One of the most valuable local resources for every child care business is right there – hidden in plain sight – the Chamber of Commerce!
The Chamber of Commerce is often an overlooked resource for child care business owners. When a child care business owner is recommended to join the local Chamber of Commerce, the response is often, “Why would I do that?” Typically, this response is a result of two things. One is a lack of understanding of what the Chamber of Commerce has to offer child care owners and their businesses. And, second, the typical lack of viewing their child care as a business and always looking for new things that could help them create a successful, financially sound, and sustainable business.
The average annual cost for a small business to join most local Chambers of Commerce ranges from $400 to $1,000 annually. This is a minimal price to pay for all that a child care business has to gain from being a member. Although there are many reasons every child care business should be a member of their local Chamber of Commerce, let’s cover two of the most obvious and important reasons.
Increased Visibility and Promoting Your Child Care Business
Membership in a chamber of commerce will provide your child care business with increased visibility in the local community. Potentially, your child care business would be exposed to individuals who are not being reached through your other marketing efforts. Too often, in child care, marketing efforts focus solely on parents. Well, of course, parents are the customer. However, marketing efforts should not solely focus on parents. Members of the local Chamber of Commerce are predominantly small business owners and middle and upper-level managers of larger businesses in the area. When you and your child care business become an active member of the local Chamber of Commerce, you will not only be increasing the visibility of you child care business – but each one of the other members is either a parent, has employees that are parents, or knows people that are parents – who may need child care.
As a member benefit, many chambers offer members the chance to be featured on their websites, newsletters, and social media platforms. This additional exposure leads to greater child care brand recognition among parents, business owners, and community leaders. There is no such thing as too much exposure for your child care brand, including your logo, mission statement, and byline.
Additionally, chamber members often gain access to sponsorship opportunities for community events, enabling them to promote their brand while supporting meaningful causes. This visibility and exposure to parents help position your child care business as a key player in the local economy and foster trust among potential parent customers.
Before moving to a new town, parents often visit the local chamber of commerce’s website to research the area. Some drop by the Chamber of Commerce office to speak with someone in person, pick up information on local businesses, housing, child care, restaurants, and schools, and hope to have a conversation with someone who knows the area firsthand. Having your child care business exposed to soon-to-be residents – well, how could that not be a huge plus?
The multitude of great opportunities to market your child care business through the local Chamber of Commerce is tremendous and rarely taken advantage of by child care business owners. Here are ten quick but valuable examples:
- Child care business logo, branding, and information available on the Chamber website.
- Opportunity to have print marketing materials – brochures, folders, business cards with information about your child care business for other members and visitors to pick up in the lobby of the Chamber.
- Chamber business members are often offered opportunities to sponsor, volunteer, and assist with special community events. These events are often well-publicized and attract a large audience. Think of families and parents you can meet!
- Ability to meet other business owners in the community – tell them about your child care program – to business owners who may need care for their children.
- Opportunity to promote your child care services to business owners and the leadership of medium-sized and large companies, as well as employers in the community with employees who require child care.
- Providing quality child care in a community promotes business and economic growth. Without the necessary supply of child care, employees cannot go to work, employers cannot expand their companies, and communities cannot provide the level of economic development necessary to keep them growing and thriving.
- Speaking of economic development, the Chamber of Commerce plays a vital role in local economic growth in every community. The Chamber is actively involved in efforts to attract new businesses, employers, and organizations from various industries to the area.
- Attending Chamber events, such as lunch-and-learns, social events, workshops, and committee meetings, allows child care business owner members to meet, network, and, most of all, establish trusting relationships with other business owners and leaders in the community. These relationships will lead to referrals to your child care program.
- Being an active member in the local Chamber of Commerce enables others in the community to view you as a leader, one involved in making the community better, and a trusted source for excellent child care.
- Many child care business owners dream of expanding someday, adding to their current location or building a second location. Relationships with other business members of the Chamber of Commerce can provide a wealth of resources, advice, and contacts to help make an expansion dream a reality.
Advocacy and the Opportunity to Advocate
Local chambers of commerce serve as advocates for businesses, representing their interests at the municipal, state, and even federal levels. They lobby for policies that benefit the business community and work to reduce legislative barriers. By joining a chamber, you become part of a “collective voice” that holds greater sway in discussions with policymakers. This advocacy ensures that the concerns and needs of your child care business are heard and addressed.
The most important voice and advocate for child care in every community is child care business owners. As a child care business owner, you know firsthand what the needs are of your child care business and what needs exist within the child care industry at a local, state, regional, and national level. What better way to shape the way child care is viewed in your community than by sharing your knowledge, experience, and perspective?
Child care owners, at times, are quick to complain that decisions made by local and state officials do not reflect or meet the needs of their child care business. However, these same owners are often not at crucial meetings when discussions and decisions are being made. As a child care owner-business member of the local Chamber of Commerce, you will have the opportunity to have a voice and have your concerns heard by advocating for what you believe are the child care needs in the community and within your child care business.
We have just covered two of the numerous reasons child care business owners should be active members of their local Chamber of Commerce. Joining a chamber of commerce is a strategic investment in the growth and success of your child care business. By becoming a member, you not only enhance your business’s potential but also contribute to the prosperity and well-being of your community.
Visit the website of your local Chamber of Commerce today. How many child care businesses are listed as members? You might be surprised to find that there are only a few, or none at all. Wouldn’t it be great to see your child care program promoted by the local Chamber of Commerce? As we said…One of the most valuable local resources for every child care business is right there – hidden in plain sight – the Chamber of Commerce! Join your local Chamber of Commerce today!