning them or by families looking specifically for subsidy - which when you are with an agency you can offer that. They do come once a month to do their monthly checks but honestly it's not that bad as everything is always locked up or in place as it should be anyways. And if something is out of place or unlocked or something then they just ask you to fix it and that's it. Having to follow the food guide for serving meals and snacks is kind of a pain because you really have to think out what you serve but all in all I'm pretty happy with them.
As long as I am living in this area I think I would stay with this agency. However, I would also be open to going private if I ever moved if I couldn't find an agency like this one as the extra cash would be nice and also the flexibility to not have to report things like meals and what was done that day. The other thing that makes it a bit difficult is having to follow their strict age:child ratio as it is a bit outdated. I do know that they have been working with this new Bill 143 thing and hopefully some of that will be updated and not be so strict soon.
Hope that helps.