Help!

[bumblebee-jules]

Hi ladies (and gentlemen??!!)
I'm a new childminder and looking for some tips on how to advertise (for free would help!) I'm fully qualified with ten yrs working with children and special needs. I have registered with childcare.co.uk and childminder-uk, I'm on the Ofsted register and the MKCMA -its only been a few weeks, but I'm ready to go but have no children :panic: :eek: please help ;)
thanks
bumblebee-jules x

[madasahatter]

Ask around at toddler groups, preschools, family centres, doctors, schools etc to see if you can put up a poster advertising your vacancies. It may also be worth asking local shops if they will display one (though some charge).
Have you got any business cards to hand out to everyone you know? If you haven't then vistaprint are really cheap.
A teeshirt printed up with 'I'm a childminder, ask me about vacancies' is an option I've seen mentioned before.
If you haven't got any young children of your own, do you have a friend who's children you can borrow or accompany to toddler groups?

Word of mouth is by far the best advertising, and the hardest to get when you first start out. I've been minding for 12 years and for the last 8 any free place I've had has been filled immediately with friends/relatives of existing chldren. I've even had existing families plan their next child around when I'll have a space available.
Good Luck

[huggableshelly]

yup to all of the above, schools are usually the best just after easter when parents know their children have been given a place then parents start hunting for additional childcare ... mind you I've had 2 calls today asking for childcare starting in september.

[tammys-tots]

Hi ladies (and gentlemen??!!)
I'm a new childminder and looking for some tips on how to advertise (for free would help!) I'm fully qualified with ten yrs working with children and special needs. I have registered with childcare.co.uk and childminder-uk, I'm on the Ofsted register and the MKCMA -its only been a few weeks, but I'm ready to go but have no children :panic: :eek: please help ;)
thanks
bumblebee-jules x

http://www.gumtree.com/ found you do get spam but you can report it, got email offering me a part time job although i stated i am a childminder, its free though. Keep up dating your information on childrens information service if you have one in your area, because you will go at the the top of the list, yell.com is free you can do it yourslf on line

Tammy