Suzanne is the owner of KangaRhue Day Care in Grants Pass, Oregon. Her home daycare business has been in operation since August of 1998.
Her main inspiration in starting a day care business was to stay at home with her 7 year old son. The thing that has kept her going though, in addition to being able to be home with her son, has been that she quickly found that she loves this type of work.
"I love it, " Suzanne states, "I believe this is where I am supposed to be. I mean, I work all the crazy hours in the world, but I get up in the morning without dreading what I do. Not many people can say they love their work!"
ProviderWatch asked Suzanne what the biggest obstacle has been in starting and continuing her day care business. She related that the most difficult part about running a day care is that there are slow times. For her dealing with the fact that she doesn't always have a regular income has posed a challenge. How does she deal with it? "...by pinching pennies when it's tight, and saving when I have extra money."
The most rewarding part of her business is when she gets to connect with a child one on one. "I love working with a child who may need help and watching the light turn on, " says Suzanne.
To a provider just starting out, Suzanne passes on these words of wisdom, "Don't get discouraged with the slow times! Learn to juggle!"
She balances her family time and business by scheduling her weekends off. This gives her the time she needs to spend with just her family. It gives her and her son time to enjoy each other's company and plan special outings. Suzanne also says that she is able to complete some of the mundane household errands with her day care children. For example, she often takes up to seven children grocery shopping with her. She says that the children are always well behaved in the store."...Probably because they are not my own, " she adds.
When asked what one thing she would change about the day care industry, Suzanne replied, "ProviderWatch already took care of that! Really, why should it only be day care providers who are investigated? Why shouldn't we have information too?"
Suzanne explained further when asked what made her decide to become a ProviderWatch member. "Provider's information is there for the scrutiny of the customer, and we really don't know anything about them. ProviderWatch is the perfect solution."
