| Let me tell you why I love Halloween. It's not the | | | | and I took action. |
| candy. And it's not that I get to decorate my | | | | I cranked up the heat! |
| house all creepy and spooky. It is; however, the | | | | I glue dotted my business cards to each bite size |
| best time to market! Let me explain what I mean. | | | | chocolate bar. I parked my vehicle under a street |
| I will take you through my not-so-fun marketing | | | | lamp so it would shine when my prospects |
| journey, during my first year as an in-home | | | | walked by. And I made eye contact and greeted |
| daycare provider. | | | | every parent, or should I say prospect. I also |
| Many years ago, I started my own in-home day | | | | turned on the lights to my house so when the |
| care business while my husband was deployed. My | | | | door opened, they (the parents and children) could |
| oldest had just started Kindergarten, my second | | | | see my inviting, professional and fun home. I gave |
| child was but a few days old (c-section delivery), | | | | them a treat, not a trick! This went on for hours! |
| we moved into a new house, and now I was | | | | The following year I was more prepared and |
| running a business. | | | | packaged myself better. I had goodie bags with |
| Sure, maybe the timing was wrong for this new | | | | candy and my business card inside ready to go. I |
| adventure, but I've never been one to sit still and | | | | used ribbon to tie the goodie bag along with a |
| do nothing. Anyway, once I was licensed, had all | | | | cute saying on a card attached to the ribbon. |
| my materials, and set up the house just so, I | | | | I had a window decal on my front window with a |
| found myself with a great program...but no clients. | | | | soft light shining on it. I wore a shirt with my |
| I had to ask myself: Where did I go wrong? | | | | business logo and phone number to answer the |
| I describe this as a "cake making" process. I had | | | | door. My vehicle was strategically stationed so |
| all the right ingredients mixed in. It smelled delicious | | | | that parents would notice the magnets from both |
| in the pan, but I was missing a couple of steps. I | | | | sides. |
| needed heat! And after the heat, I needed | | | | Oh yeah, and since my oldest was in school, I |
| someone to taste my "cake". | | | | prepared the same goodie bags for her classroom |
| So how do I get the "heat"? How do I get that | | | | for their Halloween party. Both years I gained |
| first client? How do I market? | | | | more clients and generated a waiting list. It was |
| I earned degrees in Social Work and Early | | | | that easy! |
| Childhood Education. I was a mom and provider. I | | | | These are the facts: |
| even worked as a Parent Educator. But all the | | | | 1) Halloween comes around once a year. Take |
| knowledge and experience I possessed didn't help. | | | | advantage of it! |
| I didn't understand the "business" side. I knew how | | | | 2) Most children will trick or treat with their |
| to "take care" of people and their needs, but I | | | | parents or a chaperon. |
| didn't know how to get them in the door. I was | | | | 3) Trick or Treating will last anywhere from 2-4 |
| only partly responsible for the warm market | | | | hours. |
| referrals at my previous occupations, but warm | | | | 4) Most parents will inspect the candy before |
| market referrals only work when you have clients | | | | allowing the children to eat it. |
| to begin with. | | | | 5) The parents, soon to be leads, will see your |
| Here I had a product that people needed...Infant | | | | card. |
| toddler care. What I didn't know was HOW to | | | | 6) Leads/prospects who are interested will call |
| reach the families that needed my service. | | | | YOU!! |
| I needed heat! | | | | 7) Your business will grow with serious interested |
| With a small budget I bought business cards and | | | | people who WANT to succeed! |
| car magnets. I drove around my neighborhood. I | | | | 8) And lastly, this type of marketing is basically |
| called other in-home daycare businesses and | | | | FREE! You were going to give out candy anyway, |
| asked them how they did it. I opened up myself | | | | why not make it work to your advantage and |
| to change and surrounded myself with positive, | | | | package business! |
| successful in home daycare providers. | | | | Remember these known facts as well: |
| Then the perfect opportunity came...only I didn't | | | | 1) Parents want what's best for their family. |
| know it at the time. | | | | 2) Parents would rather be with their children than |
| It was October 31st...Halloween! | | | | at an 8-10 hour job. |
| That's when the light came on! Not just the porch | | | | 3) Parents would rather answer their children's |
| light, but the "DUH" light, as well. As every cute | | | | questions, than answer to a boss. |
| little princess and scary vampire rang my doorbell, | | | | 4) Parents want to take memorable vacations. |
| trick or treated, and walked away, it hit me! | | | | 5) And parents want to play hard with their kids, |
| I was loosing a customer! Not to mention the tiny | | | | not work hard for their boss. |
| busy bumble bees and laughing ladybugs being | | | | Listen, whether it's an MLM business, daycare |
| strolled up in their carriages by their parents. | | | | business or you're distributing products from |
| Right there in front of me, at my doorstep, was | | | | home, whatever it is, this can work for you! Think |
| my targeted clientèle. They're coming to | | | | outside the box! |
| ME! They're knocking at MY door, not the other | | | | This is only one low cost way to generate leads. |
| way around! | | | | Remember my 3F's: Financial Freedom Forever. |
| What should I do? I thought for a bit and realized | | | | Good luck, may you prosper much and have a |
| that my newly bought business cards were just | | | | Happy Halloween!! |
| sitting in a box. So I grabbed the business cards | | | | |