Welcome to the forum and good luck with your new daycare! If parents are interested in your ad on Daycare Bear, they will email or call you (you will have added your contact info). Kijiji is also another great source of advertising. If oyu are in Ottawa, the CCPRN is another great organization for finding families and also for taking workshops, finding resources, etc. You should also obtain daycare insurance in case anything happens to one of the kids in your care. For me, I did not find it worth it to go through an agency as they take a portion of your pay and I had no trouble finding clients on my own. However, some people do like to start out with an agency as they bring you clients and they also provide you with equipment like playpens, strollers, etc. You can also then accept families with subsidies, whereas if you are private you cannot. Depending on the ages of your own kids, you may find it tough to find enough kids of the right ages if you are with an agency. Their rule is 5 kids inlcuding your own kids under 6. You can only have 3 under three and 2 under two. If you are private, you are allowed 5 daycare kids plus your own kids and it doesn't matter what ages you take. This forum is a huge source of information and support. Have a look through some of the threads and you will find a wealth of info. Best of luck to you!