Business Resource: Benefits To Your Local Affiliate Of NAEYC

11/14/22 • 27 min

For the Video for this Episode visit
https://youtu.be/LvhePKrlY_I
In this conversation, Erica Saccoccio, Child Care Directors Chair Creator, Practical Bizz Podcast host, multi-location childcare owner, and current board member of riaeyc (the Rhode Island Association for the Education of Young Children), is joined by fierce children's education advocate, Coordinator of Program Quality for Bright Stars, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Rhode Island Alyson Panzarella to discuss the benefits of being an active member of riaeyc.

The candid conversation goes beyond a list of benefits, as the two share how being an active member of riaeyc has helped them grow as professionals. Beyond her duties at riaeyc, Alyson has focused her studies on advocacy law and has begun teaching at the University of Rhode Island in the past year. Erica shares how riaeyc helped play a role in moving her program up the QRS ladder as programs were among the first group of centers to become part of Bright Stars in RI.

Nothing is off the table; we discuss the importance of early childhood education, including children ages 5-12 years old. Being involved with riaeyc makes business sense from a childcare owner's perspective. The recent additions of childcare retention bonuses, free professional development opportunities, and scholarships to complete formal education programs at the college level thanks to the work done at the state level by riaeyc to help lift teachers and centers in RI to higher levels of quality. We learn about how to use feedback from teachers and other directors to build better work cultures and attract and retain top talent at a time when staffing shortages have hit our nation.

And, of course, we share membership perks such as discounts and reward programs afforded to activate paying members of riaeyc, upcoming initiatives, events, advocacy movements, and public policy. Lastly, we leave the audience information on how to get involved by enrolling or renewing a membership, business opportunities to become a sponsor, or apply to be a board member during the next election season.

Previous Episode

Business Resource: Mentorship Matters (Community Partnerships)

"It is the mentor's responsibility to create a safe and trusting space that enables a mentee to stretch and step outside their comfort zone, take risks, and show up authentically." ― Lisa Fain. In this week's episode, Erica meets with LA and Ed from Mentor RI to talk about the many opportunities business owners, early childhood, and youth educators have to network together while rebuilding social skills and relationships and making connections that matter to our communities. Great business leaders often use mentors or are mentors to others as part of their professional growth during their careers. You can use mentorship as one way in your organization to attract and retain top talent and provide internships for those seeking a career path when graduating from High School. This feel-good episode discusses my favorite two topics, education and business.

Here are just a few stats to drive the point home as to why your business should be involved in some mentorship program and how we can positively impact the children and youth in our communities.

92% of small business owners with a mentor agree that it has directly impacted the growth and survival of their business
Mentees are promoted five times more often than those without mentors
And mentors themselves are six times more likely to be promoted
93% of millennials find skill development crucial for their career
91% of Millennials consider the potential for career progression as a top priority when choosing a new job

Next Episode

Advice: Don't Flatline -- Revive Your Small Business During a Recession

According to the headlines, the recession of all recessions is heading our way in 2023. As big businesses prepare with scaling back, layoffs and strategy, could this shift provide an opportunity for small businesses to do the same? There is some positive news as small business owners; we have advantages over big corporations. We can make decisions quickly while picking up top talent for positions we have been seeking to fill over the past two years. Recessions can be a time for growth opportunities; for example, a business owner may decide that now is the perfect time to implement their exit plan. New millionaires are made as one business exit. This opportunity allows you to purchase an existing business with that nest egg you may have put aside for your dream business.

This week's episode discusses automation, people staying closer to
home, and caring less about "keeping up with the Joneses." Say hello
to the Millennials; whether you love them or consider them entitled, it is
essential to understand their purchasing power in 2023. 1.4 trillion is the
purchasing power of the Millennials globally. They comprise 50% of the current
workforce.

Convenience is expected and no longer looked at as a luxury. It would
be best if you had a robust online presence, or you will become obsolete. Use
that downtime to complete all the essential tasks you couldn't do while the
economy was booming. This description is just a short tidbit of what we cover
in this episode; grab a notebook and get ready to put together your strategy
for the next twelve months of your business.

Topics covered

1 Automation

2 People are living for experiences and not stuff

3 Understanding millennials is nessacery

4 Delivery and personalization

5 Website and ways to draw more traffic to your website using backlinks

6 Convenience

7 Payment options and interest rates for vendors and consumers

8 Strategic Planning with your team even if you are a solopreneur, you need a strategy