How are you holding up? I have got several complaints lately about declining sales and the struggle to keep stable financial health during the pandemic. I wish I could say there is an easy route out. Or a magic wand we can wave and go back to pre-COVID days.
The pandemic affected every area of the economy, including the child care industry. Parents keep their kids home for many reasons. They are either out of job, working from home, or too scared to let their kids out of the house. And these are all valid reasons.
While we realize these are all normal effects of a pandemic, there are certain things we can put in place to help us stay afloat the whole time.
- Go back to the drawing board
The first step is to realize things have changed. Yes, you have to start afresh. With the pandemic still posing a huge threat to business survival, it is high time you revisit your budget if you haven’t done that already.
Before the pandemic, you had a great operating budget and plan to cater to the needs of the children at full capacity but that’s not the case anymore. Fewer kids are present now. It’s smart to start cutting back costs and re-strategizing based on the income flow you currently have.
- Get on board with new services
If you are still using the pre-pandemic plan, you are wrong. Things have changed. And only the ones who are smart enough to get onboard are carried along. Others watch from the sideline.
To get a stable cash flow this period, you should totally consider expanding your services. Since online services are highly sought after now, it is smart to start offering such services.
- Revisit your marketing strategy
What’s your new marketing strategy? Now that you can’t attend seminars, meet-ups, share posters and business cards, what’s your plan to put your services in front of your target audience?
This goes without saying – you need a new marketing strategy. Of course, your old strategy was effective. But that was before the pandemic. Right now, marketing is a whole new ball game. Relearn the process to find the hacks that work for you. Especially on digital marketing.
- Seek Government Grants
Have you done everything on the list yet struggling to keep your head above the water? You are not alone. A good help is to turn to government grants and subsidies. Fortunately, there are lots of options you can choose from. Do well to check in with your local agency to inquire about the opportunities available to you and how to go about it.
- More income, less expenses
Conclusively, I strongly recommend you look for ways to balance the book. You cannot attain stable financial health if your expenses are more than the income. Therefore, you ought to find ways to cut back on cost. You can let go of some services, get some services automated, or whatever you have got to do to reduce the amount you spend running the facility.
Parting thought…
Running a child care facility can be very demanding. It requires you to invest both your energy and financial resources. Unfortunately, both resources can be hard to come by in times like this. I hope these little adjustments go a long way to help you protect your financial health during the pandemic. Good luck!
