"If you build it, They will come."

Alright, now we are legally able to care for children out of our home.  Unfortunately, just sitting back and waiting for everyone to come running didn't quite work out.  How can we get people to check us out?  

One of the first things we had to do was get our name & number out there.  Right away we set up a yellow pages ad.  Of course, we had to wait for the next printing to come out which was not until February.....almost 6 months away.....now what?  Well, you know those annoying posters in the entrance and exits of all the stores that have a whole bunch of little tabs hanging from the bottom with a phone number on it to rip off and take, yes the ones hanging next to the lost dog and stuck between all the different business cards and real estate listings....yup that's what we did.  We put them all over town.  Better rush home, that phone is going to be ringing off the hook!

Well, not quite.  It was at least 3 weeks after we received our license before our first call.  After that, we would average about 3 calls per week.  It was definitely progress, but we were still just caring for 2 children and they were both OURS.  Needless to say, we didn't see much profit with that arrangement.  

We soon realized, after our first successfully enrolled child, that we needed to get people in the door.  We had done so much work, we needed everyone to see it, because we found out if they see it,  they will come.  

Make your ideas a reality

Well, it has been awhile since that first post.  We are trying to keep up with technology.  Anyway, how could it possibly take three months to become licensed by the state?  First of all, just reading through the application packet takes time.  Once that step is complete it's time to "git-r-dun".  Everything from meeting with the township board to get approval for a variance allowing us to operate a business out of our home to expanding our septic system in order to accommodate the daycare.  That was just so we could call the state and tell them we were ready for the licensing inspection.  Then the representative checked safety, paperwork, cleanliness etc...after everything passed we were issued a temporary license pending a final "nonscheduled" visit to ensure everything is happening as expected.  After the surprise visit we were issued our  3yr license.  Ok, so now we have the authority to legally care for children in our home.  Where do we go from here?  How do we get people to trust us?  Why will they bring their precious children to us?  That's where the work really begins.

Who will watch the children?

Just in case you missed the profile page, my name is Scott and my wife is Julia and we own Busy Little Hands Home Child Care LLC. We have been operating a safe, fun, educational home away from home for our families for the last ten years.

How did it all start? Well, my wife & I were working on the plans for the home we were getting ready to build, and during this time she was searching for child care in order to return to work once our daughter was born. What a nightmare!! How could a stranger watch our two babies? She was devastated by the experience, from extremely unprofessional phone conversations, to drab and dirty environments, and right back to "how could a stranger watch our two babies?"

Then the light bulb goes off!! I have an education degree, and I know what these children need, I am going to start a daycare!! So while the light bulb was glowing, she completed an impressive business plan, which in turn allowed us to revamp our new house plans to compliment our new business. A few changes in the floor plan, and we had a complete child care layout that would fit perfectly into the basement.

Fifteen months later and the house was complete, except for the basement. We would start that shortly after moving in, which was in the middle of the summer. The goal was to finish the daycare before the next school year started in September, giving us 3 months to make everything comply to the requirements of the State of Michigan for our license.