Opening in Aug.. no responses yet?

Hi everyone,

I am opening my daycare August 1 and I have started advertising (on daycarebear, kijiji, craigslist, godaycare, local grocery stores and the local elementary school). I also have a Facebook page and a website. I know from other threads that it can take awhile to fill up so I am prepared for that but I am noticing that although I have had a lot of traffic on my website I have only received one response so far. I haven't been advertising for long at all and August is a little ways off.. is it too early to be expecting any inquiries or do my ad(s)/website need tweaking already? I don't mention anywhere that I am a new daycare just starting out... am I stressing for no reason? :unsure:

I started advertising for my daycare opening July 3rd, 3 months ago, and Only started getting calls at the beginning of June. I was beginning to panic. People seem to wait until the last minute to find care. I am sure as soon as July gets here you will be getting some phone calls. Good luck. :)

I have been advertising since April & have had quite a few responses however nothing for the summer months! One thing i've learned from this site is that people are either looking too far in advance (one email I received was for a January start) which is too far off to hold the spot or people looking for immediate care but want a deal! Like buy one get the other half off!!!! I am now getting a few responses & 2 confirmed for September so that is really my new start date!
It is frustrating - but it will happen! Good luck! :)

it's a rough time of year to fill spots. People are thinking about vacation time, not working more. I'm sure you'll get some calls for September care.

Some of the tricks I learned that have really helped is I've always made it look like I've been doing this for years. I never introduced myself as new, I never revealed in email or website or ad how long I had been doing this for, I talk about that in the interview. And... I've never advertised for more then 1 spot to be filled. It makes it look like you're in high demand. It makes it feel like they need to call you right now cause you only have 1 spot left! :)

Good luck, I get tons of calls for September, but they drop right off in the summer.

I second Apples and Bananas advice ... unlike when people are looking to buy a CAR being NEW in this business is not a selling feature unfortunately - people want experienced people with a track record so you need to get them in your door to SHOW them you have and keep the 'new' out of it as long as possible .... it is a stereo type and bias for newbies for sure but sadly there are many people who pop up who are not 'committed' to making it work for one reason or another and close within the 1st year leaving clients who did take a chance high and dry .... being able to get them IN to your program and show them you are committed goes a long way to getting full!

I had 17 years experience in 'centre care', have my ECE and additional certification and am registered with the College of ECE ... but when I advertized as a 'new home childcare' I got NO BITES ... minute I eliminated 'new' from my ads ... I had calls and was full within 3 months and I follow the 'age restrictions' of being licensed so it only took me that long because I had to wait a bit to find two clients over 3 years of age ;)

Apples & bananas brought up the first thing that came to my mind. Make sure you don't let it be known in your ad or on your website that you are new. I also agree that a lot of people look for Sept. spaces. I don't know why, except that maybe more babies are conceived in the cold winter months so there are a lot of babies turning 1 in the fall?

Don't give up, it takes a long time to get going sometimes but we are here for you with any advice you need.

Thank you all for the encouragement :) I did read in other posts similar to this one that it would be best not to mention in an ad or on a website that the provider is new. I made sure that I did not mention or hint that I am a new provider. I did have a mom call for a spot in September or October for her baby and wanted to know if I had a spot for that time frame or if she could put her daughter on a waitlist. I was torn because I didn't want to commit to her and have her decide she didn't need care at the last minute and miss out on families that may have wanted to start in August but at the same time maybe I should contact her and tell her I will have a spot and set up an interview (and if she wants the spot then ask for a deposit). For the record I did tell her I would put her on my "waitlist" and contact her if I did have a spot available in September. Hopefully that was the right decision lol.

I have actually had a couple other providers contact me and praise my website. They said it looks like I'm set up as a licensed daycare and not a license not required daycare. They said parents will be impressed. I really appreciated the feedback. I just thought I'd be getting some calls by now, especially with all the traffic on my website but it is good to know that summer is typically slow for calls so I can plan for that. I'm kind of glad I only have 2 spots to fill...

Thank you again for your advice.. I'm sure you will see me around more often asking for help or suggestions :)

With the lady who went on the waiting list for September - you could definitely interview her and if you can afford to 'hold the space' just do the deposit and make sure it is NON REFUNDABLE so if she changes her mind and does not start she forfeits the space OR if you cannot afford to hold it without any income from it you can offer the option to meet you in the middle and 'wean' the child into care full time ... so in September/October come part time 2-3 day a week until they need full time care or you can do 5 half days a week so it is 'consistent' exposure to her but 'short days' for her to get use to mom and dad being gone ... so you are foregoing a 'portion' of the income to keep the space for them and they are investing in the slow integration of their child into care ... win win for everyone?

I am doing this with my current mat leave family for September ... they do not need full time care until January but they do not want to loose out on a space and well I have several kids leaving this September for full time big school ... so they are going commit to part time wean in plan from September - January to ensure they secure the space - and this will help ME as well because to be honest I do not want to start 3 new kids on September 4th so delaying his start date works for me too ;)

Well, within two days I've had 3 emails and 2 phone calls for spots for August and September. All of the parents said they were very impressed with my website (yay!) and my first interview is tomorrow! Now, we'll see how I do at interviews.. I'm quite nervous but I'll just be myself and hope for the best :).. wish me luck!

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Originally Posted by 2boys1girl

Well, within two days I've had 3 emails and 2 phone calls for spots for August and September. All of the parents said they were very impressed with my website (yay!) and my first interview is tomorrow! Now, we'll see how I do at interviews.. I'm quite nervous but I'll just be myself and hope for the best :).. wish me luck!

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Sending cheers & 'good luck' vibes your way:). Something that helps me with interviews is that I do them down on the floor, at the child's level....often parents remain standing, look around my playspace as I interact with their little one.

:flower: Filler up vibes!

Thank you for the good vibes everyone.. the interview went really well. I wasn't nervous at all; it all just kind of flowed and was really relaxed (but professional). Other than the tour I spent the whole time either out in the backyard (for a few minutes) or on the floor of my playroom. I tried to interact with the little one but I was generally ignored. I did notice that the child was a bit overly aggressive with my child but it could be because they were 2.5.. the mom did talk a bit about discounts and rate reductions and "not having any money". It kind of sent up a few red flags but I don't know if I am just being overly nervous being as this is my first interview. She also mentioned that she doesn't immunize her children. I know that in BC licensed daycares aren't permitted to take on children who are not immunized (so I've been told by quite a few people).. I am on the fence about this one. I am a to each his own type person, I'm just concerned about my baby especially since she hasn't had all of her immunizations. I will do some research to find out why licensing here doesn't allow children who are not immunized into licensed daycares and call the health department to find out the risks to my kids (and my husband and myself) or if there are any.

I did get another call for an interview tonight at 9:30pm.. the lady apologized profusely and said that she and her husband want to meet with me tomorrow morning. Apparently they are moving here from back east and want to set everything up. She asked about sibling discounts but did not push the conversation further. I have decided not to discount.. hopefully that is the right decision.

Well, keep your filler up vibes coming :) They are greatly appreciated!

Eek! I get a huge red flag when they talk about discounts. I used to be a retail manager and I can't imagion interviewing a perspective staff and trying to talk them down to under min wage to keep my labour costs in line. It's the same thing!

In my experiance, I'm the type of person that needs to feel like I'm being paid what I'm worth, otherwise I get frustrated and do a lousy job.

Stick to your guns! No discounts unless you're desperate and even then i'd be cautious.

apples and bananas, I totally agree with you. My first instinct is to not offer discounts. When I was looking for daycare for my kids I never even thought about asking for discounts, but that's just me. On the positive side I had a really good interview this morning. The older child was just a doll and the little one was so sweet. My kids and theirs got along really well. The older one didn't want to leave! I got a really good feeling from it all. She told me I am "by far at the top of their list". They are just weighing if they want to go with a nanny or my center and if they want full time or part time. They said they would call tomorrow and also asked if I hear back from anyone else if I wouldn't mind calling them and giving them the opportunity to make their decision right away so they don't miss out. I am hoping that is positive. I have my fingers crossed :)

Definitely don't offer any discount! Would you have an electrician come into your home and ask him for a discount? That's what you want, right? Discount wiring and discount childcare. NOOOOO!!!

Stand strong and the great families will find you. I'm so happy you felt comfortable with your interview and that you are already spotting 'red flags'. You are going to be awesome!

Well, I guess I was worrying for nothing :). The last family I interviewed (the one that was considering a nanny or my daycare) starts in August! I am so happy, I think the kids will be a great fit. The parents and I have very similar parenting styles. The mom is a teacher so will not need care in July and some of August but said she would put a deposit down to save her spots for the next school year but I have time to figure out what I will do for next summer. Thank you for all the good vibes! It obviously helped!

I'm really happy for you!

YAY! that's great news!