Have you considered offering childcare at your shows?

[mrshamel3808]

I tried searching this to see if there was already a topic on it but didn't find anything.

Does anybody offer childcare at their shows? I have two sisters, one 17 and one 13, who would be happy to make a little extra money and I thought it would be neat to be able to offer to hosts that I would bring babysitters if they wanted to let their guests know we would be offering it. Obviously I would need definite RSVPs from them so I know whether to have my sisters come or not (and whether I need only 1 or both). But I wonder if paying them $10-20 for a show would be worth it in the increased guests. Has anyone ever done this and could let me know if they found it worth it? My mom was passing out invitations at a church event today for a show she's having and one lady who was visiting the church overheard my mom inviting a friend and kinda perked up so my mom gave her a invite and she said she'd love to come if she can find sitters. So I said that if she wanted one of my sisters could watch the kids at the show and then I kinda said to my mom "hey, I should offer that to other hosts and I could pay them!" and the lady kinda got this relieved look on her face and said "oh yeah, coming from a mom with two young kids, that would definitely make me more likely to come! I'd even throw in a few bucks for them". Thoughts?

 

[CAPCnewbie]

I think that might be a good idea. Especially considering at my show on Friday, there were 7 kids running around the house screaming, yelling, crying, etc and it was definitely distracting when I had to keep stopping because some moms were running off to see if it were their own kids. The kids were also in the prep area eating some of the ingredients and picking up some of the products to give them a try. I got a little annoyed that the kids were just left to do as they please and having someone there to watch them woudl have been a definite plus. And, I love kids! I'm a home daycare provider so I'm surrounded by little ones from Mon-Fri. One of my reasons for becoming a PC consultant was so that I could get out at night and on the weekend and have some adult interaction and not have to listen to screaming kids or babysit them while I was working. You coudl always offer it and see what response you get.

 

[etteluap70PC]

I would only offer it if the host is saying that her attendance is low due to people not having childcare.

Just my $.02

 

[c00p]

I guess my thoughts are "iffy" on this subject. I could see the benefits of this, but at the same time, I would be concerned that it might be perceived as a "money maker" - not saying that is your intention at all, just saying it might be perceived that way. I would probably instead suggest that an attendee's older child be the babysitter for the night.

 

[mrshamel3808]

I don't see how it would perceived as a money maker. I wouldn't charge the guests for it, I'd pay out of pocket (my sisters said they're willing to work for $10-20/show). I just want to make sure that the people that are only able to come because I'm offering it actually bring in $10-20 for me at the show.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

You would also want to make sure that the host doesn't mind having everyone's kids over.

I know that I have a small home, and I really don't have room to have a PC party and a bunch of kids here at the same time. Plus, I wouldn't want the chaos of it. So, if someone offered childcare during a show here, I'd say "Sure, as long as they are doing it someplace else!"

 

[c00p]

I don't see how it would perceived as a money maker. I wouldn't charge the guests for it, I'd pay out of pocket (my sisters said they're willing to work for $10-20/show). I just want to make sure that the people that are only able to come because I'm offering it actually bring in $10-20 for me at the show.

I apologize....I didn't realize that YOU were the one paying your sisters!!! That makes a world of difference. (Sorry, I read your post wrong!!)

 

[gailz2]

How nice, and they could also help you load and unload!

 

[Sheila]

Not sure if it would be cost effective or not. I think an even bigger question would be could your sister's entertain the kids AND keep the noise level down? Or would the kids be coming in & out of the demo area? It would depend on how well behaved the children are. If they are not made to mind at home, it could be a HUGE challenge keeping them away from your products.

I just turned down doing a cooking show for a group of stay-at-home Moms who wanted to do a cooking show on a Thursday morning with all of their under school age children in the room. I told the hostess that I'd be more than willing to do it as a Catalog Show and come & answer any questions, but that having the hot stones & sharp knives in the room with little hands is not a good mix. I don't think she really thought about that.

(By the way, I'm a stay-at-home Mom, so I have nothing against them! LOL)

 

[chefjeanine]

would be could your sister's entertain the kids AND keep the noise level down? Or would the kids be coming in & out of the demo area?

My gut feeling is that offering this service would only encourage more people to bring their children and in the end would not really benefit you. Further, you might want to consider the legal ramifications of "providing childcare". Unfortunately we live in a sue-happy society so you need to always be thinking one step ahead.

 

[mrshamel3808]

Good points everyone. I think I was discuss it only with the host when they're saying that their RSVPs are down and I know that the people they're inviting are people with younger kids. So it would only be offered on a case by case basis as a "last resort" type of thing. And I would offer it to the host and she/he could decide whether their house could handle it or not or whether having the kids there would be worth it to them or not to increase how many guests they have. As for my sisters being able to handle kids, I don't think that would be a problem, they're extremely experienced babysitters, work every week with 2-5 year olds at our church, and we have younger siblings and lots of younger cousins.

 

[elijahstrust]

What about for those shows that say childcare is an issue to offer to make it a mom & kids show? Do recipes with the kids and then moms can socialize and then shop?

Just a thought to turn it around and keep the kids occupied.

 

[mrshamel3808]

Well, I just started so I'm a little limited in the recipes I can do. If you guys have tips on making the new consultant recipes more kid friendly that'd be great (I know they'd love to eat them but too many knives and hot stones to have them help me make it).