Marbles Anyone?

No Words - just cool pic!

Getting Help

Jeff and I just got back from Boise, Idaho where we attended the Golbon mid-year food show. What is that you ask? Golbon is a foodservice distributor buying group that helps smaller, independent folks like us buy like the big guys (Sysco, US Foodservice and PFG) in the marketplace of vendors. In short - by banding together we can get the deals from suppliers like Tyson and ConAgra that the huge companies get. What an advantage to us - and to you! That means we can compete in selection and price with the big guys while giving you the small company service you expect.

We spent two days negotiating with current suppliers, exploring new options for new products and options for new suppliers of the same products. The good news? Everyone wants the PureFUN! business. We showed up on their buying reports and they were ready to talk! I'm sure Jeff will be sharing more.

How can this apply to you? Have you ever explored getting together with others in your industry and seeing how you can apply the group buying benefits? Vendors like me would be happy to help!

PureFUN Vision

I told you a few weeks ago we were going to be working on an update of our vision and mission here at PureFUN! Thought I'd give you an update...

Tomorrow at our monthly staff lunch I'll be asking the team here to help me write our mission (how you do what you do) around these central thoughts:

At PureFUN! we make the world Better for Kids by......
At PureFUN! we make the world Better for You by.....
At PureFUN! we make the world Better for All by.....

And the working text for our vision statement (your preferred future) looks something like this:

PureFUN! - a family of integrated companies working to make our community and the world a better place for kids.

Do you have a vision and mission for your school? I'd love your thoughts and feedback - email me at todd@purefuninc.com

Happy writing!

Can I Brag?

Every now and then a dad has to brag. This picture is from last Friday night at The Tabernacle in Atlanta. The band is my boys' band - The Less. Zac is the far left up front at the microphone and Michael is playing the blue bass behind him. They played with Collective Soul at a benefit concert for Darfur. The name of their band tells the story of how they encourage others through their music to think more of others and less of ourselves. Cool message - huh? Check them out at www.myspace.com/theless.

Prevent a fire in your school

Real fast post today - I've heard recently about several schools that have had pretty serious fires as a result of dirty bath exhaust fans. The buildup of dust and dirt on these fans causes them to overheat and short out - potentially igniting a fire.

Do yourself and your kids a favor - take the time to clean your fans today! You could save lives.

Opportunity Abounds

A great article from Childcare Information Exchange Magazine - I get their daily email, do you? I also think things feel like they are getting slightly more positive - how about you?


Opportunity Abounds
March 17, 2009
Actions, looks, words, and steps form the alphabet by which you may spell character. Johann Kasper LavaterDennis Vicars has upbeat advice on dealing with current economic challenges in his article, "Times are Tough... and Opportunity Abounds!" in the new issue of Exchange (March/April 2009). Here is an excerpt from this article that can be read in its entirety at ChildCareExchange.com."Hard times are just that — hard. For most, sticking their head in the sand and ‘waiting this thing out’ is a plan of survival. For others, keeping your head up with eyes wide open for opportunities is a chance to succeed abundantly. Here are a few opportunities, which might be available:
1. Staff is on board with a full understanding of the financial demands and current economic reality of the school/center.
2. All staff is committed to absolute excellent service, school/center cleanliness, and frugality.
3. All staff is involved in marketing of the school/center on a daily basis — both internally and externally.
4. All operational procedures are analyzed for greater efficiency with marketing activities tracked daily.
5. Vendor contracts are reviewed for possible reductions or renegotiation, including landlords.
6. Vendors are on board with increased quality, especially janitorial.
7. Parent communication is increased through personal contact and Internet communication.
8. The program is interviewing for higher-quality staff.
9. You offer ‘enhancement’ part-time schedules for parents losing jobs.
10. As director/owner, daily marketing is your number one priority.
11. You increase the number of ancillary services offered to help families (i.e., morning coffee, ‘free’ parent’s night out, etc.)
12. You increase weekend events at the school/center such as organizing a job fair for parents.
13. You increase your school/center’s profile through community activities with staff participation.
14. You personally attend various community groups as the ‘expert’ in early care and education. 15. You commit to being a little bit better in everything you do instead of being the best in one thing. You leverage additional benefits from existing vendors.
16. You increase the range of services you offer to families, where possible.

Do you feel alone? Remember the Alamo!

The Alamo - San Antonio, Texas

Many of our good customers are Kids R Kids centers from all over the country. I had the pleasure of attending their annual Owner's Meeting last week in San Antonio. It was encouraging to be around them and hear their perspectives on business and life in child care work in general. I saw how they learn from each other, share ideas for improvement and even share critical financial information with each other in the spirit of genuine help and concern.

If you are a solo operator of a child care center you may feel isolated with no one to share ideas, concerns and challenges. Many times those of us that own businesses can feel overwhelmed. I meet once a month with 6-8 other guys like myself. We act as each other's informal board of directors and help each other navigate this thing called business. It is extremely valuable - so valuable that we each block off an entire day each month and actually pay $400 to go!

How can you get some of the help you need? One idea may be to form an informal board of directors of people you trust. Build an agenda, feed them some food, ask them for ideas and input. Another idea may be to form a small group of other owners (maybe not even all child care owners) to meet and help each other.

Don't do it alone...get some help! The guys at the Alamo had their rally cry - what's yours?

Organization and Mission

I'm doing some reading of different companies' mission statements as we embark on the task of re-defining ours here at PureFUN!. Some of the more robust and interesting ones are Whole Foods and REI. We're also looking at putting down in writing, admittedly for the first time, our organizational chart. With a staff of 27 it's about time, don't you think?

Why am I telling you this? So you'll know we're committed to constantly looking for ways to improve our serve - to you! As we clearly define our mission and our structure we can be more efficient and responsive to the needs of you, our valued and loyal customer.

But there's another reason.... And that is a challenge to each of you as center owners or directors to think about your mission and structure and see if it clearly reflects the way you want to do business today or if it needs to change to be able to take better care of your customers. Your staff will appreciate the clarity and direction too. A few minutes web surfing to look at great company mission statements will provide just the motivation you need to start work on yours - good luck!

Meet and Greet

As center owners many times we get to the point where we like to enjoy some of the luxury of ownership - reduced hours, not as much closing or opening, delegating of less attractive duties, etc.


But there is one thing you should never abandon - the personal greeting of your customers and their parents! I made it a habit of coming in early or staying late several times each week and just hanging out in the lobby at drop off and pick up times. No other duties - just give high fives, hugs and handshakes. Quick tip - do as much of this at the child level (that means down low) as you can stand. Your customers will love you and their parents will become more loyal!

Where the Money Is......

Quick - what is the single largest expense for your center? If you didn't answer "payroll" pull out your financial statements and study them! Your staff is your most valuable asset but can also be the biggest and fastest drain on your cash. Do you know what your payroll is as a % of your tuition income?

Working "on" your business means you track this expense each and every week and study why is varies from your budget or plan. You should set some operational guidelines for what that % should be (most schools run at or under 50%). If it varies on the high side you should immediately evaluate why and how and make corrections in your staff schedule.

There are only two ways to reduce the % - reduce staff costs or increase income. The challenge is to do this while offering the best possible care for the children and families you serve. Analyze your numbers.....

Great Article from CCIE

I know I said I wasn't going to harp on the economy but everyone needs to read this great article from Child Care Information Exchange magazine. Thriving in these times takes hard work....

http://ccie.com/resources/view_article.php?article_id=5014310&keyword_id=120

Do you have a lead sheet?

Today's comment is short and sweet. The assignment for those who want to work "on" their business and not "in" is this - if you don't already have a phone lead card or sheet, create one! It should include pertinent contact info, how the caller heard about your school, an area to record notes about their wants, info on the children, etc. Also make sure there is an area for your staff member to record their info so you can track, hold accountable and incent!

If you already have a lead sheet your assignment is to make sure it's being used consistently and effectively. So, pull it out and look it over and re-train the staff on its use if necessary.

Spend 30 minutes "on" your business today......

Love and Joy - In Egypt!

That's me in the middle!

I had the wonderful opportunity to visit one of PureFUN's partners halfway around the world in Cairo, Egypt back in November of 2008. Love and Joy is the name of the child care center that offers it's services to many children and families that cannot afford to pay full price for care. Some of the children even come from the garbage dump areas of Cairo to stay at the orphanage that is housed in the same facility as the child care.

We're proud to be able to help Love and Joy by contributing to the salary for the director as they build their enrollment and strengthen the program at the center. By the way - the salary for a great director in Cairo is $700 per month!

Magdy Bassaly is the president of this organization and when he was in the US over the Christmas time I was pleased to show him how the "centers" concept should be used in the classroom (thanks to Kids R Kids #8 for this tour). He now reports that he is working hard to implement center based learning in Cario at Love and Joy.

Maybe one of you would like to join me this fall......

The Economy

I'm not an economist - nor do I pretend to be. I'm not a business expert. I don't have the answers for our country's current economic crisis. But I have a hunch...

My hunch is that if we would do a little less talking about the crisis, a little less blaming, a little less crying in our soup and start turning our thoughts and conversations about what's still very good in this country we might begin to see our way out. No - I'm not a Norman Vincent Peale follower nor am I a name-it-claim-it guy. I just believe that if we fill our day with CNN, Fox News and all the constant media chatter we'll join the glum crowd and make this thing even worse than it already is.

So here are a couple of things I'm trying to do.

• Trust that God is in control and I'm pretty much not.
• Work hard and smart and keep the work and family balance.
• Not hoard every last dollar but instead be generous and spend wisely.
• Display a positive attitude towards those around me.

Let's move away from doom and gloom toward faith and attitude shall we?

Take Control of the Phone

OK - the phone rings and maybe this is how it goes... ring, ring, ring....

Hello - thanks for calling World's Best Child Care - how can I help you?
Yeah - how much do you charge for 2 year olds?
Our two year old rate is $150 per week.
OK - thanks.

End of call. What is wrong with that? What's wrong is you did not get any air time to promote your school, it's benefits, find out what the caller was really interested in, etc. In other words - the caller was in control because they started with the first question.

Let's look at a different answer to the same caller question. Instead of giving the price right away try something like - "I'd be happy to give you all the information you need, how did you hear about us?"

Now you are in control of the conversation and can guide it through a pre-planned presentation that addresses concerns and benefits and closes with an invite for a tour. At the very least you get information on the caller so you can follow up with emails or mailings or thank you notes.

Think about this. We'll talk more next time....

Who's Ansering the Phone?

Let's do a little math... the phone rings with a potential new client that has a 2 year old child. If your tuition is $125 per week, that's $6500 in a year. If you're lucky enough to keep that child for 3 years that's $19,500. So - ask yourself the question. Who's answering that $20,000 phone call? Are they properly trained? Are they gathering prospect information? Are they taking control of the conversation in order to present the awesome benefits of your school? Or are they merely blurting out price information and then allowing the caller to hang up?

If you haven't figured out by now the most important marketing area for your school is proper phone call handling. Unless your phone is simply not ringing. If it is you need to evaluate, develop and train to make sure you're taking every advantage possible to present your school in the most desirable light and make the sale. Great schools do this, marginal ones probably don't. Call your competition and see how they're handling the phones. You could outpace them with serious and consistent attention to this most important area.

In the next post we'll talk some more about specifics....

Stop and think a moment

The whole idea of "in or on" is a simple one but key to understanding how to make and keep your child care business successful. Many times we find ourselves busy with the routine and mundane tasks - like driving the bus or mopping the floor. That's the "in" stuff. But the owner who's concerned with a profitable program that is great for kids knows that it's the "on" stuff that really makes a difference. Stuff like calling parents and thanking them for their business. Like working on teacher performance and class management. Like developing community contacts for PR and awareness opportunities. The list goes on....



Which are you - "in" or "on"? More ideas and thoughts to come in this section - keep checking back!

Crab races for kids

Bubba the crab trying to escape!

Over Christmas break our family went Scuba Diving on the island of Roatan, Honduras. The place we stayed was a great diving resort and the owners, Ted and Cam, have enjoyed 15 years of escape from the busy life here in the US. Not content to just run the resort they have taken on the challenge of improving the schools on the island. The statistics are astounding - not enough class space, low attendance, even lower completion stats.

So - every Thursday night they host a big crab race event. The night we were there over 100 people were in attendance. It's simple - buy 3 crabs for 3 races for $10. If your's wins you get to split the pot. But then the winner is heavily influenced to return his winnings to the school fund. After some additional challenges and pleas the races for our night raised over $1000 for the school project Ted and Cam are sponsoring.

We can all do something for kids - what can you do ?