For lots of families, childcare can represent a huge line item in their household budget. We “cooked up” (ha) a metaphor of a giant pot, with scoops going in and scoops coming out. To us, it makes sense to explain how our preschool business works so that everyone can make informed decisions about how they are spending time and money within this community.
We’re all choosing to be a part of this space.
It’s like we’re all in a giant pot, like so:
There are many reasons why we love this pot and choose to play in it:
- It offers generous hours
- It’s safe
- It’s fun!
- It provides supplies like food, diapers and sunblock
- It’s a nurturing environment with trained, professional, loving staff
- The list goes on.
There are many reasons why we all want the scoops going into this pot (income such as tuition and fees) to always be more than the scoops going out of the pot (expenses such as wages, utilities, and supplies). For example, when things break, we want to be able to replace them immediately without having to do a bake sale. When staff want to do trainings, we want to be able to pay for them. Basically, we want to run a solidly profitable business so that parents/guardians can depend on us to be open, and focused on caring for their children.
Predicable scoops
Building out our metaphor a bit further, most of our income and expenses are predictable. Income is typically comprised of fixed payments in the form of of tuition payments. Expenses are typically comprised of fixed payments related to running a business (wages, food, supplies, rent, insurance, utilities, and toys).
“Squish Factor” Scoops
Ahh, now for some flavor. This is what we call the “squish factor” where we can work the margins, or add some space, to our income and expense equation.
FROM THE OWNER SIDE OF THE BUSINESS, we can do things to help reduce costs such as:
- Investing in high-quality equipment. It might cost more up front, but it will last longer.
- Getting a cash-back credit card. It adds up!
- Hosting events. Instead of paying to rent a different space, we can host community events at our own facility.
- Hustling. Instead of having our groceries delivered, we can buy them ourselves. We can also do most of our repair work by ourselves instead of hiring outside contractors.
- Using resources wisely. We turn down the heat during evenings and weekends (even though we live there) and purchase energy-efficient appliances. We fill out the paperwork that gets us reimbursements from government agencies.
FROM THE PARENT/GUARDIAN SIDE OF THE BUSINESS, you can do things to help increase the income scoops such as:
- Donating. We love books and craft supplies.
- Participating in the drop in system. We explain more about this in our “The Top 7 Ways to Support Mud Pies Preschool” post. Basically, let us know if your child will be out. And if there’s an open spot during a day when your child doesn’t normally attend (and if you want extra time to finish a project or get something done), drop in for a fee!
- Using extra-curricular services. We’re planning to host “flashlight nights” — anyone want a date night while your kiddo plays with friends in a friendly space? We’ve also thought about lining up a photographer to do photo shoots, and splitting the revenue with said photographer (anyone else wish they had cuter photos of the whole family, in a space where their child was super comfortable?!).
- Paying additional fees. If you are late during pick-up, we will charge you, per the handbook.
FINANCIAL FAQ
Given this context of “the scoops” of our business, now we address some frequently asked questions.
Do siblings get a discounted rate?
In short, no.
In long, there’s fixed costs associated with running this business. If we offered discounted rates for siblings, it would set up a strange dynamic where we might (financially) not want siblings to attend. (That would feel terrible!) Tuition is the same for everyone.
How much do rates go up in September?
To be determined. If we all hustle to keep the income scoops high and the cost scoops low, not much. As per our Parent/Guardian Handbook, we give families three-months advance notice of any changes to our rates.