Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/theres-no-romance-without-finance/5018134/
Over the course of my career in early care and education, I have witnessed more than a few centers and schools go out of business (both non-profit and for-profit). The great majority of these failures were not for lack of program or good intentions. They failed because they lacked the ability to plan, budget, and utilize resources appropriately.I have always believed that you can have anything in life you want as long as you plan far enough in advance. Your center or school can achieve almost any goal you desire, as long as a well-conceived plan is created and followed to the end. Yes, sometimes variables occur which mean a contingency must be employed. That is what a well-thought out plan includes. The key is to set a direction for the year and then measure it monthly, weekly, and even daily so that necessary adjustments can be made proactively to reach the goal.
This starts with good budgeting. Whether you are one center/school or a chain of a few hundred, you either have a plan for success or you will have a guarantee for failure. It is amazing to me, and probably no more obvious than in our public schools, that we ...