Category Archives: Business Mastery

May 16, 2013

Summer Enrollment – Boom or a Bust?

By Rhonda Anderson

One of the big issues looming as we hurl towards summer are the changes in summer enrollment and how that affects providers.  Many providers are concerned about the “summer decline” and the effect on their budget and yet, some say that their enrollment actually increases in the summer.

When I was running a childcare business, I was often affected by a summer decline because I cared for a lot of teacher’s children.  One of the things I did to supplement and help fill my openings was to create an hourly drop-in plan for those same families, as well as others in the community who didn’t necessarily need regular childcare.  By making it easy and convenient for families to drop their children off with me for a couple of hours while they went to lunch with a friend or to the grocery store, I not only supplemented my gaps during the summer, but ended up with a waiting list from these same families in the fall!

If you usually experience a decline in your summer enrollment, I’d love to hear from you about what the reasons are and what you do to either boost enrollment or make up for the lost income.

Let’s get social and share!  Follow us on Facebook.  Be inspired by us on Pinterest.  Or, pick up the phone and give us a call.  We’re here!  Our whole community benefits from shared experience.  We want to share with you!  Sign up to receive our newsletter, The CCB Report, our top three favorite and informative posts in your inbox weekly.

image via

Posted in Business Mastery, From Rhonda's Desk | Tagged , | 1 Comment
May 14, 2013

Maintaining Control of Your Preschool Classroom

Are the children in your classroom dancing on the tables, turning cartwheels across the carpet, running up and down the hall and tossing crayons at each other? We certainly hope not. However, if you don’t keep your game face on, this type of out of control behavior can easily happen under your watch. Keep your classroom from turning into bedlam with these simple tips.

• Plan for transitions. When children are forced to sit with nothing to do, they’ll find ways to entertain themselves. You don’t want this to happen. A child’s idea of appropriate entertainment will be much different from yours. Don’t leave transition times to chance. Plan simple activities that require little to no clean up time. Fidget toys, manipulatives, books, puzzles and coloring sheets are all viable options.

• Have a plan B. Following a schedule is essential to keeping your preschool classroom orderly. However, young children aren’t as predictable as your schedule. This is why it’s important to have a backup plan. If you read a story at circle time and several children start to disrupt, this is a sign that it’s time to move on to plan B. If you try to force the kids to sit still while you finish reading, you’ll lose control of the entire class.

• Partner children according to the way they behave. When you partner children up for small group activities, consider their temperaments and how each of them behaves. Kids feed off of each others’ energy. If you put three rambunctious children in the block area together, you’re asking for trouble. You’ll have fewer behavior problems if you partner a rambunctious child with two mild tempered children.

• Prepare materials in advance. If kids have to wait around for you to cut out patterns, or roundup materials for the next activity, they’re going to misbehave. Remember, all it takes is one or two children to get antsy before the others follow. Prevent mayhem in the classroom by having all of your materials for the day’s activities prepped and ready to go.

• Be confident in your abilities. Children can read body language. If preschoolers sense you’re not confident in your abilities as a teacher, you’re dead meat. Stand tall and let the kids know (in a nice way) who’s boss.

If you don’t manage your classroom properly, you’ll become the victim of an out of control group of children. You can avoid chaos by staying prepared, being flexible, grouping kids according to their behavior, planning ahead, and oozing confidence.

Let’s get social and share!  Follow us on Facebook.  Be inspired by us on Pinterest.  Or, pick up the phone and give us a call.  We’re here!  Our whole community benefits from shared experience.  We want to share with you!  Sign up to receive our newsletter, The CCB Report, our top three favorite and informative posts in your inbox weekly.
image via

Posted in Business Mastery | Tagged | 3 Comments
April 30, 2013

Improve Your Menu Without Going Broke

Providing kids with nutritious meals is an important part of any childcare program. After all, the nutrients found in food helps children grow properly and maintain their overall health. Unfortunately, with the price of food steadily rising, many childcare providers are feeling the burn on their wallets.
In an effort to balance the rising food costs and still keep childcare prices affordable for parents, childcare professionals may opt to add more processed meats, canned goods, white bread products and sugary foods like Pop Tarts and cookies to their menu.

While serving these types of foods is okay from time to time, they are not very nutritious. Whenever you can, make improvements to your menu by incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, poultry and beans. Here’s how to do it without going broke.

Shop at Local Farmers Markets
Buying most of your fruits and vegetables from the local farmers market will save you a bundle of cash. Locally grown produce sold at farmers markets can be up to 50 percent cheaper than produce at the grocery store. Why? Because there are no additional costs tacked on for packaging, shipping or store overhead.

Don’t Buy Out of Season Fruits and Vegetables
In season fruits and vegetables grow in abundance, so they’re less expensive than produce that’s out of season. If you buy strawberries in the wintertime, you’re going to pay big bucks. Buy fruits and vegetables only when they’re in season. Your wallet will thank you.

Buy Whole Wheat Bread at an Outlet Bakery
You can buy whole wheat bread 30 to 50 percent cheaper at a bakery outlet store. This is because the bakery outlet sells either bread the company produced too much of, or bread that may be close to its expiration date.

Usually if the bread is about to expire, it is marked down by 50 percent. If you find whole wheat bread on sale, take advantage of it and grab several loaves. You can keep them fresh by popping them in the freezer until you’re ready to use them.

Buy Meat on Sale and in Bulk
Buying poultry and lean meat in bulk will save you money over the long haul. When you buy in bulk, freeze whatever you don’t use so that it stays fresh. You can find excellent sales on meat by scouring daily newspapers. Sure, this can be a little time consuming, but it is well worth the money you’ll save in the end.

Serve More Dry Beans
Beans are cheap, easy to prepare and full of protein and iron. You can serve beans as an alternative to meat or you can add them in soup, chili and salads. When you serve beans instead of meat, you can save a bundle. Change up the kind of beans you serve to keep kids from being bored.

Reduce the Amount of Sugar in Breakfast Foods
When you buy cereal and Pop Tarts, get the kind without the sugar coating. You can add sliced bananas or other types of fruit to the cereal to sweeten it. When you serve kids oatmeal, sweeten it with raisins or applesauce instead of sugar.

If you shop smart, buy local produce and reduce sugary foods, you can improve your menu without going broke. If buying healthier food is a serious struggle, you may need to boost your childcare prices just a bit.

Let’s get social and share!  Follow us on Facebook.  Be inspired by us on Pinterest.  Or, pick up the phone and give us a call.  We’re here!  Our whole community benefits from shared experience.  We want to share with you!  Sign up to receive our newsletter, The CCB Report, our top three favorite and informative posts in your inbox weekly.

image via

Posted in Business Mastery, Meal Time | Tagged , , | Leave a comment
April 25, 2013

Tips to Avoid the Top 5 Childcare Business Mistakes

When you run any type of business, you are bound to make a few mistakes. The important thing to do when you make errors is to learn from them so you won’t repeat them. Although some errors are inevitable in business, here are five common Childcare industry mistakes you can easily avoid:

• Not having a written contract in place. Having a written contract in place protects your business and gives clients a blueprint of what you expect from them, and what they can expect from you. Putting all of your policies and procedures in writing minimizes conflict and confusion, makes it easier to enforce rules, and improves your chances of recovering past due childcare fees from clients.

• Not setting proper childcare rates. Setting childcare fees can be tricky. You want to charge enough to comfortably cover your business expenses, and make a decent profit. However, you don’t want to scare potential clients away with unreasonably high prices. Here’s a good rule to follow when setting your rates: Call childcare programs in your area to see what they’re charging, and set your rates somewhere along those lines.

• Not following licensing guidelines. True, some childcare licensing regulations are a pain to deal with. However, these rules are designed to improve the care and safety of children. When you don’t follow licensing guidelines, it not only jeopardizes kids’ safety, it puts you at risk for losing your childcare license, and getting into legal trouble.

• Not marketing regularly.What good is having a business if customers don’t know you exist? It doesn’t matter if you run a small home daycare, or a large childcare program, marketing is what drives clients to your door. It’s smart to use a variety of marketing strategies to keep a steady flow of children in your childcare facility.

• Not screening employees carefully. Whether you’ve just had an employee quit, or you’re growing your business and need to fill empty slots, screening potential employees carefully before you hire them is important. When you hire bad employees, it reflects negatively on your business, and leads parents to find other childcare arrangements for their tykes.

When you run a childcare business, mistakes are bound to happen. However, poor screening of employees, rates that are too high or too low, lax marketing methods, not having contracts in place, and ignoring licensing guidelines are five common childcare business mistakes you can easily avoid.

Let’s get social and share!  Follow us on Facebook.  Be inspired by us on Pinterest.  Or, pick up the phone and give us a call.  We’re here!  Our whole community benefits from shared experience.  We want to share with you!  Sign up to receive our newsletter, The CCB Report, our top three favorite and informative posts in your inbox weekly.

Posted in Business Mastery | Tagged , , | 2 Comments
April 18, 2013

Spring Offers a Fresh Start for Your and Your Business

“Out with the old, in with the new,” is what you chant when the New Year rolls around. But here you are  in the middle of April, and you never got around to that “new” start.  Are you ready to simplify your business and feel healthier while you do it? If you answered yes to these questions, here are some things you can do to get started.  It’s never to late to start, and Spring is the perfect time to clean out and clean up.

Embrace Technology

There’s no point in running from technology; it’s not going anywhere. In fact, if you want to keep your business competitive, embracing technology is a must. If you don’t already have a website, get one. If you don’t already have software to help simplify your administrative tasks, consider investing in some. A website can save you time by making all of your childcare information available to existing and potential clients with the click of mouse.

A website also serves as a round-the-clock marketing tool; so even when you’re snoozing, your website is working to boost your business. Investing in childcare software can help streamline mundane tasks like bookkeeping, record-keeping, and payment tracking. Software can also help you keep track of employee records and payroll hours.

Get Some Business Training

Knowledge is like money. You can never have too much of it. Consider taking some marketing or business workshops, seminars or classes. Business training can help you learn how to target your marketing efforts, keep accurate records, screen employees, and other things related to operating a business. Business concepts are universal, so the workshops don’t necessarily have to be related to childcare. You can tweak any information you learn to fit your needs.

Get Serious About Your Health

Your health has a direct impact on the way you do your job. If you’re tired, stressed, and weak all the time, there is no way you’re going to be effective at any job you do. Making the following lifestyle tweaks will help you feel healthier and allow you to do your job more effectively:

  • Get at least eight hours of sleep per night.
  • Find ways to reduce stress.
  • Reduce your consumption of processed foods, and add more fresh fruits vegetables, whole grains, beans and nuts to your diet
  • Drink half your body weight in ounces of water each day.
  • Reduce your caffeine intake.
  • Get at least 30 to 60 minutes of moderate cardiovascular exercise five days a week.

    • Being healthy, beefing up your business knowledge, and using technology to streamline your business will help you improve yourself and make your job easier in the New Year.

    Let’s get social and share!  Follow us on Facebook.  Be inspired by us on Pinterest.  Or, pick up the phone and give us a call.  We’re here!  Our whole community benefits from shared experience.  We want to share with you!  Sign up to receive our newsletter, The CCB Report, our top three favorite and informative posts in your inbox weekly.

    image via

    Posted in Business Mastery, Personal Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
    April 16, 2013

    Build Confidence as a Childcare Professional

    Not being confident in yourself can show in everything from the way you interact with children and coworkers to the way you manage your classroom and even your ability to boost enrollment. If you are a childcare professional who struggles with self-esteem issues, use these tips to build your confidence, and become a better early childhood professional.

    • Take advantage of training opportunities. The more you know about child development, the better you’ll be at your job. When you’re good at your job, your confidence will soar. To find childcare training opportunities, check out local community colleges, early education workshops, childcare associations, and literature geared towards early childhood educators.

    • Carry yourself like a professional. If you dress, and act like a professional, parents and coworkers will have no choice but to respect you. Having the respect of peers can be a huge confidence booster for you.

    • Be open to constructive criticism. When others offer well-meaning critique on your job performance, it allows you to step outside of yourself and look at the way you do things. Maybe you can organize your classroom better, and get more done if you manage your time differently. Even if constructive criticism rubs you the wrong way, or hurts your feelings, be open to listening, and learning from it anyway.

    • Don’t dwell on your mistakes. If you replay mistakes over and over in your head, it’s just going to beat your self-esteem down. Just remember, mistakes are a part of life – everybody makes them. Every time you make a mistake, count it as a lesson learned, and move on.

    • Join a childcare organization. What better way to build your confidence, and cement your role as an early childhood pro than by being part of a professional childcare organization. These types of organizations are designed to offer support, improve industry-related knowledge, keep you updated on childcare trends, and give you the tools you need to grow as a professional.

    • Build on your talents. Everyone has something they shine at. Are you creative? Are kids naturally drawn to you? Are you the type of person who goes above and beyond when it comes to caring for your charges? Are you great at classroom management or lesson planning? Once you realize your strengths, build on them and watch your confidence grow.

    Gaining confidence as a childcare professional is not easy, but if you carry yourself like a pro, join a reputable childcare organization, build on your strengths, learn from constructive critique, and continuously educate yourself, over time, your self-esteem will blossom and you’ll become the confident early education professional you were meant to be.

    Let’s get social and share!  Follow us on Facebook.  Be inspired by us on Pinterest.  Or, pick up the phone and give us a call.  We’re here!  Our whole community benefits from shared experience.  We want to share with you!  Sign up to receive our newsletter, “The CCB Report” in your inbox weekly.  No spam, just Good News–Our top three favorite and informative posts of the week.

    image via

    Posted in Business Mastery | Leave a comment
    March 9, 2013

    Marketing on a Shoestring

    Whenever we take a moment (that is usually about all the time we have to devote to our marketing strategy) it would be to our advantage to consider our current and future marketing plans in the brilliant light of “effectiveness!”  Whether you have a budget of a few thousand or hundreds of thousands each year, if your marketing plan is not effective, does not accomplish its purpose, you might as well use the dollars to purchase weight loss products.  We all know how effective they are!

    Dee Blick, award-winning chartered marketer and best-selling author of Powerful Marketing on a Shoestring Budget writes,

    “The ‘marketing on a shoestring’ principle is not ‘marketing as cheaply as possible’. Instead, marketing on a shoestring is about investing time and effort into building a simple marketing plan.”

    As child care professionals, we invest time in staff, in parents, in children, in meeting licensing requirements, in doing schedules and menus and keeping up with the paperwork.  Time and effort spent building a marketing plan, simple or otherwise, falls WAY down the list of things to invest this precious commodity in!

    But simply said, marketing on a shoestring begins by deliberately carving time out of our busy schedule with the specific purpose of developing a marketing plan.  We can focus our scattered thoughts on the subject by answering a few questions:

    1. What community need am I trying to meet?
    2. Who do I want to reach and why?
    3. How can I motivate them to respond?
    4. What am I doing currently?  What has worked?
    5. If it hasn’t worked, why not?  Can I make a few adjustments and increase my “e” (effectiveness) factor?
    6. What do I have on hand that I can put to better use?
    7. My single greatest resource is the reputation we’ve built because of customer referrals.  What am I doing to care for my customers?

    At our center, I use these strategies to maximize our marketing tools.

    1. I respond promptly to phone call and email inquiries.  Every phone call I do not return, every email I do not answer is a perspective customer I let slip away.
    2. I use our Parent Handbook as an introduction to our center.  We print our handbooks on site and make a deliberate effort to get them into the hands of every parent who calls – even if I do not currently have space available for their child.  I review and revise our Parent Handbook at least annually.  I want it to be more than a hard copy of our policies.  I want it to represent the attitudes and spirit of our center.
    3. I hand out business cards (which we also print on site) liberally.  I want our name, phone number, web site and email addresses in every hand.
    4. I have a web site and blog and I make use of email and facebook to communicate with parents, staff, other community businesses and organizations.  Research indicates how important technology and social networking have become in effective marketing.  The internet has replaced the yellow pages.  Email and texting have become the fastest way to connect – rapidly replacing voice to voice communication of conventional telephones.
    5. I am involved in the community.  I actively partner with other centers, family care providers and businesses in our area.  I want our center to be the one they think of when they consider a referral.  I refer families to local providers and businesses as well.  I cannot meet every need of every family.  When we collaborate and cooperate, everyone wins.
    6. I believe the greatest marketing resource at my disposal is my parents – my customers.  I seek to build relationships that are founded on genuine affection, caring, trust and respect.  We go out of our way to show how much we appreciate the families and their support of our center.  We celebrate special occasions such as Mother’s and Father’s days, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and celebrate regular days with warm muffins and coffee in the morning.  We celebrate children’s achievements and remember them with a personal note in the mail when they no longer attend.

    Marketing on a shoestring is not difficult, but it does take time, attention, thought and persistence.  And it all begins with you!

    Courtesy of Tanya Cook

    Posted in Business Mastery | Tagged | Leave a comment
    January 23, 2012

    Improve Your Menu Without Going Broke

    Providing kids with nutritious meals is an important part of any childcare program. After all, the nutrients found in food helps children grow properly and maintain their overall health. Unfortunately, with the price of food steadily rising, many childcare providers are feeling the burn on their wallets. Continue reading →

    Posted in Business Mastery | Tagged , | Leave a comment
    December 20, 2011

    Caring for the Kids of Loved Ones: Is it a Good Idea?

     

    When you do business with friends and relatives, the lines between personal and business interactions can get blurred. Loved ones may feel entitled to preferential treatment, and feel they’re exempt from the rules. Dealing with attitudes of entitlement from friends and family can get old . . . fast. This is why some people refuse to do business with loved ones. However, if you have a friend or relative who’s willing to pay for your childcare services, why not give her a chance. Just be sure to take measures to keep your relationship in tact. Continue reading →

    Posted in Business Mastery | Tagged , | Leave a comment
    December 20, 2011

    A New Start for You and Your Business in 2012

    “Out with the old, in with the new,” is what you chant when the New Year rolls around. But are you truly ready to start anew? Are you ready to simplify your business and feel healthier while you do it? If you answered yes to these questions, here are some things you can do to get started. Continue reading →

    Posted in Business Mastery | Tagged , | Leave a comment