How to start a day care

When you start a day care your business can benefit enormously from having a website and blog. I have connected with a lot of clients that otherwise might not have found me or might have overlooked my service in favor of one of the above. There are many bigger, faster, shinier, more centrally located days with bigger advertising budgets than mine.

People were impressed with my website; with the pictures, information and 'glimpse inside' that it offered. They liked the beautiful setting, the family run element and our montessori program. They felt like they knew us already thanks to the 'personal touch' effect of the website.

Having an online presence has many advantages in terms of marketing and simply communicating with current and potential clients. It is not difficult to maintain or create a website and a professional look can be easily achieved. A vibrant, regularly updated site and blog can sell your business better than anything else. Include lots of information about you and your day care and ensure your site is easily navigated.

The early stages involved quite a bit of work ensuring all my keywords and tags were effective, submitting to online child care and business directories but the work paid off. Most google and other search engine queries for day care in my area will have my business listed in the first few results.

Pictures of your day care should abound, both interior and exterior - nice bright shots of your playrooms and playgrounds. Parents love to see concise details of essential policies, fees and curriculum - so they know what to expect. You can include downloads of your day care contract and parent handbook - the more information you provide the less questions they're going to have.

Keep your existing and future clients up to speed and interested in your day care by adding a blog to your website. I just recently revamped my site adding a blog (I use wordpress and highly recommend it) and am already reaping the rewards and hearing lots of nice feedback. Put pictures of you and your employees on a staff page and include a few details about each person. People love that personal touch and feel that you are less of a stranger to them as you start a day care.

Fiona Lohrenz shares her 10 years experience of running a day care on her website where you'll also find her 'Start a Day Care Business' DVD guide: Open Daycare She can be reached at her Daycare focused website.

- Rene Sandan