Daycare Business Strategy: Networking

In the area of child care business, networking proves to be a good strategy. Networking in child care services allows the child care business to have more clients through recommendations, more fresh ideas that will help their business and possible resources that will also aid in making your child care business a success. It also allows room for each of child care business to have a sense of camaraderie and support relating to the various topics that concern them. This includes issues on accounting, health and child abuse. Moreover, networking in daycare businesses encourage community, connectivity, and collaboration which are important factors that help the business do well.

How to Network in the Child Care Business

Organizations
One of the easiest ways of networking in the DayCare Business is through membership of a child care organization. These child care organizations, both local and national, offer the best chance of making connections with other child care business owners. Some of these organizations are: The National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC), The Canadian Child Care Federation and The National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC).

Conventions, Seminars, and Continuing Education
Another way of networking in this business is through child care conventions and seminars. These provide child care providers along with the owners, directors, and administrators of early education program a great position to extend their network. Schedules of child care conferences and conventions could be looked up at ChildcareExchange.com.

Online Communities and Forums
In this age of technology, the best, fastest, and the easiest way of creating and extending a network is through the use of the World Wide Web. It makes communication between child care providers faster and easier. Daycare.com, OwnADaycare.com, and About.com are some of the websites which have forums that allow child care providers discuss related topics like some of their problems and share resources.

State Networks
State networks together with their local child care resource and referral (CCR&R) partners are of valuable help for families, childcare providers and communities in finding offers of affordable and quality child care. According to the studies made by the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACRRA), more than 700 child care resource referral partners situated in every state and most communities in the nation [NACRRA website, 2009].

The Public Library
Public Libraries are one of the best medium in connecting and providing knowledge, literacy and education to the community which is very important to child care providers. Other libraries have Preschool Partnership Networking Groups wherein youth services librarians could work closely with local preschool patrons, community preschool and child care providers.

Child Care Donation Networking
The Giftberry Network (Giftberry.org) is a donation networking website that assists in bringing non-profit organizations and companies that has an interest in donating together. Getting involved with networking websites like this one is very beneficial for the owners of non-profit child care centers.

Having created a network, it is always a good idea to have a constant communication with them either through e-mails or phone calls. This way you could keep them posted and keep a lasting and beneficial relationship not only with other child care providers but also with those that are in the field of early childhood education. Considering the benefits that networking has to offer, it proves to be an essential strategy in making child care businesses prosper.

See: How to start a day care business