Excited to meet you!

Hello Ladies,
I am very new to the Childcare industry as I am currently trying to open a Home Daycare in September. I am a Mother to an amazing 17 month old boy and I am also a certified French Teacher. I have decided to combine my two passions (teaching & my son) and join the Daycare career! I live in the Lawrence Ave E and Mt. Pleasant Rd. area and I am nervous I am going to have a hard time filling my openings. Do you have any suggestions on the best ways to advertise? I would love to chat with anyone who has experience in this area.
Thanks,
Courtney

Welcome to the industry and also to the forum!
I have only been doing daycare since March of this year.
I advertised through Kijiji and have had alot of luck. I have filled 5 spots in 3 months this way.
You could advertise as a bilingual daycare and find even more success that way!
Do not undercharge just because you are new!! (Like many of us have done when just starting out! - me included!)
I have a 16 month old son, and expecting a second in October. Its a busy job, but very rewarding!

Thanks so much! I have put an ad on Kijiji for the last two weeks, but no replies yet. I'll keep trying!

Try putting posters/flyers on mailboxes, at grocery stores, libraries, local community centres. Also bring them into the schools in your area - you never know of a parent walking through that needs daycare for their kids or the teacher that wants their little one close to work!

Good luck!

I'm in the beaches, advertising for a french daycare (bilingual) and I have only one spot taken as of yet. I have been advertising for the last month, and got like 2 answers back. I guess beachers are ... at the beach! Not stressed out to find daycare yet!

Sarah

Hello there! I am in Toronto too, but the west end (Bloordale area). I started my day home in May. I landed my first client very quickly - they signed maybe a week after I placed my first craigslist ad. After that, it was very slow going. I didn't have another interview for a month.

I have three pieces of advice for you:

- have a contract ready, and know what the norm is for your area. I asked for too little with my first client, and quickly realized that I could get paid holidays and a much higher rate. Norm for here is two weeks paid holiday, stats off with pay, for your neighbourhood, at least $50 dollars a day. People will pay holding fees as well.

-Be selective. I took a client because I was fearful that I would never fill up. I now regret my decision but am stuck. They WILL call - give it time.

- I STRONGLY suggest you hop over to webs.com or any other free website building place and make a site for your daycare. After I linked my kijiji, daycarebear and craigslist ads to my site, I began to receive many inquiries, and many of them mentioned that the reason they called or emailed was due to all the information provided there. It is now three months later, and I am still turning away clients. I am not even actively advertising any more! LOL

Good luck, and if you ever need any insight or feedback about being a provider in Toronto, please feel free to contact me!

Hi and welcome! I am in the GTA and opened in May. I only wanted to fill 3 spaces and started advertising in January. Filled them by the end of Jan, but not with the first applicants. Never forget that this is your home and business and you should find the best fit! Waiting for a great family will be better than earning money sooner in the long run! I put an ad on Kijiji, make sure to put a picture! Good luck, I'm sure the calls will come in soon!

Hello and welcome! I agree with what Alphagetti said about making a website. I opened in March and have been full since May, but I made a website with a ton of information on it and I am also still turning people away and even have a waiting list. Also, with Kijiji, you have to repost it daily to keep it on the first couple of pages or it gets lost on page 15 or something.