New provider - How to have references

[MonkeyPrincess]

When I first started out, I used the parents/families of kids that I used to babysit as a teen (and even into my twenties) as references. I cared for a few families long term, like 8 yrs for one, 4 yrs for another for example. They had a lot of nice things to say. I also used my previous employer who wrote a reference letter for me when I was laid off and looking for new work. I include that because he said stuff like 'she is a self starter, works well alone, pleasure to work with, etc. I had friends/family's names and numbers to use as personal references. Now that I am in my third yr of business, I use current families as references, and I include the letters