Spring Break Blues: Tips for Finding Childcare When The Kids Get Spring Break...and You Don't

Spring break is HERE and that means kids are bouncing off the walls with excitement about 5 days of no school, and free time to enjoy some rest, some fun, and time away from the books. Some families use Spring Break to take vacations, travel, or even stay home and enjoy time together, but if your budget doesn't allow for that and you have no paid time off of work, how do you handle a break? Childcare can be hard to find, but here are some solutions to consider if your kids get a break, but you don't. 

Family 911

If your spouse works from home, has more vacation time than you, or can afford a few "sick" days, it might be worth asking him/her to take over the kids for the week. If that isn't an option, nearby family members are often happy to help (especially grandparents!) and could be a good option for the week of Spring Break. It's worth asking before you look for alternatives outside of your close-knit relatives.  

Friends helping friends. 

Friends are your next line of defense when it comes to facing a week of no childcare. If you have friends who work a different schedule, or who stay at home during the week, they may be willing to help you with childcare. Good etiquette is to offer payment, or at the very least, swapping out reciprocative childcare or another service as thanks for their help. Many times friends are willing to help with no cost at all, but it's never polite to presume. 

Find a quick fix.

Knowing that Spring Break is hard for working parents, many local churches, childcare centers, after school programs, and day camps have special programs running during this time. Some are free and others require (usually minimal) payment, but it's a good choice if you are stuck with nowhere for your kids to go and have to report to your boss. For very young children and babies, daycare centers sometimes have first come, first serve pay-per-day options so call around to programs in the Polk County area to find one near you. 

Working while parenting is hard. Running your own business while parenting is next to impossible. Hopefully the tips above can help you overcome the challenges of spring break, and still manage to get in a few minutes of fun time with your kids while they're on vacation from school. Newton Peach Marketing is here to help give you even more free time by taking away the familiar strain of growing your business through exposure. We take care of making sure your company and brand are known to the community, and are seen by the right people to increase your profits and help your business take off. We are Winter Haven's trusted local business marketing firm, and it's our goal to help you reach YOUR goals. Give us a call, and enjoy your spring break! 

Show Your Business Some Love!

With Valentine's coming up quickly, love is on everyone's mind. For business owners, a significant other isn't the only one who might need some extra TLC; your business could likely use a bit of love too! Taking time and making an effort to think through your current business practices, and coming up with ways to improve them and/or increase profits, is a great way to "love" your company, and also to show love to your own family as your business helps support them each day. One of the best ways to improve the reach and success of your business is through marketing, and there are several ways you can utilize this outlet to better your business, including: 

Social Media

It's not good enough to just have a social media page. If you aren't maintaining your social media presence, it's doing you little or no good, and could actually hurt your business. People who check a business page on Facebook or Google+ are looking for updated information, and good response time from the owner, and if they don't see that then they'll move on to another business offering what they need. That's money taken right out of your pocket. To make the most of your social media presence, aim to post engaging, informative, and/or entertaining content relative to your business at least once a week (preferably 2-3 times weekly). Also, check in weekly and look for any comments, questions, or other interactions on your page and posts. Responses to these are key in building a relationship with current and potential customers. 

Websites

Most business owners understand the importance of a website in today's world, but all sites are not created equal. Having a website done in a DIY fashion with standard stock photos, generic, themed information, and little personalization won't make your business stand out from the competition, and it certainly won't get any points for creativity. Websites are blend of content targeting your audience, engaging and personalized images, and dynamic portions that are continually updated or changed (like a blog!). These elements make your site unique to your business, keep current information within easy reach for customers, and offers a "first impression" of your brand for potential clients. 

Creative Content

Content is a key element in all of the outlets mentioned above, and then some. Social media platforms, websites, Youtube channels, blogs, printed materials, etc. all require content, and the more you customize it and make it applying to readers, the more it will benefit your business. Coming up with creative content without plagiarizing other creators is hard, yet vital to the growth and success of your brand. 

If you like what you've read above, and could see it benefitting your business, why not go ahead and show your business some love! If you really want to show your business you care this year, give it the gift of outsourcing your marketing needs to a professional. Newton Peach Marketing is proud to serve clients in and around the greater Central Florida region with top-quality marketing services. We offer content creation for both social media and blogging purpose, website design and maintenance, graphic design for printed materials and digital platforms, and more. If it helps your business grow, WE are ready to do it. We're just a phone call away...and your business will appreciate us a lot more than a box of chocolates! 

Ready, Set, Take-Off: Boosting Your Business (and Staff!) in 2018

Now that Christmas and New Years is behind us, we are all looking at the rest of 2018 on the horizon and gearing up for everything it brings with it. Preparing for the coming months has many people making resolutions about health, finances, personal growth, or even items to check off of their bucket list, but for business owners, ringing in a new year involves other types of preparation as well. When you are the head of a business, regardless of the size, you know that the upcoming year means not only managing yourself, but also a team of employees, and all of the personal and financial efforts that come along with them. However, it's key to remember that your staff is worth that effort, because they are the heart and soul of your company! 

There are many ways you can give your staff a much needed (and likely appreciated) motivation this coming year, to ensure they are happy, efficient, and ready to help you continue to be successful and grow throughout 2018 and beyond. Ideas to consider include: 

• A facelift! Giving your office space a facelift can be a huge morale boost for you and for your employees. Whether it's sprucing up the bathrooms, adding a new break area, or giving your employees better desk and seating options, making the area where you must work each day more inviting is a great way to kick off a new year.
• New Incentives. Everyone loves incentives, from small children receiving stickers for their efforts, to adults working hard for their next work bonus. There are many types of incentives you could use to keep your staff energized and excited about their daily work. Perhaps you could offer a special staff lunch for quotas being met on time, or give an employee a day off for reaching a certain number of sales/calls/etc. for a particular time period. Whatever you choose as the motivation, your staff will be sure to perk up and work harder if they have some type of reward to look forward to. 
• Make your staff feel appreciated. Holidays aren't the only time you should recognize your staff as people outside of the work they do each day. Hosting periodic business breakfasts, taking your employees out for dinner, or simply picking up a surprise box of donuts for the break room are all ways you can remind you staff that they are noticed and appreciated. 
• Motivational training. Consider having your entire office (YOU included!) take some kind of motivational training. Learning together about topics such as teamwork can offer tools for making your business stronger from the ground up. 

We hope these ideas help spark a plan for your business this coming year. We know your goal is to grow and thrive, and that's our goal for you too. Newton Peach Marketing makes it easier by doing the hard work of getting your business in front of the people who need it, and growing your customer base for you. That lets you focus on the important things, like managing your business and taking care of your staff. 

Give us a call to let us set up a custom marketing plan for you in 2018, from social media optimization to designing your new business cards. We've got you covered!