For Association & Network Planners
Family child care speaker
What this is for: the business behind the home program — pricing, boundaries, contracts, and the point where a provider hires help for the first time.
Who it is for: family child care providers, home-based networks, shared services alliances, licensing agencies, and state association conferences.
What Attendees Walk Out With
Language they can use before they get back to the parking lot
Price the work honestly
What the program actually costs to run, from a former Small Business Administration business analyst.
Hold a boundary with families
Language for late pickups, late payments, and the requests that quietly eat the evening.
Hire the first assistant
What changes when someone else is in your home, and how to onboard them on purpose.
Keep the business separate from the house
Where the program ends and the provider's own life begins — decided rather than defaulted.
Sessions That Fit
Built from existing keynotes and workshops
- Where Are My Ducks?
Keynote
- The Edge: Technology With a Why
Workshop / PD session
- From Want Ad to Welcome
Workshop / PD session
Formats
Shaped to your agenda
Conference keynote
45–75 minutes for a general session.
Breakout or workshop
60–120 minutes on one piece of the work.
Half- or full-day PD
Working sessions that end with a plan, not notes.
Read first: Retention is a financial strategy · Kate's books
Planner Questions
Answered before you have to ask
FAQ
Questions leaders ask
Yes. Home-based programs have different math, different boundaries, and a different relationship with families than centers, and the examples reflect that.
Related Resources
Keep building the system.
Staff Stability and Workforce Training for Childcare Leaders
The cornerstone hub — how staffing, training, onboarding, and leadership fit together.
ReadEarly Childhood Keynote Speakers: A Planner's Guide
Who to know, what each one is known for, and the six questions worth asking before you sign a speaker contract for an early childhood event.
ReadRetention Is a Financial Strategy
Turnover shows up on the schedule long before it shows up on the budget. Here is what it actually costs — and what stability buys.
ReadTraining Staff the Way Adults Actually Learn
Adults do not learn from being told. They learn from practice, feedback, and reasons that hold up on a hard day.
ReadRecruiting Beyond Job Boards
The best candidates are rarely scrolling listings. Recruiting is relationship work, and relationship work starts long before the opening.
Read30/60/90-Day Onboarding: Confidence and Competence
Paperwork is not onboarding. A first ninety days built around confidence and competence changes who stays and who quietly gives up.
ReadExplore more of Kate’s work
The work of early childhood is hard. Booking a speaker shouldn't be.
Send the date, the audience, and what you hope people walk out with. You will get a real reply, not a media kit.