Back to being a nanny??

[childcare]

Hi. Thanks for your help. I am from Kitchener Waterloo Ontario. I advertise on Kijiji, care.com and sitter.com. I have only had 2 interviews in a few months and neither signed on. I do have an interview tonight for full time infant but not starting until Sept.

[bright sparks]

Hi. Thanks for your help. I am from Kitchener Waterloo Ontario. I advertise on Kijiji, care.com and sitter.com. I have only had 2 interviews in a few months and neither signed on. I do have an interview tonight for full time infant but not starting until Sept.

I think this might be a case of inadequate advertising.

My advice: Start by creating a free website via wix.com or webs.com. It is really easy as it is a template that you just pretty much fill out. Pick a name for your daycare that begins with a letter that is close to the beginning of the alphabet. Register your business with "Google my Business", it's free and puts the location of your daycare on google maps which means that when people google home daycare Kitchener/Waterloo, your business with a link to your website will always come up. Choosing a business name starting with a letter at the beginning of the alphabet means that any search results generated as alphabetized will make yours come up early. Lots of people don't search beyond page one of results.

I find that different providers have different experiences with Kijiji. I personally don't find it a good source of business and I know lots of people who no longer advertise there because of the dodgy inquiries they would get. That being said, I have also heard of people who only advertise there. It's clearly not working for you either. care.com and sitter.com are not big league advertising options. 2nd to your own website listed on Google my Business, advertise here on daycarebear, another free option. Ask your families to add a review on your listing on daycarebear as they will go a long way with prospective families.

I am not sure about wix.com but I know with my webs.com website there is a free option for stats so I get a monthly report on website traffic. I also have a contact me form making it easier for parents to get ahold of me.

Make it very clear that you only accept full-time children too. Anyone reducing their days needs to understand that fees will not change.

I wouldn't go back to nannying if it is about money as it isn't a very well paid job. Once you fill your spots in your home daycare, even after all of your expenses you will make a good chunk more than nannying.

Best of Luck!

[Lee-Bee]

Yes, I would put a strong focus on advertising. Not only do you need to find new sites to advertise but you need to take a good, critical look at what you have up. Change it up. This is your first impression for parents, they will read it and either meet without or move to the next ad. Do you have any friends that would be willing to read it over and give feedback?

My kijiji ads were long and detailed. Lots of photos. It linked to my website which had even more photos and more detail. It had a daily schedule, meal plan sample, a page about myself and my philosophy, what we do each day etc. Again the website is like an interview. Many people will use that as a decision as to whether to meet you so it NEEDS to be a solid reflection of you and give them the desire to meet you.

You can't sign on more families if you do not do more interviews, so this is where you need to change it up.