by Sarah E. Sanuth

Created on: August 14, 2008   Last Updated: January 07, 2009

If you have a family daycare business you have gone through the hard part. You have received your permits and the state has been in and out of your house checking to make sure it is safe and the people around it are safe. Now you need customers. You need to find someone who has a child that needs daycare. You need to advertise.

Of course there are many other day care centers out there and most people already have a provider. For this reason you need to make yours more appealing, you need to give someone a reason to use you or leave the center they are already at.

The neighborhood in which you live is the perfect area to target. Your house is in route to and from work for your neighbors and makes it perfect for the drop off and pick up. Promote the things that you know other facilities won't have.

A quiet and safe neighborhood is first and foremost for some families.

Learning programs that you may have in place will let the parents know that you are not just offering a babysitting service.

A small teacher to child ratio is very important to some parents. They want to know that their child is getting the attention that he or she needs rather than just being another child that brings in money.

Let family and friends know that you have openings. Put fliers up in the neighborhood and offer parents the opportunity to come and visit with their child for a day to explore the center and see if it is right for them.

One thing that you have to remember is that you are a small facility and can only accept so many children. Make that known. The more people think that they have to hurry to get in the more apt you are to fill your spots.

If you don't have any action on advertising through the neighborhood, use a free advertising site such as craigslist to let those who need day care the ability to see that it is out there. Take the time to use all area that will not cost you any money.

Many parents not only have to get their children and themselves ready in the morning, they have to get meals ready for daycare. Include meals with tuition. Many daycares offer this and for the small price of feeding those children, which is included in the tuition, you are giving parents another perk of using your daycare center rather another. The convenience alone is worth it.

No matter what, don't give up. The best form of advertising is word of mouth. Once you have some children who are enrolled, their parents will tell their friends, who more often than not will be parents about the wonderful job that you are doing and how convenient it is for them that somewhere down the line someone will be in need of daycare and will come to you.

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