The Business Basics of Running Your Child Care Center
This seven-week course is designed to be a hands-on workshop assisting both owners and staff of Child Care Centers improve and strengthen their business practices to both better serve their customers and enhance their business sustainability with increased revenues and develop business acumen. This course is designed for those with or without prior business training, all levels of development are welcome! In addition to weekly class meetings, participants are also invited to meet online one-on-one with an SBDC business consultant during and after the course for specific and continued training and support.
Training and consultation are available at no cost at the Denver Metro SBDC located at 1445 Market Street, Denver, 80202 through our partnership between the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) and the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) who have assisted in offering this complimentary course to you.
Child Care providers can earn professional development hours through the Professional Development Information System (PDIS) by attending all training sessions. Please note that if you miss a weekly session, you can make it up by scheduling a one-on-one consultation with the course instructor(s).
Course Sessions
Next Course Sessions TBD
Investment
This course is complimentary to all attendees thanks to our generous partnership with the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) and the state office of the Colorado SBDC network. However, the course will be limited to the first 30 who complete their registration.
Questions?
Contact Rob Rose by email at rob.rose@denverchamber.org or phone at 303.620.8045.
What to Expect
By the end of this course, you will have the resources and knowledge needed to make improvements in your business model and operational practices. Examples of areas covered include:
Examining your current business structure
Examining your system for tracking finances
Discuss and analyze market research and pricing for tuition
We will assess your business liability insurance policy
Update your marketing and pricing strategy to optimize revenue now and for future growth and success
Examine and help create your HR policies and COVID health compliance policies
Recruitment of staff and where to find your next staff member
Throughout the course, and after, you are equipped with one-on-one coaching support from experts in the field via your Denver Metro SBDC team of consultants ranging in experience from Child Care to marketing, sales and finance as well as several other area of focus for your business success.
Weekly Course Topics
5:30-7:30pm
This session is focused on orientation and overview of the program.
In this introductory session we will meet to familiarize everyone with the course objectives and content, conduct an “intake survey” to learn about each participant’s business challenges and objectives for taking the course as well as introductions of your instructor(s) and fellow classmates.
5:30-7:30pm
This session is focused on entrepreneurial mindset. We will uncover common industry mindsets and how they could be posing challenges in your business. We will learn about the process of overcoming limiting mindsets and how that process translates into positive business action. We will also level set as to where you are and where you want/need to go.
5:30-7:30pm
This week’s session is focused on market research and pricing. We’ll compare and contrast industry standards as well as market rate studies and challenge you to think about your own business’s pricing. Should you make a change? We’ll talk through the pro’s and con’s and what that could look like for your business. We also need to talk about how to communicate price changes to parents, grandfathering people in if that is what the program wants to do. This session would also talk about what types of software people are using to track parent accounts.
5:30-7:30pm
This session is focused on business revenues and expenses, the financials of your business. We’ll cover systems for tracking finances and a tool to help you account for Child Care expenses specifically. We’ll also talk about the importance of grants, open opportunities for funding, and other ways you can take full advantage of your revenue.
5:30-7:30pm
This session is focused on taxes, business structure, and business liability insurance. We’ll break down the various requirements at the state and county level to assess what makes the most sense for your business. These topics can feel very overwhelming, but we have tools to help and experts to assist!
5:30-7:30pm
This session is focused on marketing and licensing. We’ll go over considerations to keep in mind when promoting your business and industry best practices. We’ll also hear directly from the Office of Early Childhood with open opportunities for questions around the licensing aspects of your business and industry.
GRADUATION
5:30-7:30pm
We will have each participant share a short presentation of their business planning overview to discuss next steps of development and execution. We will celebrate your accomplishment, discuss next steps through working with the Denver Metro SBDC & Denver Metro Chamber, continued education and resources available to you, and how you can receive your PDIS credit for the course.
Meet the Facilitators
Greg Durocher is Co-founder and CEO at Safe Ride 4 Kids, LLC. Greg first came to the SBDC as a client in 2014. He was looking for ways to expand his business and knew that he needed a formal business plan to present when seeking funding, whether that be a loan or investors. He found in the SBDC class offering, including Leading Edge, exactly what he needed to compliment the consulting he received.
Before entering the world of entrepreneurs Greg was a career firefighter/paramedic for thirteen years and a volunteer for five years prior to that. For more than 15 years he has also been a student of human behavior and change. He has trained under and learned from the very best in the world: Tony Robbins, Steve Linder, Cloe Madanes, John Gray, Deborah Battersby and many others. His training includes: Human Needs Psychology, Strategic Intervention, Neurostrategies, NLP, Hypnotherapy and EmMatrix. With this diverse background he can help business owners on many levels in their entrepreneurial journey.
Dora Esparza, Business Services Manager
Joining the Council in 2017, Dora has worked in Early Childhood Education for the last 15 years. Her previous position was at Warren Village for nine years, where she worked as a Community and Funding Specialist. Dora has a long history of CCAP work and has chaired the Denver CCAP Collaboration (formerly known as the Child Care Task Force) in the Denver community for seven years.
Dora has a passion for diversity and working with people from all backgrounds and walks of life. She has graduate degrees in Psychology, Marketing, Human Resources and Nonprofit Management. In her role at the Council she helps child care providers in developing strong business practices that work for them. She has a passion for advocacy and elevating the early childhood field as well as creating community partnerships that benefit early childhood providers.
Rob Rose is the Director of Programs and Engagement for the Denver Metro SBDC at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. He manages personal and professional development programming for both members and nonmember’s alike. The programs range from basic leads group pipeline feeding opportunities to working with emerging leaders as well as programming specifically for business owners of all sizes.
Rob has served the community as a board member of the Autism, A Precious Child as well as a Development Group for Goodwill Industries of Denver. Rob is passionate about giving back to the Denver business and nonprofit community that has given him so much in return.
Location
Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
1445 Market St., 5th floor
Denver, CO 80202
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