With Yahoo web hosting you can get your website on the Internet quickly and easily, and have Yahoo take care of all the technical details of hosting and managing the files that make up your website. They monitor the network, take care of backups and protect your data, all of which allows you to spend your time on promoting and developing your business.
There are four important things you need to consider when deciding on a Yahoo web hosting packing. First is how much disk space you will need for your disk. The disk space you need will be determined by the number and sizes of images, audio and video files and other content files you will want to be able to display on your website.
The second consideration is the amount of traffic you want and expect to get to your website. This traffic includes all the customers and prospects you want to check out your website to see your products. This amount of traffic will determine how much monthly data transfer you need. In the third place is the number of e-mail accounts you require. With your Yahoo web hosting account you can create e-mail accounts for your business, such as you@yourdomain.com or info@yourdomain.com.
At the time of writing, the Yahoo web hosting Starter package includes 5 gigabytes of disk space, 200 gigabytes of band width per month and 200 e-mail addresses. When your needs change you can upgrade to a larger hosting package.
As a bonus each Yahoo web hosting package includes free registration for one domain name. Yahoo will pay for the initial registration and the annual renewal fee for your choice of domain name for as long as you keep using Yahoo web hosting. This represents quite a good value. They also offer other features such as their own web site design software, and support for applications such as MS FrontPage. They also support scripting languages like PHP and Perl and MySQL databases and 24 hour toll-free phone support.
The process of signing up for Yahoo web hosting is pretty simple. First you have to select the package you want. At the time of writing the packages range from $11.95 to $39.95 per month, however they have regular special offers. The next step is to select your domain name. If you do not have a Yahoo account yet, you will be asked to create an account and finally you will enter your payment information. And it is as simple as that. You are all set to start up your website.
Showing posts with label home Based Business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home Based Business. Show all posts
Friday, April 24, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Tools For The High Rolling Affiliate Marketer
Current info about Affiliate Marketer is not always the easiest thing to locate. Fortunately, this report includes the latest Affiliate Marketer info available.
What does it take to become a successful Affiliate Marketer? What are the ingredients of an affiliate marketing success story? Is there a shortcut to Affiliate Marketing glory? All these questions play around in the minds of affiliate marketers who want to make it big in this business.
Although affiliate marketing is touted as one of the easiest and most effective ways to earn money online, it is not as easy as it sounds. The wise affiliate marketer plans every action and executes it the best way he can. He should also maximize the potential to earn by utilizing the right tools necessary for a successful Affiliate Marketing business. We have consulted some of the most successful affiliate marketers in the business and below are the top three necessary tools for a successful affiliate marketing business.
Important Tool #1: Your Own Website
The most important and indispensable tool in Affiliate Marketing is your own website. The first step in any successful affiliate marketing business is building a good, credible and professional looking website. Your website is the jump off point of all your marketing efforts. Thus, you must first build a user-friendly website, which will appeal to your prospects and encourage them to click on the links to the products and service you are promoting and make a purchase. Therefore, you must first concentrate your efforts in building a website that will cater to what your prospects need.
The most important thing you should consider is that almost all web users go online to look for information, not necessarily to go and buy something. Above all else, make your website full of original, relevant and useful content. People will love articles that are appealing and helpful. Keep in mind that, in the internet, content is still king and good quality content will not only build your credibility, it can also help you achieve a higher search engine ranking. By posting relevant and useful articles, you establish yourself as a credible expert in the field, making you a more trustworthy endorser of the product or service you promote. Establishing a good reputation is a good step in building up a loyal consumer base.
Important Tool #2: Incentives
Most of this information comes straight from the Affiliate Marketer pros. Careful reading to the end virtually guarantees that you'll know what they know.
Competition is extremely tight in the internet world. You must always be one-step ahead of your rivals to ensure that you capture a significant share of your target market. Therefore, you must use every possible means to encourage people not only to visit your site but also to click and proceed to the websites of the products and services you are promoting. Building an opt-in email list is one of the best ways to gather prospects. Offer a newsletter or an e-zine. Better yet, offer incentives to your prospects to encourage them to subscribe to your newsletters. You can present free softwares, access to exclusive services and other freebies that will be helpful to your prospects.
Important Tool #3: Link Popularity
The importance of driving highly targeted traffic to your website cannot be emphasized enough. The all-important web traffic is at the top of the list of the most important entities in the internet world. Attracting people to your site should be the first step you should carry out. Do everything to achieve a high search engine ranking. Link Popularity is one of the factors that search engines use to determine search engine rankings. Therefore, to enhance your link popularity, you must launch an aggressive reciprocal link campaign.
One of the best ways to do this – at no cost at all – is by submitting articles, with your website's link at the resource box, to e-zines and free article sites. You will not only gain exposure, you will also have the opportunity to advertise for free, just include a link back to your site. The more sites you submit your articles to, the better your link popularity is. Make your articles original, relevant and useful so that more websites will pick it up and post it.
These are but three of the many tools that an affiliate marketer can use to maximize earning potential. The possibilities are endless and are limited only by your imagination, creativity, resourcefulness and determination. You can always explore other ideas and adapt other strategies, which you think might help you become a high rolling affiliate marketer.
Those who only know one or two facts about Affiliate Marketer can be confused by misleading information. The best way to help those who are misled is to gently correct them with the truths you're learning here.
http://www.internet-marketing-ez.com/
Anchalee Saechin is the webmaster of Internet Marketing Ez Proven Techniques Help You Internet Marketing - Guaranteed! http://www.internet-marketing-ez.com
What does it take to become a successful Affiliate Marketer? What are the ingredients of an affiliate marketing success story? Is there a shortcut to Affiliate Marketing glory? All these questions play around in the minds of affiliate marketers who want to make it big in this business.
Although affiliate marketing is touted as one of the easiest and most effective ways to earn money online, it is not as easy as it sounds. The wise affiliate marketer plans every action and executes it the best way he can. He should also maximize the potential to earn by utilizing the right tools necessary for a successful Affiliate Marketing business. We have consulted some of the most successful affiliate marketers in the business and below are the top three necessary tools for a successful affiliate marketing business.
Important Tool #1: Your Own Website
The most important and indispensable tool in Affiliate Marketing is your own website. The first step in any successful affiliate marketing business is building a good, credible and professional looking website. Your website is the jump off point of all your marketing efforts. Thus, you must first build a user-friendly website, which will appeal to your prospects and encourage them to click on the links to the products and service you are promoting and make a purchase. Therefore, you must first concentrate your efforts in building a website that will cater to what your prospects need.
The most important thing you should consider is that almost all web users go online to look for information, not necessarily to go and buy something. Above all else, make your website full of original, relevant and useful content. People will love articles that are appealing and helpful. Keep in mind that, in the internet, content is still king and good quality content will not only build your credibility, it can also help you achieve a higher search engine ranking. By posting relevant and useful articles, you establish yourself as a credible expert in the field, making you a more trustworthy endorser of the product or service you promote. Establishing a good reputation is a good step in building up a loyal consumer base.
Important Tool #2: Incentives
Most of this information comes straight from the Affiliate Marketer pros. Careful reading to the end virtually guarantees that you'll know what they know.
Competition is extremely tight in the internet world. You must always be one-step ahead of your rivals to ensure that you capture a significant share of your target market. Therefore, you must use every possible means to encourage people not only to visit your site but also to click and proceed to the websites of the products and services you are promoting. Building an opt-in email list is one of the best ways to gather prospects. Offer a newsletter or an e-zine. Better yet, offer incentives to your prospects to encourage them to subscribe to your newsletters. You can present free softwares, access to exclusive services and other freebies that will be helpful to your prospects.
Important Tool #3: Link Popularity
The importance of driving highly targeted traffic to your website cannot be emphasized enough. The all-important web traffic is at the top of the list of the most important entities in the internet world. Attracting people to your site should be the first step you should carry out. Do everything to achieve a high search engine ranking. Link Popularity is one of the factors that search engines use to determine search engine rankings. Therefore, to enhance your link popularity, you must launch an aggressive reciprocal link campaign.
One of the best ways to do this – at no cost at all – is by submitting articles, with your website's link at the resource box, to e-zines and free article sites. You will not only gain exposure, you will also have the opportunity to advertise for free, just include a link back to your site. The more sites you submit your articles to, the better your link popularity is. Make your articles original, relevant and useful so that more websites will pick it up and post it.
These are but three of the many tools that an affiliate marketer can use to maximize earning potential. The possibilities are endless and are limited only by your imagination, creativity, resourcefulness and determination. You can always explore other ideas and adapt other strategies, which you think might help you become a high rolling affiliate marketer.
Those who only know one or two facts about Affiliate Marketer can be confused by misleading information. The best way to help those who are misled is to gently correct them with the truths you're learning here.
http://www.internet-marketing-ez.com/
Anchalee Saechin is the webmaster of Internet Marketing Ez Proven Techniques Help You Internet Marketing - Guaranteed! http://www.internet-marketing-ez.com
How to Find the Best Home Internet Business
The first and most important rule to remember when you are selecting the best Internet business idea is the one that works for you. Often times the best Internet business, idea you can come up with is one that you will have fun doing.
A founder who has enthusiasm will often help a business thrive and survive far beyond other companies in the same field. However, you cannot have enthusiasm to keep your business running if you don’t like your job.
In addition, modern technology and Internet has made it possible and easy for almost anybody to thrive with an Internet based business. As long as you love your idea and you understand it then you will have a thriving business.
The second rule you should remember when selecting the best home internet business is if there is a good marketing system in place. You need to have an advanced plan or idea that will help generate the best possible traffic to your business or subscribers to your email newsletter. While you run your business always, keep in mind that without traffic you don’t have a business no matter how good your idea is.
When selecting the best home internet business you should be on the look out for some advantages that only the best internet business opportunities would have. These advantages may not look very important at first but they will eventually make the difference between early some spending money from your business opportunity and regularly taking home a six-figure check every month from your business opportunity without ever having to leave the house.
The best of the Internet business opportunities usually have a long and detailed section on affiliate information. Go to this section and check out the details. These details should provide you all the information you need to know how best to sell the Internet business opportunity. Having a large affiliate section is important since you won’t make any money off your business without sales. The larger the affiliate section the easier it will be for you to make an income off your home internet business. Some of the best opportunities even have a list of key contacts.
It is also a good idea to go with Internet business opportunities that have a detailed and specific payment policy and preferably one that allows you to be paid for second and even third tier affiliate sales. This means you are paid for sub affiliates that you introduce to the business program. This way you can earn an income off both your direct sales and those of the ones who have joined the program. This can make a big difference in the size of the paycheck you receive.
When you want to take control and are thinking of starting your own affiliate program, there are certain things you will need to offer. You need to make it easy for affiliates to get on board and get started right away. To do this, you will need to offer them certain things to work with. You should immediately tell them everything they need to know in the first email you send to them. You don’t have to go into great detail about it but you can touch on certain things and give more detail on your site. Take a look at some of the tools you can offer affiliates to keep them interested and functioning.
Advertisements
If you want your own affiliate program to work you need ads that are effective. You should make sure they are effective before you start handing them out to affiliates. You don’t have to offer a ton of ads to affiliates at first. Start with a few and change them as you can. You can choose to allow affiliates to write ads as well for a better result. Remember, if your ads are no good, there is no point in having an affiliate program in the first place.
Graphics
You really need to make your available graphics easier than ever for affiliates to use. If you try to get complicated, they will not be effective. Set up your website so all the affiliate has to do is cut and past the html code into their own webpage editor. When you do this, they will be more likely to use your graphics effectively. In addition, you need to be sure to display a small set of instructions for those who don’t know what they are doing.
Content
One thing you shouldn’t forget when you want to start your own affiliate program is content. You should offer your affiliates content they can use. They can paste the article onto their site and get more traffic. In addition, you can encourage them to write their own as well and update them regularly. The more updates they make to their content, the more people they will draw in and the more money everyone will make overall.
As you can see, as long as you offer simple and helpful tools to affiliates, you can think about starting your own affiliate program with no problems. Try having everything set up before you start signing affiliates up. When you have everything already planned out, you won’t get as frazzled with the process. In fact, it should be a very fun and easy process overall. Starting your own affiliate program is beneficial to you and to the affiliates. When the program is so effective for everyone, you will be a huge success.
Author: Dina Fedorova, finding a Home Business that's Right for You, has a passion to help ordinary people start and run their Own Home Based Business. Visit my site and download "Dotcomology:The Science of Making Money online". Absolutely Free at: http://www.Net-Plus-Profit.com 3 Easy Steps to Make money Online: http://www.Net-Plus-Profit.com/pips.html
A founder who has enthusiasm will often help a business thrive and survive far beyond other companies in the same field. However, you cannot have enthusiasm to keep your business running if you don’t like your job.
In addition, modern technology and Internet has made it possible and easy for almost anybody to thrive with an Internet based business. As long as you love your idea and you understand it then you will have a thriving business.
The second rule you should remember when selecting the best home internet business is if there is a good marketing system in place. You need to have an advanced plan or idea that will help generate the best possible traffic to your business or subscribers to your email newsletter. While you run your business always, keep in mind that without traffic you don’t have a business no matter how good your idea is.
When selecting the best home internet business you should be on the look out for some advantages that only the best internet business opportunities would have. These advantages may not look very important at first but they will eventually make the difference between early some spending money from your business opportunity and regularly taking home a six-figure check every month from your business opportunity without ever having to leave the house.
The best of the Internet business opportunities usually have a long and detailed section on affiliate information. Go to this section and check out the details. These details should provide you all the information you need to know how best to sell the Internet business opportunity. Having a large affiliate section is important since you won’t make any money off your business without sales. The larger the affiliate section the easier it will be for you to make an income off your home internet business. Some of the best opportunities even have a list of key contacts.
It is also a good idea to go with Internet business opportunities that have a detailed and specific payment policy and preferably one that allows you to be paid for second and even third tier affiliate sales. This means you are paid for sub affiliates that you introduce to the business program. This way you can earn an income off both your direct sales and those of the ones who have joined the program. This can make a big difference in the size of the paycheck you receive.
When you want to take control and are thinking of starting your own affiliate program, there are certain things you will need to offer. You need to make it easy for affiliates to get on board and get started right away. To do this, you will need to offer them certain things to work with. You should immediately tell them everything they need to know in the first email you send to them. You don’t have to go into great detail about it but you can touch on certain things and give more detail on your site. Take a look at some of the tools you can offer affiliates to keep them interested and functioning.
Advertisements
If you want your own affiliate program to work you need ads that are effective. You should make sure they are effective before you start handing them out to affiliates. You don’t have to offer a ton of ads to affiliates at first. Start with a few and change them as you can. You can choose to allow affiliates to write ads as well for a better result. Remember, if your ads are no good, there is no point in having an affiliate program in the first place.
Graphics
You really need to make your available graphics easier than ever for affiliates to use. If you try to get complicated, they will not be effective. Set up your website so all the affiliate has to do is cut and past the html code into their own webpage editor. When you do this, they will be more likely to use your graphics effectively. In addition, you need to be sure to display a small set of instructions for those who don’t know what they are doing.
Content
One thing you shouldn’t forget when you want to start your own affiliate program is content. You should offer your affiliates content they can use. They can paste the article onto their site and get more traffic. In addition, you can encourage them to write their own as well and update them regularly. The more updates they make to their content, the more people they will draw in and the more money everyone will make overall.
As you can see, as long as you offer simple and helpful tools to affiliates, you can think about starting your own affiliate program with no problems. Try having everything set up before you start signing affiliates up. When you have everything already planned out, you won’t get as frazzled with the process. In fact, it should be a very fun and easy process overall. Starting your own affiliate program is beneficial to you and to the affiliates. When the program is so effective for everyone, you will be a huge success.
Author: Dina Fedorova, finding a Home Business that's Right for You, has a passion to help ordinary people start and run their Own Home Based Business. Visit my site and download "Dotcomology:The Science of Making Money online". Absolutely Free at: http://www.Net-Plus-Profit.com 3 Easy Steps to Make money Online: http://www.Net-Plus-Profit.com/pips.html
Combining An Affiliate Program And Website To Make Money Online From An Internet Home Based Business
Almost everyone who works with an internet home based business has an idea about affiliate programs and websites. They have the idea that just having an affiliate program and a website will allow them to make residual income. It is a little more complicated than that, though. Both an affiliate program and a website can be combined to make residual income, but there are some things a person must do to ensure they can make the most money online out of this combination.
Many people have heard that adding affiliate programs to their website can help them to make money online and earn residual income. That is true, but if a person goes about it the wrong way they may not see anything come of it. To make affiliate programs and websites work together they have to go together. There are a couple reasons for this. First of all, the people visiting the website already have an interest in the types of products being sold there, so they would be more likely to be interested in an affiliate program that is related to the other products. Second, if a customer sees an affiliate program that is not tied in at all to the rest of the website they may see it as unprofessional. They may even believe that this home based business is not for real or a scam. They definitely are not going to click through to learn about the affiliate program or its products. So, it is essential to find an affiliate program that works with the existing product line.
Placement of the affiliate ads is also important. They should not be placed where they will compete or interfere with the sales of the primary products. Some people choose to make a while separate page for affiliate programs. Others work them into their product pages. It is very important to make it clear that they are affiliate programs and will open a new window. Some people might get confused if a new window pops up and may close down both sites. The whole idea is for them to compliment the main products and site, not interfere with it.
The beauty of combining affiliate programs with a home based business website is that it sets up multiple streams of income. Having multiple streams of income is important. It is like the old saying says - do not put all your eggs in one basket. Business fluctuates. What is hot one day may not be the next. When a person relies on one income source they can easily be devastated if one of them starts to fail or business gets slow. By having different income sources or multiple streams of income a person is developing financial stability.
Adding affiliate programs to an existing website is not difficult. It takes some consideration and planning, though to make it work. By choosing and placing ads carefully an internet home based business owner can make the most money online and build nice multiple streams of income. They will boost their income while also being able to incorporate everything together.
Diep Tran is Internet marketer, and webmaster of http://www.internet-wealth.biz Internet Home Based Business Ideas and Opportunities.
Many people have heard that adding affiliate programs to their website can help them to make money online and earn residual income. That is true, but if a person goes about it the wrong way they may not see anything come of it. To make affiliate programs and websites work together they have to go together. There are a couple reasons for this. First of all, the people visiting the website already have an interest in the types of products being sold there, so they would be more likely to be interested in an affiliate program that is related to the other products. Second, if a customer sees an affiliate program that is not tied in at all to the rest of the website they may see it as unprofessional. They may even believe that this home based business is not for real or a scam. They definitely are not going to click through to learn about the affiliate program or its products. So, it is essential to find an affiliate program that works with the existing product line.
Placement of the affiliate ads is also important. They should not be placed where they will compete or interfere with the sales of the primary products. Some people choose to make a while separate page for affiliate programs. Others work them into their product pages. It is very important to make it clear that they are affiliate programs and will open a new window. Some people might get confused if a new window pops up and may close down both sites. The whole idea is for them to compliment the main products and site, not interfere with it.
The beauty of combining affiliate programs with a home based business website is that it sets up multiple streams of income. Having multiple streams of income is important. It is like the old saying says - do not put all your eggs in one basket. Business fluctuates. What is hot one day may not be the next. When a person relies on one income source they can easily be devastated if one of them starts to fail or business gets slow. By having different income sources or multiple streams of income a person is developing financial stability.
Adding affiliate programs to an existing website is not difficult. It takes some consideration and planning, though to make it work. By choosing and placing ads carefully an internet home based business owner can make the most money online and build nice multiple streams of income. They will boost their income while also being able to incorporate everything together.
Diep Tran is Internet marketer, and webmaster of http://www.internet-wealth.biz Internet Home Based Business Ideas and Opportunities.
Day Care Contract
A vital aspect of your day care business is having a foolproof, comprehensive contract in place. I can't stress enough the importance of spending some time on this crucial document. Believe me when I tell you that a well crafted contract can save you from much potential grief and gnashing of teeth (I speak from painful experience!!).Essentially your day care contract sets out your terms, conditions, policies, rules and procedures and, quite simply, should indicate to all parents who you are, what you do, how you do it, what your expectations are in terms of their behavior and how you deal with complaints and transgressions. There should be no gray areas, nothing left to chance or misinterpretation.
So, I hear you holler - what should be in this epic tome and how do I even get started! Well, as it happens I have more than a few years of operational experience in this madcap world of day cares and, through much trial, error and ongoing learning have a pretty good idea of the stuff that you need to address. Allow me to give you a few tips and pointers but I'll leave you to do the work of fleshing it out and personalizing your own contract….what?? You don't get off scott free y'know….now get those pencils out!!
It's usually a good idea to start at the beginning so here you could wax lyrical about your ethos and mission statement. Try and incorporate every aspect of a child starting in your day care i.e. what enrollment forms are required, the specific hours/days that care is required, necessary supplies, whether or not you institute a trial period (unfortunately, not everyone adjusts for various reasons) and detail your termination policy (if you kick my dog on the way in you're outta here!!). Incredibly important stuff yet often glossed over are your opening hours, holiday closures, maximum numbers catered, staff to child ratios, license and insurance details. Sticking to some of the nitty, gritty minutiae you could then launch into your payment policy. Spell it out: how much, when due, what's covered, non-attendance and holiday situations (everyone needs a holiday but what happens regarding payment??), how and who to pay (you'd be amazed!), your hard line on late fees (this can be the single most destructive aspect of any day care/parent relationship, should be consistently enforced and clearer than clear), your rate increase policy and the reservations/deposits procedure.
Next up I have a general section where I ramble on about the different rooms, programs enacted, beg that toys from home stay at home, information on meals, diaper changing routine and detail a little about my drop off/pick up/settling in procedures (dropping a child off down the chimney is not really encouraged!). My behavior policy is included where I make it very clear exactly what I do in specific situations and…what I don't do (tying a child to a tree is not really an option!). The toilet training policy emphasizes the importance of parent and provider working together and it's helpful to detail your requirements in terms of clothing etc (it's all very well to have a child run around au naturel at home but when you have vast quantities of toilet training toddlers….well, think about it!!).
A HUGE area of recurring problems and issues is that of illness. Set down stringent guidelines for your health and illness policy so that there is no doubt as to what your actions will be given specific symptoms and signs. Ultimately, you cannot have a contagious child in your day care and a sick child should be at home….period. The sign over my door does not say Doctor's Surgery. Inform parents when you will call them and that you expect the child to be collected within a specific time frame. Following on from this you can explain your medication administration policy (both prescribed and non prescribed) which will incorporate the necessary forms.
Communication with parents is vital so let them know your preferred method i.e. informal, verbal report in the evening, individual report sheets or a little daily journal. Reassure them though that, while you may be busy they can also make an appointment to meet with you for a more in-depth discussion should the need arise. Scheduling annual parent/teacher meetings is another effective method of ensuring that everyone is up to date and on the same page.
So, there you have it! The day care contract or parent handbook in a nutshell…grin. Admittedly there is a lot to consider and quite frankly, this is an organic document that will evolve with your business. Stuff will happen and you will amend your paperwork accordingly. However, I hope that my pointers go some way towards getting you on the road to (even thinking) about formulating your contract.
Fiona Lohrenz drew on her 10 years experience of running a day care to found ChildCareOnly.com and produce a 'How to Start a Day Care Business' DVD guide: www.startchildcare.com Fiona can be reached at her website: http://www.childcareonly.com
So, I hear you holler - what should be in this epic tome and how do I even get started! Well, as it happens I have more than a few years of operational experience in this madcap world of day cares and, through much trial, error and ongoing learning have a pretty good idea of the stuff that you need to address. Allow me to give you a few tips and pointers but I'll leave you to do the work of fleshing it out and personalizing your own contract….what?? You don't get off scott free y'know….now get those pencils out!!
It's usually a good idea to start at the beginning so here you could wax lyrical about your ethos and mission statement. Try and incorporate every aspect of a child starting in your day care i.e. what enrollment forms are required, the specific hours/days that care is required, necessary supplies, whether or not you institute a trial period (unfortunately, not everyone adjusts for various reasons) and detail your termination policy (if you kick my dog on the way in you're outta here!!). Incredibly important stuff yet often glossed over are your opening hours, holiday closures, maximum numbers catered, staff to child ratios, license and insurance details. Sticking to some of the nitty, gritty minutiae you could then launch into your payment policy. Spell it out: how much, when due, what's covered, non-attendance and holiday situations (everyone needs a holiday but what happens regarding payment??), how and who to pay (you'd be amazed!), your hard line on late fees (this can be the single most destructive aspect of any day care/parent relationship, should be consistently enforced and clearer than clear), your rate increase policy and the reservations/deposits procedure.
Next up I have a general section where I ramble on about the different rooms, programs enacted, beg that toys from home stay at home, information on meals, diaper changing routine and detail a little about my drop off/pick up/settling in procedures (dropping a child off down the chimney is not really encouraged!). My behavior policy is included where I make it very clear exactly what I do in specific situations and…what I don't do (tying a child to a tree is not really an option!). The toilet training policy emphasizes the importance of parent and provider working together and it's helpful to detail your requirements in terms of clothing etc (it's all very well to have a child run around au naturel at home but when you have vast quantities of toilet training toddlers….well, think about it!!).
A HUGE area of recurring problems and issues is that of illness. Set down stringent guidelines for your health and illness policy so that there is no doubt as to what your actions will be given specific symptoms and signs. Ultimately, you cannot have a contagious child in your day care and a sick child should be at home….period. The sign over my door does not say Doctor's Surgery. Inform parents when you will call them and that you expect the child to be collected within a specific time frame. Following on from this you can explain your medication administration policy (both prescribed and non prescribed) which will incorporate the necessary forms.
Communication with parents is vital so let them know your preferred method i.e. informal, verbal report in the evening, individual report sheets or a little daily journal. Reassure them though that, while you may be busy they can also make an appointment to meet with you for a more in-depth discussion should the need arise. Scheduling annual parent/teacher meetings is another effective method of ensuring that everyone is up to date and on the same page.
So, there you have it! The day care contract or parent handbook in a nutshell…grin. Admittedly there is a lot to consider and quite frankly, this is an organic document that will evolve with your business. Stuff will happen and you will amend your paperwork accordingly. However, I hope that my pointers go some way towards getting you on the road to (even thinking) about formulating your contract.
Fiona Lohrenz drew on her 10 years experience of running a day care to found ChildCareOnly.com and produce a 'How to Start a Day Care Business' DVD guide: www.startchildcare.com Fiona can be reached at her website: http://www.childcareonly.com
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