SPONSORED CONTENT
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
SPONSORED CONTENT
Childcare Development Consultants
PROVIDING EXPERTISE
TO DAYCARE PROVIDERS
L
ori Sharp’s been in the childcare field for over a decade
and knows how to take a daycare business from good
to great. The problem was that independent daycare
owners never had a resource to turn to to help them
grow their business to the next level until now.
“I go into new or existing daycare centers and help with
problems like fulfilling enrollment, maintaining current
enrollment or maintaining staff, to name a
couple,” she said. “We can develop
a business plan going
forward, help them with
marketing ideas, look at
where they need help
and how we can help
them get there.”
As a consultancy,
Sharp’s
business gives
businessowners the
plan, they execute
the plan. But, Sharp
said, some business
owners are reluctant to
seek help because they fear
bringing in a consultant will be
a negative thing.
“No one wants to be insulted in their business. I go in with
a positive outlook, but an honest one. There are things that
work and things that don’t and I’d rather be upfront
and help someone correct what’s wrong than
tell them what they want to hear,” she said.
“Wages are a particularly sensitive issue
in that regard. Staff turnover is huge in
the daycare environment because it’s
not a highly paid industry. It’s hard
to keep quality staff if your pricing is
not competitive and there’s a fine line
between making and losing money.
They’re competing with national
franchises like the Kindercares of the
world, so they have to pay their staff
comparably. On the flip side, they’re fearful
of pricing themselves out of the market.”
Other services that are common and
necessary to daycare providers offered by
Childcare Development Consultants include enrollment
projections, which may sound routine, but are surprisingly
wrong in many cases without
expert help.
“We find out where
they’re going to have
spots available, and
a lot of daycare
providers will
underfill their
enrollment
thinking that
70 percent
enrollment is full,”
Sharp said. “The
fact is, 70 percent
isn’t full - 110 percent
is full because people
are always coming and
going in this industry. Families
move, kids have conflicting activities.
The number you’re looking for is a moving target and unless you
have a plan for that, you’re going to have empty seats to fill.”
With a background in early childhood edcuation and business,
Sharp was a classroom teacher for eight years before becoming
the director of a daycare center. She decided to found Childcare
Development Consultants to help others in the field learn from
her experience and success.
“When they see the big picture all written out
and all the necessary details like CPR trainings,
professional development, we can then find
the pieces that they’re not seeing and
plug those back in,” she said. “This is an
incredibly challenging field and one
bad review on Care.com can lose half
a dozen people for them. We want to
prevent that and ensure their success.”
For more information
on Childcare Develpment
Consultants, go to their website at
childcaredevelopment.net. You can also
call Lori at 412.552.8928, or email her at
[email protected].
MT. LEBANON
❘
SUMMER 2018
63