Discouraged.

[Montessori-Mom]

I posted a while ago about having trouble finding children and about how the only family I had was overly picky and critical about small stuff. Well today out of the blue my dcm pulled her two kids. she didn't even have the nerve to tell me in person, she sent me a text mid day and said to have their stuff ready as today would be their last day. I am really sad about it, for 1 I bonded with the kids and two now I am out money and back to square one. I do not need to do this as my husband makes enough for both of us but I do want to help contribute financially so that we can eventually buy a house. Sending my son to a daycare is not an option as we have a shortage of good care in our city. He always got sick going to daycare and I have witnessed staff at both centres he went to not washing their hands and babies taking bottles and pacifiers from each other. At least keeping him home I know I have some control over the germs. I guess I just feel discouraged. I have ran a day home in the city I use to live in and never had this problem. Of course I had a few questionable parents but I always had the option to kick them out the door and know I would have no issue filling their spots. This has been my only family since I started in June. I have 1 other pt boy but he will be going to school ft in September and moving to an after school program I guess I need some words of encouragement or advice on how to get more children and how to tell a good family from a bad one.

[Rachael]

Forgive me if this sounds harsh. I know I can sometimes come across that way in writing however careful I try not to be.

Reading your post, I do have a few comments.

Firstly, as someone who has been in this business a long time, I have learned to vet potential clients just as much as they vet me.

No one joins my daycare without a two week deposit which they lose if they change their mind or which is applied to their final weeks of care when they leave. This means that I already have two weeks fees towards their notice period. Secondly, they sign a contract. I don't consider a place taken unless my contract is signed. In that, notice period of one month is required to cancel the contract - for them or me (unless something has happened to affect the safety of my family or day care children then I can terminate without notice) - and it has to be in writing.

By having a contract which spells out everything, Fees, payment schedule, closure days, annual leave, sickness policy, notice period, hours of business, everything, which is signed by them and I, both parties have some protection. My contact states one month notice required and payment for day registered is due regardless of attendance during the notice period.

Do you have a contract which this parent signed? If not, there's little you can do about the short notice change of plans.

I have learned that parents who try and mico-manage my business always end up burning their provider. Learn to identify overly picky parents, and avoid them where possible. If these tenancies aren't discovered until after they join you day care, then don't let it slide. If you don't put clear boundaries in place, they don't know where the boundaries are.

Allow yourself a full year to find good quality clients, who are the type of people you want. That's a realistic aim. At the moment, due to your reduced numbers, I think you are being tempted to accept less than suitable clients because you are aware of the places sitting empty. Although short term that might help, it's never the right decision in the long term.

Don't be so hard on yourself.

What I look for in a client...

1. No part-timers. Part-timers always lose me money in terms of having to find someone to slot into their unwanted days. It has always worked about better when holding on for a FT client plus the core group is more settled when the same children come each day.
2. Parents who come to interview or who ask 50+ list questions at interview, are usually, what you term as over-picky. As an example, I currently have one opening for one day only - Wednesday. I had an e-mail from a new parent looking for care in Feb 2015, part-time and she asked if I would fill in a short questionnaire - of 63 questions! The fact she expected me to spend almost an hour answering her questions, before she'd even established if I was interested in taking her, is a red-flag. Someone who expects and demands your time in this manner, won't lighten up in time.
3. Do a telephone interview first. You can tell a lot by someone's tone and voice. You can also tell a lot about their expectations of when that call will happen. Someone who wants to call at 8pm or in the middle of a weekend day, won't be respectful of your family time when the come. Someone who shows up late for a scheduled interview, has no respect for your time either. People often tell you who they are, you just have to learn to listen and believe them. Vet potential clients by phone. If they need hours outside your business hours, if they need care when you don't have places, if they aren't considerate of your time, don't view them as lost business when you decline, but a sound business decision. Not all clients are good clients.

Try and think of this as an awesome chance to review your contract to cover all the things this client was difficult with. Try and think of this as a great chance to reflect on the tell-tale signs that this parent was going to be tricky - it will help you avoid these people again. Try not to stress about the openings - you said financially you don't need to stress which is a huge luxury as you can allow yourself time to find clients who are a good fit for your business. This is a great opportunity to review and reflect and amend.

[Montessori-Mom]

I do have a contract and after this I will be reviewing it and making drastic changes lol. Thank you for your encouraging words. I have had a lot of interviews but nothing seems to pan out. I would go with an agency but my yard is not fenced and I was told that is a requirement. I actually only take pt clients right now as that leaves me a few days free for appointments and stuff. How I do it is people give me the days that they need for the month in the prior month and pay in advance as I do per day rates. I have a feeling she is going to ask for the fees back for the remainder of the month but I am just not willing to do that. One can only bend so far.

[Rachael]

Shop around for agencies - if you have a back deck, and put a gate on it, some will consider that an enclosed play area and then a trip into the yard is viewed as a field trip -honest. LOL

It'll all work out. Everything always does.

[Montessori-Mom]

I don't have a deck and we rent so we can't put up any kind of fence. We plan to buy a house in three years. the idea is to put all the day home money away for a down payment but so far that isn't working out. Once we own our own home I will go with an agency because in Alberta we get provider support funding wage top up so I would make more with a level 3 going through an agency than private.