As part of our Interviews with Daycare Business Owners series, we interviewed Shannon Van Rompaey, owner of Shannon’s Home Daycare in London, Ontario Canada.
OwnADaycare: When and why did you start your daycare/childcare business?
Shannon Van Rompaey: I started my home daycare in March 2007
OwnADaycare: What is the best bit of advice that you can give a new child care
business owner?
Shannon Van Rompaey: One piece of advice, in particular home based childcare, I would
recommend never losing touch with the community, even when your program is full. You never know when a family may give their notice, so to have a waiting list, and to continue to interviews to get your
childcare advertised really helps. Word of mouth has been my best form of advertising, but I feel that since having my website, it has saved me on so much TIME answering all of the questions from potential
clients.
OwnADaycare: What is your child care philosophy?
Shannon Van Rompaey: My childcare philosophy is that I believe strongly in promoting learning through play – therefore I am constantly creating new and fun ways for the children to interact and discover through their play. It could be as simple as adding something unique to the dramatic play
center that they would never expect to go there, and see how they use it and then how they incorporate other objects into different areas of play around the classroom. I believe in providing the tools for
children to learn and develop, but by stepping back and having them take control on what they would like to do with those tools is the most important learning I can give them.
OwnADaycare: What is the best thing about owning a daycare business?
Shannon Van Rompaey: I think the best thing about owning my daycare business is the reward at the end of the day knowing that these children are getting quality care and to see them develop and grow into the little people they become is a great feeling.
OwnADaycare: What advice would you give to busy mom entrepreneurs?
Shannon Van Rompaey: Advice that I would give to busy mom entrepreneurs would be always
remember your family comes first. Believe in your illness policies and don’t feel bad sending a child home if they fall into the categories of being too ill for daycare. You need to protect your family and yourself from illness so you can be there for everyone.
Bio: My name is Shannon Van Rompaey and I run a home daycare in London, Ontario Canada. I am lucky to have a dedicated space in my home to care for 5 children at one time, plus my own. I am a graduate of the Early Childhood Education Program, but have never worked in a licensed daycare center. I choose to open my home daycare when I had my son Connor and started looking for childcare for him, and realized there wasn’t really a home “program” in the area that made me feel comfortable going back to work knowing he would be learning and having fun throughout his day. I know offer that service to some amazing families in my area!
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