Although the childcare industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the United States, there is no doubt that opening a childcare center in your church can be intimidating.
There are several factors to consider before embarking on this venture, but here are three things you can’t forget that will ensure the success of your new business.
- Incorporating Technology
With more than 80% of new parents being millennials, there is no question that millennials will be your primary clientele for the foreseeable future, and here’s what you need to know about these parents!
- Millennials are mobile-first, spending more than 17 hours a week on apps
- They cherish tools that help them stay in touch
- 91% of Millennials always keep their phone within reach
- 95% of text messages received by a Millennial will be read within 3 minutes
This generation has grown up with technology, and their primary objective is to feel connected. The key to marketing your business well to this group is ensuring that your daycare is moving with the times and making your daycare easily accessible digitally.
Online Presence: Having an online presence with a professional website will be your first interaction with prospective parents. They can pull up your school’s information within seconds at their fingertips. You can give new prospective parents a window into your school through your social media pages.
Digital Enrollment: Make enrollment simple and easy. Allow parents to fill out documents digitally, pay registration fees, and communicate with you quickly right from their phones!
Automated Digital Payments: Online bill pay is crucial to attracting and keeping Millennial families. The convenience of flexible payment options will help your center stay competitive, as statistics show that most Americans prefer to pay with a credit card over debit cards and cash.
Connectivity: Once a family is enrolled, you can keep these tech-savvy parents engaged and a key part of their child’s day with digital updates and images with an easy-to-use parent application. Remember, Millennial moms’ primary objective in using technology is to stay in touch.
- Following the Policies
Establishing clear policies and procedures from the start will help maintain the quality of care you provide at a high standard while ensuring that you are within federal and state regulations.
All licensed childcare centers have policies and standards that must be met to operate their facility. These minimum standards often include health regulations, acceptable ratios, day-to-day operations, etc.
Following the licensing requirements and providing parents with a handbook that will give them a complete understanding of your business’s mission, offerings, and policies will ensure that they will know what to expect when their child is in your care and help you avoid potential conflicts that may arise.
- A Good Team
Undoubtedly, your business will only be as good as the people you hire. Finding like-minded individuals with a passion for education and a heart for children is pivotal in making your business successful.
However, this is no easy task in your search; try not to turn away every imperfect candidate. Instead, seek qualities and find the potential in everyone you meet that can be taught and trained with the values of your business.
When you build a team that mirrors your passion and beliefs in why your school and fill your classrooms with staff that exudes positivity and a natural love for early childhood, the walls will speak for themselves on your tours and whenever a parent steps inside your business.
Stepping into the world of early childhood is challenging and can become overwhelming. Still, if you keep these keys to success within reach or work with a company that can help embed them into your business through their software, you will surely make your center the best among the rest.
Choosing The Right Childcare Management Software
There is no doubt that childcare providers are modern times superheroes. From ensuring things run smoothly throughout the facility daily to managing their team, keeping parents connected, collecting tuition, and paying bills on time, all while and most importantly, maintaining a safe environment for children to grow in development while having fun.
As technology becomes a must-use tool, childcare management software is key to increasing business efficiency, classroom productivity, and parent engagement. Yes, paper trailing is still around; however, most administrators and parents prefer flexibility at their fingertips.
Streamline Administrative Processes and Stay Organized
Many childcare software programs can help you stay on track by centralizing data/forms, tracking attendance, managing schedules, and automating invoices/payments. However, not all systems have the flexibility to be customized to meet your specific needs for your center.
Enhance Parent Communication and Engagement
Effective communication with parents is essential for the success of any childcare program. A parent app for daily parent communication can help keep parents connected and informed about their child’s day with digital daily activity reports, last-minute updates via text messages, email, or kiosk reminders, and even manage their monthly/yearly statements at the click of a button.
Flexible Billing
We are all human and make mistakes, but we can lessen human error with a reliable billing suite that is not only automated but also flexible. A system that is robust enough to have multiple billing settings at once (such as individual child tuition rates, subsidies, hourly drop-ins, or prepaid care and auto pay schedules running smoothly simultaneously) will make your day-to-day monthly invoicing and payment capturing a cake walk.
Reliable Support
Aside from the technical aspect, another essential thing to consider is support. We know software is made to be efficient; still, there will be times when you will need a little assistance for simple questions or even brainstorming ideas on what features could help make your center more efficient.
Using technology at your childcare center doesn’t have to be scary!
This information is courtesy of ChildPilot, all-in-one childcare management software that helps you manage your childcare program more efficiently by increasing business, classroom productivity, and parent engagement, www.childpilot.com.
