I Am Lean LLC

The primary job of a daycare director/owner is to stop being both. The owner has to step into their role as the owner without also working in the business as the director. This is to prevent tragic consequences from occurring. When owners work as the director of a daycare, mentorship gets buried, job creation gets buried, the opening of new centers to help more families in need gets undone. You might be saying, but I am doing all these things as a director/owner. Yes, but to what extent could they occur if you had more time? An owner creates more unbiased impact on these areas when their time is freed up to not be the director.

Before we get started, welcome if you are new to I Am Lean. We’ve helped all types of businesses improve their operations: lean strategy, lean training plans, and lean staff development. We especially love helping daycare owners systematize their daycare operations. Out of the need to give small businesses in my neighborhood the same advantage that big businesses have, I decided to quit my corporate job as a lean management specialist and start local. Lean is a methodology that saves time, energy, and space, the three things that once spent is very hard or impossible to get back. Want to know more? I invite you to accept our free gift and book one of our live demonstration sessions.

Now, you don’t have to figure out how to turn your center over to someone. You don’t even need to know how to stop being both at this time. This article is asking you to listen and open up your eyes to the possibility of what could be achieved if there was a separation.

Community Impact

A daycare is a small business and we know that small business make up over 80% of all business in America. A daycare supports the local grocery store, supply store, hardware store, t-shirt business, caterer, book keeper, dance teacher, CPR travelling nurse, art teacher, and lean management consultant. A director who is the owner, does a disservice to everyone in the community who depends on them because the impact made by their daycare could be greater.

Daycare owners who learn how to free up their time could really develop and expand the business more, helping other entrepreneurs, families, and small businesses. Expansion could mean “stay the same size”, but provide better quality services such as offering a dance class or an art class. It could mean purchasing better playground equipment, learning toys, or software. Expansion could mean opening more classrooms in the current space, opening on a new shift, opening a new center in a new location, or expanding to partner with local churches or non-profits who need daycare services.

Personal impact

But the best reason for a Director/Owner to stop being both is for selfish reasons. You have many talents that you want to pursue and the daycare is taking up too much of your time. Breath in. Breath out. I said it for you. Yes, your time is just as precious as the children who you serve. Before you started the daycare there was other things that you wanted to do. Now that you are older, there are still things that are undone. Being the owner and not the Director means that you get to decide how much time you are going to dedicate the the daycare and how much time is needed for your other passions.

You may want to write a book, start a women’s ministry or group, travel the world, feed the hungry, or create an entirely new business. When is any of this going to happen if so much of your time is spent working in the center during the day and running around buying supplies after hours?

Below are some of the duties of a daycare director and how the owner supports

We need to separate the duties of the owner from the duties of the director. Here are the most critical responsibilities and duties of a daycare director and ways that the owner supports. The goal is to understand that there are at least two people required to achieve the goals. Each role has drastically different actions and viewpoints. It is safe to conclude that, without the director taking care of these responsibilities & duties, and without the owner supporting them, the center could halt.

1. Management

One of the most important jobs of a daycare owner is to establish management of the center. The owner hires the director or operating management (ops manager). The director then hires everyone else from finances to staff members to contractors. This management part of their job includes – but is not limited to – filing taxes, hiring and firing, budgeting for expenses, making sure the center meets all regulations, developing lean procedures and policies, and general management of the business’ books.

Management of a daycare center is not always a 9 to 5 job. It can go beyond as the Director will be called upon – often after work hours – to address some issues that arose during the day. It may also mean doing paperwork and talking with parents face-to-face or through phone calls to answer their concerns. 

Proper management skills are needed to ensure the business runs smoothly. This means the business director should be well-equipped – through education, experience, or both – to juggle all the management tasks capably. 

The best thing that an owner can do to stop being the director is to set up a lean tiered management structure. Lean tiered management separates the management levels in a structured way so that every tier has a scheduled meeting time to discuss problems or concerns that are preventing them from meeting the strategy of the owner. Issues pass up from one tier to the next. Resources pass down from one tier to the next.

2. Provide quality childcare services

Children attend daycare services so they can access quality services while their parents are tending to other matters. Though the children may not be put through any strenuous academic curriculum, there are programs in the daycare facility that help to mold them. 

And that brings us to the other job of a daycare director; provision of quality childcare services. The operative word is quality. The benefits are not just meant to keep the children occupied but to impact them qualitatively. 

This means hiring, training, and supervising quality staff. It also means developing and implementing quality policies and procedures, creating a curriculum for children, and establishing relationships with parents. Thus, for the daycare center director to do this job, they need to be well-versed in different aspects of childcare services. 

The owner should have 1 on 1’s with their direct reports, (aka directors at multiple locations), on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to check in and determine what support is needed to help the director provide quality childcare services. The owner receives all major requests for additional resources or money. Owners can approve the additional budget to hire more staff or purchase needed supplies or equipment.

Directors should have 1 on 1’s with their direct reports, (aka head teachers and/or staff) on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to check in and determine what support is needed to help them meet quality standards and execute assigned projects.

3. Provide a safe and nurturing space for children

Children are the most vulnerable members of society. They need to live, play and learn in safe spaces. And this safety is both physical and emotional. Anything less is detrimental to their health and growth. 

Children in daycare centers need a safe and healthy space to thrive. For this to happen, a daycare director must ensure their facility meets all local and state regulations and is appropriately maintained.

These measures include inspecting the building regularly, providing adequate safety equipment such as fire extinguishers and smoke alarms, maintaining a clean and sanitary environment, and ensuring that staff is well-trained in safe practices.

If a daycare director provides a safe space for children, the parents can also be at peace knowing their little ones are in safe hands. If there are cases when the safety of children is threatened, the job of the daycare center is to communicate with parents and be open with them about what is happening. Usually an incident form is completed that requires a parent’s signature.

Children in daycare centers need to be nurtured. But this can only occur if the center has the right staff and facilities. 

The daycare director provides quality staff, equipment, and programs for the child to learn, play and socialize. For this to happen, it may mean that the daycare directore has to re-train staff or invest money in better equipment. 

The owner may attend the weekly dashboard meeting and participate in a safety walk in the center. The owner shows up with suggestive ideas for how things could improve. The owner supports the team and listens to why safety incidents occurred, why tickets or fines were issued and how the director plans to make improvements for the future.

4. Keep up with new trends

The childcare space is constantly changing. If a daycare owner blinks, they can miss it. And this may cost them business-wise. 

A daycare owner must stay up-to-date with the latest trends in early childhood education to ensure their facility provides the best care possible. As parents will often go to places that offer the best services, it behooves a center’s owner to continuously pursue the next best thing, as far as childcare services are concerned. 

Keeping up with new trends includes researching the most current developmentally appropriate practices for children of different ages and understanding the various educational theories used in early childhood classrooms. Additionally, daycare owners should participate in professional development activities to stay current on early childhood education trends and remain informed about any changes or advancements in the field.

The owner takes a supportive role in keeping an eye out for daycare leadership conferences that the director may benefit from attending. The owner approves the travel and accommodations budget for the team. The owner attends the report out of lessons learned and helps mentor the team in ideas for improving the daycare. The owner partners with the directors and operating managers to help improve safety and make better relationships with parents.

5. Networking 

The other job of a daycare director is to stay connected with other local businesses and community members. If an owner stays plugged into other players in the field, they are more likely to, for instance, know and adapt to changes. Also, through sharing experiences with other business owners, they can get solutions to problems that are affecting their center. 

Developing solid relationships with local resources and organizations can help them find the best resources for their business and provide valuable support to families.

If you are eager to dive deeper into this topic and get results faster I invite you to accept our free gift and book one of our live demonstration sessions / assessments.