I recently received a flyer for a large international conference. Although I was impressed with the slick program and information, what really jumped out at me was that the conference planners were offering child care. The flyer stated that if a registrant or participant needed child care they would need to call in advance and there would be a fee, but child care would be available. I couldn’t help but think what a great idea! And it got me to thinking about those of us who might be operating our own consulting or direct sales businesses from our homes and wondering if providing child care wouldn’t be a helpful boon to business?
Of course, it will depend on your target market and demographic—but if your customers are other parents, it might be tough for them to find babysitters and get away for a sales presentation, workshop, etc. By offering on-site childcare, you’ll be providing an additional valuable service and taking away one of the big obstacles that might be preventing your customers from getting closer to your product or services.
If you do decide to offer childcare, make sure that you research your options and make sure that you have any liability issues covered. You’ll also have to decide if you want to charge for the care, or encourage those parents who use the child care to pay or tip the care provider directly. Make sure to choose your care provider carefully (checking references, considering first aid training, etc.) and have plenty of planned activities for the children to do. You will need to look at your bottom line and decide if the increased revenue will be work the additional time and expense for you to establish child care, of course. By putting some thought and care into adding this service to your business, you may just be able to help your business stand out from the pack and get your sales pitch in front of more prospective customers.
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