As we continue our conversation on The Industry’s New Landscape this raises a question and thought as to what TYPE of Leader does an Early Childhood Education Owner who operates a Center or School needs to become this year? To properly Answer this Question you really need to address the Owner who currently are as of today.
The best way to determine what type of Leader your Center or School needs you to be, let’s look at the Childcare Business Benchmarks. This will help you determine where you’re at and help you see what you need to adjust to reach the certain milestones that is needed so that you are successful this year at reaching your goals. Simply choose which Benchmark applies to get some better insight.
0-3 Years in Business: Start-Up Phase
If you are newly licensed, just opened your doors, and are in your first three years of business you are in the start-up phase. This is such an exciting time but is the most crucial as well. Your Childcare Business is like a baby that needs to be developed and reach certain milestones for it to succeed.
The start-up phase when done right should only take you no more than three years to get these things in place. Most of your time is spent getting a grip on how to enroll students into your Center or Preschool Program, how to Hire Teachers and how to get a good flow on systems and processes. If your Childcare Business requires you to be on-site for it to function for too long, it will be hard for you to reach the next phase of Business which is the Growth Phase. Not understanding how to get the four elements (Time Margin, Staffing Ecosystem, Automated Engines, and Project and Delegation) in place will result in your Childcare Business just waiting to fail.
3-5 Years in Business: Growth Phase:
If you have been operating your Childcare Business for more than three years, your Center or Preschool Program should now be “up and walking” and the day-to-day operations have a great rhythm to them. Families and Children are dropped off and picked up, Teachers know how to run their classrooms, and You’re in a groove as well.
This phase always feels great because everything seems to finally be flowing, however, this is the phase where most Owners get super busy with Development and Growth, for students and staff, and tend to forget about Growing the Business because of the Development of Growth of their students and staff make them feel like they are achieving, in which they are in those areas, but this can also get one blindsided of the other areas of the business that needs to grow. Time Margin will become more crucial at this phase since this is when things start to boom, and with growth comes more challenges that you will need to be able to stay in front of.
Click here to learn about each Milestone you should be trying to reach
at this stage and Book Your Free Your Discovery Call with me
5-10 Years in Business: Maturity Phase
This is every Childcare Owner’s Dream! At this phase, your business runs like a well-oiled machine, and your enrollment numbers should be growing at least a 5% growth rate annually. At the early part of the Maturity phase (5-7 years), you will be transitioning your Center or School to be able to run efficiently as an Off-Site Owner. This is when you should be able to work remotely and choose your working hours.
Because of this, you have a strong cash position, the staff is not burn-out, and your Childcare Business is very predictable. Despite a few emergencies that may come up periodically, when your Childcare Business is at its Maturity phase, it really doesn’t need you anymore.
Click here to learn about each Milestone you should be trying to reach
at this stage and Book Your Free Your Discovery Call with me
10+ Years in Business: Renewal or Decline Phase:
When things are going good, and a business has been around for years, it can easily slip into a phase that will require Renewal. If Renewal does not take place, then a decline will. If you have been Owning a Childcare Business for 10 years plus, you may have no idea that your Childcare Business could be on the decline instead of Renewal. Just because you have a strong clientele doesn’t mean that your business is stable. In fact, you will find Owners who fail to Renew their Center or Preschool Program and ensure it’s relevant and adaptable, where families are secretly looking for a Childcare Center that is more Modern and Advanced in the Services and Programs they provide.
It is Crucial to be sure to Identify this Phase before it gets too late, because you will be in the position to either cash out or reinvent, and if you decide to cash out and you don’t catch this phase early enough, your business won’t be worth much to potential buyers.
If you find yourself in this Stage of Business, and you want to renew your Center or Preschool Program this is where we re-evaluate to see which Milestones from the above stages need to be implemented to start the Renewal Process.
I know this can be a lot to process, but I hope at the same time this is giving you an idea of where you are, versus where you need to be moving towards this year!
I have actually created individual video training and more information that you can dive deeper into! Click here to Book Your FREE Discovery Call with me and access more information where you can dive a bit deeper!
Which Benchmark are you at vs. the One you would like to be at this year? Let’s continue this conversation in the comments!
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