Own a Daycare Blog » clients http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog Just another WordPress weblog Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:00:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Knowing How Daycare Operators Charge Clients For Their Services http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/knowing-how-daycare-operators-charge-clients-for-their-services http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/knowing-how-daycare-operators-charge-clients-for-their-services#comments Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:36:38 +0000 Mary http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/?p=300 Related posts:]]> Do you know how daycare centers charge clients for their services? There are a number of aspects and factors that need to be considered in setting the service fees for childcare services. Those entrepreneurs who have the first time experience in starting a daycare business would just presume a charging price that are used by competitors. The result is your price can be very low or it can be unreasonably too high. But how exactly should someone who is thinking about starting a child daycare service would know if the price is right?

If you are thinking about starting your own childcare daycare business, your objectives would determine how much you would charge for a service. The following are the pricing orientations that you can adopt in planning for your charging scheme.

* Revenue pricing. This type of pricing is determined by maximizing the profit from the potential market. This objective may be done if you are offering unique services or programs that are offered by other childcare centers.

* Operations pricing. This pricing orientation balances the concept of supply and demand. You can set a lower pricing scheme during lull periods where demand is low and higher during the peak periods when the demand becomes higher. During vacation time when parents may not send their children to a daycare center, you may offer low prices.

* Target pricing. This type of pricing orientation depends on the needs of your potential market or target clients. If parents will send two or more children to your daycare center, you can offer discount price for your services. You can also think of offering this discount price to parents who have children with special needs.

With these pricing orientations, you can adapt your charging depending on how you would like to earn money while helping parents choose on many alternatives.

A pricing strategy on the other hand is how you would like to achieve the abovementioned objectives. You should be able to think of how you would like to meet the charging objectives of your daycare center in pondering on these strategies:

* Skimming the market. If your daycare center provide clients with outmost satisfaction, your childcare services have earned credibility through the positive comments from previous clients, you have added value in your services, your daycare center offers unique programs that many parents found to be effective in the development of their child’s well-being, you have the reason to charge your services competitively higher than other daycare providers.

Market skimming involves getting a feel on how your clients perceive or look at your business. Make sure that you offer services that are most valued by your clients so that you can also charge the highest price possible. Services such as operating 24 hours a day and unique programs like the special involvement of parents in daycare activities may give you the rationale in setting your price higher.

* Adapting of price. Charging different clients with different rates can be quite complicated. Price adaptation is adapting the pricing depending on the need of clients. Parents who enrol more than two children can be given discount. It is like when you are buying clothes on sale that says: buy one take one. This strategy can be very helpful to many parents and possibilities are you might entice more clients to bring into your daycare center more children.

* Penetrating the market. This is the strategy that you can choose to adopt when you offer services that are the same as those offered by other daycare centers. You may also choose to charge a price that is a little lower than your competitors so you can invite more clients.

See: How to start a daycare center

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]]> http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/knowing-how-daycare-operators-charge-clients-for-their-services/feed 0 Hiring Child Care Providers http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/hiring-child-care-providers http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/hiring-child-care-providers#comments Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:10:27 +0000 Mary http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/?p=129 Related posts:]]> Once your daycare center starts its operations and you have shown to the initial clients that you really meant business, more and more clients will be coming in. Before you knew it, the number of clients you have is way too much to handle by yourself – you need help. You will have to hire additional child care providers to enable you to provide the same quality care to your clients.

Hiring personnel is easy but getting the right person for the job is a difficult matter. You must hire a person who will be able to care for the children in your center in the same manner that you do. The following are some guidelines when hiring a child care provider:

1. Experience is important but it should not be the only factor to consider in hiring. Character references provided by relatives or friends whom the applicant has babysat for will give you a good idea if the applicant can handle the job he is applying for. An applicant can have many years of experience but if he cannot provide any good character reference, you still cannot be sure if he is the right person you are looking for.

2. Ask if the applicant is willing to commit to the job for a long time. He might be interested only in getting some experience in your daycare center and leave afterwards. A daycare service should provide love, consistency, and reassurance that the children are in a safe environment. Constant changes of personnel will create the opposite impression. Parents will not feel secured every time they see a new care provider for their children. Children also will not feel comfortable in the presence of a new person caring for them.

3. Provide a detailed job description to the person you are going to hire. Before he starts working, you have to make clear with him what his duties and responsibilities will be. This could prevent any misunderstanding that might arise if the new hire is not really sure of what he is supposed to do. You have to be patient in explaining and repeating to your new employee everything that he has to learn and understand. You cannot relax until you are sure that he has the feel of his job.

4. Have a probation period, from 30 to 60 days, for the new hire to find out if he is really cut for that position. This is the period to observe your new employee to see whether he really has genuine interest and love of children. His patience with children will also be tested during this probation period. If the new hire is not performing well or is unable to relate to the children he is caring for, the best and only option is to terminate his services. Do not be afraid to do it as you are protecting the interest of your business as well as the interest of the children under your care.

Hiring the right persons to help you run your daycare center will guarantee the continuous success of your business.

See: How to start a daycare center

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]]> http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/hiring-child-care-providers/feed 0 Effective Daycare Management http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/effective-daycare-management-2 http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/effective-daycare-management-2#comments Sat, 20 Dec 2008 01:37:13 +0000 Mary http://www.ownadaycare.com/blog/?p=30 Related posts:]]> Operating a day care business entails a lot of work and sacrifice. The long list of things to be done never seem to end. Aside from the business planning, area designing and marketing to obtain clients, management of the business is also an essential factor in the daily tasks for the business. Here are some ways to effectively manage one’s day care business.

1) For the child. The area within one’s home or office has been designated for the business of the day care. In this designated area, a play area has been designed and created for use by the children. To effectively manage the business, one needs to allot a small area for work on running the business. It is in this area that one manages the tax payments, paperwork for the personnel, regulatory matters and marketing. This serves as your business nerve center.

2) Separate life. Since this is a home based business, one needs to make a separate calendar for personal and professional business. If one mixes up things, then the result would be being unable to address issues as a business person rather than a private person. Another option is opening a separate bank account for business income and expenses. This would ensure that there would be no commingling of funds. Separation must also include telephone and PC usage so that there would be no mix up in the expenditures and usage of items.

3) Time manage. Being unable to properly manage one’s time would result in time being wasted. One needs to be disciplined about the time spent and one must keep watch over how time is spent. Scheduling activities for the day care and seeking out assistance from other family members would help make life a little easier. Also important is one needs to allot time for the management of the business and for rest and recreation. One needs to recharge every so often if one looks after several bundles of joy.

4) Personal time. The misconception that if one works from home one is readily accessible for visits from family and friends. This can clearly affect the scheduled timetable one has for the business. Thus one needs to inform these loved ones that even if one is at home, one is still at work and only the venue changes. Make them realize that as a business professional, one needs the time to handle the business and avoid further distractions. Once this happens, have them leave a message and a promise that one will get back to them when one is free from work.

Effective management of the daycare business can be done if one has the desire for it. Having a space for children and for work, making a separate life between business and personal matters, proper time management and having personal time would be the factors to consider to make this happen. This personal development, together with cooperation would make one an effective manager of one’s own day care center.

See: How to start a daycare

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