Ready to give up....

Okay i'm not sure how much longer i can continue to do this.
I'm still trying to fill at least 1 or 2 spots. I still only have my 1 dcg!
I've done countless interviews and still nothing! I took all your advice and did a floow up email, and the families just continue to tell me i have a wonderful home but they decided to go elsewhere! I get compliments on my website but yet i have been basically empty since May! To add to my stress i found out last night that my dcg mom is pregnant and she will be dropping down to 2 days a week once she goes on mat leave! Great!! I'm already using my savings to continue to buy things for my daycare etc... My police check is about to expire next week and i don't want to fork out more money for no reason. I don't understand where things go wrong during the interview??!!! Ugh anybody have any kind of advice?? My husband has told me to just give up, he's tired of me opening my home to all these strangers to walk through and seeing me work so hard and up so disappointed.
Sorry for the vent but i'm feeling pretty down today.:(

I was in a real interviewing slump a couple years ago and was starting to wonder what I was doing wrong. A daycare provider friend offered to come over so I could run a mock interview and maybe she could pinpoint where I was going wrong. I now think that my worst problem was that I was giving off an air of desparation and frustration. I learned to relax and be confident and in charge during the interview. I'm also sure that I was letting people in for interviews that were only wasting my time so my pre-screening has improved immensely.

A lot of people think they should be impressing the parents by playing with the child in the interview but I believe the more businesslike you can be with the parents the more they will respect you. Let them know all the details about your program and how much fun you and the children have together but keep it professional and ask questions about the family, the child's routines for food and sleep, the parent's ideas about how they want to raise their child, regarding discipline and that sort of thing. People love to talk about themselves.

I tell the parents we are a team and I'm their backup to help them as they raise their child and since we will be working together for years to start their child out on the right path in life it's important that we use the same methods at home and daycare so I want to know all about them.

I hope these tips help.

Sorry you're having such a hard time. How about having one of your friends do a mock interview with you, and then they could give you some pointers? It's great that you're getting lots of interviews, so maybe you just need to work on your interview skills. Have the potential clients mentioned or hinted at anything that might tell you why they're choosing another place? Was there anything in particular that your current client liked that you could play up in the interview?

Oh I'm sorry you're having such a rough go. If it makes you feel any better, I've done about 12-13 interviews, and I have had a total of 5 clients in and out. Since July, I've had TWO kids come and go. It's SO rough. This job is HARD. I'm at the breaking point too, wondering if it's all worth it. Only YOU know if it's worth it. I don't think you're doing anything wrong in your interviews, maybe they can feel that you're getting paniky? Maybe you're offering more information than you need to? I tend to talk too much lol I was doing the follow up emails for a while, but it made me feel like I was chasing them around and I've noticed the people I do the emails for, I don't hear back. I've stopped doing them. I do everything in my power to seem like I'm in demand and that I don't NEED their business, but that I WANT it. I also found that sitting down and asking tens of questions makes me seem more like I know what I'm doing.

It's SO hard this business - it's frustrating, stressful and emotional. Since last week, I've had permenant chest pains. You just need to decide what you want. Perhaps get a small job on weekends or in the evenings so you're not depserate for cash and you can really look for clients that work for you.

Good luck! Sending you good vibes!

Hi mom of 5 I too am in Ottawa and I think we are not far from each other ...I'm near barrhaven ..... It has been slow.... Most of the calls I've been getting are for school age which I don't do, I just signed someone on but we have been communicating since January! Sometimes it's a slow process. I was in your situation last year and I only had one full time and one part time for the whole year and then the part time gave notice so I only had a full time. Then in dec my phone and email went crazy .... I had 6 appts in one weekend and I signed on 3 of them . I find it comes in waves .... Hopefully your husband can support and encourage you because that makes a huge difference. the first year is the hardest because you have so many spots to fill. Keep positive cause the next wave will be coming ...... Check your prices with other daycares in your area by using the home page of daycare bear, then check your hours .... I open at least 15 mins earlier then most daycares near me and that seems to work for me .... I find parents need the earlier drop off so they have enough time to get in to the city. A lot of the government workers can start earlier and therefore get off earlier and they miss the heavy traffic times ..... Good luck

Oh I have been there and still am. I have been opened since jan. and only have one little guy since I opened. I had 2 signed for Sept. but one droppe out 2 months before and at the same timeI found out that my little guy will be leaving, I just don't knwo when yet. Over the summer months I did have temporary care here and there but nothing that makes real money so I too have seen all my money set asside vanished. I had been advertising for 2 months and had no responses and all of a sudden since last week or so I've been getting calls and e-mails and things seem like they will work out. But I still wont be officialy full until Jan. So from Jan 2012 to jan 2013 I basicaly made no real money but worked my butt off, had little to no sleep and am completely stressed out. For me, I think is will be worth it, let you know in the new yeat :laugh::p If you truly want to do this ... stick it out it will be worth it.

sometimes when you just sit back and let life have control again, is when everything falls into place. maybe there is a reason you are not doing as great as you expected by now, just relax and go with the flow and...it might not hurt to get a second opinion from someone you can really trust, have them go over your interview style and you contracts, maybe there IS something you are missing or maybe doing to put people off a little, or it could just be..."it's not your time right now" getting started is hard. do you have kids of your own?

another thing ALL "newbies" need to keep in mind is: it is hard to get started because a good parent may want someone who is more "seasoned" has done this for a year or two. The fact that you are new could really hurt you, I would much rather go with a provider who either raised their own kids already or has done daycare for a while and "knows" the job better. you cant blame them, this is why I think it takes all providers so long to get started, plus you will also find ALOT of the people that are willing to go with you at first may not be your first pick, they are often a little more laxed or less worried about the care of the child, just get through the not so good ones to get to the good ones. alot of parents want to see you have a few families under you belt before they think you are "qualified".

Hang in there - I'm located in Ottawa as well - and this summer has been brutally quiet in terms of trying to find new clients. I had a parent move her little one to a liscenced facility with no notice what so ever, I advertised all summer and I still have the opening. =( It's only in the last week or so that things have picked up. If you can, try not to buy any more than is necessary in the way of supplies, and take heart - keep your receipts and you can claim all of those expenses against your income earned come tax time. Also, try not to take on clients who aren't a good fit (crazy long hours, only part time care needed, etc.) These clients are NEVER worth the imposition and yet they always seem to show up when we're doubting our own abilties. I interviewed one lady who is expecting a baby in 6 months and she is looking for care for her older daughter - but she has no idea what her plans are for that child when she goes on mat leave (really?) and she would like me to "hold" a spot for her unborn child (approximately 18 months from now) I'm not kidding ! You just hand in there and keep doing a good job with your current dcb - work has a way of always finding you ! =)

I find that the autumn is a good time to fill spaces. It makes sense when you think about it. Winter is cold and people need to snuggle to be warm which leads to babies 9 months later in the autumn!

I agree that my first year was hell but once you get established with great clients it's smooth sailing. Ask your current clients if they have co-workers coming back to work soon who need daycare. Get your family and friends involved in spreading the word about your daycare. Don't be afraid to publicize yourself shamelessly, ha! We've all been there and even the most experienced daycare providers have interviewing slumps now and then where you just can't fill a space.

You are not alone!! I am in a similar situation as you and I have been feeling exactly the same way the last few days. Only a year and a half in business so I consider myself pretty new.

Right now I just have one DCG who was reduced to part-time as her mom went on mat leave recently. I had another pt-er that I lost due to moving away.

Very quiet in terms of enquiries and only had 2 interviews since actively advertising since Aug. The "rush" I was hoping for in Sept hasn't materialized yet.

I'm sorry your interviews haven't resulted in filling spots. Have you considered asking these families outright why they went with someone else? That might help identify what is going wrong with your interviews (if indeed it is a problem with you and not them, goes both ways).
I did this with one mom that I interviewed. I didn't feel comfortable asking but I HAD to know. I am glad I did because her response helped me determine what I needed to improve. In my case I failed at selling my daycare with enthusiasm compared to the provider she went with! I wasn't surprised... I HAVEN'T been feeling positive about my daycare lately. It's SO hard trying to find clients.

To keep morale up I have been acquiring new gear at garage sales (cheap), working on presenting my daycare better and just trying to keep hopeful and patient... also looking at other ways I can supplment my income. I don't want to give up and I hope you don't give up either!

Sorry to hear that so many people are having or had a hard time filling out their spots. As a french daycare provider in orleans I am at the other end of the spectrum having to continually tell people I am full as i am being approached by parents at school, people at the parc or even getting a phone call from a person who got my number from someone i had met three years ago!
I agree with some of the other ladies to run a pretend interview with a friend who is a parent in order to get feedback on your answers, composure, presentation and so forth. It could only help!
It's normal to feel down, it's hard when you put all you have in an interview and it does not work out. But you have to remember that we can not be what everyone is looking for because we need to be who we are and stick to what we want to offer in our program.
Good luck

I'm in Ottawa too well Orleans actually so east end - and yes we are dealing with a big hole in the main road in and out of here so some drop offs have been earlier and pick ups later this week so very glad it is Friday.

It has been very quiet here too and while I have been advertising everywhere the calls were few and far between and of those even fewer got to the actual interview stage. I have heard the same thing from people in lots of parts of the city. I think there are a lot of new moms that are afraid that their job just won't be there when mat leave is over and start to look for alternatives.

Not really a lot of advice I can give but at least a part of it all is nothing you are doing wrong so hang in there as best you can.

Yes Naftafia, my lack of French is definitely what is holding me back from filling up. While others have to face the who much do you charge as the first question parents ask, around here it is do you speak French and when you say no they just say ok and hang up. That's as far as anything gets.

Not much help to momof5, but just a random comment:
I know it sucks to lose $$ when moms go on mat leave and keep their kids home more often, but God bless those moms for keeping their kids with them when they have the choice!! I live in Quebec, where they pay $7/day regardless of their income and maybe about 5% keep their kids out of daycare when on mat leave. MAX! It is a huge pet peve I have. I know it's great for me, I still get business....but man it's hard to know that mom is home while the other kid(s) are here....